[Hampshire] Free to a good home: "Linux Voice" magazines
Under pressure from Her Who Must be Obeyed, I'm turning out a complete run of "Linux Voice" magazines: issues 1 (April 2014) to 32 (November 2016). This was a "crowd funded" title, aimed at competing with the long-established "Linux Format", but unfortunately it folded. Fairly obviously, I'm not up for posting them - if you want them, come and collect! I live in Newbury. If you're interested, please contact me off list. Ian -- -- Ian Park email: i...@chalmers-park.name -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] "Linux Format" magazines, fee to a good home
Under pressure from Her Who Must be Obeyed, I'm turning out a long run of "Linux Format magazines: issues 151 (December 2011) to 250 (June 2019), complete with the cover DVDs. Fairly obviously, I'm not up for posting them - if you want them, come and collect! I live in Newbury. If you're interested, please contact me off list. Ian -- -- Ian Park email: i...@chalmers-park.name -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Printers
When we had grief with an HP OfficeJet 8100 printer throwing a wobbly with non OEM cartridges, we replaced it with a Canon TR8550 multi-function printer - we're using cartridges from Ink Factory and the printer is happy with them. That works fine with both my Linux Mint desktop (and laptop) and my wife's Windows 10 desktop - it's connected over the wired network in our house. BTW, I also have a Canon Pixma 7250 (inkjet printer only, USB & WiFi connections) going spare - a friend moved flats and decided she wanted to replace her desktop PC (running Linux Mint...) with a tablet, and despite nudging from me (I set the printer up so she could print from her tablet) she turned out the printer as well. If you're interested, contact me off list and we'll see if we can arrange a transfer. I live in Newbury. Best wishes Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@chalmers-park.name -- On 06/11/2019 16:06, Owain via Hampshire wrote: Hi all. I am so regretting accepting a free HP Officejet printer. The software works ok, but for me part of the open source ethic is being able to use non OEM cartridges (I suppose that's my philosophical rationalisation of being an out-and-out cheapskate). Does anyone have good recommendations of colour printers that are both cheap to run (up front price is less of an issue) and play nicely with Linux? Thanks Owain -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] Slightly OT: Intel SDK-85 board up for grabs
I recently discovered, in a box hidden under the stairs, an Intel SDK-85 board, made up, with a load of extra chips in the expansion area (I think they were probably an attempt at RAM expansion...) There are also an Intel 8748 single chip microcontroller (EPROM version), 2 Hitachi HM6264 8k x 8 static RAM chips and a Hitachi HM62832 32k x 8 static RAM chip (an alternative to the dynamic RAM I tried to put on the board...). If anyone would like it, please contact me off-list to arrange collection. I live in Newbury. Ian -- -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 GSM: +44 (0)7785 300290 email: i...@chalmers-park.name -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Linux laptop
I've found that PC Specialist's laptops are pretty good - we bought one there a few months back for the local branch of Benenden Healthcare, for around £500 - quite a high spec one, with 480GB SSD. I installed Linux Mint 18 on it, and it all worked flawlessly - then I had to start again with Windows 10, because the tech support people at Benenden need to be able to use Windows remote desktop . If your budget is a bit more limited than that, you can tailor the spec to bring down the cost - look at http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/ Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- On 02/05/17 21:44, Ben Parsonage via Hampshire wrote: It will probably work fine but given the limited information it is very difficult to say. It will probably have Intel graphics (a good thing for battery life), and makes the graphics more likely to just work, but don't let this put you off nvidia and and GPUs with a bit of effort they can be really good. If your not gaming Intel is better. WiFi and Bluetooth are a common problem, although 802.11a/b/g/n all tend work now. AC can be hit and miss and I have had problem with BT on Linux (especially on combined cards). Keyboard hotkeys and trackpad often need a bit of setup. They tend to just work but maybe not as you expect. UEFI can cause issues but secure boot is easily switched off. I imagine that you won't have any issues but there is always a risk. If you want a better guarantee of Linux compatibility then you could go for a Linux vendor. Dell Linux support http://m.dell.com/mt/www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-15-3552-laptop-ubuntu/pd?oc=cn55231_id=inspiron-15-3552-laptop-ubuntu Entroware https://www.entroware.com/store/laptops/triton System 76 may be worth a look but they tend to be expensive. You may pay a premium for Linux laptops but this is what is meant by voting with your wallet. On 2 May 2017 12:33:14 BST, Peter Alefounder via Hampshire <hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk> wrote: If I were to get one of these: https://www.tesco.com/direct/acer-156-es15-intel-celeron-4gb-ram-1tb-hdd-dvdrw-red-laptop/392-0906.prd?skuId=392-0906=sku_cmp=ppc*PX+-+DNF+Electrical*PX+-+Shopping+GSC+-+Argos+-+Technology+-+Electricals*PRODUCT+GROUP392-0906*=COLH6NjdlNMCFdUV0wodWCkLEA=aw.ds would any problems be expected with installing Linux on it? I sent an enquiry to Acer, but have no reply. Acer produce various laptop computers with Linux installed, but they are only available in India as far as I can tell. Peter Alefounder. -- Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] How to get a laptop with Linux?
+1 from me for PC Specialist; I bought both a laptop (pre-UEFI) and a desktop (UEFI) PC from them, and I had no problem at all installing Linux (Mint) on them. They also give you the capability to tailor the basic specification (choice of CPU, RAM, HDD/SSD, optical drive, ...) according to your desire for power vs cost. Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- On 04/11/16 09:18, Stephen Nelson-Smith via Hampshire wrote: On Thu, Nov 3, 2016 at 5:58 PM, Peter Alefounder via Hampshire <hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk <mailto:hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk>> wrote: What is the best way to acquire a laptop running Linux these days? My friend has had great success with https://minifree.org/ -- especially if you're interested in the freedom (or otherwise) of the lower level features of the system. S. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] Nasty email purporting to come from the US
Hi all I received a suspicious email today, purporting to come from Covance (a web search showed Covance to be an apparently genuine organisation doing contract clinical research on drug development and animal testing). The text of the email was: "Purchase Order, 11300 / 0002323808, has been Dispatched. Please detach and print the attached Purchase Order." The attachment was a .tgz file containing a 6.2kB javascript file - a method of attack which I haven't seen before. Needless to report that I didn't attempt to run said javascript file! Has anyone else come across this method of attack? Ian Park -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Help for Linux Mint please.
On 10/09/15 15:42, Arthur Bradley wrote: Hi, about two weeks ago I asked for help with installing Mint, not being familiar with it I am in need of a mentor, can you help please? Regards. Hi Arthur The first question is "Does your PC have a UEFI BIOS?" If it doesn't, then installation is only a matter of burning the ISO image to CD, booting your PC from the CD (wait a while for the desktop to appear) and double-clicking on the "Install Mint" icon. If your PC does have a UEFI BIOS, then the following web page should be helpful: http://www.rodsbooks.com/linux-uefi/. If you need more step by step guidance, contact me off list and we could arrange a phone call to talk you through it. Given my location (Newbury), I suspect a face to face meeting could be tricky... Best regards Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] System unit for sale
I have a fairly heavy duty system unit for sale. The specs are: 2x AMD Opteron 2GHz dual core processors; Tyan Thunder motherboard with stereo on-board sound, 2x ethernet ports, 6x rear USB 2.0 ports; 8GB RAM; PNY nvidia Quadro 2000 graphics card, 1GB RAM; ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 sound card WD Raptor 150GB SATA HDD and 5x Seagate 320GB SATA HDD; 2x NEC IDE DVD writers; T-Balancer fan controller; 4x front USB2.0 ports. I was running Linux Mint 17 on it, with the Seagate drives in a RAID 5 array; the HDDs have been wiped with DBAN. I'd be happy to take GBP250 for it - any offers? Ian -- -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 GSM: +44 (0)7785 300290 email: i...@chalmers-park.name -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] UEFI booting woes
A web search for Windows signed kernel secure boot turned up a Microsoft web page which tells me that secure boot applies to Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Windows Server 2012 R2. Looks as though XP and Vista (and for that matter Windows 7) shouldn't leave dirty footprints in your BIOS! Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- On 10/11/14 19:40, Martin N wrote: OT i know but does this mean when an old windows OS is installed, the same error will occur? ie xp vista What is the earliest version of the windows to support the signed kernel? Martin At 13:44 09/11/2014, you wrote: Thanks, Michael; with that hint I tried a google search on Asus Sabertooth FX + secure boot and found a You-tube video showing me how to do all sorts of tweaking, including disabling secure boot. Tried that, and now I can boot from the rEFInd CD. New NSA Slogan: We work to ensure your safety. Don't Worry We Have Your Back[door] -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] UEFI booting woes
On 09/11/14 00:49, Victor Churchill wrote: My son's just got a no-OS laptop from them , and similarly it had a minimal windows on it when delivered. They did say in one of their progress emails (*) that they were installing an OS to do their pre delivery tests. I can't help regarding what thet might do to the UEFI process, I'm afraid. (*) they are assiduous in keeping the customer infomed re. the progress of their order. -- best regards, 웃 Victor Churchill, Bournemouth Hmm, they weren't so assiduous in keeping *me* informed when the build of my system was delayed because they were waiting for delivery of the power supply - a fortnight after I ordered it I'd heard nothing from them; web site showed it was still in the pre-production state so I nudged them, and it was only then that they told me they were waiting fopr delivery of the power supply. Thereafter they kept me updated, though. Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] UEFI booting woes
Thanks, Michael; with that hint I tried a google search on Asus Sabertooth FX + secure boot and found a You-tube video showing me how to do all sorts of tweaking, including disabling secure boot. Tried that, and now I can boot from the rEFInd CD. Cheers Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- On 08/11/14 21:26, Michael Daffin wrote: That is secure boot preventing you from booting an unsigned kernel. You should be able to disable it in the BIOS though some don't label it as so obviously. On 8 Nov 2014 21:18, Ian Park i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com mailto:i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com wrote: I recently bought a new PC from PC Specialist (the third one I've had from them - the laptop I'm using to compose this, and an entry level desktop for my wife). The new machine has an Asus Sabretooth motherboard with a UEFI BIOS. The first time I booted up the PC, I was too slow to hit the F2 key to go into the BIOS, and it booted into Windows (I'd specified that I wanted the machine with no OS, but I guess that PC Specialist installed Windows for the system test). I promptly did a restart, and this time caught it in time to hit F2 and go into the BIOS. I was able to change the boot order so that it booted from the Mint live DVD, stoked up gparted and re-arranged sda to have the partition layout I wanted (sda1 as 512MB for the EFI boot partition, sda2 sda3 as 20GB partitions for root of Linux Mint and another OS to try out if I fancy it, sda4 as 20GB swap and sda5 as the remaining 160ish GB for the visible home partition to share between 2 distros. I was then able to install Mint 17 on sda2. I then followed the tutorial in Linux Voice issue 2 to set up sda1 as the EFI boot partition and install the rEFInd boot manager. I hit a rock when I tried to boot from a USB stick with rEFInd on it, or a CD with rEFInd on it. The error message was: The system found unauthorised changes on the firmware, operating system or UEFI drivers. I have a strong suspicion that this was an after-effect of the Windows installation which I deleted. Can anyone suggest a way of removing this Windows contamination, please? Thanks in advance Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com mailto:i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk mailto:Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] UEFI booting woes
I recently bought a new PC from PC Specialist (the third one I've had from them - the laptop I'm using to compose this, and an entry level desktop for my wife). The new machine has an Asus Sabretooth motherboard with a UEFI BIOS. The first time I booted up the PC, I was too slow to hit the F2 key to go into the BIOS, and it booted into Windows (I'd specified that I wanted the machine with no OS, but I guess that PC Specialist installed Windows for the system test). I promptly did a restart, and this time caught it in time to hit F2 and go into the BIOS. I was able to change the boot order so that it booted from the Mint live DVD, stoked up gparted and re-arranged sda to have the partition layout I wanted (sda1 as 512MB for the EFI boot partition, sda2 sda3 as 20GB partitions for root of Linux Mint and another OS to try out if I fancy it, sda4 as 20GB swap and sda5 as the remaining 160ish GB for the visible home partition to share between 2 distros. I was then able to install Mint 17 on sda2. I then followed the tutorial in Linux Voice issue 2 to set up sda1 as the EFI boot partition and install the rEFInd boot manager. I hit a rock when I tried to boot from a USB stick with rEFInd on it, or a CD with rEFInd on it. The error message was: The system found unauthorised changes on the firmware, operating system or UEFI drivers. I have a strong suspicion that this was an after-effect of the Windows installation which I deleted. Can anyone suggest a way of removing this Windows contamination, please? Thanks in advance Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] Strange handling of multiple optical drives in Mint 17
I recently installed Linux Mint 17 (Cinnamon) on my desktop and laptop machines, as a successor to 13, the previous LTS release. The laptop is behaving OK, but I have a peculiarity on the desktop, which has two optical drives, both Optiarc AD-7173A DVD writers, as master and slave on the IDE interface (all the HDD are SATA). In Mint *13*, Computer showed the two optical drives as one would expect; loading a CD or DVD into either drive showed up the type of disc, and an audio CD started up sound-juicer so I could rip the CD (one of my regular jobs is to take the CD recording of the Sunday morning service at our church, rip it, extract the sermon and put the MP3 file of the sermon on the church web site). Brasero could also see a blank recordable CD and prompt me what to do with it. In Mint *17*, Computer showed only one optical drive rather than two; loading an audio CD into the *master* drive shows up the audio disc in Computer and (I've configured the system to do so) starts sound-juicer. However sound-juicer looks for the track listing on the *slave* drive. Loading an audio CD into the *slave* drive doesn't trigger sound-juicer or show up in Computer, but if I start sound-juicer, I get the track listing for the CD in the slave drive. If I right-click on the optical drive icon and select Eject, it ejects the *slave* drive. There is a similar effect with brasero, the optical disc burning tool: a blank recordable CD or DVD in the *master* drive wakes up brasero, but once it's awake it wants to deal with the disc (if any) in the *slave* drive. lshw -c disk shows the data for the two optical drives: *-cdrom:0 description: DVD-RAM writer product: DVD RW AD-7173A vendor: Optiarc physical id: 0.0.0 bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0 logical name: /dev/cdrom logical name: /dev/sr0 version: 1-01 serial: [ capabilities: removable audio cd-r cd-rw dvd dvd-r dvd-ram configuration: ansiversion=5 status=ready *-medium physical id: 0 logical name: /dev/cdrom *-cdrom:1 description: DVD-RAM writer product: DVD RW AD-7173A vendor: Optiarc physical id: 0.1.0 bus info: scsi@0:0.1.0 logical name: /dev/sr1 version: 1-01 serial: [ capabilities: removable audio cd-r cd-rw dvd dvd-r dvd-ram configuration: ansiversion=5 status=ready *-medium physical id: 0 logical name: /dev/sr1 which looks plausible to me, and suggests that the problem is at a higher layer. Can anyone suggest where to start digging, please? I've tried posting on the Linux Mint forums but met with a resounding silence... Thanks in advance for any help. Ian -- -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Over heating CPU
Hmm, I suspect I may be getting a similar problem with my box (2 x Opteron 2GHz dual core processors); if I work it too hard (processor loading up to 90ish% on all four cores) it just shuts down. I suspect it will be an interesting task to take off the Zalman coolers, re-paste and refit... Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- On 13/04/14 23:49, Dr A. J. Trickett wrote: On Sunday 13 Apr 2014, you wrote: My gut feeling is that the CPU cooler paste is probably past it? Yes. I seem to get about 3 years from modern stuff; at 7, your machine is long overdue for a re-pasting. Make sure you clean off all the old crud with acetone or similar, then replace with fresh stuff. I'm unconvinced that any one brand is better than another - I use a large tube of Servisol. It seems everyone is of the same opinion. Something to do over Easter... -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] NASs
I have a D-Link DNS-320, which has 2 SATA drive pays; I populated them with a couple of Western Digital 1TB drives in RAID-1. Found a very useful tutorial [1] on how to tweak it so it's accessible from my Linux box to back up my media files. [1] http://nas-tweaks.net/371/hdd-installation-of-the-fun_plug-0-7-on-nas-devices/ Ian On 30/01/14 09:33, DAWE C wrote: I would like a NAS at home, on which I can store lots of files and have them accessible from both Limux and Widnows. (I am trying to avoid the mistake I made w few years ago, when I got a network disc which needed a driver to access, so was only available from certain versions of Widnows!). Any recommendations from people? Chris -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] NASs
On 30/01/14 18:51, Ally Biggs wrote:
Just get a old PC whack a few decent sized drives in it and get Freenas on
there.
I had it running on a old school pentium 3 server build it was happily chugging
along serving up files for over 2 years.
Sent from my iPhone
On 30 Jan 2014, at 18:21, john j...@jesoftware.freeserve.co.uk wrote:
I abandoned NAS a long time ago as cost in-efficient.
The way I go now is to use a SATA drive caddy - cost £12 to £20 and use
Samba.
Hard disk size. Your choice.
the following will detect and mount the drive caddy disk.
#!/bin/bash
ls /dev/sd?
for i in /sys/class/scsi_host/host*/scan
do
echo - - - $i
done
/sbin/sfdisk -s
ls /dev/sd?
The first line of output is what is already mounted
The second line will give you what is mounted plus the new hard disk
The following will unmount the disk when changing it.
#!/bin/bash
if [ $# != 1 ]; then
echo Synopsis: stopsata.sh drive
exit 1
fi
export DRIVE=$1
for i in $(mount | grep ${DRIVE} | awk '{print $1}'); do
echo Unmounting $i
umount $i
done
echo Powering down ${DRIVE}
echo 1 /sys/block/${DRIVE}/device/delete
echo You may now safely disconnect the drive
example: sudo ./stopsata.sh sdc
On Thu, 30 Jan 2014 09:33:31 +
DAWE C the-labyri...@ntlworld.com wrote:
I would like a NAS at home, on which I can store lots of files and
have them accessible from both Limux and Widnows. (I am trying to
avoid the mistake I made w few years ago, when I got a network disc
which needed a driver to access, so was only available from certain
versions of Widnows!).
Any recommendations from people?
Chris
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Yes, for a while I went down the road of sticking some drives in an old
PC and running a Debian server installation; however the NAS has the
dual advantage of being a lot more compact than even a low-profile
desktop case (which you'd be pushed to get a couple of hard drives in),
ans much lower power consumption (significant if you're going to keep it
running most of the time).
Ian
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Re: [Hampshire] Suggested Distro for an original Acer Aspire one?
On 12/01/14 17:31, Keith Edmunds wrote: On Sun, 12 Jan 2014 12:29:23 -0500 (EST), andy.ran...@gmail.com said: Anyone else using an old Aspire one, what do you run on it? Hi Andy I'm running Debian + XFCE on mine, which works pretty well. Not tried any RH derivative, sorry. I'm running Mint Debian Edition on my ZG5 (BTW, system monitor reports it as a *dual core* processor, but to enable that I need to install the 686-pae kernel [1], and the RAM is 1GB). It's not lightning fast, but I find it acceptable. I also like the fact that I can run my Shorter Oxford English Dictionary using Wine. [1] http://www.linuxmint.com/rel_debian.php Ian -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] Switch boxes free to a good home
I know this is a long shot, but I thought I'd offer them before they go to the tip... I have 2 switch-boxes with 25-pin D-type female connectors: one is a push-button two-way switch, the other a four position rotary switch. Both are completely mechanical, so they can be used as concentrators or distributors. If you're interested, please contact me off list. I live in Newbury. Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] SMTP servers
On 23/07/13 16:27, Chris Dennis wrote: Hello folks Has anyone used an SMTP service (free or paid-for) recently that they can recommend? This is for someone whose ISP (eclipse) fails to provide SMTP authentication, and only allows SMTP when connected via their broadband connection, making it difficult to send emails from a laptop when on the road. cheers Chris FWIW, I've found 11 reasonable, though lately I've had some grief when trying to send mail through their SMTP server to some of my regular correspondents (one on Tiscali, one with his own email realm - don't know who his ISP is - and the third on cox.net in the USA). In each case, mail was rejected because of a bad reputation as a source of spam. Fortunately I was able to switch to my ISP's SMTP server (ntlworld, now taken over by Virgin), 'cos I was at home. I'll be interested to see how things go when I'm away on holiday next week... Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Asus Motherboard/Linux compatibility
On 25/04/13 21:55, Anton Piatek wrote: http://fr.asus.com/websites/global/aboutasus/OS/Linux.pdf Suggests it works Anton -- Anton Piatek http://www.strangeparty.com No trees were destroyed in the sending of this message, however, a significant number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. On 25 Apr 2013 21:46, Ian Park i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com mailto:i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com wrote: Hi all I thought I'd try picking brains about the compatibility of a motherboard I'm thinking of using with Linux Mint. The MB is the Asus Rampage IV Extreme [1], which brags about its compatibility with Windows 8. I don't want to commit to pretty substantial expense in building a PC based on this MB, only to find that it gives me all sorts of grief when I try to install Linux, because of UEFI. Can anyone advise on whether it's sensible to go ahead with building a PC based on this MB, or indeed whether I would be better advised to avoid it in favour of another one? [1] http://www.asus.com/__Motherboards/RAMPAGE_IV___EXTREME/ http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/RAMPAGE_IV_EXTREME/ Thanks in advance for any help. Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com mailto:i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk mailto:Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/__mailman/listinfo/hampshire https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --__--__-- Thanks both for the reassurance - it looks as though I should be reasonably safe to go with that MB. But before I do, I'm waiting to hear from my son whether he wants my current desktop system to replace his pile of bits spread on a table-top... Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Asus Motherboard/Linux compatibility
On 26/04/13 19:53, Daniel Llewellyn wrote: On 26 April 2013 10:30, Ian Park i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com mailto:i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com wrote: Thanks both for the reassurance - it looks as though I should be reasonably safe to go with that MB. But before I do, I'm waiting to hear from my son whether he wants my current desktop system to replace his pile of bits spread on a table-top... does that go something along these lines: Ian to son: son, do you want my super computer instead of your junk? Son to Ian: sure, that would be awesome. Ian to missus: honey, our son has taken my computer; I /need/ new shiny! :-p facetiousness intended! :-p -- Daniel Llewellyn Not quite... the money for the new computer will be *mine*, not *ours* (and if my son can be persuaded to reply to my offer of my current system it will be a reason/excuse for us to go and see him... Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] Asus Motherboard/Linux compatibility
Hi all I thought I'd try picking brains about the compatibility of a motherboard I'm thinking of using with Linux Mint. The MB is the Asus Rampage IV Extreme [1], which brags about its compatibility with Windows 8. I don't want to commit to pretty substantial expense in building a PC based on this MB, only to find that it gives me all sorts of grief when I try to install Linux, because of UEFI. Can anyone advise on whether it's sensible to go ahead with building a PC based on this MB, or indeed whether I would be better advised to avoid it in favour of another one? [1] http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/RAMPAGE_IV_EXTREME/ Thanks in advance for any help. Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Free to a good home: back issues of Linux Format magazine, with DVDs
Benjie Gillam ben...@jemjie.com wrote snip HantsLUG are welcome to set up a library at So Make It /snip OK, so we have an offer of a home for my cast-off LXF magazines (and DVDs - I've now tracked down tidied up the collection of DVDs, so they're all present and correct from issue 21 onwards). However logistics is a bit of a problem. I'm afraid I don't come to Hants LUG meetings - it's 60 miles from Newbury to Southampton), so the option of bringing them to a LUG meeting for onward transfer to Benjie isn't really a runner. Is there anyone active in Hants LUG who lives nearer to Newbury than Southampton, so I could arrange to meet and transfer them for onward carriage to Southampton? Failing that, I guess I could try putting them on Freecycle... Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] Free to a good home: back issues of Linux Format magazine with DVDs
I've been instructed by Her Who Must Be Obeyed to turn out some of my accumulated computer stuff; as a starter, I'm offering a bit over 120 back numbers of Linux Format magazine (issues 14 and 18 - 140), together with most of the DVDs (I can lay my hands easily on those for issues 21 - 110, and I can probably roust out those for the later issues). Clearly, posting the magazines won't make sense, but anyone who'd like them is welcome to contact me off-list to arrange collection. To save you asking where I live, the postcode is RG14 7JJ... Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Free to a good home: back issues of Linux Format magazine with DVDs
On 15/04/13 10:11, Benjie Gillam wrote: HantsLUG are welcome to set up a library at So Make It :) Personally I think LUGs and makerspaces/hackerspaces are a really good fit with respect to skill and interest overlaps - I know we share a few members. I'm afraid we're too small (and cold!) to host any of your meetings just yet, but perhaps we can help you out in other ways? Cheers, Benjie. On 15 Apr 2013, at 09:40, Leszek Kobiernicki 1 l.kobierni...@ntlworld.com wrote: On 15/04/13 09:35, Ian Park wrote: I've been instructed by Her Who Must Be Obeyed to turn out some of my accumulated computer stuff; as a starter, I'm offering a bit over 120 back numbers of Linux Format magazine (issues 14 and 18 - 140), together with most of the DVDs (I can lay my hands easily on those for issues 21 - 110, and I can probably roust out those for the later issues). Clearly, posting the magazines won't make sense, but anyone who'd like them is welcome to contact me off-list to arrange collection. To save you asking where I live, the postcode is RG14 7JJ... Ian Surely it would make sense, to locate this quantity of useful reference material, in a LUG Library ? Could HANTS LUG create such an archival resource ? Or, failing that, even donate to a local IT Dept @ a school/college Library ? L -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- OK, it seems there is a home for my pile of magazines to go to.. Now how do we get them there? Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Hostnames
On 29/01/13 15:25, Leo wrote: With the increasing number of computers I seem to be acquiring it's getting a bit of a pain to manage hostnames/ips. I have an old computer running debian acting as a firewall and dhcp server though. So I was wondering is there some way I can get it to record the hostnames of the computers it gives ips to? So that if I: ping hostname2 from the computer called hostname1 it won't go looking on the internet for hostname2 (as it currently does)? Thanks Leo Hi Leo I have a very similar setup, except that I'm running IPFire on the old computer (Compaq Deskpro SFF, 500MHz PIII, 512MB RAM, 6.3GB HD); I just set up the host name to IP address mapping on that. FWIW, I also have static DHCP leases for each machine on my home network, so the IP address for each machine is nailed down to its MAC address (or for laptops where I might connect wireless or wired, one IP address for the wired network interface MAC and another for the wireless interface MAC. I can heartily recommend IPFire - I settled on it after trying Smoothwall and then IPCop, because it lets me use a wireless network card to provide a wireless blue interface with access to the outside world but not to the home network. That's very useful for giving internet access to visitors. Ian -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Vodafone USB dongle and wvdial
On 17/12/12 21:51, NeilS wrote: Hello everyone, Does anyone the list have any experience with the Vodafone pay-monthly dongle and the wvdial package? Before I sign up for one, was it straightforward to get working or are there any show stoppers? For what its worth, I want to use it for a remote monitoring station which will be based around a TP-Link TL-WR703N running the OpenWRT distro and some USB sensors. I am expecting data requirements to be moderately low and after a bit of searching I think Vodafone's £3 for 250MB per month contract with a £19 upfront fee for the dongle works out most cost effective. Of course, any advice on cheaper deals would be much appreciated. (I have looked at using prepaid 3G or GPRS via an old phone, but it appears all the best deals are time limited and the Vodafone contract wins out after the first few months.) Many thanks, Neil I've had quite favourable experience using a Vodafone *pre-paid* dongle, bought from Amazon a long time back. Vodafone provide good support using their own GUI driver package, but I've also had it working using wvdial. iirc I just had to use wvdialconf to get the dongle recognised, then plugged in the appropriate user name (web) and password (web) and access point name. HTH Ian -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Crash course mobile broadband
On 23/09/12 11:48, Rob Malpass wrote: Hi all Given my eyesight, I’ve never had to worry too much about smartphones or mobile broadband but a monster train journey shortly is about to change all of that so I need to know (by Tuesday if poss!) what kit I need. I have about 7 hours on a train on Tueday and need web access while doing so. Thus far, I only have access to a Toshiba satellite laptop running Ubuntu. In theory, I think all I need is [1] a usb dongle from argos or somewhere similar and I’m away. But I have several questions: 1)Will a high street dongle work with Linux? 2)If so – I don’t want to do any sort of contract – I want to just pay £20 for some sort of 1Gb limit and chuck it away post use – do these things still exist? 3)How good are these things really? Say I wanted to catch up on something on iplayer in between faffing about with spread sheets for work – is this really feasible on a fast moving train? 4)Said laptop is 2009 vintage and I’ve been thinking of getting a new one – is it worthwhile buying a 3G laptop? Cheers Rob [1] http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5491047/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/2%7C14418968%7CMobile+broadband%7C16527170.htm#pdpFullProductInformation Hi Rob I don't know about high street dongles in general - I bought a Vodafone one from Amazon a while back, and Vodafone produce a decent Linux connection manager for their dongles [1]. Mine came with £15 credit on it, and I still have over £10 left, without topping up. If you look out for a dongle to use with Vodafone you'll probably be OK - I don't know about any other network operators [1] http://developer.vodafone.com/labs/ Ian Park -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] USB, PS/2 and 5 pin DIN keyboards
On 22/04/12 13:20, Philip Henderson wrote: It might be worth contacting The Keyboard Company (http://www.keyboardco.com/) as they have years of experience with quality keyboards. If nothing else they will understand exactly what you mean when you describe your keyboard and may be able to offer a current model with a similar feel. I see they do an Original IBM style keyboard, beige PS/2 - expensive, but this is probably the sort of thing you are after. Philip On 21/04/2012 18:25, Rob Malpass wrote: [snip] How did you convert ps2 to USB? Using the same gadget you mentioned in your 2nd email - 2xfemale ps2 to 1xmale usb. Not even a bing bong - and I know the adapter is working - tried it with other ps2 kbds and mice. Looks like I will have to replace the keyboard. Such a shame after all these years. Still - you can't stop progress. Cheers ROb -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- I have a Cherry G80 keyboard - very similar feel to the old IBM Series M keyboard, but not so solidly built (euphemism for heavy...). I'm very well satisfied with it - decided to buy it when my old IBM Series M developed a reluctance to work for the 1 key on the numeric keypad. A friend whose PC I set up (with Ubuntu) also decided to go for the same model. Cost was about £50 IIRC. Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Custom-built PCs
On 02/04/12 10:39, I Close wrote: On 04/02/12 09:34, Ian Park wrote: A few years back, on a recommendation from someone on this list (sorry, can't remember who), I bought a custom-built PC from a company called Vadim. At the time I bought it, it was pretty high spec: 2x 2GHz dual core Opteron CPUs, 4GB RAM, 640MB RAM on the graphics card, 150GB + 2x 320GB hard drives, T-Balancer temperature sensor + fan controller subsystem... I've done some upgrading: added another 4GB RAM, swapped out the graphics card for one with 1GB RAM, added another 3x 320GB HDD to make a RAID5 array; but I'm wondering whether to go for a fresh system with faster processors. Unfortunately, Vadim have gone out of business. Does anyone know of a similar company they'd trust to do a decent job of building a similar system but with a more up-to-date (spelled f - a - s - t - e - r!) processor etc? Thanks in advance for any help. Ian Hi Ian, This crowd - http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/ appear to be quite good, I have owned one of their builds myself and recently a family member paid large cash for their dream pc and appear to be very happy with it. They are not the cheapest, which is, imho a good thing. hope that helps, Isaac -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- Thanks to all for your suggestions. I've used PC Specialist myself a couple of times: once for a meaty laptop and more recently for a straightforward desktop for my wife. They will certainly be on my short list. Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] Custom-built PCs
A few years back, on a recommendation from someone on this list (sorry, can't remember who), I bought a custom-built PC from a company called Vadim. At the time I bought it, it was pretty high spec: 2x 2GHz dual core Opteron CPUs, 4GB RAM, 640MB RAM on the graphics card, 150GB + 2x 320GB hard drives, T-Balancer temperature sensor + fan controller subsystem... I've done some upgrading: added another 4GB RAM, swapped out the graphics card for one with 1GB RAM, added another 3x 320GB HDD to make a RAID5 array; but I'm wondering whether to go for a fresh system with faster processors. Unfortunately, Vadim have gone out of business. Does anyone know of a similar company they'd trust to do a decent job of building a similar system but with a more up-to-date (spelled f - a - s - t - e - r!) processor etc? Thanks in advance for any help. Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] Gladrags and Handbags
On 15/01/12 14:33, Full Circle Podcast wrote: I think I came in too late for Awful Albatross. Was that back in the day when you had to knit your own ethernet cables? RC On 15 January 2012 11:20, Rob Malpass li...@getiton.myzen.co.uk mailto:li...@getiton.myzen.co.uk wrote: -Original Message- From: hampshire-boun...@mailman.lug.org.uk mailto:hampshire-boun...@mailman.lug.org.uk [mailto:hampshire- mailto:hampshire- boun...@mailman.lug.org.uk mailto:boun...@mailman.lug.org.uk] On Behalf Of Keith Edmunds Sent: 15 January 2012 11:04 To: hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk mailto:hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Subject: Re: [Hampshire] [OT] Gladrags and Handbags (was: Re: Help! I'm buying a laptop.) [snip] This is true of LUG lists in general, not just this one. It's interesting that this should crop up now - or coincidental at the least. Several years ago, I used to read Alan Cox's blog - though I confess I couldn't make much sense of it. His wife's blog was quite interesting too. He stopped several years ago but yesterday, I thought it might be fun to see what he's doing now so hunted around a bit and came across [1] via wikipedia. I wasn't part of the original incident (or whatever you want to call it) on this list but [1] really shows just how things can escalate over email. Here we have the grand daddy of the entire OS which spawned our list IMHO really having a go at someone for whom if I was ever mentioned in the same breath I'd be satisfied. I don't take sides as I don't know either AC or LT personally - but what I will say is I suspect all of this could have been sorted out with a phone call and a beverage of some description. Email is great - but by goodness things can escalate out of hand - and that is not a backhanded criticism of anyone on this list - just meant to show that even the greatest of us can have a barney over email. If you read other articles it seems that AC got so fed up - he walked away from kernel hacking. [1] https://lkml.org/lkml/2009/7/28/373 -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk mailto:Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- -- Rgds RC Robin Catling Full Circle Podcast -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- Ah, but the Ubuntu alphabet is *different* - it started with W (Warty Warthog), then went to D (Dapper Drake) before it settled down to the sequence we know in the western world... Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] CS Degree Courses (was Re: Linux Answers)
On 27/12/11 13:42, Stephen Davies wrote: I was a student from 1972-75. Yes, that was a few decades ago honestly. I did Mechanical Engineering (Instrumentation Control). Part of my course was shared with the Computer Science degree course. I wrote my first program in Sept 72. Naturally, this wasn't at a University but a Polytechnic. Funnily enough, I was classed as a mature student as I had worked for 4 years after leaving school at 15. Those were the days. Stephen D -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- Well I did my MSc in Comp Sci at Essex, starting in October 1970; the BSc course was well-established at that time. While I was there, the hot news was that they were getting a DEC PDP-10, with (amongst other things) a massive 64MB (if I remember correctly) head-per track hard disc drive... Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] Anyone got a PCI sound card they don't need?
On 15/11/11 14:37, Stephen Rowles wrote: Hi all, I've recently had to change my Linux PC into a Windows PC (well dual boot) :(. However I cannot make my on board sound card work with Windows XP (spent 2 hrs installing, un-installing, trying different driver versions etc.). An nice win for Linux as it worked perfectly out of the box with Fedora :D, nothing special required at all. However it leaves me stuck without sound when I'm running Windows, which sucks. Does anyone have a spare sound card (PCI) they don't need any more, preferably one that works in Linux and Windows, although something that only works in windows would be fine because I can still use the on-board one for Linux by just swapping the plugs around. I'm based in Basingstoke so can get to most places easily enough, Thank you. Stephen. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- Hi Stephen I have a Soundblaster Live! Player 5.1 which I fished out of my old Windows tower system (now working as a file server with a bunch of 160GB HDDs in a RAID 5 array). I've still got the driver CD (though you can download more up-to-date drivers from the web), and I printed out the manual from the CD as well. Contact details are below if you're interested Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Help please - Rusty on building a PC
On 13/11/11 21:40, Martin N wrote: ... I agree that the IBM Model M keyboard is definitely high quality - I have one stashed away in a cupboard (the 1 key on the numeric keypad is a bit iffy, and needs a really hard poke to get it to register). If you're thinking of getting one through ebay, be prepared to pay a lot for it - I've just looked, and the only one being sold from the UK has an asking price of £74.95 + £10.00 postage. Lots on offer from the US, but postage on those is astronomical... I expect you are talking about new? I got one off ebay for something like £28 and one off the car boot sale for £1 :) All second hand though Martin N Running MorphOS v2.6 (Nov 2010) on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- No, the great majority, if not all, were second hand! Seems the word has got around that these are desirable... Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Help please - Rusty on building a PC
On 13/11/11 18:20, Martin N wrote: ... Since no one else has mentioned it an IBM Model M clicky keyboard from ebay secondhand (or car boot sale) is possibly the best keyboard out there but no windows key. (Maybe the 80s keyboard reply was what he was talking about). I also use Microsoft natural keyboard which has a split down the middle to make it curved. Microsoft do not make the keyboard though and the quality is apparently variable depending on which manufacturer has the contract currently. The only way around that is to get down to PC world or other retailer and try them out for your self. Keyboards are very personnel and its best to try friends and some in shop for your favourite. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.6 (Nov 2010) on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- I agree that the IBM Model M keyboard is definitely high quality - I have one stashed away in a cupboard (the 1 key on the numeric keypad is a bit iffy, and needs a really hard poke to get it to register). If you're thinking of getting one through ebay, be prepared to pay a lot for it - I've just looked, and the only one being sold from the UK has an asking price of £74.95 + £10.00 postage. Lots on offer from the US, but postage on those is astronomical... Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Help please - Rusty on building a PC
On 12/11/11 13:07, Rob Malpass wrote: -Original Message- From: hampshire-boun...@mailman.lug.org.uk [mailto:hampshire- boun...@mailman.lug.org.uk] On Behalf Of Ian Park Sent: 11 November 2011 18:41 To: hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Subject: Re: [Hampshire] Help please - Rusty on building a PC I recently bought a Cherry clicky keyboard for a friend from CCL (http://www.cclonline.com) - that comes with USB as the primary connector, and a USB to PS/2 adaptor. Price was quite reasonable too... Yes - it's the Click variety that I've been using all these years. What model did you get? I've looked on there and can't see it at first glance... Cheers Rob -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- Hi Rob It was a G80-3000LSCGB-2 (black). If you look for peripherals consumables / input devices / keyboards and filter for Cherry, and scroll down to the end of the first page, you'll find it. The price is £58.18 with free delivery as I write this. Cheers Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Help please - Rusty on building a PC
On 11/11/11 18:07, Rob Malpass wrote: ... Out of interest while on the subject, can anyone recommend a good keyboard vendor? I really hate HP and Dell keyboards - though I must admit the Dell ones from around 12 years ago (the beige ones which went with Optiplex models) were quite nice. Cheers Rob -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- I recently bought a Cherry clicky keyboard for a friend from CCL (http://www.cclonline.com) - that comes with USB as the primary connector, and a USB to PS/2 adaptor. Price was quite reasonable too... Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Firewall distributions
On 15/09/11 17:22, Ian Park wrote: On 14/09/11 17:09, Ian Grody wrote: On Wednesday 14 September 2011 15:09:57 Ian Park wrote: I've been running firewall distributions for a good few years now on an old Compaq low profile box (Pentium III, 500 MHz) which I bought from Jamie's. I started with Smoothwall v2.0, and added extra RAM when I upgraded to Smoothwall v3.0; it now has 512MB RAM and a 6.3GB HDD. About a year ago, an article in Linux Format caught my eye, and I decided to give IPCop a go - we have a fair few visitors over the year, and it's handy to be able to give them internet access via a wireless access point without having to let them loose to roam on my home network. IPCop's blue interface looked like the answer, but I've had no end of grief trying to get the WLANAP add-on for IPCop to work. I've tried a total of five different wireless LAN cards; IPCop v1.9.20 recognises only one of them (it uses the RaLink 2561 chipset), and even with that one, when I installed the appropriate version of the add-on it threw a wobbly at the end of the installation. To add to the fun, the WLANAP add-on doesn't work any more since the upgrade from 1.9.19 to 1.9.20 - the upgrade included a new kernel version, 2.6.32-4, and the latest version of wlanap-ipcop (3.0.0-c6) matches kernel version 2.6.32-3... Can anyone suggest an alternative route to where I want to be (i.e. the equivalent of IPCop with red, green and blue interfaces), please? I suppose in the end I could just stick a wired network card in the IPCop box and hook up to an external wireless access point, but that would mean using another power socket, and I already use about 18 in this room... Thanks in advance for any help Ian You could always chuck out that horrid Ralink chip, chuck in an Atheros. Atheros and intel along w/ Zydas tend to have some of the best support for using them as wifi softAP's. I'd suggest using an Atheros (5000 series chips are most supported impo) wifi, then use pfSense as your firewall/router. 2.0 is still in RC state, but gets regular updates and can do everything you are wanting and a tonne more. I have this running on a P3 533MHz box w/ 512MB and it does the job for what it's intended. Which handles Wifi (via atheros wifi), another wifi through AP hardwired, two LANs, a few VLANs VPN. Zeroshell was gearing towards support for wifi config via web-gui, but not sure how they progressed as I stopped using this for pfSense 2 years ago. It looked promising though (and this one is linux based). It did work however if you enabled it under the hood. You could always use RouterOS for x86 - You would need to check what wifi cards this supports, atheros I know are one lot. This OS is intended for RouterBoard family of routers - But Mikrotik have nicely made a download available to install on PC. It is a trial, however, but getting a license to use it isn't too expensive. DistroWatch have a list of firewalls for PC etc to use. However, I do not how new or updated this list is.. http://distrowatch.com/search.php?category=Firewallorigin=Allbasedon=Allnotbasedon=Nonedesktop=Allarchitecture=Allstatus=Active Good luck -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- Thanks to everyone for their input. First, on the logistics: She Who Must Be Obeyed was out this morning, so I was able to set up a spare box with a couple of wired NICs and configure that to keep up our access to the network and the intercommunication between the various PCs on our home LAN, thereby freeing the little Compaq for me to mess about with. First hurdle was that the CD drive in the Compaq seems to have died - it's one of the type they put in laptops. Fortunately I was able to hook up a standard DVD-ROM drive and install IPFire 2.9, which went uneventfully. Next hurdle was that the Compaq wouldn't recognise the WLAN card (a TP-Link TL-WN551G, with an Atheros AR5212 chipset) which I wanted to use, although it was recognised in the other box (before you suggest that I stick to the other box, it's a lot bigger than the Compaq, and won't fit in the space I've got for the firewall). I *was* able to set up the Blue interface on the Compaq with a Tenda W54P (RaLink RT2561), so I think I'll try moving on with that. Another of the reasons I'd prefer to stick with the Compaq is that it accepts standard height cards (only two, but that's enough), whereas a lot (if not all) of SFF cases nowadays require low profile cards (e.g. the Deskpro 7100 SFF which I use as my Win XP machine)... Cheers Ian OK, I've now got the little Compaq box set up with IPFire, using the one and only wireless card which is acknowledged by setup: the Tenda W54P with the Ralink RT2561 chipset. Setting up the blue
[Hampshire] Firewall distributions
I've been running firewall distributions for a good few years now on an old Compaq low profile box (Pentium III, 500 MHz) which I bought from Jamie's. I started with Smoothwall v2.0, and added extra RAM when I upgraded to Smoothwall v3.0; it now has 512MB RAM and a 6.3GB HDD. About a year ago, an article in Linux Format caught my eye, and I decided to give IPCop a go - we have a fair few visitors over the year, and it's handy to be able to give them internet access via a wireless access point without having to let them loose to roam on my home network. IPCop's blue interface looked like the answer, but I've had no end of grief trying to get the WLANAP add-on for IPCop to work. I've tried a total of five different wireless LAN cards; IPCop v1.9.20 recognises only one of them (it uses the RaLink 2561 chipset), and even with that one, when I installed the appropriate version of the add-on it threw a wobbly at the end of the installation. To add to the fun, the WLANAP add-on doesn't work any more since the upgrade from 1.9.19 to 1.9.20 - the upgrade included a new kernel version, 2.6.32-4, and the latest version of wlanap-ipcop (3.0.0-c6) matches kernel version 2.6.32-3... Can anyone suggest an alternative route to where I want to be (i.e. the equivalent of IPCop with red, green and blue interfaces), please? I suppose in the end I could just stick a wired network card in the IPCop box and hook up to an external wireless access point, but that would mean using another power socket, and I already use about 18 in this room... Thanks in advance for any help Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] [OT] HP29-C calculator going spare - free to a good home
I figured that this forum might have someone on it who'd be interested... I have a Hewlett-Packard 29-C programmable calculator sitting on the shelf; the rechargeable batteries have had it, but someone with the time and enthusiasm could probably revive it. Free to a good home - collect from Newbury or I can send it if you're prepared to pay the postage. Ian Park -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [HARDWARE] Dead PC
On 12/01/11 08:42, Bob Dunlop wrote: Hi, On Tue, Jan 11 at 07:43, Adam John Trickett wrote: On Tuesday 11 Jan 2011 19:24:57 Jonathan Hudson wrote: 1) It would sometimes bring up the BIOS page complaining about changed settings (that have not changed) on power up. BIOS battery needs replacing ... A CR2032 according to the manual. I know that would cause the boot problems, could it also cause the hardware freezes? Typical shelf life of lithium battery 7 years, machine is 6 years old, so a good bet. BIOS complaints and boot problems definitely. Freezing the system later, less likely but possible, it might cause problems with the video BIOS for example. Four pounds from a hardware store, got to be worth a try. ... or £5ish for a pack of 2 from Boots - I regularly have to buy them for my Psion Netbook, 'cos I forget to charge up the main battery and it sucks the life out of the backup battery trying to keep the RAM alive... Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] [Hardware] DVI to DisplayPort adapters
We're looking at buying a new flat screen display for my wife to use (she does the layout for our church magazine, and would like to be able to view a complete double-page spread at a reasonable zoom). One of the likely candidates has the usual D-sub analogue and DVI inputs *and* a DisplayPort input. All our PCs have either D-sub or DVI outputs on their graphics cards, and I'd like to be able to share the monitor between several PCs. Does anyone know of a source for an adapter which would let me feed the output from a graphics card with a DVI connector to a monitor with a DisplayPort connector? Google searching has only turned up adaptors for the converse: feeding from a DisplayPort output to a DVI connector on the monitor. I don't know whether one of these would serve for the opposite direction. Thanks in advance for any help Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] What would you do, faced with the following advice re Ubuntu
On 26/09/10 07:06, Lisi wrote: On Saturday 25 September 2010 23:12:23 Vic wrote: The course is clearly Microsoft biased. Which course is this, anyway? T155 an introduction to Linux. The beginning is a very easy ride for me (apart from the effect on my blood pressure, but a lot of the later stuff should be useful. They also said that we needed Shockwave! Sounds like there will be some Flash-based video sessions going on. You almost certainly *don't* need Adobe's player. But that won't stop the ignorati from telling you that you do, of course... When protesting about Shockwave being needed for a course about Linux, I got through in the end to the manager of the course team. She said to let her know what I thought of the course, and believe me I shall! Unfortunately, you're almost certainly wasting your time. If they've put together a course with that many errors in the initial brief, it's probably not being run by anyone with an interest in teaching things that are actually correct :-( Bah. Yes, it is very disappointing. :-( Lisi -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- Hmm, interesting reading the posts in this thread. I too have signed up for T155, but I haven't bothered yet to look at the course web site, 'cos I'm in China with only my Aspire One (running Ubuntu Lucid, netbook edition) - at least the hotel offers free internet access. On my main desktop machine and my big laptop, Ubuntu is my main OS, and I use VirtualBox to run Windows for various ill-behaved sites that need Internet Exploiter (including the management interface for my wireless access point, which runs some flavour of Linux!), and other awkward apps. I shall join Lisi in protesting to the course management team about Microsoft bias... Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Laptop BIOS settings
On 24/08/10 23:05, Leo wrote: I've just got a new laptop and in the bios there is an option to select what OS is installed with three options: Other WinXP Vista / Win7 Does anyone know what difference this makes, and is Other the best to choose for Linux? Thanks, Leo -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- From memory, I think that different flavours of OS rely to different extents on services from the BIOS. By a process of elimination, with your choices I'd go for Other. Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Laptop BIOS settings
On 25/08/10 10:55, Sean Gibbins wrote: On 24/08/10 22:05, Leo wrote: I've just got a new laptop and in the bios there is an option to select what OS is installed with three options: Other WinXP Vista / Win7 Does anyone know what difference this makes, and is Other the best to choose for Linux? Hi Leo, I can't answer the the question as to why this is present, but I suspect that there will be something that explains the reason for this on the laptop manufacturer's Web site or in the manual. I am guessing that the laptop's hardware resources are configured differently for each of these options at boot up, presumably to make better use of them and/or enable/disable some functionality for certain options. What make and model of laptop are we discussing? One consideration might be as to whether or not you intend to retain the existing OS (assuming there is one) in a dual-boot setup. Sean -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- FWIW, I've just checked the BIOS settings on my various boxes and laptops. Two oldish (BIOS dates ca 2001) boxes offer a choice between Plug and Play aware OS - Yes and No My more recent box (custom built, with twin dual-core Opterons) offers Linux, Win XP Pro, Win XP x64 or Other My netbook (Acer Aspire One) and big laptop (Clevo, about a year old) and my wife's laptop (Acer Ferrari) all have no choice. Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] [OT] Nokia N900 as a tethered modem using the USB cable
I bought a Nokia N900 a few months ago after seeing the views of various people on this list when I asked about smart phones with keyboards. I'll be going away to (very) foreign parts next month, and I'd like to use the N900 as a modem tethered to my netbook via the USB cable (before you ask, I find the keyboard and screen of the N900 too small for more than occasional use, notwithstanding the fact that it has email client, web browser, ...). I've tried following the Howtos to get it working with Ubuntu 10.04 - these indicate that I simply need to connect the phone to the netbook by the USB cable, and it should be plain sailing from there. However, although the output of lsusb indicates that the phone is recognised as a USB device, in both mass storage and PC suite modes, and Ubuntu offers to play audio files and display photos in mass storage mode, the modem isn't recognised in PC suite mode. Is there something fundamental that I'm overlooking, or is it a hardware problem in the phone (in which case I'll be back to the Nokia shop...)? If anyone has been down this road and can offer suggestions, I'd be very grateful. Thanks in advance Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] Nokia N900 as a tethered modem using the USB cable
On 17/08/10 14:47, Ian Park wrote: I bought a Nokia N900 a few months ago after seeing the views of various people on this list when I asked about smart phones with keyboards. I'll be going away to (very) foreign parts next month, and I'd like to use the N900 as a modem tethered to my netbook via the USB cable (before you ask, I find the keyboard and screen of the N900 too small for more than occasional use, notwithstanding the fact that it has email client, web browser, ...). I've tried following the Howtos to get it working with Ubuntu 10.04 - these indicate that I simply need to connect the phone to the netbook by the USB cable, and it should be plain sailing from there. However, although the output of lsusb indicates that the phone is recognised as a USB device, in both mass storage and PC suite modes, and Ubuntu offers to play audio files and display photos in mass storage mode, the modem isn't recognised in PC suite mode. Is there something fundamental that I'm overlooking, or is it a hardware problem in the phone (in which case I'll be back to the Nokia shop...)? If anyone has been down this road and can offer suggestions, I'd be very grateful. Thanks in advance Ian As a follow-up to this, it seems that the modem in my N900 is (sort of) working, because when I hooked the phone up to my 'doze XP box (which I keep for ill-behaved hardware such as my TomTom sat nav, which refuses to do updates on a Linux box) and installed the Nokia PC suite, I was able to establish a 3G connection with a reported speed of about 460kbit/s. However on both my Linux laptops (both running Ubuntu 10.04), the behaviour is as described above. Ironically, I've just tried hooking up the N900 to my Linux desktop, and the wizard to set up a mobile broadband connection just sailed through and established the connection with no trouble. I've just used it to send this email... Ian -- Ian Park email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Printers
I can second that - I use Brother HL-5270DN, which does PostScript emulation and duplex printing. Bought it through Amazon; the only small wrinkle is that it came from France, but they supplied a UK mains lead for it as well as the continental one. Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- On 16/07/10 10:26, Chris. Aubrey-Smith wrote: On 16 July 2010 10:19, James Courtier-Dutton james.dut...@gmail.com mailto:james.dut...@gmail.com wrote: Hi, I have a requirement for a Laser Duplex printer with Ethernet network interface. The last time I brought a printer was about 10 years ago. The previous one was a HP LaserJet 4L. Does anyone have any recommendations? Kind Regards James -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk mailto:Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- I'm on my second Brother laser printer, the previous one having lasted eleven years: excellent! The current model is an HL-5250. Highly recommended. Chris. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] On-line Banking (Not entirely O.T.)
Hmmm, Smile (the Co-op internet bank) are even more confusing: if you grab a recent items statement, that comes with the most recent at the top; if you grab a complete statement (when Smile thinks a page is full), that comes with the most recent at the bottom. Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- On 15/07/10 12:32, Chris. Aubrey-Smith wrote: Hi, all! I thought my recent experiences with Lloyds TSB might be of interest. Last Tuesday, Lloyds changed their on-line banking system. The most noticeable change is that statements now appear upside-down, with the latest transaction at the top. For those of us who were brought up to perform arithmetic starting at the top of the page and working down this seems very odd. For people like me, who monitor their finances on a spreadsheet, it's a nuisance. Now I have to compare an entry at the top of one list with an entry at the bottom of the other and work through the two records in different directions. Worse was to come: For years, I have downloaded a CSV file and used a few simple Perl routines to conduct various analyses. Now, I was under the impression that the CSV file is a standard format for transferring data between spreadsheets. The Lloyds CSV files are now also upside-down, so a straightforward transfer is no longer possible and additional (manual) work is needed. I was getting quite cross by this stage, so I tried to telephone the bank to let them have the benefit of my opinion on the unnecessary problems they had created. After struggling through their horrendous telephone security system and (inevitably) waiting in a queue, I spoke to someone who declared herself unaware of any changes and promptly dumped the connection. Anger rising, I tried again. This time, the lady admitted that she had no idea what I was talking about, but gave me a number 'for people having problems with the new system'. Aha! On 'phoning this number and finding myself talking to someone who clearly *did* understand what I was talking about, I was blithely informed that there was no problem, since I could buy a piece of software which would turn the CSV files back the right way up. Through clenched teeth, I asked why customers should suddenly find it necessary to do this and, incidentally, which operating system would this piece of proprietary software require..? I gave up after that, but a few days later I received a note stating 'I'm pleased to send you the information we talked about.' The enclosure was a booklet about banking by telephone. Chris. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] 3g dongles (Was: Re: GPS Dongle recommendations)
Andy Smith wrote: Hi, On Thu, May 20, 2010 at 04:35:28PM +, Stuart Biggs wrote: has anyone been able to get those internet dongle working with ubuntu? My Huawai E220 as supplied by 3 has worked in every version of Ubuntu I tried it on, out of the box, since Hardy. I wouldn't go with 3 these days though. Cheers, Andy My 2p worth: I have a Huawei 3G dongle supplied by Vodafone (bought through Amazon for GBP25 including GBP15 of call credit) - you can download Linux driver software for it from the Vodafone Betavine website. It works fine with Ubuntu Karmic (haven't tried it with Lucid yet). Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] 32- or 64-bit distro?
Chris Smith wrote: Hi all, I've just received a new work laptop (Lenovo T400) on which I am about to install the new Ubuntu 10.04. This is the first machine I've had which is 64-bit capable, so I'm not up to speed on the current state of 64-bit distros. I'm trying to decide whether I should install the 32- or 64-bit version. What is the current thinking on the relative merits for a laptop machine? The laptop will be used for the usual office stuff (Writer, Calc, email and web) and software/hardware development -- no heavy number crunching. Are there any known problems or difficulties with 64-bit distros? (Last I heard, things like Flash were a problem?) What about running 32-bit guests in a 64-bit VirtualBox host, is that going to cause issues? Thanks for any advice, Chris Hi all My two pennyworth on this is that the 64-bit version of Ubuntu runs with no significant problems for me; those web sites which use Flash display after a bit of fiddling... I run a 32-bit version of Windows XP Pro in VirtualBox to support my scanner and the admin interface for my wireless access points (ironic that one of them, which is running some sort of Linux, still insists on Internet Explorer to let me use the web admin interface :S ). HTH Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Whatever happened to programming? (O.T?)
Lisi wrote: On Sunday 21 March 2010 21:16:30 Chris. Aubrey-Smith wrote: Rather making a plea for a return to the principle of simplicity, which I was taught was the essence of good programming. We had to keep it taut and simple - we had so little memory available. Elegance wasn't purely for elegance's sake: it was a necessity!! Lisi brag How about a telephone switching system (PABX) supporting 120 extensions + 24 exchange lines, with the complete control program consisting of 128KB of code running on an 8085 - the OS (which I looked after) was 6KB of hand-crafted assembly language code... /brag Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] Smartphones with keyboards
Bob Dunlop wrote: To answer Bob Dunlop's question: when I'm away from home I like to use my Aspire One to keep up with email and possibly a bit of web browsing, so I want to be able to use a mobile phone as a 3G/GPRS modem (as I do If that's all why carry the Aspire ? more or less what I use my N900 for. For browsing the builtin browser works fine for me, copes well with things like utube. You can download firefox if you like but I prefer the builtin. For email, well I ssh to home and run mutt. Seems like a Luddite solution but both Mutt and nvi work well with the N900 terminal display and keyboard. The simple answer to that is that my eyesight isn't what it used to be, and I prefer a decent-sized screen and keyboard most of the time, though I could cope with the Blackberry-sized ones occasionally. Using ssh to a machine at home also presupposes that the home machine is running - when we go away for a while I prefer to shut everything down, to save power consumption... Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] [OT] Smartphones with keyboards
I'm looking around for a phone to replace my current model, a Sony Ericsson v630i. I'd like one with a keyboard a la Blackberry; it's also important for me that I can use it as a modem for my laptop netbook (both of which run Ubuntu). There's no constraint about which operator it's tied to; in fact I want one that *isn't* tied to an operator (it would take a long time to explain...). Can anyone with experience of such a machine suggest which models would be worth researching further please? Thanks Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Useful utility - regionset
Stephen Rowles wrote: Keith Edmunds wrote: On Sat, 06 Feb 2010 11:34:16 +, step...@rowles.org.uk said: vendor resets available: 4 user controlled changes resets available: 4 Be aware of what this means: you can only change the region five times in total, then that's it, it will stay in the last region set. Rumour has it that the change count can be hacked, but I've no experience of that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD_region_code#Computer_DVD_drives Yeah, I know there are only 4 resets available.. but seeing as I was unable to watch the dvd at all, and I only own region 2 dvd's, it seemed like a good idea to me :). Given the pretty low cost of DVD drives, this looks like a reason for having two drives, one of which can be set to region 1 and the other to region 2... Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Ubuntu ( Other) users beware
I've been involved in technical advice in patent litigation for a while, and the tactic which is usually employed to deal with silly patents like that is to wait until the patent holder sues for infringement and then to present obvious prior art as the defence, to have the patent declared invalid. Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- Tim Brocklehurst wrote: On Wednesday 11 November 2009 16:51:46 Stephen Davies wrote: Microsoft has patented 'sudo' Arrgghhh! WTF? etc etc etc http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2009094923390 Stephen D I must admit I read about these new patents with a degree of amusement. It's a bit of a last-gasp effort isn't it? Tim B. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Americanisations (Was: Bad Karma)
Jack Knight wrote: Jim Kissel wrote: Chris Aitken wrote: Sean, Whats with this my bad. We are NOT AMERICANS... I've been living in the USA for a year or so. This example is way down on the list of annoyingizations of the language :) The one that gets me is Herbs, pronounced Erbs, and yet the ability to pronounce the letter H as Haitch. As a Connecticut Yankee in King Arther's Court, well actually an ex, as I've just moved back to the USA, it's Hews-ton Texas, not Whos-ton ... unless of course you happen to be in SoHo New York, which means South of Houston, but is pronounced HOWS-TON. Calling it Hews-ton is to a New Yorker like an American calling Leicester Square Lie-Sester Square to us. ;^)= On the subject of Haitch, my Dublin born Irish wife will gladly inform you that Irish kids are taught to say it that way in school, as well as pronouncing R as ORR. jfk (Also in the USA at the moment) My two-penn'orth: the pronunciation of nuclear as if it were spelled nucular grate Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Printers
Leo wrote: I'm thinking of getting a printer and was just wondering if anyone could recommend a make that works easily and well with Linux (Ubuntu). Thanks, Leo I have a Brother HL-5270DN - Postscript emulation, automatic double-sided printing and an Ethernet interface - works fine on my home network with both Ubuntu and Windoze machines. Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] [OT] Recommendations for email hosting?
Hello all I recall seeing several threads on the subject of ISPs and web hosting providers, but my need is a bit different. I have a domain (chalmers-park.name) hosted by 1and1.co.uk, with email service only (no web hosting) for email addresses which our family use. Recently I've had some grief when I tried to use 1and1's SMTP server to send email to addresses on a particular domain (st-nicolas-newbury.org) - that's the domain for our local church, and I'm secretary of the PCC. After much repeated explanation to the technical support people at 1and1, it emerged that 1and1 are excessively picky about checking the mapping between domain name and IP address for mail servers with which they're asked to interwork - they pray in aid RFC2181 section 10.3. The advice from the operator of the mail servers for st-nicolas-newbury.org is that although 1and1 are correct that RFC2181 requires this behaviour, the RFC is unreasonably strict, and 1and1 are the only operator which does this check. Which brings me to my question: based on your experiences with different email hosts, can you recommend an outfit to switch to when my contract comes up for renewal in February next year? I pay 1and1 around £20 a year for the domain name registration and email hosting, and I'd prefer not to see a steep increase... Thanks in advance for any advice Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 email: i.d.c.p...@ntlworld.com -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] Subject: Re: A sad day...
AdamC kab...@gmail.com wrote: I've prepared a USB stick with UNR on it, but have been put off by the wireless problems (according to some reports, the wireless needs some work on the kernel). This has put me off as I need to install it when I have a lot of time to fix it. Anyone had a go at this? Adam -- I've done something similar - not on an Eee 901, but on an Aspire One with 1GB RAM and 16GB SSD. Following the article in Linux Format a while back (issue 118), I thought it should work out of the box but wireless networking didn't... Some digging on the Ubuntu forums showed that I needed to blacklist a couple of modules and install linux-backports-modules-jaunty to get wireless working, and indeed it did. Clearly, you will probably need to do something different with an Eee 901, but you may find some clues at [1]. HTH Ian [1] http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=65606 -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 GSM: +44 (0)7785 300290 email: i...@chalmers-park.name -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] [hardware] RAID5 - hardware or software based?
I recently decided to upgrade my main desktop machine from a 2-disk RAID0 array (2 x 320GB) to a 4-disk RAID5 array (4 x 320GB). I already have / on a separate 150GB drive, so there are no concerns about trying to boot from the RAID setup. So far, I've taken the cheap route and run all the drives from the SATA ports on the motherboard (a Tyan Thunder, with 2 x 2GHz Opteron dual core processors and a total of 8GB RAM). I've been doing some scratching around, wondering whether to splash out on a hardware RAID controller to take the load of managing the RAID5 array off the CPU(s); most of the RAID controllers I've found have been either not really hardware RAID controllers (e.g. the LSI Logic 8204) or rather expensive (e.g. the Adaptec 3405 and up). Does anyone have any experience of using software-based RAID5 and/or a real hardware RAID controller which they'd like to share, please? Thanks in advance Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 GSM: +44 (0)7785 300290 email: i...@chalmers-park.name -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [hardware] RAID5 - hardware or software, based?
On Mon, 18 May 2009 11:21:14 +0100 Bob Dunlop wrote: 8-- Been running a 4 drive software RAID5 at work for a couple of years now on a 2.4GHz Intel Core2 processor. The software overhead hasn't been noticeable so I guess you'd have no problems either. SATA x4 straight off the motherboard. 8-- Ah, thanks, that's very reassuring - I won't bother to spend the money on an Adaptec controller then! I notice that Adaptec recommend that you *don't* use desktop drives with the 3405, because (to paraphrase) they're not good enough - you should use enterprise class drives, which rather contradicts the inexpensive part of the RAID acronym... Cheers Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 GSM: +44 (0)7785 300290 email: i...@chalmers-park.name -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
Philip Stubbs [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip With the recent proliferation of netbooks, it seems strange to me that they seem to have such a short life on batteries. For something that is designed to be used on the move, I would want it to work all day. In fact, my wife has a very good use for such a device, but it would only be really useful if it had at least a six hour life. All my wife wants to do is take notes. However changing batteries multiple times, is really not ideal. Does anybody know of a netbook style device that can operate for this sort of time? It only really needs a to be just big enough to have a reasonable size keyboard to make it useful. /snip For note taking, with a decent size keyboard and a good battery life, you'll do a lot worse than a Psion Series 7 or Netbook. I still have a Netbook - sold my Series 7 recently on ebay for £84. It would be worth a look there. I know they're *discontinued*, but I'd be prepared to argue about *obsolete*. The Psion has several other virtues, including instant on, built in word processor, spreadsheet, ... and lots of free (as in beer) software available on the web. The Series 7 is easily upgradable to a Netbook, which supports several wireless network cards - I use an Orinoco Wavelan Gold (also bought on ebay), which supports 802.11b and 128 bit WEP (not the latest and greatest wireless technology, but it works! HTH Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 GSM: +44 (0)7785 300290 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] CD device with mono audio out
On Fri, 7 Nov 2008 22:51:09 + Tim wrote 8 Not sure why I did not think of it to start with but Maplins have the adpaptor I need http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=1227 3.5mm Stereo plug to 3.5mm mono socket Looks like I will be visiting my local Maplins this weekend. Tim 8 Yes, Maplin are very useful for odd bits like that. I had exactly the converse of your requirement - I wanted to transfer some *Betamax* tapes on to DVD, and the video player I acquired on Ebay had a mono audio output to an RCA socket. Maplin supplied a Y adaptor to replicate the audio output to two RCA sockets, to which I could connect the lead to the line in of my sound card, and for good measure they also supplied the adaptor to let me plug an RCA plug for the video into the BNC socket on the video! Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 GSM: +44 (0)7785 300290 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
