Re: [GTALUG] Advice -- Building Debian 8 PC To Replace Win XP PC;

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Mon, 25 Jul 2016 11:49:41 -0400
Giles Orr via talk  wrote:
> 
> My suggestions:
> - build it yourself.  If you're comfortable mucking around inside a
> PC, you already have the skills.  From my first build I think the only
> thing that got somewhat alarming was having to get and apply thermal
> paste to the main processor, and getting the clips on the processor in
> place.  It's a very good way to get to know the PC, and you'll do a
> better build than any paid tech because it's _yours_.
> - if you really need the dial-up modem, install it (although I suspect
> Linux support is poor - check it thoroughly).  Otherwise, don't bother
> with it.
> - you didn't mention a video card.  If the motherboard has one onboard
> and you're planning to use that, the power supply sounds like overkill
> (even given the later addition of SCSI stuff ... which I'd suggest
> avoiding if you can, it's another justifiably dying breed like the
> modem).  Buy a smaller capacity (500W?) and better power supply ...
> although I admit I'm going on years-old memories, EVGA wasn't one of
> the best suppliers "back in the day".  Something for you to research a
> bit more perhaps.
> - BluRay support on Linux is ... limited.  You can probably use it for
> backup, but you won't be able to play back commercial movies.  You
> might use it under Windows.
> - go with 16G of memory if you can afford it: it's not critical, but
> you'll probably enjoy it - and it will help a lot with running VMs.
> But it's also the easiest thing to upgrade later.

Giles,

   I have a BluRay burner here.  It did not play my Game of Thrones BluRay 
disk.  It does an excellent job of backups.  The BluRay disks are cheap.  When 
I replaced my motherboard, the new AMD processor had the thermal paste on it.  
I just installed the thing as per the instructions.  

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Re: [GTALUG] What Not To Backup

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Fri, 23 Dec 2016 12:11:15 -0500
John Moniz via talk  wrote:

> Hi everyone,
> 
> I'm backing up my system on a more regular basis and am trying to fine 
> tune the files that I backup. I am looking for advice on what NOT to 
> bother to backup on the /home directory.

John,

   I back up my entire /home directory every night.  I also back up /etc, /root 
and /usr/local, but very much less frequently.  My backup device is a 4TB hard 
drive.  Periodically, I burn my /home backup to Blu-ray.  If I have to recover 
something, I use my latest backup.  I have written a backup script that uses 
tar.  

   KISS. 

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Re: [GTALUG] Shopping for barebone PC

[Howard Gibson via talk]

Evan,

   I picked up an Acer Extensa from Canada Computes for around $350.  It sits 
on the shelf behind my TV. It works fine as an email, web browsing and YouTube 
and Netflix platform.  It appears to be a laptop board enclosed in a box, with 
a laptop style power supply, but no battery.  It came with a keyboard, but no 
mouse or monitor.  

   It has Windows installed on it.  The only problem I have had installing 
Linux (Fedora_24) is getting the Windows to dual boot.  I have not figured this 
out yet.

On Mon, 17 Apr 2017 12:54:32 -0400
Evan Leibovitch via talk  wrote:

> Hi there.
> 
> I will probably be shopping for a new barebone PC system in the neatr
> future. I'm looking for recommendations for both a barebones model and the
> best CPU for it.
> 
> Intended OS is Linux Mint, Main uses are for browsing (Chromium), Samba
> client and video conversion using Handbrake. Most files will be on a
> server, in fact the new system could get by with just a minimal-sized SSD.
> 
> Also appreciated is a link to anywhere that would tell me, at any given
> moment, the current state/generation of Intel processors to help the
> shopping process.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> -- 
> Evan Leibovitch
> Toronto, Canada
> 
> Em: evan at telly dot org
> Sk: evanleibovitch
> Tw: el56


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Re: [GTALUG] hoping for help

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Fri, 14 Jul 2017 22:23:05 -0300
Ann Pohl via talk  wrote:

> Hi. Anyone want to do their bit for the environment by helping me get
> set up? I am not wanting to be an OS computer whiz. I have a full plate
> already doing environmental protection'defense work-activism, and being
> a grandmother etc.. 
> 
> ...I am currently shopping for a new not-fancy computer and need some
> recommendations on which would be best for installing Linux-Ubuntu in a
> dual boot, and I also need an affordable technician to help me do that
> when I get the computer. 
> 
> Usually I am in eastern NB but am in the GTA for the summer. I have
> technical support down there, but not up here. My kids are buying me a
> new computer and I need some guidance. I use the Linux - Ubuntu side
> mostly for my work because it deals with a lot of security issues.  
> 
> Thanks for considering this request. Ann Pohl 

Ann,

   I post my Linux installation instructions on my website.  Installing
Linux is not difficult.  I run mostly Fedora, but I have installed
Ubuntu and Slackware, and my instructions are up there.  Being able to
install your own OS is good.  It keeps your computer out of the hands
of repair technicians. 

   As a note to everybody else, it would be a good  thing if we all
posted install instructions.  It will be a resource for all the newbies
out there.

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[GTALUG] MBR and GTP Drives

[Howard Gibson via talk]

   I am now completing my most difficult Linux install ever.  My old hard drive 
with / and /home and /usr/local on it has died.  My new 2TB drive was formatted 
for GTP.  The Fedora installer warned me that GTP drives requre a /boot/efi 
partition.  Regardless of how I partitioned, the system would not boot.  I 
converted the drive to MBR format.  The best I could get was to see the 
available kernels.  It would not boot.  I got fed up and I bought another new 
drive, and everything installed and booted effortlessly.  

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 Version~1.1. (Version 3.0 supports GTP)
New drive:Western Digital 2000GB SATA WD2003FZEX-0.
Newer drive:  Seagate ``Desktop HDD'' 2TB SATA. ST2000DM001-1ER1

   From fdisk, I could see that the Western Digital drive was GTP.  The new 
Seagate drive identified itself as "dos", which means it is MBR.  Best Buy 
offered me a newer Seagate at a slightly lower price but one is claimed 
explicity to support Linux, and it supports some older protocols.  When I told 
the people at the store I wanted MBR, not GTP, they just stared at me.

   The Western Digital drive works.  It just does not work as a boot drive.  I 
now have an /archive file system.

   I put my install instructions up on my website in the hopes that I am 
helping newbies.  I am trying to make sense of all this.  Right now, I figure 
if you have an old computer with an old hard drive that works, you should be 
able to install Linux.  If you have a new (GTP) system that works, you should 
be able to intall Linux on it.  If you have an old clunker and the hard drive 
dies, look out!

   Is this a Seagate versus Western Digital issue, or is my WD drive flakey?  
Can anybody make sense of all this?  I would like to write this up as a useful 
document.  

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Re: [GTALUG] MBR and GTP Drives

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sun, 8 Oct 2017 12:47:41 -0400 (EDT)
"D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk" <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:

> | From: Howard Gibson via talk <talk@gtalug.org>
> 
> It is "GUID Partition Table" -- GPT, not GTP.  Nit picky, I know, but it 
> might affect your success googling.

   Oops.  My bad.  It is GPT in my notes.
> 
> | Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 Version~1.1. (Version 3.0 supports GTP)
> 
> The right way of thinking aout it is: does the motherboard have UEFI
> firmware.  GPT is a consequence.
> ...
> So: I conclude that your MB, being Version 1.1, does NOT have UEFI.
> Perhaps Versions and Revisions are different things and I've got it
> wrong.

  My MoBo has "Version 1.1" printed on one corner of the board.  I am a 
mechanical designer (with training in UNIX administration).  I prepare 
engineering drawings. I would call this a Revision.  The MIL and ASME standard 
recommend revision letters, not numbers.  Manufacturers use whatever 
terminology they please.  Definitely, this is hardware. 

> I would have thought that a firmware update could have fixed this, but
> apparently not.
> 
> | New drive:Western Digital 2000GB SATA WD2003FZEX-0.
> | Newer drive:  Seagate ``Desktop HDD'' 2TB SATA. ST2000DM001-1ER1
> 
> (You had problems with the WD drive but not the Seagate.)
> 
> If I remember correctly, MBR tops out at 2T.  So GPT is a good choice,
> but not required.
> 
> Then there is the issue of sector size.  As drives got to this size,
> they started making sectors larger than 512 bytes.  Or rather they
> made these sector sizes visible to some extent.  There were a lot of
> games with how much they were willing to fake 512 byte sectors for the
> sake of old BIOSes and old OSes.
> 
> The ST2000DM001-1ER1 has 4K sectors but that it will emulate 512-byte
> sectors.
> <http://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/support/docs/manual/desktop/Barracuda%207200.14/100686584.pdf>
> 
> It is not as clear what the WD drive does about sector size.
> <http://products.wdc.com/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-771434.pdf>
> <https://superuser.com/questions/1021574/difference-between-wd2003fzex-and-wd2003fyps-wd-desktop-hdds>
> That says "Advanced Format (AF): Yes".
> "Advanced Format" is Western Digital's term for 4K sectors.
> 
> I don't know how to get the WD to emulate 512-byte sectors so that a
> BIOS could boot from it.  I would expect it to be able to work
> somehow.
> 
> If you are booting from an MBR-based system, I'm pretty sure you need
> that 512-byte emulation.
> 
> The transition to 4k sectors was a mess.  The disk manufacturers tried
> to paper it over and just created more complexity.  And they explained
> little, leaving us to learn from experimentation just what was going
> on.  I've forgotten much of what I did learn.
> 
> |I am now completing my most difficult Linux install ever.  My old 
> | hard drive with / and /home and /usr/local on it has died.  My new 2TB 
> | drive was formatted for GTP.  The Fedora installer warned me that GTP 
> | drives requre a /boot/efi partition.
> 
> I don't think that that is the case.
> 
> If you are booting using UEFI, you surely need a /boot/efi (an EFI
> System Partition).  But your motherboard is incapable of booting with
> UEFI.

   I added a 4TB drive to my Fedora system a few years ago.  This was and is a 
backup device.  I do not install the OS onto it.  The hardware replacement 
simply worked.  I formatted it and mounted it.  When I upgraded to a new 
Fedora, the install program insisted I needed a /boot/efi partition for the new 
GPT system.  This is in spite of my old MBR system drive.  I unplugged the 4TB 
GPT drive.  I installed then I plugged it in again.  Everything works fine.  
This may be a glitch in the Fedora install.

> |  Regardless of how I partitioned, 
> | the system would not boot.  I converted the drive to MBR format.  The 
> | best I could get was to see the available kernels.  It would not boot.  
> 
> Do you know whether the sectors looked to be 512 bytes to the BIOS?
> To the Fedora installer?

  No I don't...

[root@Rev ~]# fdisk /dev/sda  <<<<< My new Seagate system drive
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 1.8 TiB, 2000398934016 bytes, 3907029168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xdf4e0a6e

Device Boot  StartEndSectors   Size Id Type
/dev/sda1 2048 2343751679 2343749632   1.1T 83 Linux
/dev/sda2   2343751680 3398438911 1054687232 502.9G 83 Linux
/dev/sda3  *3398438912 3789062143  390623232 186.3G 83 Linux
/dev/sda4   3789062144 3907028991  117

Re: [GTALUG] NOT: Re: From BTRFS to what?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

Alvin,

   The bright sun is not the best place to put a heat sink.  

   How many Watts are we talking about here, and what sort of budget do you 
have?  Can the system be too cold?

On Wed, 6 Sep 2017 09:06:41 -0400
Alvin Starr via talk  wrote:

> Wow. got into a bit of a snitfest with dhaval.giani over this one.
> 
> Now to the completely unrelated part.
> 
> I have been thinking about a project and I would like to bounce it off you.
> 
> A client came to me asking about helping him setup an Etherium mining 
> server pool.
> 
> This got me thinking.
> 
> In its simplest sense the process is power in . ETH out.
> The biggest cost is power then cooling to get rid of all the head from 
> the GPU's.
> 
> What if you glue a GPU with very little extra hardware to the back of a 
> solar panel.
> Stick it out in the sun and let it calculate 8-10 hours a day.
> Put a big heat sink on the GPU and it should be able to stay cool enough 
> just from air cooling
> 
> Take a few thousand of these and set them out in a sunny place and you 
> would have a coin generator.
> Once the hardware is paid for then the operational cost would be close 
> to 0 but for some glass cleaner and rags.
> 
> They would need to be networked together but it does not have to be high 
> speed.
> It could be a low power mesh to an edge that connects via something as 
> simple as cell phone data.
> 
> Solar panels cost about $1/watt and there is no ongoing cost but power 
> here costs about $0.08-0.16/KWH.
> On the face of it there is a 3 year payback for the power but if you add 
> in 30% extra power to run cooling and the building costs for housing the 
> mining pool.
> 
> 
> Am I crazy?
> 
> -- 
> Alvin Starr   ||   land:  (905)513-7688
> Netvel Inc.   ||   Cell:  (416)806-0133
> al...@netvel.net  ||
> 
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Re: [GTALUG] Dead DVD drive in laptop

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 17:02:38 -0400 (EDT)
"Chris F.A. Johnson via talk"  wrote:

> 
> The DVD drive on my Dell Inspiron laptop has died.
> 
> I see three options:
> 
> 1. Get it fixed
> 2. Replace it
> 3. Ignore it and get an external DVD

Chris,

   Replace it with a Blu-Ray.  You should be able to manage backups with 25GB.

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[GTALUG] Fedora 26 Wonky Screen

[Howard Gibson via talk]

   I have just installed Fedora 26 on my desktop.  I logged into Gnome_3.  I 
opened a couple of terminals and logged in as root to set my system up.  I 
launched Firefox.  All of my screen colours went completely wonky.  I was doing 
a system update (dnf update) when all this happened.

   I am installing FVWM but it did not launch.  Classic Gnome seems to be 
working okay but I am being cautious.  

   Has anyone else experienced this?

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Re: [GTALUG] Brand-name desktop recommendation?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

William,

   I did not know that HP had a quality problem.  I regularly tell people I 
hate Hewlett Packard printers.  The printer paper must pass over a roller at 
the back, which seems to be quite a bend in the paper.  This works fine with 
paper, but it is not reliable at printing heavier material like business card 
stock or photo paper.  Otherwise, my HP6940 works fine.

On Fri, 10 Nov 2017 23:58:11 -0500
William Park via talk  wrote:

> I've been asked by few people about which desktop to buy.  They are
> technical enough to swap components, but definitely don't have time to
> troubleshoot.  They have more important things to do.  So, I said any
> brand, new or refurbished, except HP.
> 
> Things may have changed, and HP may be good now.  Which brand would you
> recommend for desktop computer for business people?
> -- 
> William Park 
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[GTALUG] C64 Stuff

[Howard Gibson via talk]

   I am cleaning out my basement so that I can get a new furnace installed.  I 
have all sorts of books on Commodore_64s that I have no use for.  I have the 
C64, but I am keeping that.  

   Does anybody out there have a use for old C64 books, or is this stuff 
landfill?

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Re: [GTALUG] Fedora 27 packagekit reboot and install glitch

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 16 May 2018 19:48:31 -0400
Russell via talk  wrote:

> After installing some recent F27 updates using the gnome software centre, the 
> package kit watchdog has stopped exiting gracefully on an install routine. 
> This happened after I chose to enable the recommended updates.

...

Russel,

   I am having problems with dnf too.  I have upgraded my two primary computers 
to Fedora_27.  Overall, I am happy with it, but I find that install orders to 
dnf fail a lot.  Usually, they work when I run them again.  This is not much 
help when my cron job tries to do an update.

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Re: [GTALUG] Fedora Netinstall

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sat, 10 Feb 2018 15:44:24 -0500
Bob Jonkman via talk  wrote:

> 
> Are there any down sides to using a 32-bit machine as a web- or mail
> server? I'm thinking low power consumption,  make that an
> attractive alternate use.

Bob,

   This machine works fine for the stuff I do with it.  It would be nice to 
have Chrome, to play Netflix, but I don't travel much.  I have the means of 
accessing Netflix at home.

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Re: [GTALUG] Fedora Netinstall

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sat, 10 Feb 2018 21:15:57 +
Giles Orr via talk  wrote:
> 
> 
> I'm reading all of this with some interest: I tried a Fedora Net Install
> about four months back.  And I appear to be the only person on this list
> who had a problem with it.  Specifically, I got to the page where you have
> to fill in details about your system and users (I think, I'm doing this
> from memory) and couldn't proceed further despite having filled in the
> details because the installer was having a hard time either getting the
> list of mirrors or finding a responsive mirror (I think it was the
> former).  The result was a ten minute delay, despite my having a fully
> functional network connection.  A bit of research at the time seemed to
> indicate that this was an uncommon but not unheard-of problem with the Net
> Installer.  It left me strongly inclined to make the big ISO download ...
> 
> -- 
> Giles
> https://www.gilesorr.com/
> giles...@gmail.com

Giles,

   I have now updated my website install notes.  I state in them that the 
documentation sucks, and that all the default values work fine.  I did not fill 
in the repository window.

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Re: [GTALUG] Fedora Netinstall

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sat, 10 Feb 2018 10:49:08 -0500 (EST)
"D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk" <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:

> | From: Howard Gibson via talk <talk@gtalug.org>
> 
> |I have just upgraded my 32-bit laptop to Fedora 27.  The install DVD 
> |is no longer available for 32-bit.  I had to do a Netinstall.  
> 
> Interesting.  What laptop is it?  I would think that most 32-bit only 
> laptops are not really useful any longer.
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Hugh,

  Lenovo T400.  It is my away-from-home machine, and still seems fast enough.

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[GTALUG] Fedora Netinstall

[Howard Gibson via talk]

   I have just upgraded my 32-bit laptop to Fedora 27.  The install DVD is no 
longer available for 32-bit.  I had to do a Netinstall.  Netinstall is poorly 
documented, but the default settings all work, I was able to select the 
software I wanted, and it has all worked very well.  I think I actually prefer 
Netinstall to the DVD.  

   Has anyone else out there played with this?

   I have not yet updated my website notes.

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Re: [GTALUG] Fedora Netinstall

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 14 Feb 2018 13:17:59 -0500
Bob Jonkman via talk  wrote:

> -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-
> Hash: SHA1
> 
> Howard wrote:
> > I have now updated my website install notes.  I state in them that
> the documentation sucks, and that all the default values work fine.  I
> did not fill in the repository window.
> 
> Pretty good notes, Howard!
> 
> http://home.eol.ca/~hgibson/Lenovo/
> 
> - --Bob.

Bob,

   Thanks.

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Re: [GTALUG] "Nobody" Problem

[Howard Gibson via talk]

Stephen,

   I have used the sticky bit for this in the past.

   You can set up a cron job that searches for new files, and that changes the 
owner and permissions.

On Sun, 5 Aug 2018 17:22:04 -0400
Stephen via talk  wrote:

> I have a share on Ubuntu Linux.
> 
>  From Windows copy files to the share.
> 
> Files have owner of "Nobody"
> 
> How do I have them default to the owner of the Public directory?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> -- 
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[GTALUG] Home Partitions

[Howard Gibson via talk]

   I have some time on my hands. :(

   I am doing some website updates, including some Linux install instructions I 
have posted.  I have an old 32_bit laptop here which is now a playtoy upon 
which I can install anything I want.  I have just installed Ubuntu, minus all 
the customization I normally do.  Ubuntu's default install is to place root and 
/home all on the same partition.  My default behaviour is to separate them.  I 
want to be able to blow away the operating system and install something else, 
without disturbing /home.  I want to post notes to non-technical new users, and 
make things as simple as possible.  

   What do all of you out there think of separate /home partions.  Necessary?  
Not necessary? 

   Installing a new OS on a Ubuntu box means backing up and recovering /home.  
How reliably upgradable is Ubuntu?  

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Re: [GTALUG] Specific question about mailing list management

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 25 Jul 2018 00:30:58 -0400
Evan Leibovitch via talk  wrote:

> Hi all.
> 
> This question is asked of anyone who administers a mailing list about
> policies. I'm setting up a campaign-based mailing system using phplist (as
> opposed to a forum-type MLM such as Mailman) and I'm interested to know
> what policies or best practices you might have in place to address this
> specific question:
> 
> When a list subscriber goes to a link to change their preferences or
> unsubscribe, from what email address does the confirmation (for changes) or
> "sorry to see you go" message (for unsubscriptions) originate.
> 
> Does such administrative email come from:
> a) an identifiable member or the organization's staff?
> b) a postmaster-type alias?
> c) a do-not-reply address?
> 
> ​Any feedback is appreciated.​

Evan,

   I run a website and email list for a hiking club.  I do everything
manually.  A do-not-reply address is good when you don't want people
replying to you.  If you want replies, you need to provide a meaningful
address.

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Re: [GTALUG] Specific question about mailing list management

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 25 Jul 2018 10:08:47 -0400
Evan Leibovitch via talk  wrote:

> The dangers of doing this wrong now go beyond RBLs in the era of CASL and
> GDPR. Organizations are being fined.
> 
> One thing that is now part of best practices (ours at least) is to have as
> the very first paragraph of all mailings, a "You are receiving this because
> [...]" statement along with references to the list management and
> unsubscribe links below.

Evan,

   My manual system has an unsubscribe paragraph in the template.  I
had an interesting incident a couple of years ago.  Someone emailed and
asked to be removed from my list.  I emailed back that they were not on
my list.  It turned out they had an email alias that was on my list.  

   It helps if a human keeps an eye on this stuff.  I don't think I
have had problems with the authorities.  I have unsubscribe
instructions, and two email addresses with notes on how often they are
checked.

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Re: [GTALUG] Ubuntu -- Disabling Ping

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Thu, 30 Aug 2018 12:10:08 -0400
James Knott via talk  wrote:

> How much security do you think you'll get in that coffee shop?  I also
> have a notebook computer that has a firewall running, even when on my
> home network, behind a firewall.

James,

   I expect no security at a coffee shop.  This is not a case of disable ping 
OR run the firewall.  I am running the firewall.  All the ports I can close are 
closed.

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Re: [GTALUG] Ubuntu -- Disabling Ping

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Thu, 30 Aug 2018 12:24:31 -0300
Mauro Souza via talk  wrote:

> You don't need to disable ping on your internal network, only at the
> router. Because of NAT, nobody can really ping your internal system.
> 
> Try this. Keep ping enabled on your Linux, and in your router, run this on
> Linux:
> 
> sudo tcpdump -i any icmp
> 
> Now go to any "online ping service" and ping your address. I will not spoil
> the result for you.

Mauro,

   I go to http://www.grc.com (Steve Gibson is not a relation as far as I can 
tell) and I run their True Stealth analysis.  My first 1056 ports are closed, 
but it responds to ping.  This is my router.  My desktop behind the router is 
not particularly well locked down.  

   Yes, tcpdump has an interesting output. 

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Re: [GTALUG] Ubuntu -- Disabling Ping

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Thu, 30 Aug 2018 12:04:34 -0400
Alvin Starr via talk  wrote:

> There are other ICMP messages that can be used for probing like 
> timestamp(msg-13).
> All around all disabling ping does for you is to make it harder for your 
> ISP or IT support people to see if you are having network problems and 
> the really really stupid script kiddies trying to probe you.

Alvin,

   I am my ISP and IT support person.  My Fedora laptop cannot be
remotely administered.  I am inconvenienced by this.  If I want to do
something with it, I have to get up and walk to where I have it
stored.  From the laptop, I can administer my desktop, because I have
ssh set up.  My desktop stays behind my firewall.  My laptop gets
exposed.  

   I have been on a commercial site where the Windows laptops were
administered remotely, from somewhere in the USA, I think.  I don't
know how secure they were.  The company did not have particularly nasty
security requirements, i.e. they were not managing people's personal
data, or military secrets.

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Re: [GTALUG] Ubuntu -- Disabling Ping

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Thu, 30 Aug 2018 11:46:42 -0400
James Knott via talk  wrote:

> Also, IPv6 is now being used by many and NAT is discouraged on it.  This
> means that, for example, Rogers customers will have public IPv6
> addresses.  However, given that they have a minimum of 18.4 billion,
> billion addresses to choose from, they're a bit harder to find.
> 
> > Many people do think that depending solely on a firewall for network
> > security is a bad model.  "Crunchy on the outside, soft on the
> > inside."  Every node should be hardened.  But what are you going to do
> > to harden you IoT devices (light bulbs, fridges, settop boxes,
> > thermostats, watches, )?
> >
> Also, relying on NAT for security is a bad idea.  It does nothing that a
> properly configured firewall can't do.

James,

  My regular laptop is a home computer that sits behind a commerical
router most (not all) of the time.  My Ubuntu machine is a generic
computer that could be taken to a coffee shop or more likely a bar, or it
may be plugged directly into a DSL or cable modem.  I am writing up my
instructions on the assumption that the person following them is not a
computer expert.  

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[GTALUG] Ubuntu -- Disabling Ping

[Howard Gibson via talk]

   I am playing with my hack Ubuntu machine, and I am sorting out
security. I want to disable ping.  This is a laptop, and I want to
document the application of aluminium foil.

   The standard ping disabler is the following line...

# echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_all

   This works fine on my Fedora laptop.  On Ubuntu, I get...

$ sudo echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_all
-bash: /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_all: Permission denied

   The file exists.  I can print it with "cat" (it prints "0".  Why can
I not change it?  

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Re: [GTALUG] Ubuntu -- Disabling Ping

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 29 Aug 2018 22:03:52 -0400
Alvin Starr via talk  wrote:
> you could also do the following:
> 
> sudo sysctl net.ipv4.icmp_echo_ignore_all=1

Alvin,

   That's it.  I saw instructions on the internet to update /etc/sysctl.conf, 
but they did it wrong.  Your command line works!

   Thank you. 

   I will be updating my website to show easy install methods for Ubuntu and 
Fedora.

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Re: [GTALUG] Thermal paste availability / Raising the dead

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sun, 8 Jul 2018 15:03:34 -0400
Alex Beamish via talk  wrote:
> 
> It's possible that the CPU might be cooked (I was away during the Final
> Crash), but on the off chance that it just over-heated and shut down (does
> that even happen?), I know I need to clean off the old thermal paste
> (Q-tips and rubbing alcohol) and apply new. Strap the fan back on, power up
> and see if it boots.

Alex,

  Are you able get the heat sink off without removing the CPU?

  Try taking the cover of the computer off and aiming a big ventillation fan at 
it.  

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Re: [GTALUG] Backups with Bacula

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Mon, 29 Oct 2018 15:35:20 -0400
Giles Orr via talk  wrote:

> I used to use a rotating set of 2TB 2.5" external USB hard drives.  None of
> them ever failed on me over about three years use, although three out of
> four they were generally only accessed every week or two.  I've now
> switched to three 4TB 2.5" drives: the heavily used one of those is now
> stuttering (confirming my pre-existing bias against Seagate ... the
> previous set were WD).  The 2.5" spinning drives are somewhat more
> expensive than the 3.5", but they're much smaller - and, important in this
> use case, more built for movement and frequent spin-up/spin-down.

   I have been using an internal 4TB hard drive as my nightly backup.  I am now 
on to my second hard drive.  Periodically, I transfer my backup to a 50GB 
Blu-Ray disk.  Obviously, this constrains my /home partion to an extent that 
may be unacceptable to you.  On a couple of occasasion now, I have pulled out 
months old disks to recover files I unknowingly deleted.  I like to permanently 
archive my backups.  

   I am getting concerned about Blu-Ray burners.  Is there another cheap, high 
capacity medium out there?

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Re: [GTALUG] Ubuntu -- Disabling Ping

[Howard Gibson via talk]

Jamon,

   I am assuming that someone will use ping to search a network for interesting 
stuff.  If the IP address does not respond to ping, the cracker will keep 
searching.  All the other ports are closed too.  The security is not perfect, 
but I am hoping to have escalated things beyond the capabilities of some script 
kiddies.  

On Thu, 30 Aug 2018 08:20:21 -0400
Jamon Camisso via talk  wrote:

> On 29/08/18 21:44, Howard Gibson via talk wrote:
> >I am playing with my hack Ubuntu machine, and I am sorting out
> > security. I want to disable ping.  This is a laptop, and I want to
> > document the application of aluminium foil.
> 
> Could you elaborate a bit about how disabling ICMP enhances security of
> this system? I'm curious what kind of information you're trying to
> control with it off.
> 
> Cheers, Jamon
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Re: [GTALUG] Lenovo ThinkPad Compact Bluetooth Keyboard with TrackPoint

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Fri, 21 Sep 2018 23:55:58 -0400
William Park via talk  wrote:

> I bought one for $60 from lenovo.ca, and just got it this morning.
> After using it for 1 full day, I found that its $60 price is reasonable.
> Think of it as $30 keyboard and $20 mouse, plus $10 premium for
> integrating into one package. 

   I wrote a piece on one of my keyboards.  I should write up the one I am 
using now.

   http://home.eol.ca/~hgibson/GearheadKeyboard.html

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Re: [GTALUG] How to run script at bootup in Debian

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Tue, 22 Jan 2019 19:46:24 + (UTC)
William Park via talk  wrote:

> Hi all,
> I need to run a custom script at the later stage of bootup in Debian 9.5 
> (board is BeagleBone Black).  I seem to remember "rc.local" long ago, but 
> it's gone in the latest Ubuntu and Debian.  Online search says
>     (1) simply create "/etc/rc.local", and systemd will automatically pick it 
> up.
>     (2) use crontab, "@reboot ..."
> Which is "proper" way in Debian world?--William

William,

   On my Fedora 27 laptop, placing rc.local into /etc/rc.d worked.

   /etc/rc.d/rc.local

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Re: [GTALUG] good deal on netbook; war story: putting Fedora on it

[Howard Gibson via talk]

Hugh,

   I am documenting my Linux installs on my website.  I have had some time on 
my hands recently, so I have tried installing stuff on my old 32-bit Lenovo 
Thinkpad. 

   http://home.eol.ca/~hgibson/Linux.html#NewUsers

   Ubuntu and Fedora worked nicely in a beginner installation.  We need to 
build a library of this stuff. 

On Wed, 21 Nov 2018 15:51:00 -0500 (EST)
"D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk"  wrote:

> I recently bought an Acer Spin 1 SP111-31-P95J refurbished netbook.
> 
> So far, I quite like it.
> 
> Those are gone but a slightly inferior model is available for a better 
> price ($200):
> 
> 
> Why should you consider this:
> 
> + nice size (11.6") and weight
> 
> + FullHD (i.e. 1920x1080) IPS screen (IPS makes the display a lot
>   better).  Some people think that this resolution is too high for
>   this size.  I like it a lot.  It's a matter of personal taste so
>   don't take my word for it.  FullHD + IPS is quite rare on this class
>   of machine and even more rare at this price.
> 
> + no fan!
> 
> + folds almost 360 degrees (I don't care)
> 
> + 4G RAM.  That's twice what the cheapest netbooks have had.  I find that 
>   it makes a big difference in Firefox (at least the way I use it)
> 
> + 64G eMMC (disk).  That's twice what the cheapest netbooks have.  It 
>   should even be enough for a dual boot Win 10 / Linux system but it 
>   isn't generous for dual-boot.  It's plenty for Linux.  eMMC is slower
>   than SATA of NVMe SSDs.  Like most netbooks these days, the eMMC cannot 
>   be upgraded.
> 
> - CPU is only a Celeron N3350 (dual core).  That's good for electricity 
>   consumption and cooling but not a powerhouse for computation.
> 
> + the Battery last quite some time -- way more than 4 hours.
> 
> + supports 802.11ac
> 
> + it seems to have been refurbed by the manufacturer and has a full year 
>   warranty.  Mine sure looked as if it was never used.  This model isn't 
>   current so they might just have been store returns.
> 
> + 1 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0
> 
> - no ethernet
> 
>  War Story 
> 
> Adventures installing Linux on this netbook (condensed version).
> 
> a) freshening up Windows and firmware
> 
> After first boot, I did all updates.  This requires you toask several
> times for updates since it will install a bunch and (incorrectly) say
> your system is up to date.  Don't believe it.
> 
> I updated the firmware too.  This requires Windows, as far as I can
> tell.  You have to hunt for the update on the Acer site.
> 
> This whole process is excruciatingly slow and requires way too many
> user interventions.  Allocate a day to babysit it.
> 
> Don't bother with the Windows updates if you are just going to blow
> Windows away.  But I would do the firmware update in any case.
> 
> 
> b) booting a live Fedora 29 installation medium
> 
> Note 1: this thing should be used as a modern UEFI system.  I don't
> even remember whether there is an option for legacy emulation (i.e. a CSM
> and support for an MBR system disk).
> 
> Note 2: a number of useful settings in the firmware setup page are only
> enabled if you set an administrator password (you set it in the
> firmware setup page).
> 
> A Fedora live USB stick is made by downloading the .iso file and
> dd-ing it onto the raw USB drive.
> 
> The Acer just will not boot such a stick.  Apparently the same thing
> happens with an Ubuntu installation disk.  Linuxium (that's his nom de
> guerre) has a tool that apparently doctors such a USB to be bootable.
> He says that this is a generic Apolo Lake problem but I am skeptical.
> I think that it is an Insyde Firmware bug.
> 
> My solution was to burn a DVD from the .iso and boot from that.  I
> could do this because I have an external DVD drive.  Note: the image
> is too large for a CD.
> 
> 
> c) making room on the disk
> 
> When installing Linux on a Windows system to create a dual boot
> system, you need a way to divide disk space.
> 
> - Windows needs at least 32G of disk; a nice Linux needs close to that
>   too.
> 
> - Windows comes with a tool that can shrink an NTFS parition.  
>   Unfortunately it is unwilling to shrink down to 50% or less.  I think 
>   that is because certain metadata is smack dab in the middle of the 
>   filesystem and is marked as unmovable.
> 
> - I use gparted to change NTFS partition sizes, especially when
>   Windows won't.  It seems to damage the FS but if you immediately
>   reboot Windows after resizing, Windows will repair the damage.
> 
> This time, when I rebooted Windows after gparted-resizing, Windows
> could not fix the NTFS partition.  I gave up and blew Windows away.
> After all, I wasn't really going to use it and the disk space would be
> better used by Linux.
> 
> I should have made a re-installation disk before I resized the
> partition, but I did not.
> 

Re: [GTALUG] laptop repair in GTA/Markham?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 9 Jan 2019 10:19:55 -0500
Tim Tisdall via talk  wrote:
> 
> Does anyone know of a good and reputable repair place that would be able to
> fix a corroded trace on the board if that's all it is?  It's an Asus
> Zenbook UX305C.

Tim,

   I do not like the idea of my computer and hard driving being in the
possession of someone I do not know or trust.  I strongly advise
reading the do-it-yourself suggestions, above.




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Re: [GTALUG] Suggestions for stopping occasional spurious use of commercial wi-fi

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sun, 16 Sep 2018 13:50:14 -0400
James Knott via talk  wrote:

> On 09/16/2018 01:45 PM, David Collier-Brown via talk wrote:
> >
> > What's a good approach? I have considered
> >
> 
> Many people use separate routers, as they're not happy with the Rogers
> hardware.  I run pfSense on a refurb computer.  All you have to do is
> put the modem in bridge mode and connect your router.  Also, you may
> want to get something other than a Cisco modem.  Rogers doesn't support
> IPv6 on them.  I have a Hitron modem in bridge mode.

   My DSL modem has a firewall feature that my vendor recommends not using.  I 
have a wireless router that serves as my firewall, and I have a long security 
key.  I am so glad I took typing in high school.  

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Re: [GTALUG] Ontario Bill 72: "Right to Repair"

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Tue, 5 Mar 2019 14:13:58 -0500
Lennart Sorensen via talk  wrote:
> Way too many phones are glued together instead of using screws these days.
> Incredibly annoying given often you can buy a new screen or battery for
> a decent price, but the work to actually replace it is insane.

Lennart,

   One of the basic rules of Design For Manufacture and Assembly is that you 
should not use screws.  The preferred way is for everything to snap together.  
Glue also is bad since there are workmanship and process control issues.  

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Re: [GTALUG] Boeing India software engineers

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Tue, 12 Mar 2019 21:25:22 -0400
James Knott via talk  wrote:
> Several years ago, many companies decided to cut costs by moving help
> desks etc. to India.  Many have come to regret that decision, due to the
> poor quality "help".  In another thread, I mentioned how many put cost
> ahead of value and we get garbage as a result.

James,

   Is Microsoft paying the Microsoft help-desk peole who call me to fix my 
Microsoft networking problems?  [Ctrl][r] does not seem to work!

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Re: [GTALUG] Ontario Bill 72: "Right to Repair"

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Thu, 7 Mar 2019 08:50:35 -0500
"Stewart C. Russell via talk"  wrote:

> Right to Repair is important. I'm slightly disappointed by the general
> reaction on this list. We'll spent lifetimes fiddling with software
> configs to keep it running against all odds, but hardware gets short
> shrift. I know that processing power and storage improvements have made
> it poor business practice to get sentimental about keeping older
> computers running, but some curiosity over how repair and replace is a
> good thing. We can't live on a growing mountain of e-waste, after all.
> 
>  Stewart

Stewart,

   I agree, but consider John Deere's business model.  They make their money 
repairing tractors.  If you want something easily repaired, it is going to cost 
more, for a bunch of reasons.  Don't buy the cheapest thing on the shelves. 

   If you need a computer and you don't need it to be portable, you should get 
a desktop.  People have no idea of how easy it is to repair modern desktops.  
If you can do your own installs and repairs, there is no need for your hard 
drives ever to leave your house.  This makes for good security.  

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Re: [GTALUG] Security cams question

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sat, 9 Feb 2019 07:25:31 -0600
o1bigtenor via talk  wrote:

> Greetings
> 
> I am looking into using a security cam to observe animal behavior in an area.

   This is not a direct response to your question, just a handy heads-up.

   I came walking hone one Thursday evening through a park across the street 
from my house.  I observed a Pelican case (https://www.pelican.com) up in a 
tree.  Someone had painted it silver and covered it in duct tape.  When I saw 
this I thought damn, what a good idea!  I own a bright orange Pelican case.  
Any knowledgeable person seeing it can realize I spent a lot of money on a box 
to put something in, like my old SLR camera.  Since then, I have paid $140 for 
a newer one for my DSLR camera. 

   On Saturday, the police cordoned the street off and called in the bomb 
squad.  As far as I can tell, someone spotted the case, and they called the 
police in panic.  If you are doing anything weird, call the police and warn 
them.  They may have useful tips for you!

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Re: [GTALUG] Samsung monitor power supply

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 13 Feb 2019 03:25:07 -0500
Russell Reiter via talk  wrote:

> If you can't find someone with a donation, you can probably find the one
> you are looking for at Above All Electronics on Bloor St for 5$ or so. I
> got a micro-pin p/s there last year. I wasn't sure if it was the right one
> so Steve said, if not bring it back for exchange or refund.

Russell,

   People can also check out A1 Electronic Parts.  They are in an industrial 
unit at 196 North Queen St., Toronto, Ontario, M9C 4Y1, Tel: (416) 255-0343.  
Their website is http://www.a1parts.com.  I understand they bought a lot of 
Active Surplus' stock.  They are a good source of Arduino boards and Raspberry 
Pis.

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Re: [GTALUG] Software to draw illustrations?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sun, 10 Feb 2019 00:51:09 -0500
William Park via talk  wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> What software do people use to draw illustrations that you'd see in
> textbooks or presentations?  Eg. data structure, high school math, block
> diagrams, etc.  I mean, I see them, but I don't know how to create them.

William,

   Xfig was designed to work with LaTeX.  The files can be converted to
EPS, PNG, and all sorts of other graphics formats.  The transfig
packages means you can write scripts and Makefiles to do convert FIG
files.

   If you are using LibreCAD, the trick is to print to file.  You get
PDF format.  Select an appropriate scale and sheet size.  There are
lots of sheet sizes to chooser from.  The command pdftops will give you
an EPS file suitable for import into LaTeX or LibreOffice.

   I have not played with LibreOffice's drawing program, or Dia. 

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[GTALUG] Two Things

[Howard Gibson via talk]

   I promised to mention the Raspberry Pi Meetup.

   Power-over-Ethernet: One cable to rule them all, without catching fire!  

   https://www.meetup.com/Raspberry-Pi/events/nwgbwqyzgbpb

   A second thing has come up that may interest somebody.  The York Regional 
Science and Technology Fair is coming up this Saturday, and they are still 
looking for judges.  From organizer Nathalie Rudner...

Dear Howard,

  Our fair is days away and we are still a few judges
short! We would appreciate it if you could please spread the word and/ or 
consider bringing a friend!  A few more judges will help us ensure that
every student is judged in a timely manner and that your schedule is not
too busy!  It also helps us cover for unexpected absences.If you know of
someone who would be interested in helping us out, please share the
folloing link with them so that they might register. 
https://secure.youthscience.ca/sfiab/yrstf.  I greatly appreciate your help
with this,Thank you!Nathalie RudnerYouth Science Canada Regional
Coordinator - York Region 

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Re: [GTALUG] war story: fixing a doc bug can be hard

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Mon, 8 Apr 2019 10:48:59 -0400 (EDT)
"D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk"  wrote:

> I'm reading dnf(8) on Fedora 29 and get irked by the layout of the
> options.
> --disableexcludes=[all|main|],
> --disableexcludepkgs=[all|main|]
> 
> Here's what "man dnf" shows on a terminal that is 80
> columns wide.  Ugly.
> 
>--disableexcludes=[all|main|],   --disableexcludep‐
>kgs=[all|main|]

Hugh,

   I am working on a Perl app, and I have written a man page for it.  I do not 
expect to learn groff ever.  I can hack something that seems to work.  How many 
people are limited to 80 columns.

   Please note that I have problems with wide web pages.   I have my 1080p 
internet screen divided between my browser, my email and my FVWM buttons.  A 
lot of web pages do not fit in the space I leave them.  I hate them.  

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Re: [GTALUG] POP3 vs IMAP

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sat, 8 Jun 2019 11:05:21 -0500
o1bigtenor via talk  wrote:

> Greetings
> 
> Working on setting up Claws - - an email handling tool and I need to
> choose whether I use
> POP3 or IMAP.
> What I've been able to find so far doesn't really give any kind of
> clear direction.
> I have lots of storage here and am planning on starting with my least
> used addresses just to make sure things are working well before I do a
> complete switch.
> 
> Please advise.

o1bigtenor,

   I am running Sypheed here, which is what Claws is based on.  I use POP3 to 
download email.  It has been a long time since I have configured it.  I recall 
that the word today is NOCLOBBER.  In POP, you have the choice of deleting or 
not deleting your email as you download it.  Initially, you want to not delete 
it.  Once things are reliable, you want the online stuff deleted.  I currently 
download and clobber email from eol.ca, google.com, and torfree.net.  I don't 
want my email to be online.  I transfer my current email folders from my 
desktop to my laptop when I travel. 

   Sylpheed and Claws store email in MH (Mail Handler) format.  This format is 
used by mh and mutt.  Almost all other Linux email programs, including 
Evolution and Thunderbird, use mbox format.  In MH, each email is stored as a 
separate file.  In mbox, each mail folder is stored as a file.  

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Re: [GTALUG] POP3 vs IMAP

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Mon, 10 Jun 2019 15:38:06 -0400
Lennart Sorensen via talk  wrote:

> OK, having just looked up how MH does it, I am horrified anyone would
> design something so awful.  Changing mail sorting by renaming the
> message files?  That's insane. :)
> 
> I can say for certain I will never ever consider the use of MH.

Lennart,

   I have been using Sylpheed and MH format since July 23, 2003.  At least, 
those are my earliest email files.  I have no complaints.  A separate file for 
each email makes it easier to use grep to search your email archives.  

   I recall liking the mbox format.  I had things set up so that I could launch 
pine, balsa or kmail, depending on my mood.  I found that Netscape would delete 
emails by setting a flag that the other email programs did not recognize. 

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Re: [GTALUG] War Story: Asus UX305ca SSD failures

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Thu, 1 Aug 2019 23:09:32 -0400 (EDT)
"D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk"  wrote:
> 
> - petroglyphs: long long time
> 
> - clay tablets: millennia
> 
> - paper (pre-wood-pulp): five hundred years
> 
> - paper made from wood pulp: 75 years
> 
> - punch cards and paper tape: 100 years
> 
> - 9-track mag tape: 10 years
> 
> - digital cassette tape 4 years (formats changed too quickly)
> 
> - floppy disks: 5 years?  Depends on the format (consider 3.0"
>   floppies)
> 
> - USB flash drives: I've had them die after a year, but that's not
>   expected.
> 
> - hard drives: death by standards evolution.  Try finding an ST506
>   controller.  Or MFM, ESDI, SCSI, FireWire.  Support for even PATA
>   is fading.
> 
> - Laser Disc, Magneto-optical disks, CD-ROM, DVD (multiple standards),
>   BluRay: each has standards that get obsolete.  The actual data may
>   deteriorate too.  I do have some DVD that claim to have a lifetime
>   of over 100 years.

Hugh,

   I copy my HDD backup to Blu-Rays periodically.  Occasionally, I have had to 
recover stuff from them, and it has always worked.  Typically, this was months 
after the fact.  I archive my digital photos to DVD.  I store these in a dark, 
cool place, and again, they are doing fine.  My good camera has two SD cards, 
one of which I have designed as a backup.  I have my DVD archive, my Blu-Ray 
backups, and I archive the SDs when they are full.  I think my odds are pretty 
good.  

   It is getting harder to find DVD and Blu-Ray discs in stores.  The next time 
I order DVDs, it will be online, and I will order archival quality. 

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Re: [GTALUG] For Chris: Commodore BASIC as a scripting language

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 14 Aug 2019 10:07:00 -0400 (EDT)
"D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk"  wrote:

> | From: Stewart Russell via talk 
> 
> | This is not a place of honour:.
> | 
> | https://github.com/mist64/cbmbasic
> 
> This doesn't have the Waterloo BASIC extensions to Commodore BASIC.
> Too bad.
> ---

   I still have a book on Comal lying around somewhere. 

   If you really need to program a C64, there is alway Vice...

   http://vice-emu.sourceforge.net/

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Re: [GTALUG] For Chris: Commodore BASIC as a scripting language

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sun, 25 Aug 2019 09:52:39 -0400
Scott Allen via talk  wrote:

> On Sun, 25 Aug 2019 at 09:30, Dave Collier-Brown via talk
>  wrote:
> > Many of the very small devices are programmed in cross-compiled C.
> 
> Or C++

Scott,

   Arduino boards are programmed in C++.

   C++ is an object oriented language.  Arduino boards are used to
execute simple procedures that don't require the effort of an object
oriented language.  My background here is automating AutoCAD using
AutoLisp.  When I encountered SolidWorks and Visual Basic, I was
horrified.

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Re: [GTALUG] War Story: Asus UX305ca SSD failures

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Thu, 1 Aug 2019 11:15:43 -0400 (EDT)
"D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk"  wrote:
> 
> Two years ago one of the m.2 SATA SSDs suddenly stopped working.  If I 
> remember correctly, it didn't even show up as a disk.
> 
> Last week the same thing happened on the second notebook.
> 
> The only warning was that a few days earlier the firmware forgot what
> to boot.  I easily fixed that by telling it again.  This could easily
> have been a CMOS battery problem but I guess it wasn't.
> 
> The computer acted as if the drive were not there.  I installed it in a
> different machine and it was not detected in the other machine either.
> The firmware ("BIOS" is not the correct term) on both machines failed
> to see it.  A live Fedora system (booted off a USB stick) failed to
> see it.  It's dead, Jim.
> 
> Lesson: SSDs don't give you warning about failures.  Much worse (in my
> modest experience) than HDDs.  Backup now.  I'm skeptical about
> S.M.A.R.T. for SSDs.

Hugh,

   When I bought a hard drive at Best Buy, I asked about SSDs.  I understand 
that there is a maximum number of writes you can do to them, and the number is 
rather small.  I was buying a backup drive that runs at night while I am in 
bed, so I went for cheap and reliable.

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Re: [GTALUG] alternatives to gmail working well in Ubintu?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Thu, 14 Nov 2019 22:00:43 -0500 (EST)
Karen Lewellen via talk  wrote:

> Hi folks,
> I was going to just ask for alternatives to consider, but want to keep the 
> Linux element here as I mainly use a Ubuntu shell.
> Now that google is making it  profoundly difficult reaching basic html in 
> low graphics environments, I may need a new home.  I prefer reading on the 
> web for this account, especially as I use it largely for research needing 
> to follow article links and work with file attachments.
> Any solid ideas?
> Thanks,
> Karen

Karen,

   Are you looking for email that runs in a shell?

   reaching = reading?

   I use the email client Sylpheed, which runs in a window, i.e. not in a 
shell.  It happily downloads gmail through POP.  Sylpheed generates email in 
plain text, but it is fairly good at reading email generated in HTML.  I have 
at least one contact who sends stuff in Microsoft TNEF format.  I save this in 
a temporary directory and use the command tnef (/usr/bin/tnef) to extract it.  
I originally installed Sylpheed because it worked well offline.  Back in the 
days before wireless, this was absolutely necessary.  This still comes in 
handy.  The send-later feature is also useful for those emails that require 
twenty four hours cooling time before sending.  Sylpheed uses mh (mail handler) 
format, rather than the more popular mbox format.  I think I would prefer mbox, 
but mh is extremely robust.  Sylpheed links nicely to your browser, and you can 
see those wierd HTML anchors correctly down at the bottom of the screen, e.g.

   http://www.cibc.iamafuckingasshole.biz;>http://www.cibc.ca

   If you must use a shell, I am pretty sure Alpine will download gmail through 
POP.  I have not used it lately.  I do not know how it handles HTML code, and 
HTTP links.

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Re: [GTALUG] another unique store gone: Above All Electronic Surplus

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sun, 15 Dec 2019 19:47:36 +0200
ac via talk  wrote:

> > There is a place on North Queen, near Sherway Gardens that has a lot
> > of the Active Surplus stock.  I can't think of the name, as I've only
> > been there once.

   A1 Electronic Parts http://www.a1parts.com

   Let's hope they are doing okay.  I bought my Arduino kit there.

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Re: [GTALUG] End of independent web browsers

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Tue, 14 Jan 2020 21:59:42 -0500
Christopher Browne via talk  wrote:

> The material takes somewhat extreme position, but it's curious that there
> are only 3 "content decryption modules" out there, Widevine (Google),
> Fairplay (Apple) and PlayReady (Microsoft), all of the vendors having
> expressed some reluctance to license to small fry.  (Apple being
> uninterested in sublicensing.)

Christopher,

   I worked for fifteen months at Christie Digital on one of their new digital 
movie projectors.  One critical design requirement was that the movie feed from 
the internet was to be decrypted inside a protected enclosure.  The projector 
operator was to have no access to a functional version of the movie other than 
by watching the screen.  I use Google Chrome to watch YouTube and Netflix.  I 
try to use Firefox for everything else.   I cannot see people spending big 
bucks to produce Free Movies as per the GPL. 

   If somebody wants to communicate with the outside world, they need to use 
public domain tools like HTML.  

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Re: [GTALUG] 10TB drive seen as a 2TB drive (twice?)

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sun, 29 Dec 2019 00:05:17 -0500
Evan Leibovitch via talk  wrote:
> 
> The system already has an SSD as /dec/sda, and two disks one of 3TB and the
> other of 4TB, all working fine.
> 
> When I attach the external drive, lsblock and fdisk -l both report TWO new
> drives, /dev/sdd and /dev/sde, both of 2TB size. I went into set the disk
> from DOS to GPT but the size didn't change;

Evan,

   Is your motherboard MBR or GPT?  I have had a nasty experience with my old 
motherboard and a new Western Digital GPT formatted drive.  

   http://home.eol.ca/~hgibson/RevLinux/#x1-8D

   I found that Western Digital GPT drives were difficult to use.  I was able 
to make Seagate drives work 

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Re: [GTALUG] Laptop recommendations?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Mon, 27 Apr 2020 09:45:01 -0400
Lennart Sorensen via talk  wrote:

> On Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 05:18:29PM -0400, James Knott via talk wrote:
> > And use USB Ethernet adapters.
> 
> The Thinkpad T and P series still have RJ45 ports.  But I can believe
> it will disappear since most other laptops have done so.  Most people
> don't use them ever.

Lennart,

   I think my current laptop has an RJ45 port.  I bought a docking station for 
it, so I use that.  Historically, I use the RJ45s because I transfer data to 
and from the laptop, and I want it to happen quickly.  

   I visited Canada Computers in Etobicoke, and I think I got the last desktop 
with slots for DVD/Blu-Ray discs (and 5-1/4 floppy drives), and controls on the 
front.  My cat can no longer turn my computer off.  You people are on your own!

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Re: [GTALUG] Data backup recommendations?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 22 Apr 2020 22:18:33 -0400
Gron Arthur via talk  wrote:

> I have a backup drive, but I'm thinking it would be better to store
> personal files at a second location.   About 200-300GB in total.

Gron Arthur,

   If my house and all around it is utterly destroyed, I lose all my data.  
Short of that, I should be okay.  I could stores my backup Blu-Rays in a bank 
vault.  It is too bad the local bank brances are not open.

   How about switching between a pair of 4TB USB drives?   They live at the 
alternate location.  One comes home to do the backup.  The other stays in the 
outside place.

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Re: [GTALUG] Data backup recommendations?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 22 Apr 2020 21:02:45 -0400
Gron Arthur via talk  wrote:

> I'm looking for an easy way to backup data? What's good software to
> use, preferably open-source, better if it had a GUI?

   Why not buy a second hard drive?  My nightly backup is a 4TB drive. 
"Personal" means the data does not leave my house.  I export my backups 
periodically to a 50GB Blu-Ray disc.  My backup is a Bourne shell script that 
eventually calls up tar.  
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Re: [GTALUG] Laptop recommendations?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

James,

   Does your USB floppy drive work?  I keep ordering these things and they work 
once or twice and then crap out.  The one I have now never worked.  They cost 
something like twelve bucks.  I am willing to pay more of something that works. 

On Mon, 27 Apr 2020 10:39:44 -0400
James Knott via talk  wrote:

> On 2020-04-27 10:22 AM, Howard Gibson via talk wrote:
> > I think my current laptop has an RJ45 port.  I bought a docking station 
> > for it, so I use that.  Historically, I use the RJ45s because I transfer 
> > data to and from the laptop, and I want it to happen quickly.
> 
> I use Wifi or Ethernet.  For normal use, WiFi is fine.  But if I'm doing 
> something major, such as installing an OS, then I'll use Ethernet.
> > I visited Canada Computers in Etobicoke, and I think I got the last 
> > desktop with slots for DVD/Blu-Ray discs (and 5-1/4 floppy drives), and 
> > controls on the front.  My cat can no longer turn my computer off.  You 
> > people are on your own!
> 
> At least I have an external USB floppy drive! ;-)
> 
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Re: [GTALUG] Data backup recommendations?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Mon, 27 Apr 2020 22:50:57 -0400
lsore...@csclub.uwaterloo.ca (Lennart Sorensen) wrote:

> On Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 10:05:31PM -0400, Howard Gibson via talk wrote:
> >Why not buy a second hard drive?  My nightly backup is a 4TB drive. 
> > "Personal" means the data does not leave my house.  I export my backups 
> > periodically to a 50GB Blu-Ray disc.  My backup is a Bourne shell script 
> > that eventually calls up tar.  
> 
> If it's only in one location, you have no backup. :)
> 
> If it has to be manually connected and manual steps taken, most people
> will not remember to do it.

Lennart,

   Run a cron job.  My backups to Blu-Ray are manual.

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Re: [GTALUG] Free Linux VMs

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sun, 10 May 2020 12:06:20 +0200
ac via talk  wrote:
> in my opinion, avoid any ongoing "free" services, more so if it is a
> huge multinational doing the offering as the huge companies all have
> some sort of "dominate the planet" and kill off all competition type
> long term goal... 

ac,

   How legal do you think it is for a free online database to mine your
data?  I would regard this as a thread.

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Re: [GTALUG] Actual ttyS0 MIA

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sun, 10 May 2020 17:30:17 -0400 (EDT)
Karen Lewellen via talk  wrote:

> Mr. Russell,
> May I ask a side question here?
> On a couple of other lists to which I belong, one of which involves the 
> development of the freedos project, there were questions about how a USB 
> to serial  adapter manages the communications  associated, by which a mean 
> port definitions that a serial port used to use.
> If one  is trying to access a device connected with a USB to serial 
> adapter,  what port does  USB use?
> for example if the program would talk to a serial device on com 4, how 
> would you  achieve the same  goal  via a USB to serial adapter?
> thanks,
> Kare

Karen,

   I still have an external modem on my desktop which I access through
a USB to serial converter, very, very occasionally.

   To set up the serial modem, I installed and run wvdial...

$ sudo dnf -y install wvdial  
$ sudo wvdialconf /etc/create 

   On my desktop, the modem is at /dev/ttyUSB0.  

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Re: [GTALUG] Free Linux VMs

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sun, 10 May 2020 13:09:47 -0400
Alvin Starr via talk  wrote:

> On 5/10/20 11:04 AM, Howard Gibson via talk wrote:
> > On Sun, 10 May 2020 12:06:20 +0200
> > ac via talk  wrote:
> >> in my opinion, avoid any ongoing "free" services, more so if it is a
> >> huge multinational doing the offering as the huge companies all have
> >> some sort of "dominate the planet" and kill off all competition type
> >> long term goal...

Alvin,

   I am fascinated by this incident...

   http://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/21/ncix_servers_sold/

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Re: [GTALUG] Free Linux VMs

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sun, 10 May 2020 19:48:14 -0400
Alvin Starr  wrote:
> > Alvin,
> >
> > I am fascinated by this incident...
> >
> > http://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/21/ncix_servers_sold/
> >
> This is not a new story.
> 
> A lot of years ago I worked for a company that wanted to develop a Unix 
> workstation for CAD/CAM applications but they ran out of cash.
> Some Dentist bought the hardware at the fire sale and got a source copy 
> of AT Unix.
> He then tried to extort cash out of AT  with the threat of releasing 
> the source code.
> Well needless to say it did not go well for him.
> 
> Many years later I bought a tape backup system on Ebay.
> It came with about 10 tapes that had the complete MSSQL for an HMO in 
> California.
> Including patient data and billing information.
> 
> The NCIX one is not surprising because the bankruptcy lawyers have no 
> idea of what they have and don't have any responsibility to guard public 
> privacy.

Alvin,

   I recall hearing on the news about some guy who bought an old computer with 
the UNIX source code on it.  That must have been the incident. 

   I posted that story about NCIX on an engineering forum, and we discussed the 
ethics of it.  To hell with lawyers.  You are the landlord, and you have not 
been paid rent, and you have padlocked the place.  Somebody offers you $10K for 
the servers.  You are a low tech person.  You have a mortgage.  What do you do? 
 Do you have any obligations to honour NDAs?  Do you have any clue of how to 
search hard drives for sensitive information?  Is it ethical for you to do so?

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Re: [GTALUG] Acer Aspire 3 A315-21 laptop has mono sound only?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Thu, 19 Mar 2020 11:19:22 -0400
William Witteman via talk  wrote:

> I found several examples of stereo tests on youtube using the "stereo
> test" search.  They certainly work on my headphones.
> 
> Good luck!

   The Gnome control center has a sound configuration window that tests your 
stereo sound.  

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Re: [GTALUG] On the subject of backups.

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 6 May 2020 07:25:29 -0400
David Mason via talk  wrote:

> ZFS is another option. And it handles delta-backups very easily.

David,

   How do you recover stuff from delta backups?  You have to figure which 
backup the file or directory is in, right?

   My backup recoveries, admittedly here at home, consist of me recovering 
files I stupidly modified incorrectly, and some accidentally deleted 
directories.  In the case of the directories, I noticed the problem several 
years after I did it.  Since I back up everything, all I had to do was pull out 
the backup Blu-ray from shortly after I worked on the directory. 

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Re: [GTALUG] Updating my mailserver

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Mon, 31 Aug 2020 22:13:18 -0400
William Witteman via talk  wrote:

> I have run a mailserver for my domains for a long time.  I have not
> thought about its ability to send outbound mail for a while though,
> and my logs tell me what my experience already suggested - it cannot
> send email to Gmail (and probably lots of other places).

William,

   I use my ISP to send emails.  I have used a local mail server to send emails 
in the distant past, and it has been filtered out by spam filters.  

   Recently, I sent out a batch of emails with a reply-to address, and that got 
filtered.

   In 1998, my ISP service changed its URL from echo-on.net to eol.ca.  I am 
still getting spam for hgib...@echo-on.net. 

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Re: [GTALUG] dsl modem ideas for bell?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

Karen,

   I am on Primus for DSL and land line.   This service comes in through Bell's 
phone lines.

   When I installed Primus' DSL modem, admittedly quite a few years ago, I was 
sent a filter for each of my connections.   I have a 56K Hayes style modem, 
which does not work unless I turn off the DSL modem.  Otherwise, everything 
works fine.   

On Thu, 8 Oct 2020 23:10:45 -0400 (EDT)
Karen Lewellen via talk  wrote:

> By filter, do you mean those little  thingies  one could put  on the phone 
> to prevent interference?
> When bell moved me here they claimed I did not need them, but I will dig 
> one out to see if it helps.
> Bell techs have checked the lines to my apartment, the jack itself,  and 
> the cables being used.
> not sure what might be more local.
> The filter replacement is a fine idea.
> Kare
> 
> 
> 
> On Thu, 8 Oct 2020, James Knott via talk wrote:
> 
> > The modem shouldn't be making noise. Is the filter on the phone(s)?  When 
> > you have ADSL on a phone line, filters are used to keep the phone and 
> > modems 
> > from interfering with each other.  If that's not the problem, call Bell.  
> > Also, have you done any testing to ensure it's not something local?
> >
> >
> > On 2020-10-08 10:38 p.m., Karen Lewellen via talk wrote:
> >>  Hi folks,
> >>  Hope you all are finding ways to feel creative.
> >>  Wondering if anyone might have a suggestion providing a solution.
> >>  Bell is my dsl provider, they also provide my land line and satellites
> >>  service as well, but  that is not the issue really.
> >>  Because I still use analog phone service, its tied to some of my adaptive
> >>  technology, my dsl modem / rooter combination provided by Bell is a tw or
> >>  two wire model...or at least it was until this weekend.
> >>  Honestly I am not a major user of data, but I do often need to connect
> >>  more than one Ethernet setup, and require that someone using wireless be
> >>  able to do this with little fanfare.
> >>  Largely because none of bell's software works for my setup.
> >>  anyway, the problem is that bell has replaced my beloved modem with one
> >>  that  causes my landline to click, as in makes a constant clicking noise
> >>  whenever the modem is connected, which is all the time.
> >>  What I am seeking is hopefully an older, but still to be found prospect,
> >>  with  several Ethernet ports the ability to connect wirelessly, yet being
> >>  a tw model.
> >>  My old one had stream in the title if that rings a..bell.
> >>  I have literary had 5 technicians here since Saturday, with three of them
> >>  messing  up my Internet on top of not addressing the issue.
> >>  Any bell modem ideas come to mind?
> >>  why on earth by the way, must I only use bell equipment in the first
> >>  place?
> >>  Kare the ranter.
> >> 
> >>
> >>  ---
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> >>  https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
> >
> > ---
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> >
> >


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[GTALUG] MathML Support on the Internet

[Howard Gibson via talk]

   I brought this up at our last meeting and we discussed it.  

   Officially, you can insert equations into your website using MathML.  
Unfortunately, Google Chrome does not support this, so it does not work.  I 
uploaded my MathML page to my website, and you can try it out.  

   http://rev/~howard/hgibson2/MathML.html

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Re: [GTALUG] MathML Support on the Internet

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Mon, 17 Aug 2020 18:26:37 -0400
Stewart Russell via talk  wrote:
> 
> If you're auto-converting from TeX, try to do it as high up the conversion
> chain as you can. By the time your doco has hit DVI, it's basically marks
> on paper and any semantic information is lost. I don't think I've used DVI
> files this century: I was an early adopter of pdftex, and I'm pretty sure
> my TeX engine of choice these days is pdfxetex: straight to PDF, while also
> supporting bidirectional fonts, OpenType variant glyph forms and (IIRC)
> micro-justification of hyphenated pages. This little wrinkle pushes hyphens
> slightly into the right margin. It looks much better. Also, since every
> printing system I'm ever likely to use has a PDF document path (PostScript
> is dead), it cuts out a lot of conversion and font hassle. PDF's just super
> handy to have as a virtual paper format anyway. Dunno what I did before
> CUPS, IPP and the cups-pdf virtual printer. Waste lots of paper, I suppose.
> 
> cheers,
>  Stewart

Stewart,

   I copied the MathML code from a site on MathML.  I want to learn it.  I have 
not worked hard on it since.  As I noted during the meeting.  If it works in 
Midori but not on Chrome, it doesn't work.  If it works on Chrome but not on 
Midori, it is not reliable.

   I am posting articles prepared with LaTeX.  The HTML conversion converts the 
equations to bitmaps.  These are reliable, however crappy they look. 

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Re: [GTALUG] DSL to wifi

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Mon, 03 Aug 2020 20:43:40 +
Astrid R via talk  wrote:

> Thanks for your replies. Before I go on I should say I discovered that I no 
> longer have the password to change the date and time, so it might not be 
> possible to change anything else either.
> 
> But in case there might be a way, I hope the following is useful.
> 
> I'm using a Dell laptop.
> 
> Not sure if this is the distribution and release...GNU Grub 1.99-27 +deb 
> 7u2...

Astrid,

   When your GNI login window comes up, does it say Debian, or Ubuntu?
Next to the username and password box, you should see a menu that
selects your desktop.  If you pull this down, you should see Gnome,
Unity, XFCE, LXDM, or possibly FVWM.  I, and a bunch of other people
here, love FVWM, but I highly do not recommend it for beginners.  

   When you log into Gnome or Unity, you pull the menu down at the top
right-hand side of your screen, and networking is one of the options.
You need to know what your wireless device is called, and you need the
password.

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Re: [GTALUG] Raspberry Pi 4 Desktop Kit

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Fri, 7 Aug 2020 18:49:37 -0400
Aruna Hewapathirane via talk  wrote:

> Hello,
> 
> I stumbled across this recently:
> https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/
> 
> I can use some guidance and advice from folks who have experience
> with Raspberry Pi's. What I read so far looks good but I have questions.
> 
> If 'you' were to use a Raspberry Pi as a desktop replacement which one
> would you recommend?

Aruna,

   What do you want to accomplish?

   I have three computers that I use extensively.  I have a proper desktop with 
a fairly old motherboard which I have just upgraded this week from 8GB RAM to 
24GB.  I have a fairly old Lenovo L440 laptop, which I have just upgraded from 
4GB RAM to 10GB.  I have an Acer Extensa desktop.  The Extensa is a small 
desktop with what I assume is a laptop motherboard, which I have connected to 
my TV.  I use it primarily to watch YouTube, Netflix and CBC Gem.  It has 4GB 
RAM, and it seems to work fine.  My other two machines are running way better 
now with the extra RAM.  I think my laptop was getting into swap space, and it 
has stopped doing this, and I am very, very happy.  I am an abusive user, 
scattering all sorts of applications all over my virtual windows, and opening 
all sorts of interesting tabs in all my browers.  I like to play with Flight 
Gear when I am bored. 

   I believe that Raspbery Pis are used a lot for video streaming on people's 
TVs.  This seems to be a manageable use of fairly low powered computers.  How 
hard are you going to run this thing.  I am not familiar with Raspberry Pis.  
They are on my ToDo list.

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Re: [GTALUG] Bash does-directory-exist question

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Fri, 10 Jul 2020 09:38:48 -0400
Giles Orr via talk  wrote:

> I have a strange Bash question for you.  It's an edge case, but I've
> run into it just often enough that I'd like to know how to deal with
> it.
> 
> How do you determine if the directory you're in has been deleted?

Giles,

   Is this command line or scripting?

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Re: [GTALUG] Group knowledge base

[Howard Gibson via talk]

William,

   I did a fifteen month contract at Christie Digital in Kitchener.  They 
maintain a software system called Christie University to provide on-board and 
upgrade training.  They also have a cloud directory where people store notes on 
stuff.  They found the article on my website on Calculating Locational 
Tolerances.  I posted some inspection notes, and one of the other engineers 
came and asked me where I got my surface finish comparator from, so the stuff 
was being read. 

   I was impressed.

On Thu, 29 Oct 2020 22:17:23 -0400
William Park via talk  wrote:

> How do you or your company maintain group "knowledge base"?  I guess,
> wiki for internal stuffs.
> 
> I'm using Words/Excel files.  A chapter (Word) or worksheet (Excel) for
> different subject or project.  You can insert screenshots, tables, etc.
> Screenshot of installation or picture of DIP switches is way simpler
> than trying to explaining it in words.  You can cut/paste from original
> documentation.
> 
> But, I'm curious what others are using.
> -- 
> William Park 
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Re: [GTALUG] amusing spam

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Thu, 5 Nov 2020 14:14:23 -0500 (EST)
"D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk"  wrote:

> I just got an invoice for $249 + shipping.
> "Thank you for your order for Microsoft Windows Malicious Tool ."
> 
> That seems just about right as a price and description of Windows 10.
>  (OK, I admit that I no longer see Windows as (very) malicious.)

Hugh,

   I am being emailed job applications.

   I'm the one who's unemployed. :(

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Re: [GTALUG] Ubuntu 20.04.2 is groaning

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Mon, 7 Jun 2021 14:52:14 -0400
Chris Aitken via talk  wrote:

> I think the problem is that gnome is hogging CPU. I can get gnome CPU 
> usage to 98% just by moving the mouse.
> Chris

Chris,

   There is room on my machine only for one CPU hog, and that is not Gnome_3.  
My desktop is FVWM, and I use some tools that come with LXDE.  FVWM probably is 
not for beginners, but the configuration files are heavily commented.  They may 
be fairly manageable, especially if you can find a configuration that is 
approximately what you want.  I strongly recommend XFCE and LXDE. 

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Re: [GTALUG] Ubuntu 20.04.2 is groaning

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Mon, 7 Jun 2021 10:28:10 -0400
Chris Aitken via talk  wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I am hoping to get some help with my Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS system. Takes me 
> 5+ seconds just to enter commands, switch between apps, etc.

Chris,

   My primary machines were having problems, slowing and stopping while stuff 
ran.  I fixed the problem by adding more RAM.  8GB on my desktop and 4GB on my 
laptop were not enough.  24GB and 16GB seem to be working fine. 

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Re: [GTALUG] Ubuntu 20.04.2 is groaning

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Mon, 7 Jun 2021 14:00:55 -0400
Chris Aitken via talk  wrote:
> Does this show whether more RAM would help..?
> 
> owner@owner-HP-Compaq-8000-Elite-CMT-PC:~$ free -h
>    total    used    free  shared buff/cache   
> available
> Mem:  7.6Gi   2.5Gi   166Mi   209Mi 5.0Gi   4.7Gi
> Swap: 2.0Gi   696Mi   1.3Gi

Chris,

   I am not sure.  Is that what it looks like when you are having problems?  My 
systems were locking up when Firefox tried to run something.  I had fewer 
problems with Google Chrome, and Brave Browser. 

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[GTALUG] Amid a pandemic, a health care algorithm shows promise and peril

[Howard Gibson via talk]

   
https://www.salon.com/2021/06/09/amid-a-pandemic-a-health-care-algorithm-shows-promise-and-peril_partner

   Here is an interesting article on Salon.com, originally from Undark. This is 
one hell of a case for Free Software. 

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Re: [GTALUG] Foone's Silverado Linux discovery - "Go away, go away now, go away fast"

[Howard Gibson via talk]

Stewart,

   It is too bad I am unemployed at the moment.  When you pull down SolidWorks' 
Help menu and select About SolidWorks, you get a list of all the copyrights 
from their subcontractors.  Somebody starts a company.  They write some 
graphics processing code.  They license it to SolidWorks.  They set up a post 
office box for SolidWorks to send cheques to.  There arew a whole lot of them. 

On Sat, 19 Jun 2021 15:25:18 -0400
"Stewart C. Russell via talk"  wrote:

> Popular hardware hacker Foone Turing has found that the Chevy Silverado
> they're renting runs a dubious version of Linux in the entertainment
> console, yet it seems to have some control over some in-car systems and
> talks via the car's wifi (of course). Ongoing slightly sweary thread
> starts here:
> 
> foone (@Foone) : I'm renting a recent Chevy Silverado pickup truck
> and it has a big screen for connecting navigation and controlling
> bluetooth music and such, and it's apparently linux based. You know
> how it I know? It has the license files for EVERY SINGLE PACKAGE
> included, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
> 10:21 PM · Jun 18, 2021
> — https://twitter.com/Foone/status/1406074736803676163
> 
> Definite 'Code Red' from Cabin Pressure material for me ...
> 
> cheers,
> 
>  Stewart
> 
> 
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Re: [GTALUG] ftp helper app, and how to screenshot on Ubuntu 21.04?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Fri, 4 Jun 2021 17:42:05 -0400
"Stewart C. Russell via talk"  wrote:

> Also, my go-to screenshot thingy /*scrot*/ no longer works on Ubuntu
> 21.04: it gives me this:
> 
> X Error of failed request:  BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window
> parameter)   Major opcode of failed request:  14 (X_GetGeometry)  
> Resource id in failed request:  0x0   Serial number of failed request: 
> 8   Current serial number in output stream:  8

Stewart,

   I always use GIMP for screen and window captures.  It never occurred to me 
there was another way.

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Re: [GTALUG] [ Audacity Becomes Spyware (fwd)

[Howard Gibson via talk]

Karen,

Well damn.

I am using Audacity to record my vinyl LPs into MP3 files to play in my 
car.  Can they detect that?

On Mon, 5 Jul 2021 21:54:04 -0400 (EDT)
Karen Lewellen via talk  wrote:

> Speaking personally as someone who  has used the program for field 
> production,  I am rather disappointed.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Audacity open source audio editor has become spyware
> 
> 
> https://www.slashgear.com/audacity-open-source-audio-editor-has-become-spyware-05681012/
> 
> 
> Ewdison Then
>    - Jul 5, 2021, 12:47am CDT
> 
> One of open source software’s biggest strengths is, naturally, its openness, 
> which brings other benefits like freedom of use, security through scrutiny, 
> flexibility, and more. That is mostly thanks to the open source-friendly 
> licenses these programs use, but, from time to time, someone comes along and 
> tries to make changes that infuriate the community of users and developers. 
> Sometimes, those changes can even be illegal. Such seems to be the fate that 
> has befallen Audacity, one of the open source world’s most popular pieces of 
> software that now comes under a very invasive privacy policy.
> 
> The brouhaha started just a few months ago when Audacity was bought by the 
> Muse 
> Group, the company behind equally popular music software like MuseScore, 
> which 
> is also open source, and Ultimate Guitar. So far, Audacity remains open 
> source 
> (and can’t really be changed into proprietary software in its current form), 
> but that doesn’t mean that Muse Group can’t do some pretty damaging 
> changes. Those changes come in the form of the new privacy policy that was 
> just 
> updated a few days ago, a policy that now allows it to collect user data.
> 
> As a desktop application with no core online functionality, Audacity never 
> had 
> any need to “phone home” in the first place. Now the privacy policy says 
> that the new company does collect data and does so in a way that’s both 
> over-arching and vague, most likely by design. For example, it says that it 
> collects data necessary for law enforcement but doesn’t specify what kind of 
> data is collected.
> 
> There are also questions regarding the storage of data, which is located in 
> servers in the USA, Russia, and the European Economic Area. IP addresses, for
> example, are stored in an identifiable way for a day before being hashed and 
> then stored in servers for a year. The new policy also disallows people under 
> the age of 13 from using the software, which,  as FOSS Post points out, is a 
> violation of the GPL license that Audacity uses.
> 
> The open source community was understandably irked by these changes. 
> Fortunately, Audacity is open source software, and it will most likely be 
> taken 
> by the community and forked in a different direction, perhaps with a 
> different 
> name. That will leave Muse Group to develop Audacity on its own instead of 
> being able to leverage (and exploit) the open source community’s hard work.
> 


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Re: [GTALUG] The FOSS world's most famous incel is back...

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Tue, 23 Mar 2021 21:46:00 -0400
Evan Leibovitch via talk  wrote:

> ... hopefully, not for long.

Evan,

   Some useful and interesting references...

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman
   https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman

   Rational Wiki is interesting, since it is opinionated as all hell.  
Wikipedia is required to maintain a neutral tone.  

   Are they trying to disassociate themselves from a criminal, or do they just 
want to not be represented by an asshole?  Stallman has certainly demonstrated 
the importance of public figures STFU when the topic is something they don't 
understand.  

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Re: [GTALUG] what MUA do people like? Use?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sun, 21 Mar 2021 11:57:09 -0400 (EDT)
"D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk"  wrote:
> 
> Most of us in this household use Alpine.  Thats a venerable text-based-GUI 
> mail user agent.  I've been using Pine/Alpine since the early 1990s (when 
> I switched from Berkeley mail (like mailx on Linux)).  As you can tell, 
> I'm quite conservative.  I used to say that I changed MUAs every decade, 
> but I'm behind now.

Hugh,

   I have been running Sylpheed since 2003.  At the time, I was looking for a 
mail reader that would work offline.  This allowed me to read email while 
sitting at the landromat, disconnected from the internet.  In this day of wifi, 
this is still a useful feature.  The time comes when you should reply to the 
email, hit send-later, and read it through the next day, and possibly edit it, 
before sending it (or not).

   Sylpheed is a plain-text email program, which I generally like.  Are there 
any security issues reading rich text and HTML stuff in Thunderbird?  Sylpheed 
has some ability to manage HTML and URLs, and I can pass the email to Firefox.  

   The primary issue I have with Sylpheed is that it uses mail handler (mh) 
email format.  Maybe you like mh!  Prior to Sylpheed, I used various mbox email 
programs like Pine, Balsa kmail, Netscape and some others.  I would create 
symbolic links so that each email program would see the same inbox and archive 
files.  The address books were separate.  The only other problem I had was that 
Netscape did not delete emails.  It flipped over some tag which hid the thing 
from Netscape.  The other email programs still saw them.  How does Thunderbird 
behave?

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Re: [GTALUG] Raspberry Pi

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sat, 6 Mar 2021 07:57:05 -0500
Chris Aitken via talk  wrote:

> Am I on the wrong list for posing basic questions about Linux? I posted 
> a question a few weeks ago about about not being able to copy files 
> because of permissions and because filename had a '?' in it. I received 
> no response. I understand everyone is a volunteer. I'm not complaining - 
> just want to know if this is an appropriate forum for basic questions. I 
> know it's wrong to piggyback on this thread, but it is getting a lot of 
> traffic, so I had no choice. Do I keep posting, and just see which posts 
> are of interest to people, and which questions are not? Sorry, I'm not 
> one to take a hint or "know" when to leave a party. I need someone to 
> say, "Chris, leave the party." :)
> Chris

Chris,

   I have posted a UNIX Command Line HOWTO on my website.  I explain wildcards 
on it.

   http://home.eol.ca/~hgibson/UnixHowto.html

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Re: [GTALUG] Google wins over Oracle in Java API copyright suit

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 7 Apr 2021 10:41:22 -0400 (EDT)
"D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk"  wrote:

> The copyright law is quite draconian.  People violate it on a regular
> basis (well documented in many articles).  That's the only way it
> becomes bearable.

Hugh,

   Here is a nice article from Web Pages that Suck...

   http://www.websitesthatsuck.com/no-music-files-on-web-sites.html

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Re: [GTALUG] Has the graphics-card world gone mad?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Thu, 8 Apr 2021 01:57:39 -0400
Evan Leibovitch via talk  wrote:

> On Tue, 30 Mar 2021 at 16:25, James Knott via talk  wrote:
> 
> Life may be good, but LG products aren't.  I've had a monitor and cell
> > phone made by them.  I wasn't happy with either.

Evan,

   I bought an LG refrigerator when I bought my house in 2005.  It is working 
fine.  Maybe I got lucky.  

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Re: [GTALUG] You may already have a Windows licence and not know it …

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Tue, 13 Apr 2021 19:42:47 -0400
Stewart Russell via talk  wrote:

> If the file /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM exists (it's read-only to root),
> there's probably a key embedded in there you can pull out with strings
> 
>  Stewart

Stewart,

   That file exists on my system, and I bought it as a motherboard and 
processor.

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Re: [GTALUG] ot: headphone jac replacement?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

Karen,

   I am a mechanical designer and drafter.  I am an engineering technologist, 
certified by OACETT (http://oacett.org).

   Ask about threadlockers in the hardware store.  The really popular one is 
Loctite 242, which is a lubricating, medium strength threadlocker which is blue 
in colour.  This is very nice stuff for mechanical assembly.  The lubrication 
gives you better control over tightening torque, which is really cool if you 
are using a torque wrench. :)  Alternate threadlockers can be sealing or 
wicking.  Wicking might be very nice for you, but you probably won't find this 
stuff in a regular store.  Most threadlockers are based on Military Standard 
MIL-S-46163A, and several manufacturers make equivalent, compliant stuff.  The 
colours are part of the standard.  Purple is low strength, blue is medium, and 
red is high strength.  The blue, medium strength is good.  The red, high 
strength is difficult to remove without damaging things.  

   The regular Loctite threadlockers can be very nasty around plastic 
electronics like connectors and PCB components.  Be very, very careful to apply 
it only to metal components.  I have had some nasty experiences with this.  

   Consider usng Krazy glue, and wicking it into the thread.  If you don't glue 
your fingers together, you should be fine. Look for a thin cyanoacrylate glue.  
The thick, goopy stuff won't wick.

On Tue, 20 Apr 2021 23:30:21 -0400 (EDT)
Karen Lewellen via talk  wrote:

> i  feel better that i can place some of the locktite on the ring, then put 
> it into position.
> Will seek it at walmart or Home depot.
> 
> 
> 
> On Tue, 20 Apr 2021, James Knott via talk wrote:
> 
> > On 2021-04-20 10:31 p.m., Karen Lewellen via talk wrote:
> >>  I have the ring.
> >>  I even have more than one.
> >>  so you put this liquid on the ring and it sticks in place?
> >>  Where do I get this product?
> >
> > Typically hardware stores, etc..  Walmart has it.
> > ---
> > Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org
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> >
> >


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Re: [GTALUG] How to cut out borders of image?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sun, 5 Sep 2021 22:00:49 -0400
William Park via talk  wrote:

> Not really Linux related except for the fact that GIMP in Linux.
> 
> I have an image that is too large.  I don't want to reduce the whole 
> image.  I just want to cut out left and right borders, like you would do 
> with scissors.  How do you do that with GIMP (I assume it would be GIMP 
> thing).

William,

   GIMP has a crop tool. 

   Image Magick's convert tool also does cropping from the command line.

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Re: [GTALUG] Fedora 34 with EFI boot on Raspberry Pi 4

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Fri, 10 Sep 2021 07:34:14 -0400
Stewart Russell via talk  wrote:

> At last night's Raspberry Pi meetup, Chris Tyler demonstrated Fedora 34
> (aarch64) on Raspberry Pi 4. It's supposed to be a fully supported
> distribution, although the documentation hasn't quite caught up.

Stewart,

   Let the distribution wars begin!

   I am running Fedora 33 on all my machines at the moment, having gone
through Slackware, and various Red Hat distributions.  I have been
testing and documenting the installation of distributions, and I agree
that Ubuntu is the easiest.  Fedora is my comfort spot.   

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Re: [GTALUG] Anyone know of a service to see if someone's pretending to be me?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

David,

   There was a good article and program on CBC on Social Engineering.

   
https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/marketplace-social-engineering-sim-swap-hack-1.5009279
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck_r2GYLdCI
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc7scxvKQOo

   My take-away from this is that people have been robbing banks for hundreds 
if not thousands of years, and banks know better.  Cellphones are managed by 
service companies.  Probably, the caller is a customer.  Possibly, the caller 
is a potential customer.  Rogers lacks the blind, unreasoning paranoia access 
to your bank account or bitcoin.  My cellphone is a telephone and a wifi access 
device.   

   Try Googling your company. 
   

On Tue, 7 Sep 2021 15:37:12 -0400
David Collier-Brown via talk  wrote:

> My company just found a fake instance of themselves, so I wonder what 
> folks do to detect them?
> 
> I know politicians suffer impersonation a lot, but I don't know who's 
> out there helping people and companies find and shut down the scammers.
> 
> --dave
> 
> -- 
> David Collier-Brown, | Always do right. This will gratify
> System Programmer and Author | some people and astonish the rest
> dav...@spamcop.net   |  -- Mark Twain
> 
> ---
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Re: [GTALUG] Looking for assistance with Firefox

[Howard Gibson via talk]

Lennart,

   If you have five hundred tabs open, how do you find anything?

On Wed, 13 Oct 2021 09:43:23 -0400
Lennart Sorensen via talk  wrote:

> On Tue, Oct 12, 2021 at 01:54:31PM -0400, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:
> > Not keeping my quantity of tabs down.
> 
> Hmm, just noticed my tab count (in the main window) of my firefox says
> 503 tabs (not counting tabs in other windows although those have a
> lot less).  I think I better do some purging.
> 
> -- 
> Len Sorensen
> ---
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Re: [GTALUG] Heads up: Ubuntu 21.10 kills your desktop icons

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Tue, 19 Oct 2021 23:49:45 -0400
"Stewart C. Russell via talk"  wrote:

> GNOME have finally made good on their threat to remove all support for 
> icons on the Desktop. Any files in ~/Desktop no longer produce icons on 
> the screen. The GNOME Shell plugin that was the last thing that allowed 
> it is no longer supported. GNOME Shell itself seems broken: what was the 
> Shell Preferences browser page now bring up a 404 page from gitlab.


Stewart,

   I hate desktop icons and I hate Gnome.  I am not sure how to react
to your post.  :)

   FVWM does not support desktop icons and I love it.  XFCE and LXDE
probably do support them, and they make nice desktops.   

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[GTALUG] Man and Info Pages

[Howard Gibson via talk]

   I am updating my UNIX Command Line HOWTO.  I have a remark in my text to the 
effect that man pages contain text stating that man is obsolete, and that you 
should use the info pages instead.  

   I actually have not seen this lately.  What is the status of man and info at 
the moment? 

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Re: [GTALUG] Man and Info Pages

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Sat, 8 Jan 2022 20:39:42 -0500
"Stewart C. Russell via talk"  wrote:

> I recently spent time debugging why a major embedded 
> project never came with a PDF manual, despite their docs being managed 
> in Sphinx. It turns out that there's one instance of a Unicode omega / 
> Ohm symbol in their entire document base, and their Sphinx PDF rules 
> aren't Unicode-aware.

   That is a bit weird.  My old linuxdoc SGML file won't compile for
some reason.  If I delete half the document, it compiles.  If I delete
the other half of the document it compiles.  It appears to be length
limited, so I have converted everything over LaTeX, which has fantastic
PDF support, fairly good HTML support, and okay RTF support if I don't
do any graphics. 

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Re: [GTALUG] Package Manager upgrades on Linux

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Tue, 8 Mar 2022 15:59:16 -0500
Giles Orr via talk  wrote:
> 
> So my questions (yes, there are questions here): does anyone know of
> other package management systems?  I suppose I'm thinking of
> OS-specific ones rather than flatpak or snap.  How fast are those
> other systems relative to those already mentioned?  And do we have any
> full-time Arch users on the list?
> 
> -- 
> Giles
> https://www.gilesorr.com/
> giles...@gmail.com

Giles,

   Run a cron job at 3:00am and do updates once a week.   I assume the updates 
on my Fedora box are awful, but I am never around to see it.

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Re: [GTALUG] Sane Email System?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Thu, 3 Mar 2022 20:18:14 -0500
Peter King via talk  wrote:

> Hello!
> 
> I've just been informed that "legacy authentication" is going to be
> disabled at the University of Toronto for my email account.  Well, I
> suspected something like this was in the works when they adopted MS Outlook
> 365+ as the mail server, but it still isn't welcome.
> 
> Up to now, I've been able to use mutt and getmail for all my needs; I run a
> daemon that picks up (and then deletes) email from a variety of servers
> (University of Toronto, GMail, and so on) onto a single computer.  There
> I apply all the filters, spam protection, sorting into various inboxes,
> and so on.  To read email I just ssh in from any computer anywhere and run
> mutt.  All configurable with nice text-based scripts.  The email files are
> automatically backed up and sychronized to other computers, too.  When I'm
> out of town I have the mail be downloaded/deleteed manually, and I have
> full fallover capability, so if one machine is offline I can switch to
> another without any hiccups.
> -- 
> Peter Kingpeter.k...@utoronto.ca
> Department of Philosophy

Peter,

   I use the email client Sylpheed to access gmail among other things.   I use 
POP to download email.  I don't like leaving personal information up on the 
cloud.   Sylpheed stores it email in MH format, just like mutt.

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Re: [GTALUG] Repair & Replace

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 13 Sep 2023 15:08:02 -0400
Peter King via talk  wrote:

> But more importantly: I am way too busy right now to do the replacement 
> myself.  So, does anyone have any recommendations for good reliable 
> computer repair work, someone or some company I can just take this to 
> and tell them to do it?  I am located in the Junction.  I used to use 
> A2Z Computers, which was great, but that business didn't make it through 
> the pandemic.  I suppose I could take it to Canada Computers or 
> someplace like that, but I though their work was only just adequate and 
> priced high at that.
> 
> Any common wisdom about who might be good for this job? Thanks!\

Peter,

   I try very hard to fix my computers myself.  I especially do not like 
leaving my unencrypted hard drives in strange places.  

   Located very near Canada Computers in Etobicoke is Memory Express 
(https://www.memoryexpress.com).  The technician routed and clamped down the 
cables in my desktop, and did not charge me for it.  He did talk me into buying 
a solid state drive for my M.2 socket.  So far, I am very happy with it.

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Re: [GTALUG] (very off topic) torque spec of impact wrench

[Howard Gibson via talk]

William,

Mechanical designer here.  I specify screw torques.  

Torque is a convenient but not very accurate way to control screw tension.  
Most of your torque is friction, rather than screw tension. 

You can try whacking the end of your wrench with a hammer.  Maybe this is a 
good time to see a mechanic.  This is what they do for a living.  

On Fri, 3 Nov 2023 03:07:29 -0400
William Park via talk  wrote:

> Hi (another very off topic),
> 
> Wheel bolts on my VW are seized pretty hard.  Standing on 24in breaker 
> bar doesn't help, and that's 300ft-lb torque.  So, I'm thinking about 
> getting an impact wrench.  Those with greater than 300ft-lb are very 
> expensive.  I found one with 250ft-lb spec at my price range.
> 
> Question is, is there difference between static torque vs impact torque? 
>   In other words, will 250ft-lb impact wrench loosen 300ft-lb bolt?
> 
> Browsing YouTube, I learned that torque specs are always misleading and 
> inflated.  This means, I have to find 600ft-lb or greater, and that's 
> serious money.
> ---
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Re: [GTALUG] (very off topic) where to buy old AM/FM receiver?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

William,

   New ones are not all that expensive.  Check out Bay Bloor Radio.  I still 
have the Harmon Kardon 230E I bought 40 years ago.  I have connected the 
auxilliary port to a computer (Fedora_33). and it does a great job of playing 
YouTube. 

On Sun, 29 Oct 2023 22:16:25 -0400
William Park via talk  wrote:

> Hi, a very off topic...
> 
> While cleaning my house, I found box speakers and LP record player. 
> Brand name "Sanyo".  What's missing is AM/FM receiver that came as a 
> set.  Do you know where I can buy an old stereo AM/FM receiver?
> -- 
> ---
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Re: [GTALUG] From Slackware to which distro?

[Howard Gibson via talk]

On Wed, 27 Apr 2022 00:37:21 -0400
William Park via talk  wrote:

> Hi All,
> 
> I've been running Slackware since forever.  It's time to grow up and see 
> the world.  Which distro would you recommend that I move to?  Yes, I 
> know it's personal, and reasons will be varied and educational.

William,

   Why do you want to switch from Slackware?  I hope you understand
that when you switch to Ubuntu or Fedora, you will have to locate and
install the fortune cookie. 

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