April 2010 - WLUG - wlug.mailman3.com

REMINDER: WLUG meeting WED evening, 7:00 PM

by Andy Stewart

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 - -- Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group Founder: Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group President: PART of Westford, MA (WB1GOF) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFLxSwFOjiraCaOTOoRAgY9AJ48+m3FtDHzJFkYYXvZ+WDSOuxbSwCg4tOJ ZJq6U7xYepjyR10/dha1Jus= =kNxp -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

April 14, 2010

Upcoming meeting: April 14th (Wednesday)

by Andy Stewart

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 HI Everybody, This is an early announcement about our upcoming WLUG meeting, which is next week on Wednesday, April 14th, 2010, at 7:00 PM. I have been the acting president of WLUG since I founded the group back in July 1997. Due to increasing pressures on my personal time, I think it is time for me to step aside and let another person be the president of WLUG. I definitely have enjoyed the privilege of being the group president, and I plan to continue attending the group meetings. I think that our next meeting should include a detailed discussion of the future of WLUG, and sometime soon, an election of at least a president, and probably a treasurer. I am happy to continue acting as president until such an election occurs. I don't know if we really need a vice president and or a secretary, but those topics should definitely be part of the discussion. I think the group has been very successful due to all of you who come to the meetings, give presentations, etc. This announcement, and the election of a new president, will definitely change the group. I see this is an opportunity for the group to grow in different ways. There is no doubt that the group will be different. Whether it becomes better or worse is really up to all of us. I look forward, as always, to seeing you at the meeting *next* week on Wednesday, April 14th. Later, Andy - -- Andy Stewart (KB1OIQ) Founder: Worcester Linux Users' Group Founder: Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group President: PART of Westford, MA (WB1GOF) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFLuoNmOjiraCaOTOoRAun1AJ9Wz6jx4wvHKat9UUnOhrjcsIeZEgCglkUD x02mDM/AGIAGYPwAQ48qDUg= =iwnj -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

April 6, 2010

Re: [Wlug] How to manipulate audio (ALSA) a lot with a HD audio card?

by Gregory Avedissian

You might be looking for something like jackaudio or maybe pulseaudio. I know that Jack lets you connect things any way you want. Not sure about pulse. http://jackaudio.org/ The extra jack on your computer is probably a line in, for external sources, such as your stereo. You should be able to record input from that in Audacity without doing anything special. Recording digital input is another story, and I don't know that story. Greg Tatsh wrote: > Stupid Intel decided to build-in DRM into the spec of these things. I have a > Conexant which has Nvidia codec to provide audio for the HDMI output (this > works fine except that in alsa settings I have to force a default output > device, 3). > > What I'd like to do is be able to record from the stereo mixer, which I have > none in alsamixer. So how do I go about creating one? I've tried a few > different configs I found on-line but nothing seemed to work for me. > > WIth this capability of course I could record audio from my computer in say, > Audacity, or I could even broadcast audio through Skype. And the best part > would be if I could broadcast audio through Skype AND use my headset at the > same time (mixing the 2 into one channel input). I have 3 mic inputs > apparently (one of them is webcam, another is the jack, and I don't know what > the 3rd one is). > > Image of KMix: http://bitpic.net/image/kmix-nvidia-hd-audio-codec > > So far I know it's something I can do with ALSA settings where I can tell ALSA > to redirect audio and 'copy' whatever is going on on any input channel > (overriding the jack of course). No luck there yet. > > Any help appreciated > Thanks

April 2, 2010

Two Senior IT positions open at TripAdvisor in Newton (IT and Operations)

by Ryan Pugatch

Hi all, We have a couple of tech positions open at TripAdvisor. The first is for a "Principal Technical Operations Engineer" which is on our operations team, handling our livesite environment. The second, "IT Lead", is on our internal IT team. Below are the job postings. We're definitely looking for people with several years experience. If you are interested, please email me your resume. I am also glad to answer any questions. - Ryan (Systems Administrator @ TripAdvisor) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Principal Technical Operations Engineer Hundreds of servers. Thousands of requests per second. Millions of users. Two admins (you could be number 3)! We are looking for a senior hands-on network (mostly Cisco) and systems (mostly Linux) administrator. You will have several years of prior experience in the operation of one or more of the following: High traffic web application OR Software as a service OR Internet/Network Service Provider TripAdvisor is the top site for travel advice and reviews on the Internet. It is very profitable. It's also a fun place to work where "speed wins" is the operating principle. We move fast. We are flexible and we take risks. An open mind and ideas are always welcome. Dogmatism and inflexibility not so much. You will play a lead role in the design and operation of the network, server, and datacenter infrastructure beneath TripAdvisor's applications. The environment currently spans 3 datacenters, and that is likely to increase. You will work closely with the software engineering team to support product changes and enhance their performance, scalability, reliability, and security. We are small team. You will be expected to work on a project or task from end to end with a comfort level running projects and implementing the details. One day you might be working with our ISPs to transition from static routing to BGP, and the next day you are racking and cabling switches. This morning you are kicking off a load balancer replacement project, and in the afternoon you are upgrading firewall firmware after you determine that we are exposed to a potential security vulnerability. This week you are putting together a comprehensive network monitoring system, and next week you are running tcpdump with a DBA to try and diagnose why database replication is "slow". You will have a thorough knowledge of enterprise networking including Cisco switching, routing, and security as well as TCP/IP internals. You will also preferably have a strong Linux or Unix background. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- IT Lead TripAdvisor is looking for an IT generalist who will provide leadership and mentoring to a team of 4 supporting the IT needs of roughly 350 employees worldwide. This role is part hands-on sysadmin and part team lead with the potential to grow into a team management role. TripAdvisor is the top site for travel advice and reviews on the Internet. It is very profitable. It's also a fun place to work where "speed wins" is the operating principle. We move fast. We are flexible and we take risks. An open mind and ideas are always welcome. Dogmatism and inflexibility not so much. We are not your typical Windows / Active Directory / Exchange shop. Desktops: 60% Windows 40% OSX. Our email/collaboration system is Zimbra running on Linux. Our phone system is Asterisk running on Linux. Instead of Active Directory, we use OpenLDAP. Our file/print servers run Samba. We tend to prefer open solutions that we can take off the shelf and adapt to our needs, but we are not wedded to a particular OS or vendor. To be successful in this role you will: Possess excellent interpersonal skills, patience, and a genuine desire to help people with their technology challenges Have strong troubleshooting skills and a diagnostic intuition Enjoy and excel at mentoring other talented team members to reach their full potential Be a self-starter. If you don't know how to do something you consider it a challenge to try to figure it out for yourself You will have demonstrated experience with: Linux systems administration Windows systems administration Samba OpenLDAP Postfix Server virtualization Scripting (perl, python, bash...) Duties and Responsibilities include: Operation of corporate networked applications and infrastructure (Zimbra, OpenLDAP, Samba, Asterisk) Overseeing backups of roughly 20+TB of data weekly Ensuring the security of TripAdvisor's corporate systems Procuring and deploying server hardware Tier 2/3 Helpdesk support Working with the Director of IT to develop IT strategy

April 2, 2010

Re: [Wlug] the website is in need of some love

by Tim Keller

Yeah, I agree the site needs an overhaul. However, what does the website need to minimally do? * - Meeting Information * - Mailing List sign up * - Past Meeting info * - IRC channel info We've kicked around the idea of a wiki, which I'd be totally cool with and I'd help maintain. My personal opinion is that between the IRC channel, Dr. Google and the mailing list, a forum is overkill. On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 3:02 PM, Chuck Anderson <cra(a)wpi.edu> wrote: > On Thu, Apr 01, 2010 at 09:20:44AM -0400, Jeff Moyer wrote: > > I'm not sure who maintains it, but it's in a very sad state at the > > moment. > > Congratulations! You've just been volunteered to enhance it! :-) > > But hey, at least it validates now. > > Seriously though, if anyone would like to help, feel free to email me. > There was a time when I was playing with Moin for a wiki site but that > fell by the wayside. I really need to rebuild the system that the web > server is running on, so I could deploy something new/better if there > was someone who would commit to helping maintain it. I just don't > have the time to do anything fancy, learn new web frameworks, etc. > > Alternatively, people could submit some designs, code, and content > that uses plain HTML/CSS and I could maintain that manually. > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

April 2, 2010

Re: [Wlug] How to manipulate audio (ALSA) a lot with a HD audio card?

by E Johnson

I can't answer these questions, but have a question about one idea in here. > WIth this capability of course I could record audio from my computer in say, Audacity, or I could even broadcast audio through Skype. I don't think broadcasting audio (would this be music??) through Skype would create the greatest audio, since Skype is so sensitive to packet loss & all. Each (small) packet has to be received at its destination in perfect order, and on-time. If one or more hops that your signal is taking is running slow (as it gets in Worcester in the evenings), then packets get lost and have to be resubmitted. Check your technical details next time you're in a skype convo, then do a traceroute on the IP of your skype contact --you can see this happening. If this is the case when you're sending recorded audio through it, you would be likely to suffer from chopped-up sound, which happens in skype a lot. So if you broadcast through skype and there's a lot of latency, or if your router is swamped because there's a lot of traffic inside of your network, then you would end up making square waves in the skype out of what probably started out as a perfectly nice audio signal. You could try to counteract that (I guess) by running some kind of QOS in your router, but even that itself slows the router down a little bit, as every packet has to be evaluated according to your QOS table. Just wondering. Liz J On 1 April 2010 10:14, Tatsh <ddrtist(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Stupid Intel decided to build-in DRM into the spec of these things. I have > a > Conexant which has Nvidia codec to provide audio for the HDMI output (this > works fine except that in alsa settings I have to force a default output > device, 3). > > What I'd like to do is be able to record from the stereo mixer, which I > have > none in alsamixer. So how do I go about creating one? I've tried a few > different configs I found on-line but nothing seemed to work for me. > > WIth this capability of course I could record audio from my computer in > say, > Audacity, or I could even broadcast audio through Skype. And the best part > would be if I could broadcast audio through Skype AND use my headset at the > same time (mixing the 2 into one channel input). I have 3 mic inputs > apparently (one of them is webcam, another is the jack, and I don't know > what > the 3rd one is). > > Image of KMix: http://bitpic.net/image/kmix-nvidia-hd-audio-codec > > So far I know it's something I can do with ALSA settings where I can tell > ALSA > to redirect audio and 'copy' whatever is going on on any input channel > (overriding the jack of course). No luck there yet. > > Any help appreciated > Thanks > -- > Tatsh > www.bitpic.net > www.tatsh.net > ddrtist(a)gmail.com > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

April 2, 2010

Re: [Wlug] Use Drupal On The Web Site - Wlug Digest, Vol 78, Issue 1

by Steven Greenberg

I am all in favor of Jeff's suggestion. I first tested Drupal on my personal web site (http://www.ssgreenberg.name/Drupal/Drupal/) I then convinced my Square Dance Club to let me work with the Webmaster to convert that site to Drupal. We have had nothing but raves from the readers since we converted. http://www.hayloftsteppers.org/ When judging the site, remember, we are (or were) engineers, not artists. /Steve > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: > Re: [Wlug] the website is in need of some love > From: > Tatsh <ddrtist(a)gmail.com> > Date: > Thu, 1 Apr 2010 10:05:30 -0400 > To: > wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > > To: > wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > > > Would be cool to do it over in Drupal. > > NOT JOOMLA (should be called 'piece of crap please give up already!')! > > All you need is a blog post system (built-in) to write about events, and add > custom fields like time if you want, etc etc. From a design stand point, there > is no reason to use images for the textual links, especially obviously > compressed JPEGs. > > Late > > Jeff Moyer wrote: >> I'm not sure who maintains it, but it's in a very sad state at the >> moment. >> >> Cheers, >> Jeff -- Steven Greenberg Email: steve(a)ssgreenberg.name 251 Holland Rd. Phone: (774)241-0095 Fiskdale, Massachusetts 01518-1231 Web: http://www.ssgreenberg.name Other Email: s.greenberg(a)ieee.org ssg(a)alum.mit.edu

April 1, 2010

Re: [Wlug] the website is in need of some love

by Chuck Anderson

On Thu, Apr 01, 2010 at 09:20:44AM -0400, Jeff Moyer wrote: > I'm not sure who maintains it, but it's in a very sad state at the > moment. Congratulations! You've just been volunteered to enhance it! :-) But hey, at least it validates now. Seriously though, if anyone would like to help, feel free to email me. There was a time when I was playing with Moin for a wiki site but that fell by the wayside. I really need to rebuild the system that the web server is running on, so I could deploy something new/better if there was someone who would commit to helping maintain it. I just don't have the time to do anything fancy, learn new web frameworks, etc. Alternatively, people could submit some designs, code, and content that uses plain HTML/CSS and I could maintain that manually.

April 1, 2010

How to manipulate audio (ALSA) a lot with a HD audio card?

by Tatsh

Stupid Intel decided to build-in DRM into the spec of these things. I have a Conexant which has Nvidia codec to provide audio for the HDMI output (this works fine except that in alsa settings I have to force a default output device, 3). What I'd like to do is be able to record from the stereo mixer, which I have none in alsamixer. So how do I go about creating one? I've tried a few different configs I found on-line but nothing seemed to work for me. WIth this capability of course I could record audio from my computer in say, Audacity, or I could even broadcast audio through Skype. And the best part would be if I could broadcast audio through Skype AND use my headset at the same time (mixing the 2 into one channel input). I have 3 mic inputs apparently (one of them is webcam, another is the jack, and I don't know what the 3rd one is). Image of KMix: http://bitpic.net/image/kmix-nvidia-hd-audio-codec So far I know it's something I can do with ALSA settings where I can tell ALSA to redirect audio and 'copy' whatever is going on on any input channel (overriding the jack of course). No luck there yet. Any help appreciated Thanks -- Tatsh www.bitpic.net www.tatsh.net ddrtist(a)gmail.com

April 1, 2010

Re: [Wlug] the website is in need of some love

by Tatsh

Would be cool to do it over in Drupal. NOT JOOMLA (should be called 'piece of crap please give up already!')! All you need is a blog post system (built-in) to write about events, and add custom fields like time if you want, etc etc. From a design stand point, there is no reason to use images for the textual links, especially obviously compressed JPEGs. Late Jeff Moyer wrote: > I'm not sure who maintains it, but it's in a very sad state at the > moment. > > Cheers, > Jeff > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > -- Tatsh www.tatsh.net ddrtist(a)gmail.com

April 1, 2010