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second annual Northeast Linux Fest

by Jonathan Nadeau

Hello list Announcing the 2nd annual Northeast GNU/Linuxfest. Where: Worcester State University, Worcester MA When: March 17, 2012 Info: http://northeastlinuxfest.org Last year we had just speakers at the event. This year we are stepping it up considerably. We are featuring a hackerspace competition where teams from across the Northeast will compete for prizes for best design. This years theme is accessibility. We will also hold LPI and BSD exams on the morning of the event. The folks from Open Street Map will hold workshops throughout the day. We also have tables from various sponsors. Among the keynote speakers this year will be the other organizer for the event Jonathan Nadeau. Jonathan is blind but this has not prevented him from working with Debian, Fedora and Triquel in hopes of making each distribution more accessible for vision impaired or physically disabled. This is an event that can also be used to meet other people in the linux world and make new contacts. This is an all day event. All events will be held in the main student center. There is also a cafeteria on the second floor which features a $5 all you can eat buffet. Last but not least, if you are 21 or older we have our very popular after party event at Jillians. We also have arranged to get special room rates at the Worcester Marriott. You must reserve your room before February 17, 2012 to get this rate. You can either use the link off the Northeastlinuxfest website or you can make reservations over the phone but be sure to mention the Northeast Linuxfest group to get the rate. You can get to Worcester by train or bus if you do not have a ride. You can find that information on the website as well. We hope you can attend and most most important, the admission is free! The website again is http://northeastlinuxfest.org Take back control of your software, take back control of your computer! -- Jonathan Nadeau http://www.jnadeau.org Northeast GNU/Linux fest http://www.northeastlinuxfest.org

Jan. 10, 2012

Re: [Wlug] Meeting this week???

by Chuck Anderson

Yes, we are having our usual 2nd Wednesday meeting. On Mon, Jan 09, 2012 at 03:59:17PM -0500, Henrique wrote: > Well, > > Still does not answer the original question, are we having the meeting? > Can anyone reach Chuck? > > Thanks, > Henrique. > > On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 8:41 AM, Tim Keller <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > Funny enough, I just built up a rack of machines to do some Hadoop testing! > > > > > > > > On Jan 8, 2012, at 11:43 PM, Henrique <nican(a)WPI.EDU> wrote: > > > > Hey, > > > > I finished reading the "Java NIO," which is about Java's new I/O, and > > "Hadoop," a database which Facebook uses to handle 21Petabytes of > > information which was originally based on Google's MapReduce papers (Also > > started reading a book on C#/.NET) and I would happy to make a > > presentation about the technologies. > > > > Happy new year, > > Henrique "nican" Polido. > > > > > > > > > > On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 9:11 PM, Tim Keller <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > >> Hey gang, > >> > >> Are we going to have a meeting this week? If so, what topic would people > >> like to talk about? > >> > >> Thanks, > >> Tim.

Jan. 9, 2012

Re: [Wlug] Meeting this week???

by Henrique

Well, Still does not answer the original question, are we having the meeting? Can anyone reach Chuck? Thanks, Henrique. On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 8:41 AM, Tim Keller <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Funny enough, I just built up a rack of machines to do some Hadoop testing! > > > > On Jan 8, 2012, at 11:43 PM, Henrique <nican(a)WPI.EDU> wrote: > > Hey, > > I finished reading the "Java NIO," which is about Java's new I/O, and > "Hadoop," a database which Facebook uses to handle 21Petabytes of > information which was originally based on Google's MapReduce papers (Also > started reading a book on C#/.NET) and I would happy to make a > presentation about the technologies. > > Happy new year, > Henrique "nican" Polido. > > > > > On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 9:11 PM, Tim Keller <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> Hey gang, >> >> Are we going to have a meeting this week? If so, what topic would people >> like to talk about? >> >> Thanks, >> Tim. >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wlug mailing list >> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >> > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > >

Jan. 9, 2012

Re: [Wlug] Monitor resolution ...

by Theodore Ruegsegger

Kieran O'Callaghan wrote: > Yep. It's the same sad situation as the birth of Winmodems. You can > expect to only get the lowest common denominator junk, or to pay a > premium for a vastly reduced selection of 'professional' monitors. So true, for so much, from the tech shop to the produce aisle. > ... the wolves have voted with their wallets and you're what's for > dinner. As long as we're mixing metaphors so delightfully, isn't it the sheep that vote with their wallets? The wolves are happy to shear them either way! Thanks for my first guffaw of the day, Ted

Jan. 9, 2012

Re: [Wlug] Meeting this week???

by Tim Keller

Funny enough, I just built up a rack of machines to do some Hadoop testing! On Jan 8, 2012, at 11:43 PM, Henrique <nican(a)WPI.EDU> wrote: > Hey, > > I finished reading the "Java NIO," which is about Java's new I/O, and "Hadoop," a database which Facebook uses to handle 21Petabytes of information which was originally based on Google's MapReduce papers (Also started reading a book on C#/.NET) and I would happy to make a presentation about the technologies. > > Happy new year, > Henrique "nican" Polido. > > > > > On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 9:11 PM, Tim Keller <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hey gang, > > Are we going to have a meeting this week? If so, what topic would people like to talk about? > > Thanks, > Tim. > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

Jan. 9, 2012

Re: [Wlug] Monitor resolution ...

by Kieran O'Callaghan

Yep. It's the same sad situation as the birth of Winmodems. You can expect to only get the lowest common denominator junk, or to pay a premium for a vastly reduced selection of 'professional' monitors. There was a good XKCD that went something like: "Wow, 1080 lines! That's nearly _twice_ the vertical resolution of my phone!". I mean, it is a golden age if you want a really, really physically large monitor for a low price. If you really care about other specs though, you're out of luck, the wolves have voted with their wallets and you're what's for dinner. On Sat, 2012-01-07 at 11:37 -0500, Gregory Boyce wrote: > The general public has been trained that HD resolutions are the best, > and LCD manufacturers get economy of scale by making TVs and monitors > at 1080p ) > > On Jan 7, 2012 11:30 AM, "David Glaser" <dglaser(a)glaserresearch.net> > wrote: > I was looking at monitors at WurstBuy and noticed that the > maximum vertical resolution is 1080 lines. > > I then looked at the sites of the various monitor > manufacturers and also noticed that almost all of their > offerings has a maximum vertical resolution of 1080 lines. > You could get higher resolution but the prices are through the > roof. > > Can anyone shed some light on the trend? > > -David > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug -- Kieran O'Callaghan kieran(a)tiac.net Cell: (978) 760-1428

Jan. 9, 2012

Re: [Wlug] Meeting this week???

by Henrique

Hey, I finished reading the "Java NIO," which is about Java's new I/O, and "Hadoop," a database which Facebook uses to handle 21Petabytes of information which was originally based on Google's MapReduce papers (Also started reading a book on C#/.NET) and I would happy to make a presentation about the technologies. Happy new year, Henrique "nican" Polido. On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 9:11 PM, Tim Keller <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hey gang, > > Are we going to have a meeting this week? If so, what topic would people > like to talk about? > > Thanks, > Tim. > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Jan. 9, 2012

Meeting this week???

by Tim Keller

Hey gang, Are we going to have a meeting this week? If so, what topic would people like to talk about? Thanks, Tim.

Jan. 9, 2012

Re: [Wlug] Acer Flat-screen monitor, needs repair, does anyone want?

by E Johnson

Wow. Lot of work. Nice job on the work & the explanation. Yes, I suppose the subject pertains more to a DIY forum than to LUGs, but the discussion ended up here because I wanted to offer it to one of the LUG people if possible, before I offered it to the rest of the world. Glad it worked out, & again I appreciate the extra details. Liz On 7 January 2012 15:23, David P. Connell <davec99(a)charter.net> wrote: > That was the only real issue with the whole thing - getting it apart > blind. It ended up coming apart more like a cell phone than a monitor, > by my experience. Once the stand is off, there is only one screw to > remove, then its the trusty old guitar pick (secret tool of the cell > phone/ipod industry) to remove the rear cover. Not required, but I also > removed the whole screen and electronics modules from the rest of the > plastics by removing 4 more screws - 2 on each side. The real > difficulty, in order to make it look untouched, was that the power > supply electronics and video inputs were under a steel cover that was > fastened down with metalic tape, which I did not have in stock. I > replaced by being careful and using some double-sided clear tape > (Later). I slipped the button array circuit board loose from the frame > and let it dangle carefully. I disconnected the output lines to the > 'inverter/backlight/rest of the display electronics' which are > dangerously exposed across the entire bottom of the screen, but fairly > sturdy (double-sided tape?). This allowed me to move the unneeded parts > well away from dropped tools, etc. Those connections were hard to > disconnect, only because they are well-made and require some wiggling. > I believe I left my mark most evidently there, especially since I > numbered them and didn't bother to clean off the numbers. After doing > one, I believe I could probably complete the process without anyone > knowing I had been in there. Except....I used a totally different brand > of capacitor with higher temperature ratings and the physical sizes were > different as well. I matched the ratings otherwise. I guess I had to > unplug those cable to remove the two boards to properly inspect and work > on them. I guess there were 5 more screws there. And the video cable > connector screws/nuts had to come off as they were holding that side of > the small board into the cage. The heat sink was on the small board and > itself was very small. The caps were all on the power supply board. It > is made to be set up in several configurations. I didn't study whether > that was for different models or just different caps. but I used the > same positions as before, since the holes were left open from my > de-soldering braid. The caps are all tacked down with a solid > silicone-like substance. I used a matching almond silicone that is a > little more rubbery, but still electronically neutral (enough). I > finished cleaning up the dust with my trusty dollar brush, blew out > everything with the canned air, and put it back together. It has been > on ever since I finished and let the silicone dry for a while (hair > dryer helped). It only just now exhibited a little bit of what I would > call a 'hot chip', but I am definitely not a pro (I was an English > Major), since there were a couple of black sections that remained until > I passed the mouse over them. The Samsung I fixed a few months ago did > that occasionally as well, but not very often, and then seem to stop, so > I don't really know. If that is the only thing wrong, I will call it > "useable" or "donateable" but maybe not "saleable". I know, I know, an > English Major who makes up his own words....I enjoyed the time spent > doing the repair, but if I charged what I make at my real job, it might > come out pretty close to what I paid for this Acer 23" that I am using > right now (which is why I bought it even after I repaired the Samsung - > and like Liz and company - you have to have working tools to get your > job done). Sorry for such a long message about hardware and nothing > about Linux - hardware is more my strength these days. > > DaveC

Jan. 7, 2012

Re: [Wlug] Acer Flat-screen monitor, needs repair, does anyone want?

by David P. Connell

And just for reference - not to dump on the company (if they even exist anymore!), all the electrolytics I removed from Liz's Acer monitor were from CapXon. And don't ask why I save them, but more than half the ones I have replaced have the same color scheme as these (green/gold writing). Maybe it is a rating (temperature, ramps up and down, etc.) I should know these things....and there are certainly what are considered 'premium' grade capacitors. DaveC On 1/7/2012 10:28 AM, Kieran O'Callaghan wrote: > The funny smell is usually from electrolyte leaking from bad capacitors. > They were Abit ones affected by the so-called Capacitor Plague: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague > There was an interesting industrial espionage story behind that where a > Taiwanese was using an electrolyte formulation that was only partially > recreated from a Japanese manufacturer. Continuing capacitor problems > might be from that same formula still bouncing around, or they might be > plain old heat problems, or simple under-engineering. > > On Fri, 2012-01-06 at 17:33 -0500, E Johnson wrote: >> Dave, >> >> Very glad to know that you managed to resurrect this thing. Meanwhile >> I am very happy with the new one. >> >> Thanks for the feedback on how you repaired this unit. Its twin here >> (not in warranty) is still running fine, but I can imagine I someday >> might have to deal with a similar problem in this one. >> I used to build& instect& troubleshoot small electronic devices, >> mainly little telemetry units for rockets,& mysterious black boxes >> for aircraft carriers. Except now I have no soldering tools any more. >> >> Anyway, mybe the dysfunctional heat sink was what caused the heat >> problem& early demise of the monitor. I now recall a "funny" smell >> right after the first blackout. >> >> Hopefully the heat sink on the remaining one here is glued on well >> enough. If the DH ever turns loose of Monitor 2 long enough, maybe we >> can take a look. >> >> Dave - How much disassembly is required before the heat sink is visible? >> >> Thanks again to everyone here. >> >> Liz J >> >> On 6 January 2012 15:55, David P. Connell<davec99(a)charter.net> wrote: >>> Just for general info: the aforementioned Acer monitor from Liz had >>> several obviously bad caps in the power supply section. They were all >>> from the same manufacturer and the worst were all the same value. As >>> mentioned below, I just replaced all of them while I had it open - well, >>> not the very largest, or the very smallest, nor the solid ones. The big >>> and small ones looked pretty good, with no signs of bulging or leakage >>> and I'm hoping they were made on a different assembly line, since the >>> values were way different from the bad ones. >>> >>> It has been running for about 18 hours, played a full DVD movie, and >>> returns from powers-saving mode. I'm not entirely convinced that one of >>> the IC's is not running at the edge of its specs, since there was some >>> evidence of heat there. Also, on the video output board, there was a >>> poorly adhered heatsink that I reattached with a spec of super glue and >>> a small gob of silicone fixant. It was kind of tipped over onto another >>> chip and not doing its job - probably not an electrical problem. >>> >>> I am glad, and hope for the future, that there is nothing wrong with the >>> part that would normally encompass the inverter, because it is >>> integrated into the LCD itself and runs the full width of the screen. >>> If I were to be very careful, I could restore the bad caps and try to >>> take advantage of Acer's (so far) excellent customer service and >>> warranty service, but the way the monitor was constructed insured a lot >>> of evidence is left of any repair work (special tapes, tricky plugs, etc >>> - no seals though). >>> >>> I have also had to do a capacitor replacement on my otherwise very nice >>> Samsung SyncMaster 226BW. Thank goodness for forums! >>> >>> By the way, I am down to a single machine running MythBuntu/MythTV as >>> far as Linux goes, although I am constantly using various Live CD's for >>> the ease of use, testing, and tools they provide. I also have a couple >>> of Android devices, but haven't dug inside them much except to 'root', etc. >>> >>> Thanks Liz also - the time was enjoyable, finding the parts helped me >>> find some other stuff, and it worked! It goes very nicely with my Acer >>> 23"LCD/LED. >>> >>> DaveC >>> >>> On 1/6/2012 11:51 AM, John Stoffel wrote: >>>> Tim> Funny you say that. We have dozens of those monitors where I >>>> Tim> work and we pick one day a month and for about 2 hours we set up >>>> Tim> a assembly line. One person desolders the bad caps, another >>>> Tim> person solders on new ones, then we have one monitor we use as a >>>> Tim> test rig. We can crank them out at this point. Though we long >>>> Tim> ago figured which 5 caps are the likely culprits and we just >>>> Tim> replace them all, even if the cap looks good. >>>> >>>> I love the Samsung 204Bs, I wish I could get more of them. Nice >>>> 1600x1200 display, pan/tilt/height adjustments, etc. Got any you want >>>> to sell? >>>> >>>> John >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Wlug mailing list >>>> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >>>> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> David P. Connell >>> "Watch where you're going; remember where you've been." >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wlug mailing list >>> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >>> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >> _______________________________________________ >> Wlug mailing list >> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug -- David P. Connell "Watch where you're going; remember where you've been."

Jan. 7, 2012