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Trial By Fire
by Marie MacDonald Jan. 21, 2006

Jan. 21, 2006

Greetings All! You may recall a while back I was asking questions about Linux laptops and video capture and editing software for Linux As luck would have it, I was given a shiny new (well, slightly used) Linux desktop compuer. It is running the Novell distro (see I'm learning!!) and I'm loving it. As fate would have it, my laptop died two days ago and this Linux system is all I have left. I no longer have the luxury of time to fiddle and learn. I am working my way through that Novell Linux Desktop free online training, but for some reason that's not allowing me to log in. That's not my question though. No matter how hard I try, I can't install software. I have read the manual and I know how to log in to the root system and activate YaST. I was trying to install Thunderbird 1.5. But I'm enjoying using Evolution, so perhaps I'll forgo Thunderbird for now. I just could not get YaST to recognize or "see" the Thunderbird package. I even figured out "change source of installation", all to no avail. Do downloadable software packages for Linux come with intallers? Can anyone help with advice for YaSt? Is my issue with the Thunderbird 1.5 package perhaps? Quite frankly if it's this hard (frustrating!) to install software, I'm not gonna be a happy gal. I still have other things I want to add to this snappy little computer (i.e. my Palm) but darn there's gotta be an easier way. Spring semester starts 26 January and I need this up and running. Thanks for any advice, support, shoulders to cry on Marie mimsresearch(a)gmail.com

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For Sale: Alpha PWS 600AU
by Phillip G Deneault Jan. 19, 2006

Jan. 19, 2006

600mhz Alpha with 384megs of ram. On board sound and LAN. This is a REAL AU model, with the qlogic SCSI card and the powerstorm video card(in case you wanted to run OpenVMS). I would recommend using a different video card or using the serial console for anything BSD or Linux. I believe it has a 9 gig SCSI disk in it, but I've suplemented it with a 50gig IDE drive on the IDE chain. I've also replaced the IDE CD-ROM with an 68-pin SCSI CD-ROM(yes, thats right, 68-pin). I also have all the original docs with it. I was running FreeBSD 5.3 on it until a week ago when I upgraded the machine. Nice little hobby system. $200 bucks or best offer. If anyone has any questions, or wishes to haggle, please reply to me(and not the list, they hate that). Thanks, Phil

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Numerous Linux job opportunities
by Andy Stewart Jan. 18, 2006

Jan. 18, 2006

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 HI everybody, I'm posting these job opportunities on behalf of John Spencer (jspencer(a)optimaleng.com) Please contact John directly if you have any interest in these opportunities. Andy =====start===== Multiple Linux Contract openings in MA ********************************************************** 1) 6 Months+ in the Wilmington, MA area Responsibilities: As a senior member of the core routing platform group you will be responsible for developing forwarding engine device drivers for next generation enterprise products. Drivers will be developed in C on a Linux platform running on MAC and Layer 1 & 2 chipsets. Required Skills & Experiences: * Strong device driver development experience in C/Linux environments * Solid Ethernet and Layer 2 and Layer 3 protocol experience * Experience with either MAC or other Layer 1 & 2 chipsets highly desired - --------------------------------------------------------------- 2) 2 months+, Billerica MA area Our client needs a contractor for 1-3 months. Responsibilities include: development of new code, bug fixing and maintenance of existing code, porting and integration of new drivers Skills sets required: Expert level proficiency of writing code in C/C++, embedded Linux OS (MontaVista), kernel internals, device drivers, system integration, debugging Technologies: Networking protocols, data communications, embedded SNMP agent, wireless protocols (madWiFi) Experience: minimum 10 years - -------------------------------- 3) 6 months, Acton, MA Area (2 positions) Our customer is looking for 2 software Linux Development Engineers to work in conjunction with the hardware design team to build an interface to their backplane. Will be working closely with development team in Taiwan who is doing most of the work. Ability to speak mandarin a plus but not required. 1st opening: Must have experience with Linux Device driver kernel, C programming, ability to write device driver to interface to the FPGA, knowledgeable about performance issues, Ethernet knowledge important. 6-8 months. 2nd opening: Linux Driver Systems software experience; responsible for device driver and user space Unix daemons that need modifications to run on this board. For this position, person must have FW BIOS (they are hoping the ODM will do this work but this person may need to work closely with them). Both of these positions need consultant to be flexible, willing to participate with ODM conference calls in Taiwan and their is a 13 hr. time difference. This is part of a large development effort for a new blade for their x-services product which is being mainly developed through Taiwan. - --------------------------------- 4) 3 months+, Marlboro, MA area Our client needs a strong C++ coder who is comfortable on Linux systems within the application space. to do a mix of sustaining and new development for disk to disk storage. Strong familiarity with Distributed systems highly desirable. Storage or back-up experience required. - ---------------------------------- 5) 6 months+, Waltham, MA area This is a Linux low level (close to the hardware) drivers req. Scope of Responsibilities/Expectations Mid/Senior level software developer responsible for design and development of user mode device drivers and system utilities of Broadcom or Sigma Designs chips (little Indian MIPs based) platforms based on the Linux operating system. * Candidate is expected to have a history of design and implementation of Linux device-drivers and system utilities in a fast paced environment * Knowledge of Digital STBs, especially experience with Cable Card development is desirable Specifics: * 5+ years experience with C, C++ or assembly-language programming for Linux and/or Unix targets. * 3+ years experience designing, developing and implementing Linux and/or Unix device drivers. * The candidate must be adaptable, flexible and willing to take on new challenges. * The candidate must be a team player, and must be able to work with multiple engineering and cross-functional teams. Additional Desirable Skills * Experienced in developing software for MIPS targets. * Experienced with Multi-media processing - including MPEG2, MP3 and JPEG * Experienced with hardware features such as CPU/memory architectures, DMA engines, Boot loaders, I2C, PCI, Ethernet, USB, IEEE-1394, RS-232, etc. Experienced in developing software to interface Cable Cards into digital STBs - ----------------------------------- 6) 6 months+, Westford MA *Position:* Senior Embedded Software engineer for 6 months, temp. to perm. likelihood *Essential Responsibilities and Duties:* Responsible for architecting, designing, and developing protocols and system software for customer's Optical and Cable broadband access products. Customer is bringing up a brand new board and for that effort they need someone that can write Linux hardware drivers (currently using v2.6) for a variety of different devices. *Required skills, knowledge and abilities*: Experience with C/C++ in an embedded development environment for networking equipment (routers, switches) is required. Experience with VxWorks, and Embedded Linux RTOS is preferred. Must have current experience writing Linux hardware drivers. Networking Industry experience spanning the breadth and depth of Layer Two to Layer Four - from VLAN, Bridging, Switching, DHCP, IP, TCP, UDP, and Multicast applications. Experience developing data-path for communication protocols and NPUs is a plus but not required - ------------------------------------- 7) 6 months+, Bedford, MA area Immediate need for Linux expert to write drivers at OS level for a Service processor. Lots of work going on in this group. The current tasks on the Linux based Service Processor that a contractor would concentrate are ; implementing CLI commands and API functions which maybe transparent calls to Linux OS functions. Other functions that need to be implemented are; supporting networking status and configuration, sensor monitoring, log collection/protection/storage, and field escalation/service mode features. If you are interested and qualified in any of these openings, please forward your confidential resume to jspencer(a)optimaleng.com Please note, your resume will not go anywhere without your prior approval. Regards, John Spencer jspencer(a)optimaleng.com =====end===== - -- Andy Stewart, Founder Worcester Linux Users' Group Worcester, MA, USA http://www.wlug.org -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.5 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFDzZYvHl0iXDssISsRAhOrAJ9IslSUPlOjzguhTHlFvlCnNeHVYwCcDBfV CYxMc3jp5HPP/Rt0zssOtCs= =TyQA -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: [Wlug] google video...
by Clint Moyer Jan. 16, 2006

Jan. 16, 2006

Oh god! I thought that had finally died... ---- "Keller wrote: > Last night I had mentioned the Christmas light display. > Open Browser > Goto google video and search for "Christmas Lights" it'll be the first > result returned. > > Tim. > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

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Re: [Wlug] encrypted files
by Stephen C. Daukas Jan. 14, 2006

Jan. 14, 2006

Chuck hit the nail on the head... The general question that is best to begin with is 'what do you want to protect and what is it worth?' The common metaphor used in security is 'how much does it cost to build the wall versus the value of what the wall protects.' In other words, long keys and the time to encrypt/decrypt, etc., etc., is probably not what you want for your everyday files. It this really is required for everyday files, you are into a model similar to what government agencies do (google "Orange Book" - the nickname for the US standards for computing security - at least when I was into this stuff - but the concepts remain the same). If there are a few things that are really vital, then compartmentalize them and apply lots of security to them (i.e., don't keep them on a hard drive that is on a network - physical security - or encrypt them on removable media - soft and physical security). Depending on what the value is, you can start getting into all kinds of systems that are a real pain to use (and that is another reason why they are more secure). There are lots of other ways to make security easier and still useful. Another approach is "something you have and something you know" - that is how ATMs work. You could put your rings on a thumb drive (like the ATM card) that you unlock with a simple key (pin) that gets you to the next step - using the ring for the encryption you were after to begin with. Retinal and finger print scanners (biometrics in general) are essentially this model. If you loose either piece of the system, the other is no longer useful. Another approach is a so-called "smart card" - these are used in Europe for money, but variations are also used to turn the "key" into something approaching a "one time pad"... The card calculates a decay sequence of some sort (a non-linear countdown with a seed you select) that is also calculated on the system you want access to. You type in the calculated value as *part* of the password (valid for say 5 seconds to allow for boundary conditions) and if the system has the same pattern - your are in. I personally think encrypting entire file systems is far less secure than you might think - it is better to protect several areas with several different methods so that compromise of the entire system with one successful attempt doesn't happen. To be honest with you, my bias is towards physical security - I use a thumb drive and then only parts of it are encrypted. Steve Chuck Anderson wrote: >On Wed, Jan 11, 2006 at 06:22:53PM -0500, Bill Mills-Curran wrote: > > >>Symmetric? (gpg -c) This seems the most secure and flexible, but I'm >>getting tired of typing the key so often. >> >>Public/private? This seems enticing, because encryption is done >>without needing to type a password. However, the keyring is on the >>same system as the encrypted file, and thus is vulnerable. >> >> > >Symmetric keys may be more secure with a caveat: you have to pick a >very good key. This is harder than it seems, since it should be long >and have lots of entropy. English text doesn't have much entropy per >character. So in practice, using a passphrase to unlock a good, long, >randomly generated key that you would never remember is better. You >can always store the keyring on a removable device, like a USB flash >drive and keep that in your safe... >_______________________________________________ >Wlug mailing list >Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > > >

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encrypted files
by Bill Mills-Curran Jan. 14, 2006

Jan. 14, 2006

I have a question about using gpg to encrypt private files on my system. Which encryption is the preferred for file storage? Symmetric? (gpg -c) This seems the most secure and flexible, but I'm getting tired of typing the key so often. Public/private? This seems enticing, because encryption is done without needing to type a password. However, the keyring is on the same system as the encrypted file, and thus is vulnerable. Thanks, Bill

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google video...
by Keller, Tim Jan. 13, 2006

Jan. 13, 2006

Last night I had mentioned the Christmas light display. Open Browser Goto google video and search for "Christmas Lights" it'll be the first result returned. Tim.

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server outage
by Frank Sweetser Jan. 12, 2006

Jan. 12, 2006

In case anyone noticed any problems with the mailing list, the server hosting it ate yet another hard drive. It's been restored from backups, though (which I may do as a meeting topic one month, if there's interest) and everything should be back up now. -- Frank Sweetser fs at wpi.edu | For every problem, there is a solution that WPI Network Engineer | is simple, elegant, and wrong. - HL Mencken GPG fingerprint = 6174 1257 129E 0D21 D8D4 E8A3 8E39 29E3 E2E8 8CEC

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reminder: meeting thursday january 12 2006 7:00 pm
by Andy Stewart Jan. 11, 2006

Jan. 11, 2006

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 HI Everybody, We'll be having a WLUG meeting this coming Thursday evening, at 7:00 PM, on January 12, 2006 in the Access Grid room on the WPI campus in Worcester, MA USA. At this meeting, there is currently no single scheduled topic, so this means that ALL topics are freely available for discussion (thanks, Walt). Bring along your questions and maybe somebody in the room will have answers. Bring up any Linux related topic and we can discuss it as a group. Here are some topics we might discuss: Nokia 770 - http://www.nokia.com/770 Linux World Conference and Expo coming to Boston in April 2006 Richard Stallman will speak at WPI on January 13th Xen in the Linux kernel (see also Xenoppix) Next month (Feb 2006), I'll probably put together a presentation discussing my experience using a Routerboard 532 and making a firewall out of it using GPL software which I pieced together. Stay tuned. After the meeting, we'll go out for pizza and soda at our favorite pizza place (Tech Piza) on Highland Street. We always have lively and interesting discussions there. Come one, come all, and bring your friends, too! Andy - -- Andy Stewart, Founder Worcester Linux Users' Group Worcester, MA, USA http://www.wlug.org -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.5 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFDxF0+Hl0iXDssISsRAvLOAJ9fl9cSwJxVJ9sRZElNA8OZRm0mRgCdHFrM kCin6TULv47cw6RhqOq6zok= =0lzd -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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RE: [Wlug] Stallman at WPI, 1/13 @ 11am
by James Gray Jan. 10, 2006

Jan. 10, 2006

I think my message got lost the first time around. I contacted WPI and got a response that sounded like the event would be open to the public. -----Original Message----- From: wlug-bounces(a)mail.wlug.org on behalf of Jared Greenwald Sent: Mon 1/9/2006 11:51 PM To: Worcester Linux Users Group Subject: Re: [Wlug] Stallman at WPI, 1/13 @ 11am Yea, I can imagine this would bring a packed house... -Jared On 1/9/06, Mike Leo <mleo963(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > any wpi'rs here? > > Do we need tickets? Can the wlug get us "in"? Is > anyone welcome? > > thanks > mike > > --- Theo Van Dinter <felicity(a)kluge.net> wrote: > > > I happened to be poking around and found this off > > the main WPI page. I don't > > remember it coming by here yet, so ... > > > > > http://www.cs.wpi.edu/News/Colloquium/20056/stallman.html > > > > -- > > Randomly Generated Tagline: > > "Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and > > character. > > But if you must be without one, be without > > strategy." > > - General H. Norman Schwarzkopf > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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

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