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RE: [Wlug] Another distro Question
by Martin, Eric Aug. 18, 2004

Aug. 18, 2004

What I'm probably going to do is have some older boxes that we can run linux on, but the lab computers I'm going to use Knoppix (to avoid that problem). Also, I was just thinking, are there any good free software packages for disk partitioning to make room for linux if I want to cover dual boots? Iknow there's partition magic for windows, but I wanted something freesoftware / opensource. Eric -----Original Message----- From: Andy Stewart [mailto:andystewart@comcast.net] Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 6:14 PM To: Worcester Linux Users Group Subject: Re: [Wlug] Another distro Question -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Tuesday 17 August 2004 9:04 am, Martin, Eric wrote: > I'm teaching a Beginners Linux course in a few weeks for Nitelife with > the Worc Pub Schools. I was almost ready to go with Fedora, but I > don't think that has what I'm looking for. I want something easy for > people to pickup, and I don't think RPMs don't give you the linux > feel. I'm going to start out w/Knoppix, but I also want to get into a > disk install. I've only used Gentoo, RHAT, and Knoppix. A friend > mentioned SuSe, but I've never used it. Very open to suggestions, I > want as people to enjoy this class, not think that linux is out of > their grasp. So, the question is what distro would people recommend > for beginners aside from Knoppix? > > Eric HI Eric, Are you actually going to be allowed to obliterate the existing hard drive contents on the computers for this Linux class? If so, that's actually a good thing! I teach an intro course for the Chelmsford Community Education program, and I'm not allowed to blow away Windows on their hard drives (shucks...). So, I stick with Knoppix and user level concepts and it has worked out rather well. Later, Andy - -- Andy Stewart, Founder Worcester Linux Users' Group Worcester, MA USA http://www.wlug.org -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFBIoMPHl0iXDssISsRAjhwAJ0dy1gHGR4xp2mECx/P3QsMDVA7BgCfSlmC 5j7MiYpm0+Hz2AHNX7gXbm8= =yCuv -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

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Linux Training
by Mark Eaton Aug. 18, 2004

Aug. 18, 2004

We are a manufacturing firm located in North Central Mass. We're converting our Enterprise systems from Unix/Solaris & SUNs to Linux & Intel's running clustered servers. We are pretty proficient at Solaris but need to get up to speed on Linux fast. I can't afford to have people out for 2 or 3 weeks to go to Red Hat for formal training and that's about all I've found other than "buy our CD's...". Are there some good intermediate to advanced courses available in the Greater Worcester area that you would recommend? Thanks for your help. Mark - meaton1(a)earthlink.net

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RE: [Wlug] Another distro Question
by Martin, Eric Aug. 18, 2004

Aug. 18, 2004

Awesome! Thanks! -----Original Message----- From: Brian Waite [mailto:linwoes@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2004 8:19 AM To: Worcester Linux Users Group Subject: Re: [Wlug] Another distro Question On Wed, 18 Aug 2004 08:21:19 -0400, Martin, Eric <martine(a)worc.k12.ma.us> wrote: > What I'm probably going to do is have some older boxes that we can run > linux on, but the lab computers I'm going to use Knoppix (to avoid > that problem). Also, I was just thinking, are there any good free > software packages for disk partitioning to make room for linux if I > want to cover dual boots? Iknow there's partition magic for windows, > but I wanted something freesoftware / opensource. > > Eric > Eric, qtparted works great. There is a good HOWTO on the web, whose URL escapes me, that exaplains you to resize NTFS partitions and also recover if something goes wrong. I have resized 2 WinXP disks with any problems. Thanks Brian > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Andy Stewart [mailto:andystewart@comcast.net] > Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 6:14 PM > To: Worcester Linux Users Group > Subject: Re: [Wlug] Another distro Question > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > On Tuesday 17 August 2004 9:04 am, Martin, Eric wrote: > > I'm teaching a Beginners Linux course in a few weeks for Nitelife > > with the Worc Pub Schools. I was almost ready to go with Fedora, > > but I don't think that has what I'm looking for. I want something > > easy for people to pickup, and I don't think RPMs don't give you the > > linux feel. I'm going to start out w/Knoppix, but I also want to > > get into a disk install. I've only used Gentoo, RHAT, and Knoppix. > > A friend mentioned SuSe, but I've never used it. Very open to > > suggestions, I want as people to enjoy this class, not think that > > linux is out of their grasp. So, the question is what distro would > > people recommend for beginners aside from Knoppix? > > > > Eric > > HI Eric, > > Are you actually going to be allowed to obliterate the existing hard > drive contents on the computers for this Linux class? If so, that's > actually a good thing! > > I teach an intro course for the Chelmsford Community Education > program, and I'm not allowed to blow away Windows on their hard drives > (shucks...). So, I stick with Knoppix and user level concepts and it > has worked out rather well. > > Later, > > Andy > > - -- > Andy Stewart, Founder > Worcester Linux Users' Group > Worcester, MA USA > http://www.wlug.org > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (GNU/Linux) > > iD8DBQFBIoMPHl0iXDssISsRAjhwAJ0dy1gHGR4xp2mECx/P3QsMDVA7BgCfSlmC > 5j7MiYpm0+Hz2AHNX7gXbm8= > =yCuv > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > _______________________________________________ > 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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Installfest/bakeoff
by Brian Waite Aug. 17, 2004

Aug. 17, 2004

With this talk of different distros lately, I was wondering if anyone was interested do an installfest and/or a distro bakeoff Where we can all see how each distro install, behaves, and how the HW support is. I for one would enjoy trying to install some distros on random machines. Any thoughts? Thanks Brian

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RE: [Wlug] Another distro Question
by JONATHAN BEALL Aug. 17, 2004

Aug. 17, 2004

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Re: [Wlug] Linux distro for older hardware
by JONATHAN BEALL Aug. 17, 2004

Aug. 17, 2004

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Linux distro for older hardware
by Joel Desrochers Aug. 17, 2004

Aug. 17, 2004

I second the vote for Slackware. Text based install and overall performance make it my favorite for older hardware. Unfortunately I prefer 128 MB RAM minimum for console only and around 256MB for X. Memory is cheap though. I am still quite happy with my P300/384MB RAM with Slack. Before Slackware, I toyed with a few minimalist distros (Peanut and Grey Cat Linux but found most of them lacking in either reliability or application packages/support). Two other tips on trying Linux and picking a distributionto try: 1) Don't rule out Knoppix, the popular CD-ROM bootable distro. You can use it on another box (possibly your current Windows 9X or XP) without modifying anything on the hard disk. Also makes a great PC diagnostic tool. http://www.knoppix.com/ 2) Consider reading up on the many distros on one of the many websites that list information. These are my two favorites and I am sure there are many more. http://www.linux.org/dist/index.html http://www.distrowatch.com Joel _________________________________________________________________ Dont just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/

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linux for older computers
by Andrew Perry Aug. 15, 2004

Aug. 15, 2004

Hi everyone. I have some older computers, the newest of the bunch being Celeron-566 MHz-64 MB RAM, the oldest a 486-25 MHz- maybe 16 MB RAM and wonder if anyone could either a) recommend linux distributions for them or b) point me to a site with minimum hardware requirements for linux distributions Primarily my goal is to learn more about linux. I would prefer something sold for a nominal cost on CD's. Cheapbytes.com sells Pink Tie 7.3,Mandrake 8.2, Debian 2.2 and some others for around $1 only, but offer no guidance as to the hardware requirements. Thanks, Andrew ===== -Dr. Andrew B. Perry Assistant Prof. of Mathematics, Springfield College 263 Alden St., Springfield MA 01109

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Does anyone know of any phones have the ability to sync with linux?
by Arturo Aug. 15, 2004

Aug. 15, 2004

Hi All, I've been searching for a cell phone and I wanted to know if anyone knows of one that has the ability to synchronize with linux. More specifically, I need the ability to synchronize the address book. Synchronization of the calendar as well would be really slick. A dream come true would be if anyone knows of a program that can sync Nokia 6800 or the Motorolla v300 with evolution or kmail? Any thoughts? Arturo

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Question on privoxy
by Andrew Robert Aug. 13, 2004

Aug. 13, 2004

Hi Everyone, I just installed the privoxy proxy server and configured my Opera browser v7.54 to use 127.0.0.1 under Fedora Core2. It works great but the "blocked by" messages are somewhat annoying. Does anyone know a quick way to eliminate seeing these? Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. -- Thank you, Andrew Robert Systems Architect TS&S Infrastructure Support - OpenVMS Massachusetts Financial Services Phone: (617) 954-5882 Pager: (781) 764-7321 Linux user : #201204

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has anyone work with xwindows and svideo out display (tv)
by Sonny Nguyen Aug. 13, 2004

Aug. 13, 2004

just asking...and testing...I have been trying to post stuff and keep getting email bounces. Sonny Nguyen

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fedora core 1 or 2 with lirc remote control program
by Sonny Nguyen Aug. 13, 2004

Aug. 13, 2004

Any anyone done anything with lirc? Sonny Nguyen

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Fedora core 1 or 2 with Lirc remote control program
by Sonny Nguyen Aug. 13, 2004

Aug. 13, 2004

Has anyone work with the lirc program with Fedora core 1 or 2. If you have seen this more than once.Please ignore the previous. Thanks. Sonny Nguyen

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New currency(?)
by Andy Stewart Aug. 12, 2004

Aug. 12, 2004

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 http://www.danamania.com/temp/scodollar.jpg - -- Andy Stewart, Founder Worcester Linux Users' Group Worcester, MA USA http://www.wlug.org -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFBG+kNHl0iXDssISsRAu5VAJ9ObHEV0IPGDorp6rDn3th0XK/urQCfZAfk ipKrKo7j69a4qUWqfumgmQs= =3T76 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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C gurus
by Chuck Haines Aug. 11, 2004

Aug. 11, 2004

For all you C gurus out there. I'm working on a little program that when an event occurs, it dials out a Verizon Wireless AirCard, does it's thing and then when all events are done, the last event close the card. To close the ppp connection you send it a Ctrl-C, which I'm doing, however it is never working. The code I'm using is as follows: void *sound_alarm ( void * rd_struct ) { RADSPY_STRUCT *ptr_rd_struct; ptr_rd_struct = ( RADSPY_STRUCT * ) rd_struct; /* lock the modem_in_use variable to check to dial modem */ pthread_mutex_lock ( &modem_mutex ); if ( modem_in_use++ == 0 ) { /* we need to dial out the modem */ printf ( "Dialing the modem: %d\n", modem_in_use ); modem_pid = fork(); if ( 0 == modem_pid ) { int ret; /* we are the child so dial out the modem */ ret = execl ( "/usr/sbin/pppd", "pppd", "call", "ac555qnc", NULL ); if ( -1 == ret ) printf ( "Problem dialing modem: %s\n", strerror ( errno ) ); printf ( "Got here.\n" ); exit ( 0 ); } /* hack to wait enough time to let the modem dial */ sleep ( 10 ); } pthread_mutex_unlock ( &modem_mutex ); /* perform the sending of the data */ printf ( "Sounding the alarm: %d.\n", modem_in_use ); sleep ( 1 ); /* code to send away alarms will go here, sleep for now */ /* release the modem in use */ pthread_mutex_lock ( &modem_mutex ); if ( --modem_in_use == 0 ) { /* we need to hangup the modem */ printf ("Hanging up the modem: %d\n", modem_in_use ); kill ( SIGINT, modem_pid ); } pthread_mutex_unlock ( &modem_mutex ); pthread_exit ( (void *) 0 ); } This function is a thread that is spawned by the main loop when an event occurs. This event can occur multiple times, which is why I have the shared variable of how many events are currently occuring (modem_in_use). When I run this program, I'm always getting an error about the modem being locked by pid XXX, so it's never being closed. Anyone have any experience with this kinda thing? Chuck -- Chuck Haines chaines(a)gmail.com ------------------------------------------- Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity WPI Class of 2005 ------------------------------------------- AIM: CyberGrex YIM: CyberGrex_27 ICQ: 3707881 -------------------------------------------

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Multiple platform blues...
by Stephen C. Daukas Aug. 11, 2004

Aug. 11, 2004

I'm sure my experience with platform-dependent apps as an impediment to moving entirely to Linux is not unique. I have spent plenty of time playing with Linux at home, but have always had to deal with platform-specific needs of employers, etc., so I have never been able to completely immerse myself in Linux. I'd still like to use Linux as my primary platform, but I have to deal with having to run quite specific apps in different environments. So, I'm looking to begin a discussion about how to set-up a home environment that is as much Linux-based as is possible while providing for the realities of platform-specific requirements. Of course, this is as much a discussion of applications as it is about platforms. I have 3 systems and 1 laptop at home, all of which are Pentium IIIs, one as fast as 800MHz (imagine that!), that are available for use in my home network. I must be able to run Internet Explorer 6.x (required for several web-enabled apps I must use on a regular basis), Word, and PowerPoint. My wife has a Pentium III laptop that must run XP because of her work, but it would be nice to have her access a linux file server for backup and such. (She also likes Linux games!) Also, I have a couple of laser printers and an ink jet that I would rather hang off of one print server. With an eye toward a home network that must include Microsoft and access to Macs at work, here are some questions to start this discussion off: Q1 - OpenOffice versus MS Office: I will need to be reading/editing/creating Word and Powerpoint files (as most of the world do). I will be getting files to edit, and be creating others from scratch. I teach, so the results are intended for display on an ActiveBoard with the expectation of touching the board (or clicking from the console) to follow a link embedded in a powerpoint slide yielding a movie clip, or web page, or whatever. I'm told I have control over the department's files, but not to the extent of choosing something other than MS, so I'd like to use OpenOffice as my primary environment and then generate MS files for use at the school. I assume OpenOffice can do what PowerPoint can do (within reason), but I can't afford the time to "fix" generated MS Office files to work in a Mac or XP environment. Are the any OpenOffice users out there that can comment on this? Q2 - Heterogeneous access: I want to be able to access any file created in any of the three environments. I'd like to move files between the Macs at work and one or more of my machines at home without using Email (I want to avoid any constraints like size limitations on attachments). I want to be able to pull and push those files to whatever platform is needed for whatever needs to be done with them. I assume VNC is available on the Mac, and that I would probably need to run SAMBA, but what are the options these days? I suppose I could set up a FTP server... I'd also like to drop the static IP because of cost, and have already moved the web site to a commercial provider... Q3 - Email: Of primary concern is moving existing email from the MS environment (laptop) to Linux. I am trying to find a way to export all of my email from Mozilla 1.6 to a file or files that can then be moved to a Linux box and imported/read by a mail reader there, but I can't seem to find a way to do this... There is no export function in Mozilla 1.6 and the mail files are not consistently ASCII (at least from what I've seen). I have even tried to use other mailers' ability to import from their competitors, in the hopes that one of them can do the export, but I have had no luck with any of them knowing about Mozilla. Does anyone know of a way to get email out of Mozilla into an ASCII file-based structure (or something equally vanilla) that can be read by a standard Linux reader? Beyond that specific issue, what would be the best way to handle email? Right now I limit myself to using one platform and POP only from it. This is because I can travel with the laptop and not all the servers I access allow IMAP. I retrieve mail from 7 different accounts and forwarding is not allowed (nor do I want to have to keep track of that). I don't mind having to do this, but I'm wondering about other options... Thanks for your sage advice! Steve

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Logitech QuickCam Pro and Programming
by Chuck Haines Aug. 10, 2004

Aug. 10, 2004

Hey guys, I recently got a Logitech QuickCam Pro and was thinking about doing some development work with it. I'd like to make a program that will take pictures when motion is detected or when I send it commands to do so. I'm currently looking to do it in C, so does anyone have any experience with this? I've done some googling and found some material but nothing that is really a how-to for the API for this kinda thing. Oh yea, I'm developing it on a laptop that runs Fedora Core 2, but I will eventually be porting it to an embedded computer (an Arcom GX-1 to be exact) which runs a flavor of RedHat 7.2 and kernel 2.4.18. Thanks, Chuck -- Chuck Haines chaines(a)gmail.com ------------------------------------------- Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity WPI Class of 2005 ------------------------------------------- AIM: CyberGrex YIM: CyberGrex_27 ICQ: 3707881 -------------------------------------------

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Job posting
by Mike Leo Aug. 6, 2004

Aug. 6, 2004

Think this is my first mass-email but thought I would share with the group. I recruiter sent this to me today...i have no more information than what is listed below. If interested, I recommend communicating directly with the recruiter at winterwyman.com....he is Joe Kotlinski j jkotlinski(a)winterwyman.com--you can tell him Mike Leo sent you, for what ever that is worth. Good luck. "a successful start-up in the medical devices industry located in the MetroWest/495 area. They want to hire 3 desktop support people. The people they're seeking must have: 6-12 months of experience; Microsoft Networking, Windows 98/NT/2000/XP, and hands on knowledge of Microsoft Office, e-mail applications such as Outlook and Outlook Express and Internet Explorer; and a BS Degree. The base salary will probably max out in the low $40,000s." __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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RE: [Wlug] Multiple platform blues...
by Martin, Eric Aug. 6, 2004

Aug. 6, 2004

A1: OpenOffice works fine with word / powerpoint. Only catch is Password protected docs. A2: Samba works for me. Its wicked easy to learn (took me maybe a few hours). I run a 200GB samba server in my basement with ReiserFS as the file system. Windows likes it, *NIX can mount it, and I assume OSX can too. A3: Can't help, sorry :( -----Original Message----- From: Stephen C. Daukas [mailto:stephen@daukas.com] Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 8:54 PM To: WLUG Subject: [Wlug] Multiple platform blues... I'm sure my experience with platform-dependent apps as an impediment to moving entirely to Linux is not unique. I have spent plenty of time playing with Linux at home, but have always had to deal with platform-specific needs of employers, etc., so I have never been able to completely immerse myself in Linux. I'd still like to use Linux as my primary platform, but I have to deal with having to run quite specific apps in different environments. So, I'm looking to begin a discussion about how to set-up a home environment that is as much Linux-based as is possible while providing for the realities of platform-specific requirements. Of course, this is as much a discussion of applications as it is about platforms. I have 3 systems and 1 laptop at home, all of which are Pentium IIIs, one as fast as 800MHz (imagine that!), that are available for use in my home network. I must be able to run Internet Explorer 6.x (required for several web-enabled apps I must use on a regular basis), Word, and PowerPoint. My wife has a Pentium III laptop that must run XP because of her work, but it would be nice to have her access a linux file server for backup and such. (She also likes Linux games!) Also, I have a couple of laser printers and an ink jet that I would rather hang off of one print server. With an eye toward a home network that must include Microsoft and access to Macs at work, here are some questions to start this discussion off: Q1 - OpenOffice versus MS Office: I will need to be reading/editing/creating Word and Powerpoint files (as most of the world do). I will be getting files to edit, and be creating others from scratch. I teach, so the results are intended for display on an ActiveBoard with the expectation of touching the board (or clicking from the console) to follow a link embedded in a powerpoint slide yielding a movie clip, or web page, or whatever. I'm told I have control over the department's files, but not to the extent of choosing something other than MS, so I'd like to use OpenOffice as my primary environment and then generate MS files for use at the school. I assume OpenOffice can do what PowerPoint can do (within reason), but I can't afford the time to "fix" generated MS Office files to work in a Mac or XP environment. Are the any OpenOffice users out there that can comment on this? Q2 - Heterogeneous access: I want to be able to access any file created in any of the three environments. I'd like to move files between the Macs at work and one or more of my machines at home without using Email (I want to avoid any constraints like size limitations on attachments). I want to be able to pull and push those files to whatever platform is needed for whatever needs to be done with them. I assume VNC is available on the Mac, and that I would probably need to run SAMBA, but what are the options these days? I suppose I could set up a FTP server... I'd also like to drop the static IP because of cost, and have already moved the web site to a commercial provider... Q3 - Email: Of primary concern is moving existing email from the MS environment (laptop) to Linux. I am trying to find a way to export all of my email from Mozilla 1.6 to a file or files that can then be moved to a Linux box and imported/read by a mail reader there, but I can't seem to find a way to do this... There is no export function in Mozilla 1.6 and the mail files are not consistently ASCII (at least from what I've seen). I have even tried to use other mailers' ability to import from their competitors, in the hopes that one of them can do the export, but I have had no luck with any of them knowing about Mozilla. Does anyone know of a way to get email out of Mozilla into an ASCII file-based structure (or something equally vanilla) that can be read by a standard Linux reader? Beyond that specific issue, what would be the best way to handle email? Right now I limit myself to using one platform and POP only from it. This is because I can travel with the laptop and not all the servers I access allow IMAP. I retrieve mail from 7 different accounts and forwarding is not allowed (nor do I want to have to keep track of that). I don't mind having to do this, but I'm wondering about other options... Thanks for your sage advice! Steve _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

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Anyone proficient in Beowulf (cluster) installations?
by Dwight A. Ernest Aug. 6, 2004

Aug. 6, 2004

I may need some help with a Beowulf cluster, with which I personally have no experience; I'd love to hear if anyone on this list has any relevant experience. Thanks! -- Dwight A. Ernest, dwight at significant dot com GPG key A6999567 Cell: +1-508-523-1416 FAX: +1-978-405-2504 YIM: dwight_ernest RHCE #803004293310030 http://significant.com/~dwight/ KA2CNN Papa, partner, pilot, net geek, sysadmin, consultant, cohouser.

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Graphing Package for Python.
by Chuck Noyes Aug. 3, 2004

Aug. 3, 2004

Hi all, I'm using version 2.2 python on a laptop running RH9; 2.4.23 kernel. I'd like to know what the 'list' considers a decent, and fairly easy to learn graphing package. I don't need anything too fancy, just a 2-D line graph package I can plug into python. I'd really like to stay away from object- oriented stuff, mostly because I don't understand it too well. Since the scripts I'm working on will probably be run on MS Windows as well as in Linux, the package will need to have a MS version too. Thanks, -Chuck -- Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

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Speaker for next meeting
by albutler33＠netscape.net Aug. 2, 2004

Aug. 2, 2004

I'm in. I'd be interested in hearing a talk on SELinux. Al Butler __________________________________________________________________ Switch to Netscape Internet Service. As low as $9.95 a month -- Sign up today at http://isp.netscape.com/register Netscape. Just the Net You Need. New! Netscape Toolbar for Internet Explorer Search from anywhere on the Web and block those annoying pop-ups. Download now at http://channels.netscape.com/ns/search/install.jsp

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Re: August Speaker Proposal
by Phil H July 30, 2004

July 30, 2004

On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 12:00:11 -0400, wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org <wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org> wrote: > Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 10:10:49 -0400 > From: Jeff Moyer <jmoyer(a)redhat.com> > Subject: [Wlug] August Speaker proposal > To: wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > Cc: dwalsh(a)redhat.com > Message-ID: <16647.46057.757622.844343(a)segfault.boston.redhat.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > Hello, > > If there is interest, Dan Walsh is willing to give a presentation on > SELinux for the next meeting. Takers? > > -Jeff I'd be interested in hearing it, but I'll be out of the country. Next meeting, I guess. Will the slides (if any) be made available online for those who can't make it? Phil

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RE: [Wlug] Partition table blues
by Martin, Eric July 30, 2004

July 30, 2004

All fdisk /mbr does is replace your mbr with windows info...the most it would screw up is grub / lilo (what ever is in your mbr). That can be replaced with any livecd and a quick command from grub or lilo. -----Original Message----- From: Gregory Avedissian [mailto:gma2004@verizon.net] Sent: Sunday, July 25, 2004 11:43 AM To: douglas.waud(a)umassmed.edu; Worcester Linux Users Group Subject: Re: [Wlug] Partition table blues Hi Doug, I haven't tried fdisk /mbr because I don't really fully understand what it does and have never seen a good explanation of how it will affect linux partitions. This morning, I read that it shouldn't be used on disks that have more than four partitions. I have five partitions and some unclaimed space. I might try it later today. Beside that, anything of value is on the linux side of the disk. (That's not a microsoft slur, it's just where I have my files.) So, while I would like to be able to get the whole thing back to its original working order as a learning exercise, I'm more motivated to get to the linux partitions. Thanks again, Greg doug waud wrote: > Hi again > > This time, let's try focussing on one thing to try. > > I don't see that you have ever tried the standard way to restore the > MBR > for Windows --- boot a Windows floppy with fdisk on it and type > fdisk /mbr > and, if you still cannot boot windows, add a > sys c: > > It is not clear from here why you did not try this. > > doug > > > Gregory Avedissian wrote: > >> doug waud wrote: >> >>> Hi again Greg >>> >>> Gregory Avedissian wrote: >>> >>>> There were three backups of the mbr. One made under dos with >>>> debug.exe, and the others made with linux as, >>>> >>>> dd if=/dev/hda of=/boot/boot.MBR bs=512 count=1 >>>> dd if=/dev/hda of=/boot/boot.446.MBR bs=446 count=1 >>>> >>>> I restored with: >>>> >>>> dd if=/boot/boot.MBR of=/dev/hda bs=512 count=1 >>>> I think maybe I picked the wrong one. >> >> >> >> > I admit I would have used the second, safer (since it does not >> touch the >> > partition table), but I don't see why the 512 bs variant would not >> have >> > worked unless you had changed the partition table since making that >> > boot.MBR file. >> >> No, I didn't change the partition table. I made these backups within >> days of installing, so that I would have copies of a new, working mbr. >> >>> >>> It is hard to tell what went wrong until you tell us what you were >>> doing just before the system no longer would boot. (Those two lines >>> creating the boot.xyz files would only read from the first 512 or 446 >>> bytes not do any writing there so they cannot be the cause of your >>> troubles.) >>> >>> >>> Why don't you boot from a bootable floppy? Alternatively, start the >>> SuSE recovery mechanism which includes "boot an installed system" as >>> an option. If all that is screwed up it the MBR, you could then >>> simply run LILO to refresh it. >>> >> >> I had a new win98 installation working ok, then I installed suse8.2 >> and set it up so that it would boot with GRUB from floppy. I don't >> recall if I ever tried to boot from the harddrive to get into windows >> after I installed suse, but I know I could get there from the floppy. >> >> When I did try to boot off the hard drive two days ago, it hung with >> the message, "Disk boot failure. Insert system disk." >> >> I could still boot to win or linux from the grub floppy at this >> point. >> I tried restoring the mbr in dos with debug.exe, and that didn't help. >> I could still boot to linux with the floppy, and I can't remember if I >> could still boot to windows. Then I tried restoring with >> dd if=/boot/boot.MBR of=/dev/hda bs=512 count=1 >> >> After that, I couldn't boot from the grub floppy anymore. Trying to >> boot the installed system from the rescue disk also failed. I then >> booted to the rescue system. Output of sfdisk -l looked like this: >> >> Disk /dev/hda: 3737 cylinders, 255 heads, 63 sectors/track >> /dev/hda: unrecognized partition >> No partitions found >> >> Repeating the restore procedure with debug.exe didn't help, either. >> >> >> Thanks, >> Greg >> > > _______________________________________________ > 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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RE: [Wlug] Partition table blues
by Keller, Tim July 29, 2004

July 29, 2004

Well, if your only keeping your windows partition around to watch DVD's, that's something that you've been able todo in linux for a long time. Check out mplayer / Xine and Ogle. Tim. -----Original Message----- From: Gregory Avedissian [mailto:gma2004@verizon.net] Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 2:13 PM To: Worcester Linux Users Group Subject: Re: [Wlug] Partition table blues Here's the update: Went into BIOS and set the disk to LBA. This resulted in sfdisk -l showing the same geometry as the kernel (CHS 3737/255/63) This put the start and end of the first partition at 0 and 1023. Somewhere along the line, my windows partition grew by 2GB. Is it possible that it's reading a previous partition table? Win98 was still showing c: to be 5.8GB, and dos fdisk was still showing it as 8.2 GB. So, I took Doug's advice and said a prayer, then went at it. Set the win partition back to 6GB with dos (win98) fdisk (with the drive hooked up as master.) This made windows unbootable, and fdisk /mbr didn't correct it. That's ok. I did have it working again until then, and I could have retrieved my data if I'd had any on that partition. Connected the drive as slave and put another drive I had with a non-critical linux installation on as hda (in case I screwed up and partitioned the wrong drive). Booted into linux and repartitioned with sfdisk /dev/hdb, putting in parameters for <start cylinder> <size in cylinders> <type> for each partition when promted: /dev/hdb1 0 765 c * /dev/hdb2 765 130 82 /dev/hdb3 896 1044 (L for linux is the default) /dev/hdb4 1941 1795 (tried both 85 for linux extended and 5 for win extended) /dev/hdb5 1941 1305 L /dev/hdb6 - it insisted on setting up hdb6, so I just hit enter, and let it take the rest of the disk. This was originally unpartitioned space. I then was able to mount /dev/hdb3 and access my root filesystem. I was not able to mount /dev/hdb5 to access my /home partition. Error message from mount was "wrong filesystem type or too many mounted filesystems). Unless someone knows the secret code to to mount a recovered logical partition, I'll assume that there's no easy way to do it and finish this project (i.e. wipe the disk and start over, without putting windows on this drive.) No more extended partitions for this boy. On a brighter note, I learned how to get windows98 to boot from the SECOND hard drive, and that gives me great satisfaction. It was way easier than I thought, and if anyone's interested, I'll give details. This means that when I figure out how to watch movies on dvd in linux, I can get rid of windows by simply removing the second drive. Thanks to all for your help with this. Greg Charles R. Anderson wrote: > On Mon, Jul 26, 2004 at 02:27:01PM -0400, Gregory Avedissian wrote: > >>>What does the kernel think the disk size is on bootup? >> >>hdb: 60036480 sectors (30739 MB) w/1916KiB Cache, CHS=3737/255/63, UDMA(100) > > >>>What does the BIOS say in the CMOS setup screen for the disk geometry? >> >>capacity 30740 MB >>cylinder 59560 >>head 16 >>precomp 0 >>landing zone 59559 >>sector 63 > > > The BIOS and kernel agree on the size of the disk. 59560/(255/16) = > 3737 cylinders. I would however make sure the BIOS is set to LBA mode > if it isn't, which should cause the heads to become 255. > > >>>What does the disk say on the label for the geometry? >> >>Model: DTLA-307030 >>Capacity: 30.7 GB >>LBA 60.036.480 sectors >>CHS: 16383/16/63 >>MLC: F80033 > > > Strange. That doesn't add up at all. Ah, here it is: > > "There is an industry convention to give C/H/S=16383/16/63 for disks > larger than 8.4 GB" [1] > > >>And here's more: >>DOS fdisk reports the partition as being 8032 MB. >>Win98 reports it (C:) as 5.8 GB. > > > Interesting. > > >>gnu parted reports it as: (note that the drive is temporarily connected as >>hdb for convenience) >>hdb: 60036480 sectors (30739 MB) w/1916KiB Cache, CHS=3737/255/63, UDMA(100) > > > Agrees with the kernel above. > > >>sfdisk -l >>Disk /dev/hdb: 1123 cylinders, 255 heads, 63 sectors/track >>Units = cylinders of 8225280 bytes, blocks of 1024 bytes, counting from 0 > > > Here is the problem. sfdisk is seeing the wrong number geometry. I > would attempt to fix the C/H/S values in the partition table with > sfdisk. First I would read [1] in it's entirety--it goes into all the > gory details of geometry and size limits. > > Here are some useful documents on geometry and partitioning: > > [1] http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Large-Disk-HOWTO.html > > [2] http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/en-us/default.asp?url=/ windows2000/techinfo/reskit/en-us/prork/prcb_dis_qxql.asp > > [3] http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us /Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prkd_t ro_kyrr.asp > _______________________________________________ > 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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