- WLUG - wlug.mailman3.com

2D CAD for Linux

by Richard Klein

I just read that DraftSight 2D CAD software is now available for Linux: http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/free-cad-software/ I use it all the time in Windows. It works, and the price is right. -- Rich

March 9, 2011

WLUG Meeting Tomorrow (3/9) Virtualization Technologies!

by Tim Keller

Hey Everybody, Remember, We've got a WLUG meeting tomorrow! I'm going to be giving a talk about virtualization technologies at 7PM. The meeting is going to be in the meeting room next to Morgan Hall (Look for the penguins!) Later, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

March 8, 2011

Reminder: WLUG Meeting Next Wed (3/9) Topic: Virtualization Technologies

by Tim Keller

Hey Everybody, This is a reminder that next Wednesday I'm going to be giving a talk about virtualization technologies. I plan to do some white boarding, slides and a demo of different virtualization products currently on the market (both closed and open source). If anybody has specific questions or specific things they'd like to me to cover let me know and I'll update/expand my slides and notes to cover it. Thanks, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

March 2, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Google Earth

by Walt

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 setsebool -P allow_execmod 1 That worked! Thank you!!! Walt On 02/18/2011 12:36 PM, Daniel J Walsh wrote: > On 02/18/2011 11:33 AM, Walt wrote: >> Trying to get Google Earth to work. Starts and closes without working. >> Any ideas? >> Thanks! >> Walt > >> >From SEalert: > >> Raw Audit Messages >> type=AVC msg=audit(1297979188.74:143442): avc: denied { execmod } for >> pid=22634 comm="googleearth-bin" path="/opt/google-earth/libIGGfx.so" >> dev=dm-0 ino=683598 scontext=unconfined_u:unconfined_r:unconfined_t:s0 >> tcontext=unconfined_u:object_r:usr_t:s0 tclass=file > > >> type=SYSCALL msg=audit(1297979188.74:143442): arch=i386 syscall=mprotect >> success=no exit=EACCES a0=764b000 a1=36b000 a2=5 a3=bfe8c250 items=0 >> ppid=21605 pid=22634 auid=500 uid=0 gid=0 euid=0 suid=0 fsuid=0 egid=0 >> sgid=0 fsgid=0 tty=pts1 ses=618 comm=googleearth-bin >> exe=/opt/google-earth/googleearth-bin >> subj=unconfined_u:unconfined_r:unconfined_t:s0 key=(null) > >> Hash: googleearth-bin,unconfined_t,usr_t,file,execmod > >> audit2allow > >> #============= unconfined_t ============== >> #!!!! This avc can be allowed using the boolean 'allow_execmod' > >> allow unconfined_t usr_t:file execmod; > >> audit2allow -R > >> #============= unconfined_t ============== >> #!!!! This avc can be allowed using the boolean 'allow_execmod' > >> allow unconfined_t usr_t:file execmod; > > > > >> _______________________________________________ >> Wlug mailing list >> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > restorecon -R -v /opt/google > > If that does not work > > # setsebool -P allow_execmod 1 > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.11 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Fedora - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iQEcBAEBAgAGBQJNXsusAAoJEGxeLalZnYLuBj8H/ibay4odkAkp6tqeh+LTqHQD reu0eDm9AVyjN96Ud9CyOJTySzPnIHNVPgN6cKbCEju8JRc8rQNpXbKWpLN3OGih AOPDj+199Y+2EeWZjY8w6klSSN/q61fkv3cziOt3S/2qsCiZyiyNEFpm8JMgaUXk wJ/vKG293o4p+AtW2LU3V4pX+tO54uYio0X/bb1VeHvgO8R/ySrYCzDZI25w8J5P tQHz03f9BuarVumUSOsvRMgjZL58c2G1/go4HrcbdsuMKdVR5p+Bya+RIROWWPgQ Ydi3ZMqhR1I3Xs1b4ca8rBr61mtena1dKf5FQTCxHL3FFd43BFO8WHSRQ1xk0oc= =4aP7 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Feb. 18, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Google Earth

by Daniel J Walsh

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 02/18/2011 11:33 AM, Walt wrote: > Trying to get Google Earth to work. Starts and closes without working. > Any ideas? > Thanks! > Walt > >>From SEalert: > > Raw Audit Messages > type=AVC msg=audit(1297979188.74:143442): avc: denied { execmod } for > pid=22634 comm="googleearth-bin" path="/opt/google-earth/libIGGfx.so" > dev=dm-0 ino=683598 scontext=unconfined_u:unconfined_r:unconfined_t:s0 > tcontext=unconfined_u:object_r:usr_t:s0 tclass=file > > > type=SYSCALL msg=audit(1297979188.74:143442): arch=i386 syscall=mprotect > success=no exit=EACCES a0=764b000 a1=36b000 a2=5 a3=bfe8c250 items=0 > ppid=21605 pid=22634 auid=500 uid=0 gid=0 euid=0 suid=0 fsuid=0 egid=0 > sgid=0 fsgid=0 tty=pts1 ses=618 comm=googleearth-bin > exe=/opt/google-earth/googleearth-bin > subj=unconfined_u:unconfined_r:unconfined_t:s0 key=(null) > > Hash: googleearth-bin,unconfined_t,usr_t,file,execmod > > audit2allow > > #============= unconfined_t ============== > #!!!! This avc can be allowed using the boolean 'allow_execmod' > > allow unconfined_t usr_t:file execmod; > > audit2allow -R > > #============= unconfined_t ============== > #!!!! This avc can be allowed using the boolean 'allow_execmod' > > allow unconfined_t usr_t:file execmod; > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug restorecon -R -v /opt/google If that does not work # setsebool -P allow_execmod 1 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.11 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Fedora - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iEYEARECAAYFAk1ericACgkQrlYvE4MpobM24gCgmoqm2TWL03ICHO1HDYJdGjOM mcgAoKhJSGrsmX7kDTDa0JulwDYkVgrF =YA0N -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Feb. 18, 2011

Google Earth

by Walt

Trying to get Google Earth to work. Starts and closes without working. Any ideas? Thanks! Walt >From SEalert: Raw Audit Messages type=AVC msg=audit(1297979188.74:143442): avc: denied { execmod } for pid=22634 comm="googleearth-bin" path="/opt/google-earth/libIGGfx.so" dev=dm-0 ino=683598 scontext=unconfined_u:unconfined_r:unconfined_t:s0 tcontext=unconfined_u:object_r:usr_t:s0 tclass=file type=SYSCALL msg=audit(1297979188.74:143442): arch=i386 syscall=mprotect success=no exit=EACCES a0=764b000 a1=36b000 a2=5 a3=bfe8c250 items=0 ppid=21605 pid=22634 auid=500 uid=0 gid=0 euid=0 suid=0 fsuid=0 egid=0 sgid=0 fsgid=0 tty=pts1 ses=618 comm=googleearth-bin exe=/opt/google-earth/googleearth-bin subj=unconfined_u:unconfined_r:unconfined_t:s0 key=(null) Hash: googleearth-bin,unconfined_t,usr_t,file,execmod audit2allow #============= unconfined_t ============== #!!!! This avc can be allowed using the boolean 'allow_execmod' allow unconfined_t usr_t:file execmod; audit2allow -R #============= unconfined_t ============== #!!!! This avc can be allowed using the boolean 'allow_execmod' allow unconfined_t usr_t:file execmod;

Feb. 18, 2011

Re: [Wlug] KO

by Adam Gomes

I still have such a fondness for VMS, that I still own a VAXstation 3100 and occasionally pony up for the DECUS license for OpenVMS .... :) On Sun, Feb 13, 2011 at 10:24 PM, John Stoffel <john(a)stoffel.org> wrote: > > Vaxes were clustered years ago. You could reboot each member of a > cluster without impacting applications running on the cluster if you > were careful. And swap out hardware, etc. Very cool stuff. I > started on DEC-20 at WPI years ago, and missed the VMS side of things > when WPI got the Encore Multimax instead of a VMS cluster. > > John > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Feb. 14, 2011

Re: [Wlug] KO

by John Stoffel

Vaxes were clustered years ago. You could reboot each member of a cluster without impacting applications running on the cluster if you were careful. And swap out hardware, etc. Very cool stuff. I started on DEC-20 at WPI years ago, and missed the VMS side of things when WPI got the Encore Multimax instead of a VMS cluster. John

Feb. 14, 2011

Remembering KO

by Ken Jones

I shall reveal my age. I was a working AN/FSQ7 programmer in Group 67 at Lincoln Labs when KO took off on his crazy venture to that mill in Maynard. I did not know Ken at the time as he was in Group 64 if my memory serves me correctly. DEC's first products were 'logic boards'. Those were the days of 'wire wrap' breadboarding. Ken's cards built with itty bitty new fangled transistor things slipped securely into a standard wire wrap board. I do not remember any specific cards, but I know they consisted of multiple individual NAND and NOR gates and probably a couple of FLIP FLOPs. >From that came the PDP-1 which I never saw. My memory focuses on the PDP-8 which was popular - so to speak. To put this in perspective the US had just deployed the SAGE air defense computers all around the country to detect and intercept Russian atomic bomb carrying jet airplanes. The SAGE computers used water cooled vacuum tube technology. I suggest, if you can find a library (remember them?), that is open check out "DEC is Dead, Long LIve DEC" The Lasting Legacy of Digital Equipment Corporation by Edgar Schein. (Is it available on NOOK?). My read of that book was that DEC was fine and healthy so long as it's engineers were producing products the customers did not know they needed, ie DEC was never consumer driven. (This is part of why KO was so beloved.) I was a TCP/IP aware person when I went to work for DEC in 1985. Inside those DEC walls DECnet was not only everything, it was the only thing. Ken Jones

Feb. 13, 2011

Re: [Wlug] KO

by Gary Hanley

Clustered computing. On 2/12/2011 8:23 PM, jerry baillie wrote: > Like Cloud computing.............. > > On Sat, Feb 12, 2011 at 9:56 AM, kevin.paetzold > <kevin.paetzold(a)gmail.com <mailto:kevin.paetzold@gmail.com>> wrote: > > Since we are reminiscing about DEC and KO.... > > I started at DEC in 1978 working on the DECSYSTEM20. My first manager > was one of the first 100 DEC employees and even though I was initially > working as a contractor for DEC (on an air force base) in Rome NY we > made a trip to Maynard where he introduced me to the mill and to Ken > Olsen. It was a fascinating time as I worked at the place which > essentially funded the ARPANET and TCP/IP. I went to work in DEC > engineering in Marlboro in 1981. Eventually I ended up at Stratus > where > among other things I now manage the Linux group (I never worked on VMS > although I did do some stuff with the Ultrix group). It still > amazes me > (and many others) that DEC went away. I often tell my engineers that > when I see some computer or software technology that DEC did not > have I > will let them know (there is some but not much that DEC did not have > first and for which very little credit is given). > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org <mailto:Wlug@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

Feb. 13, 2011

Re: [Wlug] KO

by jerry baillie

Like Cloud computing.............. [?] On Sat, Feb 12, 2011 at 9:56 AM, kevin.paetzold <kevin.paetzold(a)gmail.com>wrote: > Since we are reminiscing about DEC and KO.... > > I started at DEC in 1978 working on the DECSYSTEM20. My first manager > was one of the first 100 DEC employees and even though I was initially > working as a contractor for DEC (on an air force base) in Rome NY we > made a trip to Maynard where he introduced me to the mill and to Ken > Olsen. It was a fascinating time as I worked at the place which > essentially funded the ARPANET and TCP/IP. I went to work in DEC > engineering in Marlboro in 1981. Eventually I ended up at Stratus where > among other things I now manage the Linux group (I never worked on VMS > although I did do some stuff with the Ultrix group). It still amazes me > (and many others) that DEC went away. I often tell my engineers that > when I see some computer or software technology that DEC did not have I > will let them know (there is some but not much that DEC did not have > first and for which very little credit is given). > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Feb. 13, 2011

KO

by kevin.paetzold

Since we are reminiscing about DEC and KO.... I started at DEC in 1978 working on the DECSYSTEM20. My first manager was one of the first 100 DEC employees and even though I was initially working as a contractor for DEC (on an air force base) in Rome NY we made a trip to Maynard where he introduced me to the mill and to Ken Olsen. It was a fascinating time as I worked at the place which essentially funded the ARPANET and TCP/IP. I went to work in DEC engineering in Marlboro in 1981. Eventually I ended up at Stratus where among other things I now manage the Linux group (I never worked on VMS although I did do some stuff with the Ultrix group). It still amazes me (and many others) that DEC went away. I often tell my engineers that when I see some computer or software technology that DEC did not have I will let them know (there is some but not much that DEC did not have first and for which very little credit is given).

Feb. 12, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Off topic: good iPod Touch 4th Gen repairers?

by John Stoffel

Adam> For the "official" recommendation, call the Apple Store in Adam> Natick. They have a vendor they send people to for Adam> out-of-warranty repairs. If I recall correctly, it's a large Adam> outfit in the midwest. Thanks Adam. I'll give that a try.

Feb. 10, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Wlug Digest, Vol 88, Issue 10

by jerry baillie

It was an automotive junk yard on Rt 12 that had all the savage DEC parts. They eventually got caught reselling the parts and was penalize somehow.... 26 years at DEC. Looked forward to every day there when it was under K.O. Things changed with Cut-N-Slash Palmer took the reins...... On Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 12:37 PM, David Hardy <belovedbold357(a)gmail.com>wrote: > I met KO once in Maynard at the Old Mill and got to see his original > orange-crate desk that he shared with Gordon Bell. Nice guy and > down-to-earth. > > First fulltime techie gig I had was at Simplex Time Recorder, Gardner, MA, > operator for DEC PDP-11 running RSX CAD/CAM stuff, and a MicroVax running > VMS 3.5 for the software engineers. 1986. Previously, as an assistant > bookstore manager at Clark U., I'd been in charge of selling the DEC Rainbow > PCs as part of the University's program for students, faculty and staff. > 1984-85. > > Last time I worked on DEC stuff was the VAX/VMS 7000 and the Alpha OpenVMS > boxen running 7.1 at an outfit in downtown Woostuh. 2006-07. > > From what I've heard inside the old DEC social circles is that a lot of the > VMS engineering that didn't migrate to HP went to India, and that many of > the old VMS guys have long since moved on to...drum roll....Linux. > > In other old DEC scuttlebutt, there was supposed to be an open field > somewhere off Route 12 in Leominster that contained all kinds of hw > dumped/stored there by whatever DEC facility back in the day. During my own > time at DEC in 87-89 one of our operators told us he'd gotten all kinds of > stuff from there and was now storing it in his front yard in Sterling. > > Regards from the shores of Lake Champlain in winter, > > Dave Hardy > > >> 2. nice remembrances: Ken Olsen, DEC, ..... (Doug Mildram) >> >> Message: 2 >> Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2011 12:35:39 -0500 >> From: Doug Mildram <dmildram(a)gmail.com> >> Subject: [Wlug] nice remembrances: Ken Olsen, DEC, ..... >> To: wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >> Message-ID: >> <AANLkTinCQXAHYjbuzRC+7YH9wZvVAoeokGCZoRiMDre3(a)mail.gmail.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" >> >> A nice article from Jon Hall is on top of the blog >> >> >> http://www.linuxpromagazine.com/Online/Blogs/Paw-Prints-Writings-of-the-mad… >> >> along with many other replies about PDP-* systems, VMS, etc. >> >> My first HIGHtech job (1985) was hanging tapes and keeping dumb terminals >> alive and connected to four >> VAX 750/780's running (not VMS but) BSD4 unix (before NFS, before NIS) >> for a robotics shop in Billerica called Automatix. csh% a.out >> hello, world ! >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: >> http://mail.wlug.org/pipermail/wlug/attachments/20110209/aeb596ff/attachmen… >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wlug mailing list >> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >> >> >> End of Wlug Digest, Vol 88, Issue 10 >> ************************************ >> > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > >

Feb. 10, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Off topic: good iPod Touch 4th Gen repairers?

by David P. Connell

You can start with ifixit.com. It took me a couple of tries (and a couple of trahed ipod's) before I got it right with one of the models. The different versions have differing levels of difficulty. One of them is a definite trick because of a very thin piece of circuit board with screw in the middle and the earphone plug on it. I've done a couple of replacements, but you need a steady hand. They may also do replacements and provide parts - I can't remember. Hope this helps at least a little. DaveC -- David P. Connell "Watch where you're going; remember where you've been."

Feb. 10, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Off topic: good iPod Touch 4th Gen repairers?

by Adam Keck

For the "official" recommendation, call the Apple Store in Natick. They have a vendor they send people to for out-of-warranty repairs. If I recall correctly, it's a large outfit in the midwest. -Adam On Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 12:45 PM, John Stoffel <john(a)stoffel.org> wrote: > > Guys, > > Got a 4th gen iPod Touch with a busted glass cover. Anyone know of a > reliable and cost effective place to do the repair? > > Thanks, > John > > > -- > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Feb. 10, 2011

Off topic: good iPod Touch 4th Gen repairers?

by John Stoffel

Guys, Got a 4th gen iPod Touch with a busted glass cover. Anyone know of a reliable and cost effective place to do the repair? Thanks, John --

Feb. 10, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Wlug Digest, Vol 88, Issue 10

by David Hardy

I met KO once in Maynard at the Old Mill and got to see his original orange-crate desk that he shared with Gordon Bell. Nice guy and down-to-earth. First fulltime techie gig I had was at Simplex Time Recorder, Gardner, MA, operator for DEC PDP-11 running RSX CAD/CAM stuff, and a MicroVax running VMS 3.5 for the software engineers. 1986. Previously, as an assistant bookstore manager at Clark U., I'd been in charge of selling the DEC Rainbow PCs as part of the University's program for students, faculty and staff. 1984-85. Last time I worked on DEC stuff was the VAX/VMS 7000 and the Alpha OpenVMS boxen running 7.1 at an outfit in downtown Woostuh. 2006-07. >From what I've heard inside the old DEC social circles is that a lot of the VMS engineering that didn't migrate to HP went to India, and that many of the old VMS guys have long since moved on to...drum roll....Linux. In other old DEC scuttlebutt, there was supposed to be an open field somewhere off Route 12 in Leominster that contained all kinds of hw dumped/stored there by whatever DEC facility back in the day. During my own time at DEC in 87-89 one of our operators told us he'd gotten all kinds of stuff from there and was now storing it in his front yard in Sterling. Regards from the shores of Lake Champlain in winter, Dave Hardy > 2. nice remembrances: Ken Olsen, DEC, ..... (Doug Mildram) > > Message: 2 > Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2011 12:35:39 -0500 > From: Doug Mildram <dmildram(a)gmail.com> > Subject: [Wlug] nice remembrances: Ken Olsen, DEC, ..... > To: wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > Message-ID: > <AANLkTinCQXAHYjbuzRC+7YH9wZvVAoeokGCZoRiMDre3(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > A nice article from Jon Hall is on top of the blog > > > http://www.linuxpromagazine.com/Online/Blogs/Paw-Prints-Writings-of-the-mad… > > along with many other replies about PDP-* systems, VMS, etc. > > My first HIGHtech job (1985) was hanging tapes and keeping dumb terminals > alive and connected to four > VAX 750/780's running (not VMS but) BSD4 unix (before NFS, before NIS) > for a robotics shop in Billerica called Automatix. csh% a.out > hello, world ! > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > http://mail.wlug.org/pipermail/wlug/attachments/20110209/aeb596ff/attachmen… > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > > End of Wlug Digest, Vol 88, Issue 10 > ************************************ >

Feb. 10, 2011

nice remembrances: Ken Olsen, DEC, .....

by Doug Mildram

A nice article from Jon Hall is on top of the blog http://www.linuxpromagazine.com/Online/Blogs/Paw-Prints-Writings-of-the-mad… along with many other replies about PDP-* systems, VMS, etc. My first HIGHtech job (1985) was hanging tapes and keeping dumb terminals alive and connected to four VAX 750/780's running (not VMS but) BSD4 unix (before NFS, before NIS) for a robotics shop in Billerica called Automatix. csh% a.out hello, world !

Feb. 9, 2011

WLUG meeting tonight, 7pm

by Chuck Anderson

Hi folks, Our next WLUG meeting is tonight at 7:00 PM at the WPI campus in Worcester, MA USA. The meeting room is in WPI's Morgan Hall (building 'H' on the campus map [1]), down the hallway to the right of the dining hall entrance. [1] http://www.wpi.edu/Images/CMS/WPI/walkingmap.pdf Chuck President, Worcester Linux Users' Group

Feb. 9, 2011

Jon "Maddog" Hall speaking at Northeast GNU/Linux fest, Worcester

by Chuck Anderson

Northeast GNU/Linux Fest Details Date: Saturday, April 2, 2011 Time: 10:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Location: Worcester State University Student Center 486 Chandler St. Worcester MA 01602 ----- Forwarded message from Jonathan Nadeau <northeastlinux(a)gmail.com> ----- From: Jonathan Nadeau <northeastlinux(a)gmail.com> To: cra(a)WPI.EDU Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2011 09:15:08 -0500 Subject: Northeast GNU/Linux fest Greetings, My name is Jonathan Nadeau and I'm coordinator of the Northeast GNU/Linux fest (http://www.northeastlinuxfest.org) which will be held in Worcester, MA on April 2, 2011. I was given your contact info by Jon Maddog Hall (who will be speaking at the event), and I'm writing to you to see if you would be willing to attend, and if you would please announce this to the people in your group. Thanks for your time and help. Jonathan ----- End forwarded message -----

Feb. 8, 2011

Linux User Group Survey

by Dafydd Crosby

Hello, I've made a survey for Linux User Group members across North America. I would like to get the pulse of different groups and see what's working so that all LUG's can improve the experience. This data will be published on http://clug.ca (the Calgary Linux User Group website) on August, 2011. The survey is only 12 questions, and shouldn't take more than 5 minutes to complete. http://www.lonesomecosmonaut.com/limesurvey/index.php?sid=94921&newtest=Y&l… Thank you for your participation! -Dafydd President of Calgary Linux User Group

Feb. 7, 2011

Computer Recycling - Wlug Digest, Vol 88, Issue 6

by Steven Greenberg

Just before moving from the Portland, Oregon area back to Massachusetts, I did have the proverbial closet of old computer equipment. Portland had a place that you could bring this equipment to for recycling. They charged a small fee to take the equipment off your hands with the commitment that they would refurbish it or otherwise recycle it. Of course Portland had such a strong green ethos that a business like this could flourish there. I figured I did my part for the environment and saved the cost of moving the dead weight across country and storing it in a closet here. /Steve On 2/5/2011 12:00 PM, wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org wrote: > Send Wlug mailing list submissions to > wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > wlug-owner(a)mail.wlug.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Wlug digest..." > > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Business idea (joel d) > 2. Re: Business idea (soup) > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug -- 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

Feb. 5, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Business idea

by soup

It's tough enough to keep a regular shop open these days, Joel is right. Nevermind refurbs, brand new laptops are out there for $300. It doesn't matter if they're trash, they'll replace them in a year anyway. I have regular service work from businesses and professional users but I've been seeing less of everyday users and more declines of service from them after quotes. Even on high end machines. I wish you luck but if you get something like this rolling I'd wager you'd be seeing both a lot of returns and complaints when they can't install limewire. Purposed niche is definitely the way to go. If you could get reasonably priced turnkey DAWs and get the word out, I bet you'd have a market with people sick of paying their pt/cubase/logic taxes. Take care, soup

Feb. 5, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Business idea

by joel d

On 2/3/2011 11:30 AM, Keith Wright wrote: >> From: Jason Couture<plaguethenet(a)gmail.com> >> >> I was considering reviving my PC business by selling >> computers with linux preinstalled. Does anyone have >> any distro suggestions aside from Ubuntu and mint? Do >> any of you know anyone who may be interested? > Well, good luck with that (sincerely). > > I had that idea about twelve years ago. > > http://www.free-comp-shop.com/ > > As it worked out, I was fronting thousands > of dollars for parts and working for a day > to put it all together for a profit of a > few dollars. You can't ask much money for > doing a simple thing that the people smart > and knowledgable enough to want can do for > themselves. > > I decided to give it up when one company > that bought about $3000 worth of computer > decided to return it. That was my main > computer for several years, but if I had > designed it myself I would have built > something a bit cheaper. I sure didn't > need another one. > > -- Keith > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > I have also been trying out the numbers on such a venture and have come to the same conclusion (as Keith). If you can come up with a special niche market, like a car/boat/RV computer or a DVR/HDTV computer for a particular market that has some kind of Television access problem, then you may find a way to profit. It is very hard to go up against the low-end and sale machines at the stores. If you are a great seller, you may be able to talk your way into some customers. In Florida, there are a couple of small companies doing neighborhood wifi internet access for a great price, but even they depend more on the internet charges and the computer service calls than on system sales. Service and training seems like the most profitable part of the picture to me. Still, I hope you find a way to do this. I hope I don't sound too negative. I'm just a regular guy without any strict training or a business degree, so I'm certainly not the last word on the subject. DaveC -- David P. Connell "Watch where you're going; remember where you've been." Hey, Sorry for not chiming in sooner. I remember while working on my MBA trying to work out how to run a small for profit local PC and support business aimed at home consumers and an occasional small business. The short answer at the time was the advent of the "shiny new $450 PC" made computers toaster-ish (breaks - put in basement/closet - buy another). In the ensuing decade plus since I have confirmed two things IMHO: 1) The price of entry level PCs are going even lower. I haven't looked but I bet there are refurbs out there for $200-ish. This fact makes it harder for a consumer to pay even $25 for someone to work on their (likely 2 to 6 years old on average) PC whether in a shop or in the home. The business person's reasoning is "good money after bad". Not sure why home consumers do this, but they do. 2) Most non-IT geeks have a small closet/basement pile of PCs somewhere in their house if they haven't moved within the decade. Moving of course drives people into momentary sanity with "Why am I keeping / saving / moving all this useless junk?" Geeks of course re-use them as personal firewalls / coffee warmers / Myth boxes / ways to communicate with aliens / ... App won't install... Printer cable won't connect... Adware and viruses got you slugging along... Bad device driver killing your uptime... Your 18 long hair cats packing the case with a fur effigy with expected heat & reboot issues... Consumers answer to all is: "Buy a new PC!" Ask around to non-geek friends/co-workers. You will be amazed. A family friend is on their 4th brand new computer in 3 years. I assure you the scope of work has not changed (web browsing, e-mail, facebook, etc). I am now wondering how do you get these closet PCs for cheap/free then image them to get them useful again. Obvious start is to get referrals from moving companies that quote household moves, then call offering to remove their unused PC's for free. Somewhere there must be a support group for home consumers who have their own Dell rep on speed dial. I am not bashing Dell here, merely using their name in the examples to make a point, Joel

Feb. 4, 2011