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Few things from last night's meeting
by Eric Martin Feb. 20, 2009

Feb. 20, 2009

A couple of things from last night's meeting / dinner that might interest everybody: [IRC] I know people have mentioned it before but WLUG has an irc channel. We're on freenode and it's #wlug-ma. IRC stands for Internet Relay chat and is used for sync communication between people. Check out this wikipedia link [1] for more info. get a copy of Xchat (irc client) and when you open xchat it should prompt you for a server. Click freenode. Next it may ask you for a channel to join, type in #wlug-ma. If it doesn't ask for a channel to join, type "/join #wlug-ma" in the command bar at the bottom. [PGP Keys] Some people mentioned that their pgp keys are expiring in roughly 2 months so we need to have a keysigning again. If your key is expiring soon I would suggest generating a new key now and signing your new key with your old key. This will allow the web of trust to extend to your new key. For generating new keys, there are a few schools of thought. Some people prefer to have their master key be unlimited and generate new subkeys every so often (1/year, etc). This way signatures go to the master key but the subkeys can always be revoked if there's a problem. Others generate a key pair with a 3-5 year expiration and just get signatures again as they need them. The thing to keep in mind is how possible is it that my key will be cracked [expiration] years from now given technology. I think the current plan is to have the key signing in two months (please correct me if I'm wrong) so I'll be sending more stuff out as it gets closer. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC -- Eric Martin Key fingerprint = D1C4 086E DBB5 C18E 6FDA B215 6A25 7174 A941 3B9F

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Is MS becoming less evil?
by Clint Moyer Feb. 17, 2009

Feb. 17, 2009

I'd say no, but there is this: http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/02/red-hat-virtualization-deal… http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2009/02/15/Microsoft-and-Re…

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REMINDER: Upcoming meeting THURS 7PM
by Andy Stewart Feb. 17, 2009

Feb. 17, 2009

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 HI everybody, Our monthly WLUG meeting will be held this coming Thursday, Feb 19th, at 7:00 PM in the Access Grid room on the WPI campus in Worcester, MA USA. We don't have a specific topic for this meeting unless we get a volunteer from the audience between now and the meeting time. As always, light refreshments will be available at the meeting, and we'll go out for pizza afterwards. See ya there! Andy - -- Andy Stewart, Founder Worcester Linux Users' Group (http://www.wlug.org) Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group (http://linux.meetup.com/393) Amateur Radio: KB1OIQ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFJminTHl0iXDssISsRAtsWAJ0SUghV2rZBFgAZ+vQ0r102C/YfswCfeUi3 P3IOTZmoXAfc33wsQe84umY= =bCTv -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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GIMP tutorials
by E Johnson Feb. 14, 2009

Feb. 14, 2009

A couple of WLUG members had been interested in GIMP a few months back. A presentation I gave to the group last Fall may have been effective that it could have been, since we couldn't get the big monitors working in the meeting room. But now while looking for one piece of info, I came across this in article Linux Haxor: "50 Tutorials To Get You Started With Gimp." http://www.linuxhaxor.net/2009/02/09/50-tutorials-to-get-you-started-with-g… Some of these tutorials seem to be concerned with specific special effects, but others, such as "Using and Manipulating Layers with Gimp" and "Retouching hair and eye (video)" might be of interest to non-artist persons, and to those who want to work with photos they have uploaded from digital camera. Enjoy, Liz J

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Miro gets a makeover
by Richard Klein Feb. 14, 2009

Feb. 14, 2009

I haven't read the article yet, but it looks like Miro 2.0 has launched. Miro was the topic of last month's meeting. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/10/miro-gets-a-makeover/ -- Rich

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tux's new prison
by Doug Mildram Feb. 14, 2009

Feb. 14, 2009

Suffering from "temporary" (winter) shrinkage, Tux looks a bit worried in his "new" computer room..... OK so he's homeless and I merely bought him a bottle and a limited air supply with the other derelicts in my man-cave... ( ! warning, no disturbing images, 3 boring pix at.... ) http://dmildram.jalbum.net/Server+DesktopClutter/index.html

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Lenovo S10 Netbook
by Mike Leo Feb. 13, 2009

Feb. 13, 2009

I picked one of these up at Circuit City last week and am looking to speed it up where ever possible. (Reviewed below). It has a normal SATA II drive in it and I know an SSD drive would significantly speed it up, but don't want to spend any more $ on it. http://www.trustedreviews.com/storage/review/2008/05/08/OCZ-64GB-SATA-II-SS… has pretty graphs to compare. I weaseled a RAM upgrade out of my hard ware guy so I have 1.5gigs in it now (max'd). I ran speed tests between booting off the SATA II drive and the same install via USB 2.0 thumb drive and boot times were around 50 seconds for either. I know there are SSD ExpressCards for cheap (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820191057) but I read that the ExpressCards are really just USB 2.0 speeds anyway so I wouldn't see any difference from my thumb drive test. Short of compiling my own kernel (which I never can seem to do right), any other advise on how to speed up a netbook's boot time? I will say once booted, everything runs pretty well, though I'm sure I wouldn't mind more speed then, too! grazie! Mike Review: Stopped in to Circuit City today and (impulsively?) bought a Lenovo IdeaPad S10. I've been looking for something to waste my money on/replace the Dell I bought that I ended up not liking and turning over to my wife, so it wasn't extremely impulsive, just a little impulsive. Anyway, it was 10% of the normal price, which brought it down to $370. Not a great deal at that price since online it is like $350 or so, but the one I got has twice as much RAM and hard drive space as online numbers, plus no shipping. Specs: Intel Atom N270 1.6ghz CPU (Intel has returned to multi-threading) 10.2 inch screen 1GIG RAM 160Gig SATA II Hard drive Wired/Wireless NIC cards 3 Cell Lithium-Ion 2.64lbs No CDROM (not a big deal as I have a Lenovo USB CDROM drive anyway) The size: possibly the perfect size...small, light weight without being tiny. 10.2 inch 1024x600 screen and not an impossibly tiny keyboard (though obviously not full sized). It is about the size of a larger hard cover book. The OS: Comes with Windows XP and it ran very well...applications opened fast, web surfing was responsive and I could open several apps at once without much hit to performance. After 27 different questions about my loyalty to Bill Gates, I decided it was time to upgrade. Concerned that the new hardware may have issues with older versions of Linux, I jumped right into an as-yet-to-be released version of Ubuntu (9.04). Booted right up, answered a couple questions and installed like a champ...saw the disk, the RAM, the wireless card, everything...during the install. Upon reboot into Linux though, nothing...it just wouldn't boot. "No OS found". I thought my partitioning might be screwing me up, so I let the installer pick, but to no avail. I booted off live CD's, but when I mounted and chroot'd into my install, the install didn't even see my /dev/sda. At one point I finally got to a grub > boot, but still wouldn't boot to the OS. I tried a Debian 4.0 install, but that didn't see either the wired or wireless nics. Similar to the Ubuntu, Fedora 10 installed, but would never boot. So I tried a Ubuntu 8.10 install and everything was fine! Installed with my partitions (/boot, /, /home and swap) and all is well in the world. Wired, wireless, SATA, screen resolution....everything works straight from the install. I'm still testing and upgrading but over all this is a great netbook and takes to Ubuntu Linux straight away, and for less than $400 a great addition to my daily commute.

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How to (not) Damage a FLASH Storage Device
by Chuck Anderson Feb. 6, 2009

Feb. 6, 2009

I found this article enlightening: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/How_to_Damage_a_FLASH_Storage_Device

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Any ruby hackers?
by John Stoffel Feb. 6, 2009

Feb. 6, 2009

Guys, I'm looking for some help with a Ruby script which uses the 'Drb' and 'Slave' libraries. Basically, I'm doing a recursive readdir() on a directory, but with parallel processes (since Ruby Threads aren't really parallel, sigh...) and I'm running into some problems. I'm happy to post the code here, before I start begging for help on the http://www.ruby-forum.com site. Thanks, John

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Re: [Wlug] reaching college students with linux
by Aljerin Butler,Jr. Feb. 5, 2009

Feb. 5, 2009

I don't know how much this would help in your efforts, but I put up a website to advocate and encourage students and other people alike to use Linux and Free/Open Source software. Please take a look at http://customlinux.tripod.com/. BTW, if you think there are any subjects that should be included or links not included in the subjects given, I would like to hear from you. Thanks, Al Butler --- On Wed, 2/4/09, wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org <wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org> wrote: From: wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org <wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org> Subject: Wlug Digest, Vol 64, Issue 3 To: wlug(a)mail.wlug.org Date: Wednesday, February 4, 2009, 11:40 PM 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. System 76: computers with Ubuntu pre-installed (Richard Klein) 2. Re: RH Enterprise 5.0 Question (Chuck Anderson) 3. FOSS Gaming Survey (Joseph Guarino) 4. Re: reaching college students with linux (Sean Corbett) 5. Re: RH Enterprise 5.0 Question (William Smith) 6. Re: reaching college students with linux (Gregory Avedissian) 7. Linux at 35,000 feet (Michael Long) 8. Re: Linux at 35,000 feet (John Stoffel) _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

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Linux at 35,000 feet
by Michael Long Feb. 5, 2009

Feb. 5, 2009

Hi All, I took a trip on DirectAir to Florida this past weekend. I flew out of Worcester on a direct flight to Punta Gorda, Fl. I wish I could say it was for pleasure but that would not be true :( Anyway the airline is a public charter owned by Virgin America and operated by Jet Blue. What does this have to do with Linux? Each seat had a monitor with a gaming remote control. The passengers had the choice of watching TV or movies. They could also listen to many different radio stations or select by artist. I found it refreshing to put on some Jimmy Hendricks and Frank Zappa. The last, or was it first, option available were games. Our friend Tux appeared in two of the games and the rest were available on all modern distributions of Linux. I spent a fair amount of time playing Doom. When you board the plane it feels very modern. There is a pleasant blue glow to the cabin. First and second class is separated by clear Plexiglas so the cabin feels very open. The mandatory speech about safety is done by video and is appropriately smart-alecky. All in all it was a great experience. Look them up if you need to travel on the east coast. Oh yeah, tickets were $99 each way. Happy Travels, Mike

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Re: [Wlug] reaching college students with linux
by Sean Corbett Feb. 5, 2009

Feb. 5, 2009

To be honest, I think the overwhelming majority of non-technical students will not want to get involved with Linux, even with Ubuntu... even some of my fellow computer science majors will only use Linux for coursework and refuse to touch it otherwise, mainly because they don't want to have to worry about "learning new software" or dealing with the fact that, in some cases, there aren't enough drivers to support all their software. Even Ubuntu can be a real pain in terms of out-of-the-box hardware compatibility, especially with laptops (which for most students serve as their main machine of use). I'm sort of sad to admit that many of the kids I go to school with are, in almost all cases, looking for the easiest means to accomplish anything; anything that requires too much effort is bound to be ignored by the majority. I picked up Linux out of genuine interest, and because I knew it served as a very good platform for development (and thus a worthwhile thing to use), and especially because of it's compliance with my (mild) disdain of proprietary software. Also, because I look up to Linus Torvalds, and Richard Stallman, and all those great guys... but, I don't know anyone else at my school who shares my enthusiasm. Perhaps its a bit better at a purely technical school (like WPI)... In short, if students aren't pursuing Linux out of their own interest (or at least out of necessity), I wouldn't try much beyond what you've already attempted in order to get kids more interested... I don't mean to be discouraging or pessimistic, but I really think your efforts are better spent aiding students who've developed an interest in running Linux on their own, as opposed to trying to turn them on to it. Hope this helps, -Sean C. > Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2009 13:31:19 -0800 (PST) > From: Andrew Perry <perryand(a)yahoo.com> > Subject: [Wlug] successful upgrade to openoffice.org 3.0 ; ubiquity of > .docx; reaching college students with linux > To: wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > Cc: Andrew Perry <perryand(a)gmail.com> > Message-ID: <377215.4592.qm(a)web35208.mail.mud.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > > Hi Everyone, > > (1) Thanks a million for all of the help, especially the link to the fantastic tutorial, posted by James Gray, I think. I am in the process of installing hardy updates, and it appears that openoffice.org 3.0 is part of what's being installed, so it looks like everything is working perfectly. > > (2) To Greg: yes, I could ask students to submit all of their assignments in .doc or .rtf format (or even open office format), but they most wouldn't listen. Many can't figure out how to save to any format but .docx. It's a perpetual hassle to nag them. Besides that, I get many files from colleagues, professors at my college and other colleges and universities, as well as the Mass. Dept. of Education, and increasingly, most are in Office 2007 formats. It's hard to convert the whole world to linux. > > (3) Here is a new issue for everyone who is interested in commenting. I am a mathematician but besides math ,I also teach a computer literacy course each semester. You would all be proud: I do my best every semester to convert students to the linux religion, or at least to make them aware of linux and the evils of Microsoft. However, for every student who finds my linux modules interesting (about 2 hours of a 45-hour course on average), there are a dozen who get annoyed and find the material boring and irrelevant. > > Once I brought in a PC running compiz and they found that mildly intriguing. > > They absolutely hate the movie "revolution os". If I pass out ubuntu cds, I doubt they get used. > > Can anyone suggest teaching resources (videos, for example) that would be likely to make an impact for non-technically minded college students ? > > > Thanks, > Andrew > > -Dr. Andrew B. Perry > Dept. of Mathematics, Springfield College > Schoo Hall Room 123 > 263 Alden St., Springfield MA 01109 > Work Phone (413)748-3193 > >

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RH Enterprise 5.0 Question
by McDonald, Melissa Feb. 5, 2009

Feb. 5, 2009

Greetings, I need to determine the hardware configuration of a RH 5.0 Linux server. Is there a command that will probe the hardware configuration and send the output to the screen? Thanks in advance. Melissa McDonald 508.841.0549 (Office) 774.275.4449 (Mobile)

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FOSS Gaming Survey
by Joseph Guarino Feb. 4, 2009

Feb. 4, 2009

Hello Everyone, I hope you are all doing well. =) I'm looking for some input and help on my forthcoming FOSS Gaming presentation at SCALE. With that goal in mind I am running a survey to gather the perceptions of the community on the status/opinion of FOSS gaming. Respondents will be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift certificate and select a Open Source gaming project of their choice to receive a $100 donation. Soooo.... If you are a gamer, I am looking for your feedback with a short 10 minute survey. It is my hope that the survey results help reflect and constructively improve the state of Open Source gaming. The survey is not commercial in nature and the information will NOT be used for any other purpose other than solidifying community perceptions. FOSS Gaming Survey - http://www.evolutionaryit.com/limesurvey/index.php?sid=72676〈=en NOTE: The insights of this survey will be detailed in my presentation on FOSS games at the Southern California Linux Expo (SCALE) as well as archived online. For further details see the SCALE website: http://scale7x.socallinuxexpo.org/ Thanks so much, -- Joseph Guarino Phone - 617 953 9514 (Cell) EvolutionaryIT :: Best Practice IT http://www.evolutionaryit.com

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System 76: computers with Ubuntu pre-installed
by Richard Klein Feb. 4, 2009

Feb. 4, 2009

Cory Doctorow recently got a new laptop and he gave a brief review of it in his most recent podcast. When he switched from MacOS to Linux he decided it was no longer worth paying the premium for Apple hardware. I think he said he went to IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads after that, and he's comparing his new laptop to his previous Thinkpad. He said the new laptop was a bit heavier than the Thinkpad, and he had some minor issues with the keyboard layout, but it came with Intrepid Ibex installed, and he was impressed that everything just worked, including his T-Mobile (London) 3G cell modem. The laptop he got was a System 76 Darter, and he seemed pretty happy with it: http://www.system76.com/ I think this is the URL for that podcast episode: http://craphound.com/?p=2166 -- Rich

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successful upgrade to openoffice.org 3.0 ; ubiquity of .docx; reaching college students with linux
by Andrew Perry Feb. 1, 2009

Feb. 1, 2009

Hi Everyone, (1) Thanks a million for all of the help, especially the link to the fantastic tutorial, posted by James Gray, I think. I am in the process of installing hardy updates, and it appears that openoffice.org 3.0 is part of what's being installed, so it looks like everything is working perfectly. (2) To Greg: yes, I could ask students to submit all of their assignments in .doc or .rtf format (or even open office format), but they most wouldn't listen. Many can't figure out how to save to any format but .docx. It's a perpetual hassle to nag them. Besides that, I get many files from colleagues, professors at my college and other colleges and universities, as well as the Mass. Dept. of Education, and increasingly, most are in Office 2007 formats. It's hard to convert the whole world to linux. (3) Here is a new issue for everyone who is interested in commenting. I am a mathematician but besides math ,I also teach a computer literacy course each semester. You would all be proud: I do my best every semester to convert students to the linux religion, or at least to make them aware of linux and the evils of Microsoft. However, for every student who finds my linux modules interesting (about 2 hours of a 45-hour course on average), there are a dozen who get annoyed and find the material boring and irrelevant. Once I brought in a PC running compiz and they found that mildly intriguing. They absolutely hate the movie "revolution os". If I pass out ubuntu cds, I doubt they get used. Can anyone suggest teaching resources (videos, for example) that would be likely to make an impact for non-technically minded college students ? Thanks, Andrew -Dr. Andrew B. Perry Dept. of Mathematics, Springfield College Schoo Hall Room 123 263 Alden St., Springfield MA 01109 Work Phone (413)748-3193

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Re: [Wlug] Wlug Digest, Vol 63, Issue 16
by Karl Lind Jan. 29, 2009

Jan. 29, 2009

As OpenOffice 3.0 is a DIFERENT branch from 2.4, the quickest way is to download and install 3.0. It is made to run in parallel and to allow you the chance to migrate anything that the install may have forgotten.All the data that is in your home directory will still be there and during the install you will have the option to use your old settings. Karl Lind On Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 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: problem upgrading openoffice.org to version 3.0 > (Gregory Avedissian) > 2. Re: problem upgrading openoffice.org to version 3.0 (James Gray) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2009 08:18:17 -0500 > From: Gregory Avedissian <avedis.g(a)verizon.net> > Subject: Re: [Wlug] problem upgrading openoffice.org to version 3.0 > To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> > Message-ID: <4981AC99.20403(a)verizon.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > > > Andrew Perry wrote: > > > [THE PROBLEM:] > > > > Unfortunately, I am at my wit's end to upgrade OpenOffice from 2.4.1 to > version 3 - which I need to open .docx and .xlsx files that my students at > Springfield College constantly send me. > > If these are class assignments that they're giving you, can't you specify > which file formats they use? > > Greg > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:22:16 -0500 > From: James Gray <jamespgray(a)gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [Wlug] problem upgrading openoffice.org to version 3.0 > To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> > Message-ID: > <1a6cab400901290722j306e156fp9033dc53e717fe22(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > There has been talk about getting ppa's signed, but you'll still need > to trust the signer. But that is always a problem with Free Software, > or anything else for that matter. > > On Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 3:31 AM, randy cole <randyokc(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi Andy, > > > > I am reluctant to add unofficial repositories, not wanting to "pollute" > my > > "pure" installation. > > > > More important question, how do you decide what repositories to trust? I > > thought I read something about launchpad apps being unsigned too... > > > > So, I downloaded the official package. (source tarball? I think?) No > > integration, grr! Worse, when I bring up my resume the indent & > pagination > > was off. That was a dealbreaker, so oo 2.4 for now on Linux. And I > don't > > see much difference. > > > > Randy > > randyokc at gmail dot com > > > > Andy Stewart wrote: > > > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > > Hash: SHA1 > > > > James Gray wrote: > > > > > > This should do the trick for Open Office 3 in 8.04 (code named Hardy > Haron): > > > > deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/openoffice-pkgs/ppa/ubuntu hardy main > > > > Do you know how to add this repository in synaptic? Otherwise you can > > look here: > > > > > http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-To-Install-OpenOffice-org-3-0-in-Ubuntu-… > > > > *HOWEVER* in this example the deb line is for a different release then > > what you have so you need to use the line I provided above instead. > > > > Good luck and let us know how it goes, > > > > ~James > > > > > > HI Andrew, > > > > I'm not sure if it was clear, but the line that James suggested in his > > response needs to be added to the /etc/apt/sources.list file, if I'm not > > mistaken. You are telling the Ubuntu packaging system (apt) where to > > find the OpenOffice software package. There's probably a way to add > > this repository via the GUI as well. > > > > After you edit the /etc/apt/sources.list file, you need to update your > > package lists, and then if all works correctly, you should be able to > > install Open Office 3.mumble. > > > > Let us know how it goes, and then we'll know which blanks to fill in to > > help you further. Good luck! > > > > Later, > > > > Andy > > > > > > - -- > > Andy Stewart, Founder > > Worcester Linux Users' Group (http://www.wlug.org) > > Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group (http://linux.meetup.com/393) > > Amateur Radio: KB1OIQ > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > > Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (GNU/Linux) > > Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org > > > > iD8DBQFJf+94Hl0iXDssISsRAo9pAJ93oZbVjnrPTZXi2OUEzsR4VNxU8gCfaOC/ > > 4e1anUU1SiSPT/TFgFk6gns= > > =KnSY > > -----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 > > > End of Wlug Digest, Vol 63, Issue 16 > ************************************ >

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problem upgrading openoffice.org to version 3.0
by Andrew Perry Jan. 29, 2009

Jan. 29, 2009

Hi Everyone, [GREETINGS:] I have a Dell Inspiron 1420 running Ubuntu 8.04, Hardy Heron. I bought it from Dell, preloaded with Ubuntu, at about the time Dell started selling linux preloaded. I'm knowledgable about computers relative to the general public but probably will be a perpetual "newbie" to this crowd since, for example, I have never learned how to use the comamnd line well. I started using linux seriously when distros like Ubuntu came out that, supposedly, took care of most of the technical details so that a "normal user" could use linux without spending all his free time troubleshooting and reading manuals. Part of what made me "convert" was fantastic folks like LUG members; I love the linux community and am grateful for the help WLUG members have offered at times. [THE PROBLEM:] Unfortunately, I am at my wit's end to upgrade OpenOffice from 2.4.1 to version 3 - which I need to open .docx and .xlsx files that my students at Springfield College constantly send me. I've been wanting to do this for months and haven't had any luck looking in online help files. The openoffice.org help files direct me to options that simply aren't there. For example: "Choose Help- Check For Updates to check manually" - but there is no such option in my help menu ! "To check for updates automatically, Choose Tools- Options - OpenOffice.Org- Online Update" - again, the promised option, "Online Update" , simply isn't there. I tried to uninstall and reinstall OpenOffice.org in "add/remove programs" , but the default package manager (adept?synaptic? it doesn't say which it is, but I think it is synaptic) won't let me uninstall the "base package" as other packages require it. I could try to upgrade the whole distro to Ubuntu 8.10, but am reluctant totake the risk of crashing the computer and feel it shouldn't really be necessary. [HELP?] Can anyone help ? Solutions comprehensible to a "perpetual" newbie will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Andrew Perry

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My HP Laser Jet works!
by Ken Jones Jan. 29, 2009

Jan. 29, 2009

Thank you again WLUGers. I went to the page Brian recommended, followed the instructions, struggled with a couple of stupid mistakes and finally got my Fedora 4 box SAMBA writing on my HP Laser Jet attached to USB003 of my XP machine. Ken Jones Brian J. Conway wrote: --------- It looks like it's supported by the foo2zjs package: http://www.linuxprinting.org/show_printer.cgi?recnum=HP-LaserJet_1020 Haven't used it myself or checked Fedora, but I see it available in Debian 4.0/Etch -----------

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Self-Introduction : Markus McLaughlin
by Markus McLaughlin Jan. 28, 2009

Jan. 28, 2009

Hi, my name is Markus McLaughlin, I run a small Linux Blog, I reside in Hudson, I been wanting to join your group and get some expert advice on Fedora 10. I am not a Programmer, I am an Advanced User who wants to learn Fedora, I don't mind tinkering with it so I get to work right. Ubuntu is cool but it's not American based like Fedora is. Does the group have an IRC channel? I like to IRC chat with everyone here when I have some free time! I hope we can ALL make a small difference in the Linux Community! M. McLaughlin linuxglobe.wordpress.com Hudson, MA, USA

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Problem with a HP Laser Jet printer.
by Ken Jones Jan. 28, 2009

Jan. 28, 2009

Subject: Re: [Wlug] Problem with a HP Laser Jet 1020 printer. Tim Keller <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: Are you trying to print through the XP box to the printer from your linux box? I ask because I just looks at my CUPS configuration and I have an option for "LaserJet 1020" as a printer. ----------------- Tim, Sounds like my Linux package 2.6.16-1.2115_FC4 is old and out-of-date. Time to get foo2zjs. Thanks, all, Ken

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Problem with a HP Laser Jet printer.
by Ken Jones Jan. 28, 2009

Jan. 28, 2009

Folks, thank you for past help. Here's another one... I have an HP Laser Jet 1020 black and white printer attached to a PC running Windows XP Professional. It is my home network shared printer. I have no problem using it from other Windows machines. I am having no luck using it from my Linux boxes. (a Fedora and an Aurora). The CUPS package does not have a driver for this printer. I understand that this laser printer is a bit different from other HP laser jets, but I do not understand how this relates to my problem. Without me going into all the details of my guessing game do any of you know exactly what I should do? Ken Jones

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Newbie's Guide to Linux
by Richard Klein Jan. 28, 2009

Jan. 28, 2009

I haven't read this yet; the link just came across my inbox. It sounds helpful, though. http://www.linuxworld.com/nllinuxopensourc179761 -- Rich

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HP T5720 info...
by Tim Keller Jan. 23, 2009

Jan. 23, 2009

Hey Gang, So last night I'd mentioned as an alternative to a NSLU2 was one of these HP T571X machines that can be found on eBay for around $100. Currently the HP has a very stripped down Debian install on a 32GB SSD. Last night the box was stressed all night and didn't crash (this was after tuning down the DMA) Also I've put up pictures of a "fitPC" that my other coworker is playing with. Both of these machines are going to be used for home automation stuff. In fact the guy who bought the HP is using an Adrino with a home built circuit to read the information off of his pool chemistry controller. I've posted some pictures on my picasa site so people can see how it's all setup, with a standard hard drive for comparison. Here's a link to the pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/turbofx/Micro_pcs# Later, Tim. -- I am weary of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

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Early reminder: upcoming WLUG meeting
by Andy Stewart Jan. 23, 2009

Jan. 23, 2009

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 HI everybody, We have a WLUG meeting coming up NEXT week on Thursday, January 22, 2009. I'm looking for a speaker for this meeting, or any future meeting for that matter. If you are doing cool things with Linux that you'd like to share with the group, please send me an email. Thanks, Andy - -- Andy Stewart, Founder Worcester Linux Users' Group (http://www.wlug.org) Chelmsford Linux Meetup Group (http://linux.meetup.com/393) Amateur Radio: KB1OIQ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFJb7OAHl0iXDssISsRAuc8AJ9EpYNe0HIv+CpP2QCAm7ruu2ivNgCfbvy3 q5WLNNARzTy0KQGGr4MOptI= =nGqy -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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