July 2008 - main - earth.li

Scripted editing of PDF files
by Mark Rogers 14 Jul '08

14 Jul '08

Does anyone have any idea how to perform command-line PDF editing? The sort of thing I am talking about is adding text to the document maybe even editing existing text if that's possible. (The PDF will be a poster for printing, I need to change some details and return it. The quality of the PDF is therefore important and converting (say) to JPEG, adding the content, then converting back, will probably not give adequate results (unless someone knows better?) For test purposes I have tried things like: convert test.pdf test.png convert test.png test2.pdf .. and the quality difference between test.pdf and test2.pdf is noticable (colour definition has reduced, and the image has become grainy). In fact, even: convert test.pdf test2.pdf .. gives almost identical results to the via-jpeg test, which makes me think something like that is happening anyway. It may be that I can improve the above tests with convert if anyone has any suggestions? -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0845 45 89 555 Registered in England (0456 0902) at 13 Clarke Rd, Milton Keynes, MK1 1LG

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Job vacancies - Network Operations, System Administration, LAMP Development
by Ben White 14 Jul '08

14 Jul '08

Hi, We've got a couple of jobs open within our Network Operations team based in Great Blakenham just outside Ipswich. The company is an ISP, Timico Ltd who have aquired KeConnect Internet and Twang.net in the past couple of years. The Timico NOC is tasked with running the infrastructure and services for all 3 organisations. The job description is fairly fluid at the moment until we see some applicants. There's 2 positions open and with the successful candidates we need to find experience in network operations, system administration and LAMP development skills. More details and how to apply available at http://www.timico.co.uk/home/work_for_us.php Many Thanks, Ben White -- Ben

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Comparison of CPU speeds
by Ted.Harding＠manchester.ac.uk 10 Jul '08

10 Jul '08

Hi Folks, Sorry for any cross-posting which may affect any of you! I've been asked the following, but don't know the technicalities to provide an answer myself. Given that a certain simulation job (10,000 rounds) takes 6-8 hours on an Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.59GHz machine, what might it take (i.e. what speed factor) on a machine with a) IntelR CoreT2 Duo E6400 b) IntelR CoreT2 Duo E6600 c) IntelR CoreT2 Duo E6700 (Ball-park will do). I haven't been given the GHz speeds for these other processors, but a quick Google suggests they're all around 2.6GHz, give or take a bit. The computations for the simulation are numerically intensive; also much reading to & writing from RAM. With thanks, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)manchester.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 09-Jul-08 Time: 21:43:45 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

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Ubuntu 8.04 - dualboot on two hard drives
by James Freer 09 Jul '08

09 Jul '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: James Freer <jessejazza(a)googlemail.com> Date: 2008/7/9 Subject: Re: [ALUG] Ubuntu 8.04 - dualboot on two hard drives To: Wayne Stallwood <ALUGlist(a)digimatic.co.uk> 2008/7/8 Wayne Stallwood <ALUGlist(a)digimatic.co.uk>: > On Tue, 2008-07-08 at 11:51 +0100, James Freer wrote: >> I've read a post on this on another forum and somehow it doesn't seem >> to work for me... ubuntu 8.04 seems quite clever. It finds the >> winblows drive and puts the necessary code at the bottom of the >> menu.lst file. I'd rather use dualboot with two drives as it is then >> easier for installing new ubuntu releases (IMHO). >> >> hard drives both standard IDE on a 2.6ghz desktop. >> master drive - ubuntu 8.04 >> slave drive - win2k (no reason other than i don't have a copy of XP... >> my only reason for wanting to do dualbooting is that i've got several >> apps and a scanner than i can't run on ubuntu) >> >> Following the beginning of the guide that worked fine - installing >> win2k on master and then connecting the master for ubuntu carefully >> switching the win2k disk to slave. > > The problem with doing that is that it would break the Windows > bootloader. At this level it identifies the disks depending on where > they are on the controller (i.e which channel and master/slave) and > partition number on the disk. The error you are getting is because ntldr > is getting pointed in the wrong direction by a file in the root of the > Windows partition called boot.ini (it is also possible that this file > doesn't actually exist, but more on that later). > > It is possible you just need to edit the path to the Windows disk in > boot.ini unfortunately this is specified as an ARC path (yes that is the > Advanced Risc Computing one) so you probably need to read and understand > http://support.microsoft.com/kb/102873 first to work out what the ARC > path of your disk is now you have moved it. Although if it is the first > partition of a secondary disk on the primary IDE channel then > multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1) might be close. > > That may fix it..or may only get you as far as a BSoD telling you > "inaccessible boot device" this really depends on how many goats you > have sacrificed. > > XP can boot without a boot.ini file ISTR in which case it just tries the > first fat32/ntfs partition it can find. But I am pretty sure W2K needs > one so editing this (taking a backup copy first) is probably your best > chance. many thanks Wayne I wondered if that was the problem from just reading various things i'd found from doing a google. For me being less technical it is hardly worth trying to do the editing. After posting this message i was searching through the bits 'n' pieces that came with this machine to find an XP recovery CD set. Making the windoze HD master again and installing XP took little more than about 20 mins - all the drivers necessary being already there... thought i was going to have a hunt on 'drivers guide'. I'd always wanted to avoid dualboot but this 2HD method seems better than partitioning. While i have only a couple of apps and a scanner to run on windoze - i still find certain DVDs a pain to run on ubuntu. I'm now happily watching my Telegraph compilation of previous wimbledons which was somehow prepared for windoze as RealPlayer and others didn't work properly. james

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Ubuntu 8.04 - dualboot on two hard drives
by James Freer 08 Jul '08

08 Jul '08

I've read a post on this on another forum and somehow it doesn't seem to work for me... ubuntu 8.04 seems quite clever. It finds the winblows drive and puts the necessary code at the bottom of the menu.lst file. I'd rather use dualboot with two drives as it is then easier for installing new ubuntu releases (IMHO). hard drives both standard IDE on a 2.6ghz desktop. master drive - ubuntu 8.04 slave drive - win2k (no reason other than i don't have a copy of XP... my only reason for wanting to do dualbooting is that i've got several apps and a scanner than i can't run on ubuntu) Following the beginning of the guide that worked fine - installing win2k on master and then connecting the master for ubuntu carefully switching the win2k disk to slave. I want ubuntu to load as default. I read through the forum listed menu.lst carefully taking note of what was said about needing to put the ammendments at the bottom of the file. In 8.04 at the foot of menu.lst IT IS ALREADY THERE - no editing required. It would seem that 8.04 DOES the necessary! On rebooting i selected the bottom item i.e windows and it didn't seem to load. windows message "Windows 2000 could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem. Could not read from the selected boot disk. Check boot path and disk hardware" I don't think this message can be relevant to the problem as i installed win2k fine? I'd be very grateful if you put put me right! Menu.lst below 8.04 original no ammendments. thanks james # menu.lst - See: grub(, info grub, update-grub( # grub-install(, grub-floppy(, # grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub # and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/. ## default num # Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and # the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used. # # You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry # is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'. # WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your # array will desync and will not let you boot your system. default 0 ## timeout sec # Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry # (normally the first entry defined). timeout 10 ## hiddenmenu # Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu) #hiddenmenu # Pretty colours #color cyan/blue white/blue ## password ['--md5'] passwd # If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing # control (menu entry editor and command-line) and entries protected by the # command 'lock' # e.g. password topsecret # password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/ # password topsecret # # examples # # title Windows 95/98/NT/2000 # root (hd0,0) # makeactive # chainloader +1 # # title Linux # root (hd0,1) # kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro # # # Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST ### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST ## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified ## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below ## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs ## ## Start Default Options ## ## default kernel options ## default kernel options for automagic boot options ## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z ## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted. ## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro ## kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro ## kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro # kopt=root=UUID=4a8cf581-73c8-41dc-a4d0-2bee78c3e5fc ro ## Setup crashdump menu entries ## e.g. crashdump=1 # crashdump=0 ## default grub root device ## e.g. groot=(hd0,0) # groot=(hd0,0) ## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options ## e.g. alternative=true ## alternative=false # alternative=true ## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options ## e.g. lockalternative=true ## lockalternative=false # lockalternative=false ## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the ## alternatives ## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5 # defoptions=quiet splash ## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options ## e.g. lockold=false ## lockold=true # lockold=false ## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option # xenhopt= ## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option # xenkopt=console=tty0 ## altoption boot targets option ## multiple altoptions lines are allowed ## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options ## altoptions=(recovery) single # altoptions=(recovery mode) single ## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst ## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the ## alternative kernel options ## e.g. howmany=all ## howmany=7 # howmany=all ## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option ## e.g. memtest86=true ## memtest86=false # memtest86=true ## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system ## can be true or false # updatedefaultentry=false ## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options ## can be true or false # savedefault=false ## ## End Default Options ## title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-19-generic root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-19-generic root=UUID=4a8cf581-73c8-41dc-a4d0-2bee78c3e5fc ro quiet splash initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-19-generic quiet title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-19-generic (recovery mode) root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-19-generic root=UUID=4a8cf581-73c8-41dc-a4d0-2bee78c3e5fc ro single initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-19-generic title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-16-generic root=UUID=4a8cf581-73c8-41dc-a4d0-2bee78c3e5fc ro quiet splash initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-16-generic quiet title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic (recovery mode) root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-16-generic root=UUID=4a8cf581-73c8-41dc-a4d0-2bee78c3e5fc ro single initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-16-generic title Ubuntu 8.04.1, memtest86+ root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin quiet ### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST # This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian # ones. title Other operating systems: root # This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS # on /dev/sdb1 title Windows NT/2000/XP (loader) root (hd1,0) savedefault makeactive map (hd0) (hd1) map (hd1) (hd0) chainloader +1

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[ALUG Announce] 2nd Thurs Pub Meet 10th July
by Richard Lewis 08 Jul '08

08 Jul '08

ALUG Announce Please send announcements to Announce(a)lists.alug.org.uk Unsub, change settings via http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce ----- Dear ALUG, The monthly second Thursday social meeting of ALUG will take place on * Thursday 10th July * at The Reindeer (10 Dereham Road, Norwich, NR2 4AY; tel. 01603 762223). It's very near the junction of Dereham Road and the Norwich inner ring road (Grapes Hill) and serves a selection of real ales, nice pub food (if you fancy going early to eat) and coffee. I intend to be there from about 20:00. Others may be there earlier. We normally get a table at the back of the pub just to the left of the bar. We look forward to seeing you there. Cheers, Richard -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Richard Lewis http://www.richard-lewis.me.uk/ JID: ironchicken(a)jabber.earth.li -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- +-------------------------------------------------------+ |Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments.| |http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html | +-------------------------------------------------------+ ----- Send discussion replies to main(a)lists.alug.org.uk (Reply-To set) Unsub, change settings via http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce

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Re: [ALUG] Help Keyboard madness!
by Peter Alcibiades 07 Jul '08

07 Jul '08

> > It could be a KDE thing. Check the file ~/.kde/share/config/kdeglobals > and look for the settings for "Log Out" and "Log Out Without > Confirmation". It's possible that one of those may be set to 'd'. Thanks a million guys! Went around this am, and this is what it was. Tried with IceWM first as suggested, and that was OK, so it pretty much had to be KDE. No idea how it can have happened, but its fixed now. When resetting the configuration so that lock becomes (Ctrl+Alt+d) in a text editor, of course, the minute you type the 'd', it drops you to a locked session without making the change! So the only way to get the d in is to do cut and paste. It is stuff like this that keeps blood flowing in the brain. Cheers Peter

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Help keyboard madness!
by Peter Alcibiades 07 Jul '08

07 Jul '08

This is a truly weird one. Installation is Mandriva 2008 One with KDE. Whenever the lower case d is pressed, the system instantly logs off the user and starts a new session. What on earth can be going on? Upper case D does not do it. Changing the keyboard makes no difference. Restarting makes no difference. We have done nothing I can think of to set this (and I would not know in any case where to set it). Anyone heard of anything like this ever? I've a feeling the solution to this and other problems is going to be Debian sooner rather than later.... But I'd really like to know how to figure out what on earth could be causing it. Al

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Can on specify a default sort order for applications (as opposed to ls)?
by Chris G 03 Jul '08

03 Jul '08

Is it possible to specify a default sort order for all applications to use as opposed to just ls (and/or the default file manager)? I'd like to get files shown in date order rather than alphabetic order *everywhere*, is there some way to tell the system to do this? Even a way to tell Gnome or KDE apps would be useful. -- Chris Green

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