January 2010 - main

Encrypted PDF with odd password
by Dan Hatton 21 Apr '10

21 Apr '10

Dear All, I have an encrypted PDF file that I can open just fine in Adobe Reader under Windows. But I'd really prefer to read it in Xpdf (or any open source tool). Unfortunately, Xpdf needs the password supplied on the command line, and the password contains characters that are special to the shell. (Actually, I don't think I need to be coy about this. It contains a percent sign, an ampersand, and a pound sign.) I've tried escaping the special characters with backslashes, enclosing the password in various types of quotes, and putting the password in an environment variable, but all of these result in "Incorrect password" errors and failure to open the document. Any ideas, please? -- Thanks, Dan

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Hot swap sata drives
by Barry Samuels 15 Feb '10

15 Feb '10

Can anyone tell me how I can get a command to run whenever a sata hard drive is connected? -- Barry Samuels http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain

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Blogs and such...
by James Elsey 10 Feb '10

10 Feb '10

When you come across an interesting article, or figure out how to do something with a new technology your messing around with, do you document it? This is a bit of a generalised question, just trying to find out what you guys do. I've gone for "Blogger", is there anything exciting Wordpress offers that could tempt me over? I'm using the web interface at the moment, its a bit clumsy, are there any good linux desktop applications that make it easier to type up and organise posts? If anyone has a tech blog, feel free to link me up, would be interested to see what others are doing Cheers! James Elsey

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ipv6 (with Virgin Media)
by Jon Dye 10 Feb '10

10 Feb '10

Hi, I would like to try settings up ipv6 at home in preperation for the global meltdown when we run out of ipv4 addresses. I currently have an internet connection with Virgin Media who I don't believe do native ipv6. I therefore would like to set up a tunnel to a provider. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for particular providers (brokers?), software or general tips (or specific tips relating to Virgin Media). I have several PCs (Windows and Linux) on a LAN which then goes through a router that doesn't have ipv6 capability. One of the linux machines on the LAN is a server that's on 24/7 so I was thinking of using that to do the tunnelling. I don't have a static IP on the router but it hardly ever changes (I think it's only changed when I've unplugged the router for more than a few hours). Suggestions? JD

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BT Broadband linux compatability?
by Mark Wilson 01 Feb '10

01 Feb '10

Hi, I was just wondering does anyone know if it's possible to use BT Broadband on a linux system? I've heard there are problems, something to do with a modem they supply (BT voyager?) and driver issues. Any info would be most appreciated! Mark Wilson

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Why doesn't my IMG float? (trivial HTML question)
by Chris G 30 Jan '10

30 Jan '10

In the following snippet I was expecting the text to appear beside the image but it obstinately stays above it:- <p>Zelma has to be back at work tomorrow so we went down to Chateauneuf and Zelma and Ben left us there to return home. Maxine and I then pottered downstream to Cheffes and back, all very scenic, with supper back at Chateauneuf.</p> <div align="left" class="figure"> <img alt="http://home.isbd.net/boat/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/DSCF2320.jpg" src="http://home.isbd.net/boat/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/DSCF2320.jpg" style="height: 50px;" /> <p class="caption">View of the moorings at Chateaneuf-sur-Sarthe</p> </div> Can anyone suggest what the problem might be? Yes, I know there are possibly other bits around that might affect it but I can't see anything relevant. The code is generated by docutils by the way so don't complain about my style, I didn't do it! I'm viewing in Firefox 3.5.7, has it decided that as div align="left" is deprecated it can ignore it? I've just tried IE as well, same result. -- Chris Green

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Re: [ALUG] BT Broadband linux compatability?
by Anthony Anson 30 Jan '10

30 Jan '10

Ken Hamer wrote: > On 29/01/2010 23:51, Anthony Anson wrote: >> They still haven't mended it. > So are you saying that you don't have a working phone line (including > voice)? Yes, that's what the situation is. I seldom used the phone anyway, and typically, my bill would be around ten quid, which would include (say) tw calls. So, I have a PAYG elderly phobile and this internet dongle. It's only inconvenient on badly-constructed websites, or if I want to access audio or video files. -- Tony Anson www.girolle.co.uk/

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[OOPS!!] Dud keyboard solved! Thanks.
by Ted.Harding＠manchester.ac.uk 30 Jan '10

30 Jan '10

Apologies for the loss of time! I had failed to check the systemn clock after rebooting this morning. As a result the following was sent "two days ago". Now back to real time. -----FW: <XFMail.100128085753.Ted.Harding(a)manchester.ac.uk>----- Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:57:53 -0000 (GMT) Sender: main-bounces(a)lists.alug.org.uk From: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)manchester.ac.uk> To: main(a)lists.alug.org.uk Subject: [ALUG] Dud keyboard solved! Thanks. Apologies for not responding earlier -- I was in Cambridge most of yesterday, and did not have time to deal with people's replies until today. Many thanks to all who responded. I do seem to have raised a lot of dust in attics! Since I was in Cambridge, I followed up Ken's suggestion, so popped into Maplin's and bought an L90BT (PS2 female to DIN male adaptor). As Wayne indicated, it wasn't cheap (£7.99), but is nicely made and solid. Since Maplins had a few "on the hook" in the shop, there was no issue about being "lucky to find one in a hurry"! Anyway, back at home, this morning I used the adaptor to connect a PS2 keyboard to the DIN socket on the box. Worked perfectly, and I fscked the filesystem (Statutory Declaration: I have not made a typo). I am now back to emailing normally from that machine! The following may be of interest (and a possible useful warning). I dismantled the old DIN keyboard to try to diagnose the problem. The heart of its mechanism is two plastic sheets with "printed circuitry" on them: on the underside of the upper sheet, and on the upper side of the bottom sheet. These lie below the keys, and when a key is pressed it presses the upper sheet down onto the lower sheet, and makes a contact. I suspect that this may be the source of the problem. Because the computer in question is mainly accessed remotely, its keyboard is hardly ever used (except occasionally when rebooting); so, to keep the keyboard out of the way, I have had it standing upright on its edge (the edge that would be nearest to you when laid flat for use). Undoubtedly, at least when putting it back on its edge after use and probably often when just shifting stuff around, the keyboard has been tapped onto the tabletop when in the upright position. This may have caused the plastic sheets to shift inside the keyboard, either getting it out of alignment with the pegs on the keys (that press down on the sheets) or moving it out of touch with the contacts in the keyboard case that connect the sheets with the little chip that feeds the cable. Whether that is the explanation or not, the end effect has been that pressing a key produced no result (and the effect had been intermittent until yesterday, when it had apparently become permanent). So beware! (Another warning: dismantling a keyboard should not be done lightly. There are lots of loose bits inside. Reassembling and getting everything back in line is not trivial. Indeed, I recall, from years ago, taking the bottom off a keyboard only to discover that it had spring-loaded insides. It took ages to pick all the little bits up from the floor ... ). I shall be in touch privately with the people who have kindly invaded their attics on my behalf, once I have brought that machine properly up-to-date again. Meanwhile, thanks again and best wishes to all, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)manchester.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 28-Jan-10 Time: 08:57:50 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ main(a)lists.alug.org.uk http://www.alug.org.uk/ http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/main Unsubscribe? See message headers or the web site above! --------------End of forwarded message------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)manchester.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 30-Jan-10 Time: 10:19:52 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

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FOSDEM upcoming
by Sam Tuke 30 Jan '10

30 Jan '10

6-7th Feb, Brussels. See http://www.fosdem.org/2010/ Is anyone thinking of going to FOSDEM? I'm sure that it'll be a fantastic experience to meet amazing people, learn about new technologies and exciting projects. Also it's good to represent Britain with the largest turnout possible (remind Europe that we aren't all backward numbskulls when it comes to technology - it's just our government). Transport and accommodation may be easier/cheaper if people travel as a group. So, any takers?

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Graphics Card Recommendations
by James Bensley 29 Jan '10

29 Jan '10

Hey List, Can anyone recommend a graphics card that can definitely play full 1080p video under Ubuntu. Currently I have a Palit GT 240 which can play 1080i at 20Mbps OK but above that and it struggles. However 1080p at 16Mbps isn't watchable. I get a better result out of mPlayer than VLC when user VDPAU with X11 but its still not watchable. The machine is dual boot with WinXP Pro x64 SP3 and has the same results? Recommendations are welcome. -- Regards, James ;) Samuel Goldwyn - "I'm willing to admit that I may not always be right, but I am never wrong." - http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/samuel_goldwyn.html

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