September 2019 - main

Any ideas how to provide a WiFi connection that goes via a proxy?
by Chris Green 30 Sep '19

30 Sep '19

I'll try and explain what I need. I want to connect a WiFi device (a Kobo eReader) via a proxy server so that it will appear to be in the UK even when I'm on my boat in France. This is because downloads of books from the library will only work when the Kobo eReader is in the UK. I'm not trying to cheat or anything, I just want to be able to check out new library books to read when I'm away from home. The Kobo only has WiFi, no wired connection, so it needs some sort of WiFi source to connect to which will (presumably) in turn be connected to a UK based proxy server. I can provide the proxy server myself, I often do this for browser connections to order my repeat prescriptions (for some reason my doctor's web site won't allow connections from outside the UK). So, I guess, I need something like a wireless router which can be set up to route *all* WiFi clients via my UK proxy. Or am I barking up the wrong tree? (I don't really know what ports/protocols the Kobo uses though I suppose I could find out) Any/all ideas welcome. -- Chris Green

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JOB | Front End Developer (London)
by James Tobin 17 Sep '19

17 Sep '19

Hello, I'm working with an employer that is looking to hire a permanent front end architect for their London office. Consequently, I had hoped that some members of this group may like to discuss further. I can be reached using "JamesBTobin (at) Gmail (dot) Com". Kind regards, James

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Laptops for Linux
by Mark Rogers 13 Sep '19

13 Sep '19

Before Christmas I bought myself a new Lenovo laptop thinking I'd get Ubuntu running on it fine, but no; graphics issues, touchpad issues, etc and it's been running Windows 10 ever since. So as not to make the same mistake again, on a budget of about £450 what is a good laptop for Linux? Happy to look at 2nd-hand or refurbs, Must haves: It's for my wife so it needs a numeric keypad (she's a bookkeeper). A side effect of that means 15"+. Needs to run virtual machines (Sage only runs on Windows...). Weight is a factor, I think certainly <2kg. It'll end up with SSD either because it came with one or I installed it (happy either way, probably prefer to install it myself). Decent RAM - I'd have thought 16GB (or at least the scope to increase it later). Can claim the VAT back so budget is higher with a VAT invoice than without. Mark -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) 21 Drakes Mews, Milton Keynes, MK8 0ER

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Basic image manipulation
by Mark Rogers 09 Sep '19

09 Sep '19

Probably 90% of my image work is taking an image (maybe a screenshot or photo), making some very basic changes like rotate, crop, scale (usually to reduce filesize), and saving it. I seem to have a collection of tools which view only (like EoG) but load instantly on minimal resources, and sophisticated apps like GIMP which will do anything I might ever need but more slowly. What's a good app for every-day image stuff like this? I'd accept - and even quite like - a few extra bells, like highlighting/blurring/annotating, as long as it doesn't become cumbersome to use or slow to load. <rant>Bonus for something which doesn't give me a single "rotate 90deg" option; why does eveyone expect me to do three rotates instead of one?</rant> -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) 21 Drakes Mews, Milton Keynes, MK8 0ER

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[ALUG Announce] ALUG Norwich Pub Meet Thursday 12th September
by Viperfang 09 Sep '19

09 Sep '19

ALUG Announce Please send announcements to Announce(a)lists.alug.org.uk Unsub, change settings via https://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce ----- Hello Norwich Aluggers, Our monthly ALUG Norwich social meeting will be held this Thursday, 12th September at The Coach and Horses (82 Thorpe Road, Norwich, NR1 1BA). The meeting officially starts at 8pm, although some people may arrive earlier. More information on those people can be found on the list and the IRC channel. If you are unsure if you will recognise us then make yourself and your intent to attend known by either posting on list or visiting us on IRC so we can look out for you rather than hiding in the corner. Optionally you could ask at the bar if they know where the geeky computer weirdos are and they'll point you in the right direction (seriously!). Another possibility is look for heaps of electronics on a table that may possibly look like movie props that would used for detonating explosives. Feel free to bring electronics/laptops/gadgets to the meet, you will by no means be alone. Ben Bewick aka Viperfang NB: This mail is automated, please refer to the usual sources for more information. ALUG Contact Details: Website : http://www.alug.org.uk/ IRC : #alug on irc.alug.org.uk List : http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo Twitter : http://twitter.com/anglianlug Identica: TBA Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2381613902 ----- Send discussion replies to main(a)lists.alug.org.uk (Reply-To set) Unsub, change settings via https://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce

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Hardware upgrade?
by Phil Thane 05 Sep '19

05 Sep '19

Hello folks, Looking for hardware advice. My desktop PC hasn't had a hardware upgrade for about 5 years when I bought a MoBo bundle and a secondhand graphics card. It's an AMD Quad core CPU running at 3200MHz with 2G of RAM and Nvidea GE Force 8400. For the most part it's OK, I don't do video editing or gaming so it doesn't work too hard. The graphics card has always been an issue though, it refuses to run 64bit Linux distros. I've tried several in the past, Debian-based and others, and always get the same result, installs OK but on boot just gives a black screen. Annoyingly it will run 64bit distros from DVD so you think it's going to be OK after an install, but it isn't. It hasn't been too much of an issue running 32bit versions until recently but it seems they are being phased out. I'd like to try KDE Neon for example, but there is no 32bit version. So: Any recommendations for a cheapish graphics card that will work? Is it worth getting 4GB or more RAM? -- Phil

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