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I'm flummoxed too!!!
by Ted.Harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk 16 Aug '06

16 Aug '06

Hi folks, I have been trying to follow up a story on the BBC News website: " Tests flummox trainee teachers" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4793655.stm which describes how trainee teachers were failing basic tests in numeracy, literacy and information technology. The above URL gives some examples of test questions in literacy and numeracy, but none from ICT. So I followed a link on the right of the story "Sample ICT test" at http://www.tda.gov.uk/skillstests/practicematerials/ ict/practicematerial.aspx [all one line] to see how I would get on. Until I read the "Minimum specifications". Now I'm flummoxed too. And depressed. Best wishes to all, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 16-Aug-06 Time: 00:01:55 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

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PCI wireless network card
by Barry Samuels 15 Aug '06

15 Aug '06

One of my computers, currently connected to the network by cable, may have to be moved to another room where connecting by cable is not practical. I do have a wireless access point so can anyone recommend a PCI wireless network card that will work with Linux (Debian Etch/Testing) without a lot of messing about. I don't want to use the software, the name escapes me, that uses Windows drivers as I've had problems using that in the past. -- Barry Samuels http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain

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Re: [ALUG] 2.6.17 kernel firewall problem
by Barry Samuels 15 Aug '06

15 Aug '06

On 15/08/06 10:44:30, Brett Parker wrote: > On Tue, Aug 15, 2006 at 10:14:42AM +0100, Barry Samuels wrote: > > > > "No chain/target/match by that name" > > > > Can anyone explain what might cause this? > > I expect that you've got some version of a firewall script somewhere > and that you've missed some of the iptables options when compiling > the kernel and that's what's causing the issue - probably worth > checking what Guarddog is trying to do. > > Cheers, > -- > Brett Parker Is there any way that I can identify what iptables option the error message refers to? -- Barry Samuels http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain

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2.6.17 kernel firewall problem
by Barry Samuels 15 Aug '06

15 Aug '06

Recently in another post I mentioned that using kernel 2.6 on my machine caused a 5 minute delay before it started to boot which is why I'm still using kernel 2.4. I tried a number of different 2.6 versions as they appeared but they all produced this boot delay. Then I decided to try the latest - 2.6.17 and now find that the delay has disappeared. Having compiled this kernel and booted it I now get four error messages all the same when I run the firewall (which is generated by Guarddog): "No chain/target/match by that name" Can anyone explain what might cause this? When I've tried earlier 2.6 kernels I haven't had these errors. -- Barry Samuels http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain

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[OT] BBC News 24??
by Ted.Harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk 14 Aug '06

14 Aug '06

Hi Folks Sorry for OT but there are not many other informed people I can consult! Q: What's happened to BBC News 24 on-line?? Until the end of last week I could find it on the BBC News website http://news.bbc.co.uk and indeed had it running for extended periods keeping a "background" ear on the news about air travel etc. Yesterday and today I can't find a direct link. The alleged "BBC News 24 Home Page" at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_news_24/default.stm is simply blank, and while you can find the schedule listing (with link to above "Home Page") at http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcnews24/listings/ index.shtml?service_id=4352&day=today [all one line], there's no link to watch it on-line. Anyone know what's happening? With thanks, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 14-Aug-06 Time: 10:55:15 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

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Weekly IRC reminder
by Brett Parker 14 Aug '06

14 Aug '06

This is the automated ALUG IRC meeting reminder sent to remind you that there is an IRC meeting tonight (Monday) at 8.00pm. Historically, these used to be the only time a lot of us would be about, now the channel has some usual faces that are there most of the time (except at silly o'clock, when we might be sleeping, or on the second thursday of the month, where we might be drinking in the Reindeer), so don't feel limited to visit during this time, come visit us when ever you feel like it! The meeting takes place on the irc server irc.alug.org.uk in the #alug channel. Most IRC clients should allow you to get there with the commands "/server irc.alug.org.uk" and "/join #alug". Popular IRC clients include xchat, irssi and EPIC on Unix, and Mirc under windows. Here are some links to help you get started with irc. Unix http://www.xchat.org/ http://www.irssi.org/ http://www.epicsol.org/ Windows http://www.mirc.com (loads of help with irc for newbies!)

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How to get a transparent background in Gimp
by cl＠isbd.net 12 Aug '06

12 Aug '06

The title says it all really, is it possible to get a transparent background in the Gimp? I have an image I've created with one of the script-Fu utilities and I can get the background window up but there seems to be no way to say 'no background'. -- Chris Green (chris(a)halon.org.uk)

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gawk on gnuwin32
by Ted.Harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk 11 Aug '06

11 Aug '06

Hi Folks, I appeal to the ALUG Linux Consulate to rescue me, a citizen of Linux, from a foriegn and dangerous land! I want to experimentally try running gawk on a Win98 system (the background is that a friend, currently working in Africa and stuck with Windows, could have the daunting task of restructuring the records in a CSV file solved in an awk 2-liner, instead of pulling hair out trying to do it in FoxPro). Since I've never tried running any GNU stuff on Windows, so cannot offer any advice based on experience, I thought I'd better acquire some before shooting my nouth off. This I went to http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/gawk.htm and downloaded the "Setup" package (a 6.6MB .exe file), planted it in [excuse my language] C:\Program Files\GnuWin32\gawk [maybe that was a mistake?] and ran the setup file gawk-3.1.3-2.exe All seemed to go smoothly, the files being installed in the above directory. Then I tried (in a DOS box) to run gawk '{print "Ted"}' and got an error that the "'" character was illegal! So I feel stuck! Has anyone been there and succeeded, and can offer advice? With thanks, Ted. PS If there are any FoxPro experts out there who could short-circuit the problem by advising how to do it in FoxPro, I can send a mini-example of the job that needs to be done. It's really simple, logically speaking, but has a twist which might mean a little neat footwork. In which case very many thanks for that! -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 05-Aug-06 Time: 21:03:11 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

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Kaspersky Antivirus
by Stuart Bailey 11 Aug '06

11 Aug '06

Please forgive the commercial nature of this mail. I have negotiated a deal with Kaspersky for their Linux Workstation product. They normal only sell in batches of minimum 5 licences. However, they have offered me to buy batches of licences and then to resell the to others. The cost would work out at £30 inc VAT each licence. If anyone is interested, contact me off list. Many thanks, Stuart -- --------------------------------------- Stuart Bailey BSc (hons) CEng CITP MBCS LinuSoft (Owner) Linux Specialist (0845) 6583563 http://www.linusoft.co.uk ----------------------------------------

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Passing TAB character as commandline parameter (to xls2scv)
by Mark Rogers 11 Aug '06

11 Aug '06

I'm playing around with xls2csv (part of the catdoc application). Something simple like: xls2csv -c~ products.xls > products.txt does what I'd expect (exports the XLS, using "~" as the field separator). Any suggestions how I can make this create a tab separated file instead? I think this is more about how to pass the TAB through the shell (ie more to do with bash than xls2csv) but I could be wrong. -- Mark Rogers More Solutions Ltd :: 0845 45 89 555

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