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adding pci=conf1 parameter to boot configuration file
by Venura Mendis 15 Jun '07

15 Jun '07

Guys, Ive been trying to get audio drivers to work and one of the possible suggestion was to add pci=conf1 to the boot configuration. Apologies for what is probably an obvious question but what file is this and where can I find it. Quick google search revealed several different options. I'm running ubuntu feisty. thanks, Venura

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[ALUG Announce] 3rd Monday Monthly Ipswich Social Meeting : The Milestone, Woodbridge Road
by samwise 13 Jun '07

13 Jun '07

ALUG Announce Please send announcements to Announce(a)lists.alug.org.uk Unsub, change settings via http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce ----- The monthly "Third Monday" ALUG Ipswich Social Meeting is on next week (Monday 18th June) at 20:00: This week, Mr. Thorpe has agreed to give us a basic tutorial on the GIMP and show us how to do some of the simple image manipulation stuff which can be a bit troublesome if you're not familiar with the interface. It will probably help him, if you can post any questions or whatever now, rather than springing them on him on the night (it's not his day job). Tracey, this is a good opportunity to post that pic you always go on about ... :) I'll start by asking how I combine two A4 scans together without making GIMP freeze for an hour! ;) The Milestone Beer House 5 Woodbridge Road IPSWICH IP4 2EA Tel: 01473 252425 Map/Directions URI: http://maps.google.co.uk/?q=IP4+2EA The Milestone pub is in the centre of Ipswich, near the now-defunct Odeon cinema and not far from The Regent Theatre. There is more information on the venue, including car parking info, on the ALUG wiki: http://www.alug.org.uk/wiki/moin.cgi/Meetings All are welcome, novices and experienced users. Hopefully, it shouldn't be too hard to find the pack, look for those huddled around a laptop! Feel free to ask for further information on the Main ALUG mailing list. Hope to see you there, Peter. ----- 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: Monday meet
by Matthew 13 Jun '07

13 Jun '07

I've managed to get out of my normal other commitment so I hope to be there this Monday. I'm looking forward to a GIMP tutorial, because I find graphics packages - especially the GIMP - completely mystifying. Matthew

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problems locating mesa dependency packages
by Venura Mendis 12 Jun '07

12 Jun '07

Hi, Ive beeen trying to install graphics drivers for an Epia EX10000 board. Ive been following rather detailed and long instructions from viaarena on building and installing the graphics drivers. As required dependencies it lists VIA DRIMesaLib 6.5.2 and required packages for Ubuntu feisty as mesa_6.5.2.orig.tar.g mesa_6.5.2-3ubuntu7.diff.gz It lists lots of other dependencies (all of which I have found and installed using synaptic). I'm guessing I need to add an extra repository to find these mesa files. Though googling it has turned out several places I can actually download the file, I presume using a package manager to get it is safer. Also Ive downloaded tohe source from the mesa site, it doesnt look like these files are in the tar. Any advice? Thanks, Venura

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[OT] FTGH: Various Socket 370 Intel CPUs
by Jonathan McDowell 11 Jun '07

11 Jun '07

Apologies for the off topic post, but as people have been talking about rather ancient machines here perhaps this might prove useful to them. I have 3 Socket 370 CPUs looking for homes. If anyone wants one I'll bring it to the Norwich meeting this Thursday, or might be prepared to post them to people if they really can't make it. The CPUs are: Intel Celeron 800MHz, SL4TF, 800/128/100/1.7V Intel PIII 800MHz, SL4MB, 800/256/133/1.7V Intel Celeron 900MHz, SL5MQ, 900/128/100/1.75V All should be working fine, I just don't have a use for them any more and it seems a shame to throw out working kit. J. -- Purple alert! Purple alert! - Holly

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[ALUG Announce] 2nd Thursday Norwich Meet : Reindeer, Dereham Road
by Jonathan McDowell 11 Jun '07

11 Jun '07

ALUG Announce Please send announcements to Announce(a)lists.alug.org.uk Unsub, change settings via http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce ----- The monthly "Second Thursday" ALUG Norwich Pub Meet is this Thursday, 14th June. It's at the Reindeer pub on the Dereham Road, just opposite the City Gate. People will be there from 8pm-ish, though there may be a few people there earlier. Topics for discussion will no doubt be as varied as ever. The Reindeer has a reasonable selection of beer as well as decent coffee (with biscuits, if you're lucky). Directions to the Reindeer can be found at: http://www.alug.org.uk/venues/reindeer.html Pictures of some of the regulars, and irregulars, and, well, just some pictures of people that might or might not turn up are available from: http://www.earth.li/~noodles/Photos/2007-05-ALUG/ http://www.earth.li/~noodles/Photos/2006-02-ALUG/ http://the.earth.li/~noodles/stilvoid-alug/mp20050811/ http://www.earth.li/~noodles/Photos/2005-01-ALUG-Xmas/ http://www.earth.li/~noodles/Photos/2004-08-ALUG/ Which should hopefully aid those of you wondering who to look out for - the most recent images are from the meet last month. We now have an area reserved for us, so should be easier to find. As you enter through the main door you'll see a small set of steps ahead of you - the area just up those steps and to the left is where we'll be. J. -- I may be cool Beavis, but I | .''`. Debian GNU/Linux Developer can't change the future. | : :' : Happy to accept PGP signed | `. `' or encrypted mail - RSA + | `- DSA keys on the keyservers. ----- 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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Python question about classes
by Chris G 11 Jun '07

11 Jun '07

I'm trying to understand (and re-use) some Python code. In general I find Python very easy to understand (one of the reasons I like it) but I'm a bit unclear about one bit of code which is a callback function, it is as follows:- # # # # def cb_prepare(args): request = args["request"] data = request.getData() data["statcatslinks"] = PyblStatcats(request) It doesn't matter that it's a callback function (I can follow how/why it gets called) and I can understand the first two lines. The first line sets 'request' and the second gets the data dictionary from the request object. What I'm not clear about is the last line, PyblStatcats is a class. As I understand it 'PyblStatcats(request)' creates an instance of PyblStatcats and runs its __init__ method, so far so good. But what does 'PyblStatcats(request)' return? It would appear to be a string as it's used to set the value in the data dictionary. However I can't find anywhere in the Python documentation that tells me about this (implicit?) return value. -- Chris Green

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Astronomy Software
by Yvonne Everett 11 Jun '07

11 Jun '07

Hello Could anyone recommend some open source astronomy software? I'm looking for something to do the job of "Starry Night" and "Registax" so if anyone has any personal recommendations, I'd love to hear them. Thanks -- Yvonne Everett Email: ye103910(a)googlemail.com

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Wireless NICs
by Matthew 08 Jun '07

08 Jun '07

Hi all, I'd like to play with hostapd to use a wireless interface card as a access point, but the application currently supports a fairly limited range of drivers. Having tried to research a range of prospective cards I found one (D-link DWL-G510) that seemed to have the right chipset. I bought it only to find that I actually have the revision with the same chipset as my existing card. Most of the common cards have either the wrong chipset or have a variety of revisions which makes them troublesome to buy. Can anyone recommend a reliable way of acquiring an 802.11g card that uses one of the following drivers? # Host AP driver for Prism2/2.5/3 # madwifi (Atheros ar521x) # Prism54.org (Prism GT/Duette/Indigo) I'm now using the tables at http://linux-wless.passys.nl/ to check chipsets, but if anyone can suggest any others that might help. If anyone has such a card spare (or would mind risk swapping it out for another) I'd gladly trade an equivalent one that uses the rt61 driver (or rt2x00, if you're on a recent enough kernel to use it). Thanks, Matthew

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Problem with 'find' and 'basename'
by Chris G 08 Jun '07

08 Jun '07

I'm trying to change the suffix of all files in a directory hierarchy. Trying to diagnose my problem I have run the following command:- find info -name '*.txt' -exec echo `basename {} .txt` \; A section of the output from the above command is as follows:- info/motorbikes/zzr1200service.txt info/motorbikes/luggage.txt info/motorbikes/index.txt info/motorbikes/restindex.txt info/motorbikes/zzr1200info.txt info/motorbikes/lifts.txt info/index.txt info/test/test1.txt info/test/test2.txt info/test/test3.txt So the `basename {} .txt` is doing nothing at all, why? Looking further it seems as if the `` inside the find are causing the problem as:- find info -name '*.txt' -exec basename {} .txt \; produces the expected output:- zzr1200service luggage index restindex zzr1200info lifts index test1 test2 test3 The actual command I want to execute is:- find info -name '*.txt' -exec mv `basename {} .txt`.rst \; to change the .txt suffix to .rst. Any ideas how to do it? -- Chris Green

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[Fwd: Re: [ALUG] Wireless NICs]
by Barrys linux mail 08 Jun '07

08 Jun '07

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [ALUG] Wireless NICs Date: Fri, 08 Jun 2007 11:54:28 +0100 From: Barrys linux mail <bazubuntumail(a)tiscali.co.uk> To: Matthew <matthew(a)aleaiactaest.com> References: <46687E17.4020904(a)aleaiactaest.com> Matthew wrote: > > > Most of the common cards have either the wrong chipset or have a > variety of revisions which makes them troublesome to buy. Can anyone > recommend a reliable way of acquiring an 802.11g card that uses one of > the following drivers? > # Host AP driver for Prism2/2.5/3 > # madwifi (Atheros ar521x) > # Prism54.org (Prism GT/Duette/Indigo) > > Thanks, > Matthew > Hi Try this site http://www.linuxemporium.co.uk/ They are very helpful in supplying cards and scripts if wanted. also Ubuntu 7.04 supports some of the wireless cards they sell I have used them and very pleased with service Happy hunting Barry > _ >

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Re: [ALUG] wintar floppy archive
by Richard Bensley 07 Jun '07

07 Jun '07

Hey Ted thanks for the input, as of yet I have not encountered any split archives. I have no doubt I will though. Cheers Richard

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wintar floppy archive
by Richard Bensley 07 Jun '07

07 Jun '07

Good morning all. I have myself a slight dilemma. I have in excess of 500 floppy disks containing an archive of what are called surface files (Wayne could probably inform those curious a lot better than myself). Said floppy disks were created using a piece of software called WinTar to a SCSI floppy drive (it seems). And of course is on it's own unreadable. Has anyone else had any luck accessing WinTar'd media via linux? I'm all googled out! Cheers Richard

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RE: [ALUG] wintar floppy archive
by Richard Bensley 07 Jun '07

07 Jun '07

Thank you so much Wayne! Dd to tar did the trick. Right only a gazillion more to go, then the 30 odd TK50 tapes, and about 300 CD's!...it's going to be a long few weeks. Thanks again Richard

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Ubuntu installation problem
by Chris G 06 Jun '07

06 Jun '07

I am trying to install Ubuntu 7.04 on a system for my mother in law. It boots from the CD OK and works fine as a "Live CD" system. However, when I start the 'Install' program to actually install on the hard disk the window the Install program opens is too large and can't be resized such that the important buttons at the bottom appear on the screen. Thus I can't progress the install. Is this a problem that anyone else has seen? Any ideas on how to fix it? -- Chris Green

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Can anyone recommend a webcam for a laptop?
by Barry Samuels 06 Jun '07

06 Jun '07

Can anyone recommend a webcam for a laptop, a Thinkpad R51 to be specific, that will work with Debian (Testing - kernel 2.6.18)? I'd prefer the type that clips on to the lid/screen and that is small enough to go in the laptop carrying bag. It does NOT have to produce out of the ordinary results but I don't want to pay more than about £25 and preferably less. -- Barry Samuels http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain

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"!!" in /etc/passwd
by ted.harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk 06 Jun '07

06 Jun '07

Hi Folks, Can anyone interpret the following for me? I can't find it referred to in 'man' documentation. Some "user" entries in /etc/passwd have "!!" in the encrypted password field, e.g. sshd:!!:74:74:Privilege-separated SSH:/var/empty/sshd:/sbin/nologin rpc:!!:32:32:Portmapper RPC user:/:/sbin/nologin mysql:!!:27:27:MySQL Server:/var/lib/mysql:/bin/bash postgres:!!:26:26:PostgreSQL Server:/var/lib/pgsql:/bin/bash For the acounts which have /sbin/nologin as "shell" I cannot of course gain entry, even from root. On the other hand, for the accounts (mysql, postgres) which have a normal shell, I can 'su' from root without entering a password; while if I try to 'su' from any other user I'm prompted for a password (which of course does not exist). I'm wondering what the full interpretation of the "!!" is. I know about "*" in the encrypted password field: there is no possible password which encrypts fo "*", so such accounts cannot be logged into. I've already found out something (see above) about "!!" accounts, but is there more that I should know? In particular, if I were (as root) to use the 'passwd' command to give a "!!" account a real password, would I be treading on any toes in the system? With thanks, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <ted.harding(a)nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 06-Jun-07 Time: 11:53:29 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

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OK, next Ubuntu graphics question/problem
by Chris G 06 Jun '07

06 Jun '07

OK, I now have Ubuntu 7.04 installed and working, network connection up, pretty OK in fact. However it will still only allow me a best resolution of 800x600 even though there are higher resolutions in the xorg.conf file. What else limits the resolution and how do I change it? -- Chris Green

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Red Hat 9 and MySQL-3 --> MySQL-4
by ted.harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk 05 Jun '07

05 Jun '07

Hi Folks, Now a question of my own ... to people who have been down the road below. I'm running Red Hat 9 on one machine, along with the MySQL-3.23.54a which came on the installation CDs. I want to upgrade the MySQL-3 to MySAL-4+, in order to have the increased functionality (especially sub-queries) which was introduced in version 4. My browsings on the web have not revealed an upgrade route which looks authoritative, though I have seen a few people recommend procedures, though not in detail, and I have not seen confirmations that these have worked. I really do want to avoid breaking things on that machine! MySQL is currently at version 5, but older versions (specifically 4.1.22) are available in various formats (binary and source) at http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/4.1.html If anyone has successfully made this upgrade, I would be most grateful to learn, in detail, how they did it! With thanks, Ted. PS I'm not open to suggestions to upgrade the Linux installation. That machine is something of an "attic", and renewing its joists is not compatible with not disturbing what's stacked on them! -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <ted.harding(a)nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 05-Jun-07 Time: 19:35:32 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

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Re: [ALUG] Standard output redirection caching
by Dan Hatton 01 Jun '07

01 Jun '07

On Fri, 1 Jun 2007, Adrian F. Clark wrote: > The easiest solution is to put > > fflush (stdout); > > after each printf() invocation -- or equivalent in other languages. Other > solutions tend to be less portable. Thanks, that worked a treat. For the archives, the language is Perl, and, with a bit of manpage searching (once you'd clued me in that the word "fflush" was relevant,) I found out the "equivalent" is to put use IO::File ; autoflush STDOUT 1 ; at the start of the program. -- Thanks again, Dan

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Standard output redirection caching
by Dan Hatton 01 Jun '07

01 Jun '07

Dear All, When standard output is redirected to a file, it gets cached, so that nothing is actually written to the file until (say) 4kB of standard output has built up. I'm sometimes too impatient to wait that long to see the output of my programs, especially when the program in question is a long, slow numerical calculation that might be producing only a few hundred bytes of output per day. Is there any way of either switching off this caching, or inspecting the contents of the cache before it gets written, please? -- Thanks very much Dan Hatton <http://www.bib.hatton.btinternet.co.uk/dan/>

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Weird blackout on browser!
by ted.harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk 31 May '07

31 May '07

Hi Folks, I just observed something strange, using Firefox. I wonder if others find the same. 1. Go to http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/suttonfen/index.asp and get a nice page. 2. Now scroll down and find "Find out more", and click on A wonderful site for future generations to enjoy I get a complete blackout! 3. Now click the "Back" button to return to the previous page. Again, this is completely blank. Check that the URL in the location window is the same as you originally entered at (1). 4. Clear the URL, and re-enter the URL from (1). Again completely black! 5. Open something else, e.g. http://news.bbc.co.uk/ and normal service is resumed. Now clear the URL again and enter the URTL from (1). It's still black! But if you clear the cache and re-enter, it's OK again. The only explanation I can think of is that the cache of the page at (2) is considered to be the cache for the URL at (1), even though (2) is not at the same URL as (1), being http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/suttonfen/wonderful.asp What's interesting is that if I do it the other way round: 6. Clear history, cookies and cache, close down broswer, restart browser, and enter this last URL above, I then get a parfectly good page. But now find the "> Sutton Fen Appeal > ..." at the top, click on that, and you get a black page again. This of course should take you to where you were at (1) in the first place, since it is the same URL (as seen in the URL box). So it's the same effect: the transition (by any means) from either page to the other makes everything black! I'm a bit puzzled by all this. Any ideas? With thanks, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)manchester.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 31-May-07 Time: 14:33:29 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------

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Epson picturemate 100 printer
by Barrys linux mail 31 May '07

31 May '07

Hi Has anybody been able to get this printer to work with Ubuntu as all I get is printer recognised and then starts to feed paper and then it stops.Any Ideas? Barry

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Calendar/diary - I've found a usable solution
by Chris G 30 May '07

30 May '07

I seem to have found a solution to my calendar diary requirement. I've been looking for a simpler wiki (than TWiki) for personal use and after a fair amont of hunting around and wasting time trying things out I decided on MoinMoin. It's widely used (and I almost tried it myself once before) and it supports reStructured text as one of its markup languages so fulfilled quite a few of my wiki 'wants'. It turns out that MoinMoin has a ready made 'out of the box' macro that generates a calendar with clickable days that take you to the page for the day which (as with any wiki) you can create if it doesn't exist already. That's a large chunk of what I want, if I can link some sort of appointments utlity to the pages I create then so much the better but that will be a bonus. -- Chris Green

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Re: Missing Touchpad (Solved)
by Matthew 30 May '07

30 May '07

Hello all, It works! Having found a 'how I got Ubuntu to work on my HP 510' article (http://arewold.wordpress.com/2007/05/26/installing-ubuntu-704-on-a-hp-510-l…) I followed instructions to make a small change to the kernel (forcing the outcome of a check that was presumably going wrong, I think). My custom kernel boots it with the touchpad working as hoped. dmesg now includes: input: SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad as /class/input/input3 Thanks for all your help, Matthew

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