- main - earth.li

Planet ALUG
by Brett Parker 08 Dec '13

08 Dec '13

Hi, I've just had (well, ok, for the last couple of days), failures from all the livejournal feeds that we had on `planet alug <http://planet.alug.org.uk/>`__, and so I have disabled them. We've now got very few people on our planet, so if you've got a blog, and you'd like it included in our feed, then please let me know... I've also moved how the planet configuration is edited, and so now Steve Engledow also has access to edit the configuration (and it being in git means that in theory I can actually clean the config up because we've now got proper version history). Cheers, -- Brett Parker

3 3

For Sale, Pocket Oscilloscope
by Wayne Stallwood 07 Dec '13

07 Dec '13

Ok so not very Linux related, but it is running OSS and is a nice little toy for those of us who have been playing with Arduino etc. Arm DSO DS-203 based pocket oscilloscope, £80 delivered....Grab yourself a little Xmas present. http://www.seeedstudio.com/wiki/DSO_Quad Oscilloscope, Logic analyser, SigGen (with freeform wave generation mode) and Spectrum Analyser. Spare memory slots for additional applications. Latest FPGA image is loaded so it is now capable of 72Ms/s in dual channel or 144ms/s in single channel. 72Ms/s still isn't lots though. In real terms it is usable up to 20Mhz or so so ideal for Arduino projects. Does all the usual, X-Y mode, Math functions, extended trigger functions. Measurement range up to 80vpp on a 1x probe. Open Source software, Currently a fork is loaded of the factory image which has a vastly improved UI over the screenshots you see on the internet. It's easy to revert though https://github.com/gabonator/DS203 Comes complete with 2 switchable 1x/10x Probes, soft carry pouch and the usb/charging lead. Hardly used and in as new condition, when I tinker I'm bench based now and I have a really good Tektronics scope for that. It's not by any means a serious reference instrument. I'll run it up against my Tek and get it as close to calibrated as it is possible to get these before it is posted. It's a great little indicator tool though. The software is getting better and better.

1 0

Cross-platform text file processing tools
by Mark Rogers 06 Dec '13

06 Dec '13

I have a requirement to do some scripted text file processing on Windows. I plan on using a cross-platform tool (awk comes to mind) but as I don't have any real skills in anything (I used awk many years ago but not recently) I thought it best to come at it with a clean slate, as I will want to re-use the skills I pick up (almost entirely on Linux). What I need to do in this case is read a CSV file, remove a few lines that are of no interest and combine a couple of fields to create new ones. Awk would definitely do this (albeit I have some reading to do to remember how) - but is it still the best tool for the job? Mark -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) @ 13 Clarke Rd, Milton Keynes, MK1 1LG

12 32

2600 meeting at 18:00 on Friday the 6th December.
by Viperfang 03 Dec '13

03 Dec '13

Quick heads up about this months Norwich 2600 meeting, more info at http://www.norwich2600.co.uk

1 0

UPS recommendation
by Ben Whyall 20 Nov '13

20 Nov '13

Hi What are peoples recommendations on a UPS, living in near Ely now I have found that the power has dropped twice in the last couple of months due to 'substation faults' and would like to get something to protect my equipment and allow for graceful shut-down. Ideally I would need power for my workstation, router, network switch, phone, 2 monitors, external drive bay and laptop. Ideally 5-10 mins, minimum power to allow for a quick pause to see if the power is coming back followed by a manual power down. All help, suggestions and pointers gratefully received. Ben

6 15

[ALUG Announce] 3rd Monday Monthly Ipswich Social Meeting : The Mulberry Tree
by samwise 18 Nov '13

18 Nov '13

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 back today, 18th November, at 20:00: The Mulberry Tree 5 Woodbridge Road IPSWICH IP4 2EA Tel: 01473 225776 Map/Directions URI: http://maps.google.co.uk/?q=IP4+2EA WWW: https://www.facebook.com/MULBERRYHOSPITALITY The Mulberry Tree, previously known as The Milestone Beer House, is a grade 2 listed building in the centre of Ipswich. It is located at the intersection between Woodbridge Road and the A1156, across the road from the old Odeon cinema and not far from the Regent Theatre. It re-opened on Thursday March 29th 2012 after a major refurbishment, under its original name of The Mulberry House and has already begun to regain a good reputation for its selection of beers and ales. It has a sizeable car park to the rear of the building. All are welcome, novices and experienced users. Feel free to ask for further information on the Main ALUG mailing list. Note: I'm unable to attend this evening as I've got a prior committment - I strongly recommend emailing round / jumping on IRC / posting to the main ALUG mailing list, to check who else will be about. I'll endeavour to get over later in the evening, but not sure when I'll be free. Cheers, 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

1 0

[ALUG Announce] ALUG Norwich Pub Meet Thursday 14th November
by Viperfang 16 Nov '13

16 Nov '13

ALUG Announce Please send announcements to Announce(a)lists.alug.org.uk Unsub, change settings via http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce ----- Hello Norwich Aluggers, Our monthly ALUG Norwich social meeting will be held this Thursday, 14th November 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 http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce

4 9

Simple SMTP server for authenticated mail relay
by Mark Rogers 15 Nov '13

15 Nov '13

I need to setup a server to allow authenticated SMTP from various devices. It won't be high volume, and it'll sit alongside other apps on an existing server. SSMTP is my default choice for a simple SMTP server but I don't think it'll do what I want here - any suggestions? I was hoping to avoid something as "big" as Postfix/etc -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) @ 13 Clarke Rd, Milton Keynes, MK1 1LG

4 6

Cross compilation
by Chris Walker 13 Nov '13

13 Nov '13

Apologies if this doesn't fit well here but I'm stuck and need some help. If I should enquire elsewhere, please feel free to point me in the right direction. I've been trying for some time to write an app. I tried first of all to do it for my phone but gave up with that and am now trying to modify it for a Blackberry Playbook. The problem I have is that when I upload the compiled app to the device, it complains and says 'libmeegoplugin.so' uses incompatible Qt library. Expected build key "arm qnx qcc no-pkg-config", got "Windows mingw release full-config" My problem is that I don't have a clue how I might generate another shared object but this time with the correct build key. Before you ask, I didn't generate that one, it came as part of a download which the author said worked for him. I can't see how but never mind. I built the Qt Creator install from source from instructions here - http://qt-project.org/wiki/Building-Qt4-for-Blackberry So did I miss a step there, or can I go back and redo some or all of those steps to recreate the file but this time in the correct format? I have also looked long and hard online for a version with the correct build key but without success so I'm having to ask here for help. For those with long memories, I have asked in the distant past about SQL tables and got help here. I'm guessing that was probably two or three years ago but that data was for this app. Yes, I have been at it for that long! I'm no programmer as is obvious ;-)

1 0

Alug 2nd Thursday Social Meeting Reminder
by Steve Engledow 11 Nov '13

11 Nov '13

Hello Norwich Aluggers, Our monthly ALUG Norwich social meeting will be held this Thursday, 14th November 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. Steve Engledow aka Stilvoid

1 0

how to read outlook express files
by mick 09 Nov '13

09 Nov '13

Hi guys I have been given a large stash of (email I believe) files with the extension .eml. I think these were created with outlook or outlook express. I have no MS software. The files appear to be text/XML but reading them with a text editor is difficult in many cases. Does anyone know of a linux based application I can use to make this task any easier. Cheers Mick --------------------------------------------------------------------- Mick Morgan gpg fingerprint: FC23 3338 F664 5E66 876B 72C0 0A1F E60B 5BAD D312 http://baldric.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------

4 7

Fw: Make this your moment
by mick 07 Nov '13

07 Nov '13

All See below mail from ORG. Is anyone interested in the possibility of setting up a cryptoparty? Anyone from norwich2600 on the list with views? Is there likely to be a demand for such a party in Norfolk (or perhaps the wider Anglia region? Anyone with any similar experience (such as key signing parties)? Mick Begin forwarded message: Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2013 05:43:48 -0500 (EST) From: ORG- Ruth Coustick-Deal <ruth(a)openrightsgroup.org> To: mick(a)rlogin.net Subject: Make this your moment Dear Mick Morgan, How can we protect our email, IM chat and web browsing from the prying eyes of GCHQ and the NSA? Over the last few months we've learnt more and more from Edward Snowden and The Guardian about just how exposed our online communications are. To help protect our online privacy, we're looking to help you put on a Cryptoparty in your local area. Could you be a key organiser for one near you? Reply to this email to let us know. https://www.openrightsgroup.org/cryptoparties Cryptoparties are an easy and effective way to extend technical knowledge of encryption programs. All they require is a venue with internet access and power sources. We're also looking for people who are happy to teach others how to use encryption tools such as PGP, OTR and Tor. Are you able to provide this technical knowledge? Or are you keen to help organise the event? If so, it'd be great if you could be a key organiser of a local Cryptoparty. Reply to this email to let us know you're interested. https://www.openrightsgroup.org/cryptoparties We'll help you organise along the way and provide the essential materials to help make the event a success. There may already be an existing local ORG group in your area. https://www.openrightsgroup.org/groups/ If you'd like more information on how to organise a Cryptoparty, help can be found here: http://www.cryptoparty.in/organize/howto If you have any questions on how we could support you further, then of course just email me on campaigns(a)openrightsgroup.org So as Cryptoparty say - let's party like it‘s 31st December 1983! Thanks and best wishes, Olivia ___ Olivia Jardine Campaigns Intern Open Rights Group Follow us on: Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/OpenRightsGroup Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/openrightsgroup Google+ - https://plus.google.com/116543318055985390327 ORG relies on supporter donations to run campaigns like this. Please join us to support ORG's work. https://www.openrightsgroup.org/join This email was delivered to: mick(a)rlogin.net If you wish to opt out of future emails, you can do so here. http://action.openrightsgroup.org/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.i… --------------------------------------------------------------------- Mick Morgan gpg fingerprint: FC23 3338 F664 5E66 876B 72C0 0A1F E60B 5BAD D312 http://baldric.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------

2 1

Parsing XML from commandline
by Mark Rogers 07 Nov '13

07 Nov '13

Given the following: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <Project> <Network> <Unit> <UnitType>Type1</UnitType> <SerialNumber>123456</SerialNumber> </Unit> <Unit> <UnitType>Type2</UnitType> <SerialNumber>abcdef</SerialNumber> </Unit> [... snip...] </Network> </Project> .. I need to extract all the serial numbers where UnitType is "Type2". I have never managed to get my head around XPath etc, and all the examples I find seem either too general or too complex for me to make much progress. I always end up writing some code that parses it as text which is a massive cop out. How best can I do this correctly using XML tools, and which tools should I use? Mark -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) @ 13 Clarke Rd, Milton Keynes, MK1 1LG

2 2

Re: [ALUG] Uninstall problem
by Bev Nicolson 05 Nov '13

05 Nov '13

>> >> Win. Or 'whoot', depending on your preference. Your next challenge, >> should you choose to accept it, is to get the locked file off the >> desktop. Have tried swapping to desktop and purging but no dice. Nor >> will it dragged and dropped into Trash or any other folder. >> >> Bev. >> > > On 05/11/13 14:32, Ben Whyall wrote: > How about > > open a terminal > > cd ~/Desktop > sudo rm -rf <name of file> > > Ben Off list (prob by accident) Ben suggested this and it worked. Hoorah. Cheers, Ben. To answer Brett, Gnome. Not that it matters much now. Bev

1 0

Uninstall problem
by Bev Nicolson 05 Nov '13

05 Nov '13

Somehow (and clearly it wasn't sensible) I've got Calibre on this machine but it doesn't show as installed in Synaptic so I can't remove it. What can I do? I get permission denied if I try to delete it. Thoughts? Polite ones, if poss. Own silly fault etc. Bev.

4 8

xsane is sulking!
by Ted.Harding＠wlandres.net 04 Nov '13

04 Nov '13

Greetings All! I would welcome anything in the way of useful advice/tips about the following. I have a (rather old) Epson Perection 2400 scanner (USB). This has been working very well for years on an old desktop, using xsane. When xsane is started up on that machine there is an initial fairly lar egwindow which allows (if needed) configurations. I now want to use this scanner with a more recent laptop which is running a 2011 version of Debian. It seems that xsane is correctly installed. Now: With the scanner powered on, I plug its USB lead into the laptop. After a second or two, the scanner makes the usual "initialisation" noises (scanner arm shifting up & down). So something is OK, at least at the scanner end. I then invoke xsane at the command line. Up comes a little window (not the big window like on the other machine) with a message "scanning for devices". Then the window says: "failed to open device 'v4l:/dev/video0" and the only option remaining is to close the window, at which point the instance of xsane closes. I have no idea why it should be looking for a *video* device! I can find no work-round for this. It might be that the laptop had not detected the scanner (how can I tell?). There is no icon for it on the GNOME desktop (but that didn't happen either when I connected my USB printer; and that works perfectly well). Any suggestions gratefully received! Best wishes to all, Ted. ------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding(a)wlandres.net> Date: 02-Nov-2013 Time: 21:25:23 This message was sent by XFMail -------------------------------------------------

2 2

Best distro for XP users
by Mark Rogers 04 Nov '13

04 Nov '13

I'm being asked quite frequently now for Linux options to replace XP. What would people here pick? Hardware will generally be pretty old so good support for older hardware is important. I note that current Ubuntu versions only get updates for 9 months from release (ie 3 months after they cease to be current) which is fine as long as the next version updates smoothly, but that would depend on continued support for the older hardware, and I know from experience that updates aren't always smooth (typically graphics issues as an older card loses support). I can go with the LTS version of-course, would that be better? Mint follows the same release cycle but doesn't (AFAIK?) provide upgrades. There's no point replacing XP because it's reached EOL with a Linux distro that will go EOL a few months later unless updates are pretty much guaranteed to work without my assistance. (I use Kubuntu in general on my own boxes and would prefer to stick with .deb -based systems, which rules out Fedora/OpenSUSE/etc.) And then there's the choice of desktop - probably something less memory hungry than KDE - or do I look at MATE, Cinnamon, etc with which I have no experience? I'm not great at Linux advocacy because I don't have the confidence in my ability to pick the right option for friends and family who "want" XP... -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) @ 13 Clarke Rd, Milton Keynes, MK1 1LG

14 62

Re: [ALUG] 2600 meeting at 18:00 on Friday the 1st November.
by Steve Engledow 29 Oct '13

29 Oct '13

On 29/10/13 02:00, Viperfang wrote: > Quick heads up about this months Norwich 2600 meeting, > more info at http://www.norwich2600.co.uk So the 2600 reminder is coming through alright then :)

1 0

2600 meeting at 18:00 on Friday the 1st November.
by Viperfang 29 Oct '13

29 Oct '13

Quick heads up about this months Norwich 2600 meeting, more info at http://www.norwich2600.co.uk

1 0

Re: [ALUG] Best distro for XP users
by Phil Wade 28 Oct '13

28 Oct '13

I've recently discovered LXLE (on a Linux Format DVD...) and found it's just the job for replacing XP, especially on older or more limited hardware. I replaced Widows 7 Starter with LXLE on my daughter's Netbook, and she was delighted with the speed and ease of use. I can't see any rough edges, although it's based on Lubuntu that some here say is rough, and it looks and performs really well. 15 minutes of showing her round the OS and she was sorted. The upstream base is Ubuntu LTS - currently 12.04, with 14.04 LTS rather well timed for XP EOL? It's a very young distro, but looks to be well worth trying for all those XP machines out there. The download ISO (which even comes in 64 bit if needed) is a Live DVD. Apparently LXLE stands for Lubuntu eXtra Life Extension - well named. Although I use Mint on my main machines, I'll definitely be leaning to LXLE for those customers who'll need help moving from XP before April 2014 and beyond. Anyone else tried it?

3 2

Diagnosing disk issue
by Mark Rogers 21 Oct '13

21 Oct '13

I have 4x2TB disks configured for RAID5. Initially they were in a USB3 external caddy but this never worked correctly - the raid kept dropping offline before it completed building the array. I then switched to eSATA (same caddy) and that improved things but I still failed to build the array completely. So they're now in a new HP microserver. Until now I assumed the issues were connectivity but since I still have the same problem there must be a disk issue of some kind. However SMART is reporting healthy even after longer self tests. Do I just right this off as a duff disk or can I investigate this further? syslog reports thus: Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671201] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdd] Unhandled error code Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671217] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdd] Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671222] Result: hostbyte=DID_OK driverbyte=DRIVER_TIMEOUT Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671229] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdd] CDB: Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671233] Read(10): 28 00 d9 2e b1 f0 00 04 00 00 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671253] end_request: I/O error, dev sdd, sector 3643716080 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671264] md/raid:md0: read error not correctable (sector 3643714032 on sdd1). Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671274] md/raid:md0: Disk failure on sdd1, disabling device. Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671274] md/raid:md0: Operation continuing on 2 devices. Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671310] md/raid:md0: read error not correctable (sector 3643714040 on sdd1). Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671316] md/raid:md0: read error not correctable (sector 3643714048 on sdd1). Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671321] md/raid:md0: read error not correctable (sector 3643714056 on sdd1). Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671326] md/raid:md0: read error not correctable (sector 3643714064 on sdd1). Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671331] md/raid:md0: read error not correctable (sector 3643714072 on sdd1). Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671336] md/raid:md0: read error not correctable (sector 3643714080 on sdd1). Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671341] md/raid:md0: read error not correctable (sector 3643714088 on sdd1). Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671346] md/raid:md0: read error not correctable (sector 3643714096 on sdd1). Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49309.671351] md/raid:md0: read error not correctable (sector 3643714104 on sdd1). Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.107789] md: md0: recovery done. Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170142] RAID conf printout: Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170156] --- level:5 rd:4 wd:2 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170163] disk 0, o:1, dev:sdb1 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170167] disk 1, o:1, dev:sdc1 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170171] disk 2, o:0, dev:sdd1 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170175] disk 3, o:1, dev:sde1 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170279] RAID conf printout: Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170292] --- level:5 rd:4 wd:2 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170299] disk 0, o:1, dev:sdb1 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170304] disk 1, o:1, dev:sdc1 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170309] disk 2, o:0, dev:sdd1 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170322] RAID conf printout: Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170325] --- level:5 rd:4 wd:2 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170329] disk 0, o:1, dev:sdb1 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170332] disk 1, o:1, dev:sdc1 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.170336] disk 2, o:0, dev:sdd1 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup sSMTP[10706]: Unable to locate mail Oct 4 01:30:09 backup sSMTP[10706]: Cannot open mail:25 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup mdadm[3415]: Fail event detected on md device /dev/md0, component device /dev/sdd1 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.172571] RAID conf printout: Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.172578] --- level:5 rd:4 wd:2 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.172585] disk 0, o:1, dev:sdb1 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup kernel: [49310.172589] disk 1, o:1, dev:sdc1 Oct 4 01:30:09 backup mdadm[3415]: RebuildFinished event detected on md device /dev/md0 Mark -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) @ 13 Clarke Rd, Milton Keynes, MK1 1LG

6 25

Getting started with Linux and electronics
by Mark Rogers 21 Oct '13

21 Oct '13

Although not strictly OT here, there's almost certainly better places, so can anyone recommend any friendly mailing lists for getting started with using Linux to talk to GPIO etc? The sort of thing you might use a Pi or BeagleBone for (but not specific to a single platform). I've got several Pi's, a BB Black (and an Arduino for good measure) sitting around not really being used for much, and I really should learn to do some interesting things with them. There are loads of forums and Google Groups but I just prefer mailing lists like this one. Specific examples of the sort of thing I want to do: For personal use I want to do something interesting with Christmas lights, probably running from a solar charged 12V battery - that feels like it should give me plenty of scope to "play". Also, a colleague has asked about a simple application to record encoder and analogue input values to CSV on a periodic basis. In each case I can't even decide whether I should be looking at Arduino or Pi/BBB hence looking for a more general mailing list than one targeted at a specific solution. -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) @ 13 Clarke Rd, Milton Keynes, MK1 1LG

4 10

[ALUG Announce] 3rd Monday Monthly Ipswich Social Meeting : The Mulberry Tree
by samwise 21 Oct '13

21 Oct '13

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 back today, 21st October, at 20:00: The Mulberry Tree 5 Woodbridge Road IPSWICH IP4 2EA Tel: 01473 225776 Map/Directions URI: http://maps.google.co.uk/?q=IP4+2EA WWW: https://www.facebook.com/MULBERRYHOSPITALITY The Mulberry Tree, previously known as The Milestone Beer House, is a grade 2 listed building in the centre of Ipswich. It is located at the intersection between Woodbridge Road and the A1156, across the road from the old Odeon cinema and not far from the Regent Theatre. It re-opened on Thursday March 29th 2012 after a major refurbishment, under its original name of The Mulberry House and has already begun to regain a good reputation for its selection of beers and ales. It has a sizeable car park to the rear of the building. All are welcome, novices and experienced users. Feel free to ask for further information on the Main ALUG mailing list. Cheers, 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

1 0

Recording event data efficiently
by Mark Rogers 18 Oct '13

18 Oct '13

I need to record changes in values of several variables (in this case around 9000) so that I can display their changes against time on a graph. I'd like a resolution of around 1min, however, I don't need to sample these values every minute because any change in value is available to me so the values only change on event. Storing a sample every minute for 9000 variables is about 1.3MB/day (each sample is a single byte). But that should compress heavily because for most of the time any given value will be static. So, what would be the best way to store these values for graphing? Recording the events in a database would be efficient storage but is not great for generating graphs from. (Graphs would be along the lines of what MRTG generates, at a rough guess, although that's not a tool I've used in anger. I looked at the MRTG log file format but unless I'm reading the spec wrong I don't think it's quite what I want.) If it matters, I plan on doing this on an ARM-based SBC such as a Pi or Beaglebone. Mark -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) @ 13 Clarke Rd, Milton Keynes, MK1 1LG

1 0

SQL injection
by Mark Rogers 17 Oct '13

17 Oct '13

A payment gateway that a client is using is reporting that data we're submitting to it is triggering an SQL injection warning, and as a result the connections are being rejected (the end user is in the payment stage on a shopping cart and it being told that their IP is being blocked, which isn't very nice). The string they're apparently picking up on is: (Size:Medium (Size 12) )|27.4917 and specifically the ') )|27' part of it. The error being generated is: Possible SQL injection attack (detectSQLi)"] [data "s))o1,ARGS:xxxx" Other strings have triggered this where the number is different, it seems to be ))|<number> that causes a problem. (xxxx is the field we're submitting the value in, edited so as not to identify the payment gateway in use) Any suggestions as to what SQL attack this is trying to catch? I can't think of anything where ))|27 would represent an SQL injection attack. At the moment the payment gateway is just telling us to remove that string (they haven't given us an option to escape/encode it) which makes no sense. I'd like to know if this is part of a set of standard rules they're using that makes sense to someone or a homegrown set that might not. Mark -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) @ 13 Clarke Rd, Milton Keynes, MK1 1LG

1 0