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New member to ALUG
by Tarek Amr 23 Sep '12

23 Sep '12

Hello, My name is Tarek, I've just joined ALUG mailing list, and would like to give a brief introduction about myself. I am an Egyptian Linux user since 10 years ago, I have been member of EGLUG (Egyptian Linux User Group), and I just arrived to Norwich to do my masters degree in Computer Science in UEA. I've also worked in the field of computer networks and had good knowledge of C/Python/RoR programming. I'd love to be member of ALUG mailing list and join the groups upcoming meetups and events -- Best Regards Tarek Amr http://www.tarekamr.com/ http://globalvoicesonline.org/author/tarek-amr/

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OT: Maths Jam tomorrow
by Steve Engledow 17 Sep '12

17 Sep '12

Hi folks, Excuse the flagrant abuse of this mailing but I feel the crossover of interest is worth it. The first Norwich Maths Jam (see http://mathsjam.com) begins tomorrow evening (Tuesday 18th) at 7pm in The Reindeer pub on Dereham road; coincidentally a previous haunt of the ALUG pub meet :) If you fancy coming to a pub and being geeky in a mathsy way, come down! Remember kids, beer + geekery -> fun. Steve

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apt-get problems
by Greg Thomas 16 Sep '12

16 Sep '12

I just tried upgrading from Ubuntu 10.04 to 12.04.1 (i.e. from LTS to LTS). It failed. The error message I'm getting is: An unresolvable problem occurred while calculating the upgrade: The package 'update-manager-kde' is marked for removal but it is in the removal blacklist. Google suggests that "apt-get remove update-manager-kde" should fix it [1], but that's giving me the following; Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable distribution that some required packages have not yet been created or been moved out of Incoming. The following information may help to resolve the situation: The following packages have unmet dependencies. libasound2: Breaks: libasound2-plugins (< 1.0.24) but 1.0.22-0ubuntu6 is to be installed libglib2.0-0: Breaks: gnome-control-center (< 1:3) but 1:2.30.1-0ubuntu2 is to be installed Breaks: gvfs (< 1.8) but 1.6.1-0ubuntu1build1 is to be installed libgnome-keyring0: Breaks: gnome-keyring (< 3.0) but 2.92.92.is.2.30.3-0ubuntu1.1 is to be installed libpango1.0-0: Breaks: plymouth (< 0.8.2-2ubuntu19) but 0.8.2-2ubuntu2.2 is to be installed ppp: Breaks: network-manager (<= 0.8.0.999-1) but 0.8-0ubuntu3.3 is to be installed Breaks: network-manager-pptp (<= 0.8.0.999-1) but 0.8-0ubuntu3 is to be installed E: Broken packages Have I completely hosed my setup, and is a fresh re-install due? Or is there a way around this? Thanks, Greg [1] http://www.hoaglun.com/blog/2011/5/8/ubuntu-1010-1104-upgrade.html

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[ALUG Announce] 3rd Monday Monthly Ipswich Social Meeting : The Mulberry Tree
by samwise 14 Sep '12

14 Sep '12

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 this coming Monday, 17th September, 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. I'm not going to be able to make this meet as I'm off to Croatia for some sea kayaking off the Dalmation Coast for the next week, so do please post to the list to encourage a bit of interest amongst the regulars. :) I'm eager to hear the report for next time! 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: [ALUG] hi, see it!
by RICHARD FLETCHER 14 Sep '12

14 Sep '12

.. http://nastrani.ic.cz/urworkcap.php?mopage=f9y9

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Default browser chooser script
by Mark Rogers 13 Sep '12

13 Sep '12

For day to day use I tend to use Firefox, and that's my default browser. That's more through "habit" than anything else and I frequently get frustrated by the amount of RAM its using etc. Occasionally I'll fire up Chrome or Opera, and one day I'll probably switch allegiances. In the meantime, what annoys me is that if I have (say) Chrome open and click on a link elsewhere (eg in an email) it'll open Firefox because that's my default browser. I'm sure it would be possible to write a script that checks to see if any browser is open, and sends the request there, only actually starting the default (Firefox) if no browsers are open. [Actually I think this ought to be the default behaviour for a range of apps; if I have a media player open don't open a different one if I double-click a media file, etc.] Any suggestions for where I should start? -- 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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Running vnc server on startup
by John Woodard 12 Sep '12

12 Sep '12

I want to run a vnc server on startup as a user rather than root and seek opinion to where the best place to put the command tightvncserver :1 -geometry 1280x1024 -depth 16 -pixelformat rgb565 etc/rc.local cron job? Not sure here really if it needs to be before login so thought it prudent to run as a user. Cheers, BJ

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[ALUG Announce] ALUG Norwich Pub Meet Thursday 13th September
by Viperfang 10 Sep '12

10 Sep '12

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, 13th 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 http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce

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Anyone know about and/or use libgda (gnome DB library)?
by Chris Green 05 Sep '12

05 Sep '12

While searching for ways to access databases I have hit upon libgda which is the Gnome generic DB access library. What has attracted me specifically is the gridWidget which appears to give me exactly the sort of interface to a DB table that I have been after for quite a while. (See http://www.gnome-db.org/ScreenShots at the bottom). Does anyone here have any experience with libgda? -- Chris Green

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Re: [ALUG] Using Android phone as dial-up modem
by Phil Ashby 05 Sep '12

05 Sep '12

On Wed, 29 Aug 2012 16:53:55 +0100, Mark Rogers <mark(a)quarella.co.uk> > To: alug-main <main(a)lists.alug.org.uk> > Subject: Re: [ALUG] Using Android phone as dial-up modem > Message-ID: > <CADK3ZeF40qKGcxh=ezyAb=aPiTG6evz7O0N9qoYcKOWAeSFpEw(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > On 28 August 2012 18:38, mick <mbm(a)rlogin.net> wrote: > > > I think tethering (be it over USB, wifi, or bluetooth) of the phone to > > a laptop will only give you access to the carrier's network > > connection. I don't think that the GSII has an analogue modem which > > will allow connection to a remote modem. > > > > I wondered about that, but also wondered whether it needed specific > hardware to do this; it can obviously connect to an analogue phone line > just fine, surely after that it's just a case of sending the right > "squawks" over the connection? It's possible to access the built-in modem capability on a GSII: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1471241 ..but not simple unless your phone provider includes host drivers (which it seems some do). Once you have the right modem device exposed, connecting it into PC Anywhere should be a breeze :) Or you can look at soft modems like SpanDSP: http://www.soft-switch.org/spandsp_faq/index.html http://www.soft-switch.org/spandsp-modules.html with the audio paths physically connected through your mobile from the sound card, but that seems a bit silly when the GSM baseband chipset can already provide what you want, if the manufacturer will let you use it. Phil.

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How do I decide which printer driver to use in CUPS?
by Chris Green 04 Sep '12

04 Sep '12

I recently found that my printers were no longer working with one particular application (glabels). The error message from CUPS was "/usr/lib/cups/filter/hpcups failed" and a bit of Googling suggested that changing the printer driver selected in CUPS might fix the error.... and it did. I'm using the hpijs driver now instead of the hpcups driver. However it raises the question of how one decide which of many drivers available for a given printer one should select. For my HP1320 there's quite a lot to choose from:- HP Laserjet 1320 - CUPS+Gutenprint v5.2.8-pre1 (en) HP Laserjet 1320 Foomatic/Postscript (en) HP Laserjet 1320 Foomatic/pxlmono (recommended) (en) HP Laserjet 1320 hpijs 3.12.12 (en) HP Laserjet 1320 Series hpijs 3.12.12 pcl3, (en) HP Laserjet 1320 Series pcl3, hpcups 3.12.12 (en) HP Laserjet 1320 Series Postscript (recommended) (en) HP Laserjet 1320 Series Postscript (recommended) (en) HP Laserjet 1320 Series Postscript (recommended) (en) HP Laserjet 1320 hpcups 3.12.12 (en) ..., and yes, the Postscript one is repeated three times with no visible differences. So how is anyone supposed to decide which driver to use, I've not found any useful guidance anywhere. -- Chris Green

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Re: [ALUG] 2600 meeting at 18:00 on Friday the 7th September.
by Paul Grenyer 04 Sep '12

04 Sep '12

Hi The site appears to only have August's meeting on it. When I click on the 2600 link at the top of the page I get: High Risk Website Blocked Location: www.2600.com Access has been blocked as the threat Mal/HTMLGen-A has been found on this website. Return to the page you were previously viewing. from inside Aviva. -- Thanks Paul Paul Grenyer e: paul.grenyer(a)gmail.com b: paulgrenyer.blogspot.com t: pjgrenyer SyncNorwich: http://www.syncnorwich.com ACCU Member: License to code: http://www.accu.org

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2600 meeting at 18:00 on Friday the 7th September.
by Viperfang 04 Sep '12

04 Sep '12

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

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Using Android phone as dial-up modem
by Mark Rogers 29 Aug '12

29 Aug '12

Situation: PC running pcAnywhere, accessible via dial-up (you know that thing we used to use before broadband? :-) At present I have to be sat in my office (or somewhere with a phone line), using a laptop with a modem in it, to dial in to site (the site does not have Internet access). Can I use my Android mobile (Galaxy SII) as a traditional modem, eg via USB connection to PC? PC would ideally be Linux but I have pcAnywhere installed on both. 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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Samba usershares, symlinks, etc
by Mark Rogers 27 Aug '12

27 Aug '12

If I create a Samba share (eg directly in /etc/samba/smb.conf) I can enable following of symlinks (for just that share) with: follow symlinks = yes wide links = yes unix extensions = no When instead added to a usershare (ie in /var/lib/samba/usershares/myshare) this doesn't seem to work. Indeed, these files seem very "fussy"; just moving lines around or leaving lines commented out (with # or ;) seems to break the share completely. However I can't find them documented anywhere (nor indeed can I find usershare_acl properly documented anywhere). So: Is there a way to have a usershare with the ability to follow symlinks (without globally enabling them, which is what I've done so far)? Is there some documentation I'm missing that explains how these work? I can see why allowing users to enable that functionality may not be wanted, but on the other hand having to enable it globally doesn't seem like the best alternative. Should I just add my share to smb.conf and be done with it? [Ubuntu 12.10 alpha, although I'm sure I've had this problem before on older versions.] -- Mark Rogers // More Solutions Ltd (Peterborough Office) // 0844 251 1450 Registered in England (0456 0902) @ 13 Clarke Rd, Milton Keynes, MK1 1LG

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Attempt to use openvpn client as proxy server
by Jenny Hopkins 26 Aug '12

26 Aug '12

Hullo alug, I've got a computer here at home running debian that gets packages from a remote repository running behind a firewall at work using an openvpn connection. Local address is 192.168.10.6, remote webserver is known as repo.tcl.office. Remote nameserver is 192.168.10.10. Openvpn uses a tunnel of 12.3.3.0. I have a second computer on my internal network, address assigned as 192.168.1.whatever by the dhcp server (192.168.1.2) that i would very much like to be able to access this repository. At the moment all the second computer (a balloon-type board) knows is that it is on the network 192.168.1.0 and that its nameserver is 192.168.1.2...not much use to me at all, especially as the nameserver is not on the openvpn and has no idea about tcl.office. I had a try at assigning a static address on the 12.3.3.0 network to no avail, it couldn't ping the computer here on its tun 12.3.3.6 address. Adding various addresses to /etc/resolv.conf on the balloon make no difference. Is this an impossible mission, or are there any tricks and tools i can be using to make this happen? Running openvpn on the balloon is not an option, alas. Hints gratefully received. Thanks, Jenny

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Screen resolution stuck
by Bev Nicolson 23 Aug '12

23 Aug '12

Screen resolution is resolutely stuck at 1024 x 768. Attempting it increase this or decrease it results either in it going awol (higher) or impractically large to deal with (lower). I can't do anything with the auto button the monitor. >From xrandr (I have been googling) : Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1024 x 768, maximum 8192 x 8192 VGA1 connected 1024x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 304mm x 228mm 1280x800 59.8 1280x768 59.9 1024x768 75.1 75.0 70.1* 60.0 832x624 74.6 800x600 72.2 75.0 70.0 60.3 56.2 848x480 60.0 640x480 75.0 72.8 72.8 66.7 60.0 59.9 720x400 70.1 So, people, does this mean a new/another monitor might be an idea? Is there anything else I can try? (Ubuntu 11.04) Bev.

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[ALUG Announce] Announcing Norwich Raspberry Pi User and Developer Group's First Meeting!
by Steve Pearce 23 Aug '12

23 Aug '12

ALUG Announce Please send announcements to Announce(a)lists.alug.org.uk Unsub, change settings via http://lists.alug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/announce ----- Greetings alug. I'm just writing to let you know of the Raspberry Pi event that will soon be taking place in Norwich. >From the website: Our first meeting will take place at House Cafe on Saturday 25th August between 12:00-17:00. House is an artistic and community friendly venue with a large carpeted sofa area suitable for running talks and demonstrations. We’re planning to run the event like a small scale unconference. The idea is that there will be a short pre-arranged talk schedule, and then we’ll open up the stage to anybody who wishes to demo their projects and ideas on the provided Raspberry Pi and display. The venue welcomes the use of laptops too, so we’re hoping to teach and collaborate on projects and such things too. Whether you’re an experienced programmer, a novice or are simply curious as to what this whole Raspberry Pi movement is all about, there will be something to gain for everyone who attends. To submit talk ideas, please send an email to info(a)norwichrpi.org and Steve will add you to the list. If you come up with an idea for a talk on the day, then that’s fine too! We’ll simply add you on to the end of the pre-arranged folks. Hope to see you there! stevepdp ----- 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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Random incidental ALUG meet-up opportunities
by MJ Ray 23 Aug '12

23 Aug '12

Are any ALUGgers going to be at the Tour of Britain grand depart (Ipswich waterfront - where's a good place to park?) or finish (Norwich showground) on Sunday 9th September? Anyone like to meet up for an ale (well maybe not at the start: 10am!) and some tech chat while we wait for the race? Regards, -- MJ Ray (slef), member of www.software.coop, a for-more-than-profit co-op. http://koha-community.org supporter, web and library systems developer. In My Opinion Only: see http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html Available for hire (including development) at http://www.software.coop/

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Re: [ALUG] OT Maths Jam
by Steve Engledow 21 Aug '12

21 Aug '12

Morning all, I've been in conversation with the maths jam organising folks and... Norwich maths jam is go! I'm in the process of setting up a mailing list so if you want in, please email norwich(a)mathsjam.com and I'll make sure you're on it. I'll send emails out from that address once a venue has been confirmed etc. The maths jam is on the second-to-last tuesday of the month which makes the 1st Norwich jam the 18th September. Whether you're interested or not, please forward this email onto anyone you think might be. Steve ----- Forwarded message from Steve Engledow <steve(a)offend.me.uk> ----- Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2012 22:20:03 +0100 From: Steve Engledow <steve(a)offend.me.uk> To: main(a)lists.alug.org.uk Subject: OT Maths Jam Hi folks, Would anyone be interested in a Norwich maths jam? See http://www.mathsjam.com/ for (fairly vague) details or check the twitter account (@MathsJam). tl;dr: We get together in a pub on the second-to-last tuesday of the month and be geeky. I know, it sounds like the pubmeet; but this time we be geeky about mathsy things! I reckon there ought to be enough maths geeks among the linux geeks for this to be relevant :) Steve ----- End forwarded message -----

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[ALUG Announce] 3rd Monday Monthly Ipswich Social Meeting : The Mulberry Tree
by samwise 20 Aug '12

20 Aug '12

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 tonight - Monday, 20th August, 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. Oops. Apologies for the late notice - I've been pretty busy most of the day. Anyway, I intend to make it out tonight and will probably be soliciting advice from anyone who's got any recommendations for what to try out with rooted Android devices. 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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Android updates for cheap tablet
by Mark Rogers 20 Aug '12

20 Aug '12

I have a cheap Android tablet, branded Synapse, I think it's this model although I paid nothing like that for it: http://www.dee-sign.co.uk/products/synapse-tablet-top-spec What are my options for playing with Android versions? I'd like to experiment with (eg) CyanogenMod but haven't done it before; I was thinking it better to risk my cheapo tablet than my Galaxy SII but on the other hand at least the GS2 has been well tested... I believe the tablet is just the same as any number of cheap imported tablets and I don't want it to be stuck on the version it shipped with (albeit that it came with ICS). -- 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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Keyboard and mouse 'crash'
by Bev Nicolson 19 Aug '12

19 Aug '12

Every so often (not too often happily) both keyboard and mouse will stop functioning. It seems to happen most often when I plug a camera or MP3 player in. The only way to get them going again is to switch everything off. (If I touch the off button it will shut down in 60 seconds from the shut down dialogue box.) What I'm wondering is, has anyone here come across this problem and is there another, more permanent, solution to it? I would add that I've never had to install any drivers for any such devices, so I'm pretty confident that's not the issue. [Unbuntu 11.04.] Bev.

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Wanted - algorithm for bufferless search for a pattern in a stream
by Chris Green 08 Aug '12

08 Aug '12

I can see how to do this in principle but I can't iron out the details and I'm sure there must be some ready made code for doing it 'out there' on the internet. It's just rather difficult to come up with search terms when I don't know what to call it. To explain in detail I want to search for a (constant) string in a byte stream that I can't rewind and I don't want to use any significant buffer space (the constant string I'm looking for is quite long). So, obviously one reads a byte at a time from the stream to see if it matches the first character of the constant string, if that matches one moves on to the second, etc. When the whole string has been matched then it's found - so far so good. However, when a character *doesn't* match one can't go back up the input stream, *but* we know the previous characters as they're the ones in the constant string that we have matched so far. Thus we can 'wind back' by using the constant string for the number of characters that did match and then continue down the stream. If anyone can follow that rubbish explanation then could they possibly tell me what the algorithm is called and/or point me at some sample code? -- Chris Green

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[ALUG Announce] ALUG Norwich Pub Meet Thursday 9th August
by Viperfang 06 Aug '12

06 Aug '12

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, 9th August 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

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