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Wifi and network monitoring
by Mark Rogers 11 Dec '13

11 Dec '13

At home I have a Virgin Internet connection, with one of their Super Hubs (the older "version 1" type). Every so often the wireless connection drops out for a few seconds. By which I mean everything looks fine (connection is still healthy) but attempts to ping "the Internet" (eg Google's DNS on 8.8.8.8) go nowhere. I suspect that the problem is the router but Virgin won't give me another unless I can "prove" that's where the problem is. They mostly blame wifi signal issues caused by other routers in the neighbourhood (and microwaves etc), which might or might not be correct. When I put the router into modem mode and used my own wireless router, I no longer had the problem, however I did have other issues (which I think were caused by the wireless router and/or the Super Hub, but can't put my finger on what they might be - it was just generally unreliable). Following a visit from a Virgin engineer, at which point things were reset to a standard config, I haven't bothered to put my wifi router back in, but the occasional drop-outs are back (the first one within 10 mins of the engineer leaving). Since then I have started monitoring wifi signals using an Android app (I couldn't make sense of Kismet on my laptop, and when I tried wavemon it crashed my laptop (kernel panic). The joy of proprietary drivers no doubt.. I have switched the wifi to a quiet channel although it's been changed a few times in the past without improving things and the most recent change has also not helped. So, what I want to do is (a) monitor the wifi connection, by (eg) pinging both the Virgin hub and 8.8.8.8 from the laptop every second or so and logging any issues (thus I should be able to determine whether it's the wifi/router dropping out or the Internet connection). I would (b) do the same from my desktop to determine whether it's the wifi or the router (if it's not the Internet connection). And ideally I'd (c) do the same on my wife's laptop, but that is Windows 8 so I'd need something cross platform to do that. If there's something I can also do from an Android phone (d) that would be great. Hopefully (a)-(d) will tell me fairly conclusively where the problem is, and if it's the router be enough to convince Virgin to send me a new one. It helps that my contract is up for renewal in Jan... Any suggestions on how to do (a)-(d) and/or other ideas welcomed. Other notes that might be relevant: I previously tried a cheap wireless-N USB dongle in the laptop and that made no difference, so I don't think it's the laptop hardware, Also, I am currently using a cheap no-brand Android mobile, and I've noticed that (at home only) sometimes the Wifi connection gets "stuck" - it stops working but if I try to turn it off it just sits in a half-way "trying to turn off but not off yet" state until I reboot the phone. I'll blame the cheap phone for failing to handle whatever is going on, but it's more evidence to me that it's something about the Super Hub wifi that's behind all this. -- 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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Reclaiming Cost of Pre-Installed Windows Licence
by Nick Heppleston 09 Dec '13

09 Dec '13

Hello All, I am planning on purchasing a laptop for my step-son who is a Linux fan (I run Linux Mint on the 'family' laptop). I imagine I will be buying something with Windows pre-installed. Does anyone know whether it is still possible to reclaim the cost of the Windows licence that comes pre-installed? Do I claim this back from Microsoft or the manufacturer? Rgds, Nick. -- Nick Heppleston Modhul Ltd (http://www.modhul.com) Tel: 07989 581766 E-mail: nick(a)modhul.com LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/nickheppleston Registered in England and Wales (Company Number 6171967) Registered Address: Wymondham Business Centre, 1 Town Green, Wymondham, Norfolk, NR18 0PN United Kingdom

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Libre Office Calc bug
by Bev Nicolson 09 Dec '13

09 Dec '13

I created and saved a Libre Office calc doc today but try as I might cannot open now. Thunderbird takes ages to try and shows a load of html stuff where a thumbnail of a document usually is. If I try Libre Office I get an input/ouput error. Googling suggests this is a known bug but I wondered if there was any way of getting round this (without using MS office.) Ideas? Happily I don't use it that often... Bev.

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[ALUG Announce] ALUG Norwich Pub Meet Thursday 12th December
by Viperfang 09 Dec '13

09 Dec '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, 12th December 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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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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[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

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