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Re: [ALUG] Getting package name from file path, offline
by Mark Rogers 09 Jul '19

09 Jul '19

On Sun, 7 Jul 2019 at 00:43, <steve-ALUG(a)hst.me.uk> wrote: > > I don't think it helps the current situation, but I think most people doing something like this > would host a git repository to store their scripts & track changes to them. The same idea > can be used to cope with changes to configurations for files in /etc/. I'd think it would be > easier to keep a manual list of top level packages added/removed using apt-get, than to > try and work it out backwards from a file list. I've never found a good way to treat an entire OS as a repository (or just the customisations, given that they can be anywhere in the system). I do maintain a list of changed files which I use to create tar based backups (different files from the subject of this thread), as well as an init script listing all the packages I need installing, but inevitably I sometimes forget to add something to my list. (It would be nice to think that a development workflow is "I need this, so add it to my list and install it". But reality is more like "I wonder if this will work, I'll install it and try" or "Let's install several options and see which works out best". With the best will in the world, being at least able to validate the list afterwards is useful.) > [...] > "apt doesn't remember which reverse dependency caused it to install rsync, but it does log all its actions in /var/log/apt, so you might find the dependency there: > [...] > That may help a bit, but it depends on what period the log-rotated apt log files you have. /var/log/apt/history.log is useful but isn't exhaustive because of the reason you elude to. I have certainly made us of it in the past though. A bigger problem for me here though is that /var/log is excluded from my tarball backups... Regarding dependencies: I would be nice to know why I installed a package, but for now just merging 400+ file differences into one package install is a big step forward. The example I gave some way back was netpbm - I never installed it directly, it turns out that it was because I installed a screenshot package, but given that any report will also list the screenshot package I can likely work that out later. > It seems to me it would be easier to work out using apt/aptitude etc on a live system - (see the search I mentioned earlier - lots and lots of lovely links, methods etc) > It seems to me it would also be easier to keep a manual list of top-level changes. Easier, sure, but where's the fun in that! But actually: By "easier", what this means is restoring a multi-GB backup to an SD card, booting a Pi from it, running some commands to get the package list etc, copying the result back to my desktop, then repeating the entire process with the second backup, before I can diff anything. So easier, but not quicker :-) PS: Perhaps inevitably most of my reply is "yes, but that won't work because..." which obscures the genuinely useful information you gave me, a lot of it new to me. Thank you very much for that, it helps more than the above reply might suggest. -- 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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Getting package name from file path, offline
by Mark Rogers 08 Jul '19

08 Jul '19

If I have a list of filenames (with paths), what's the best way to work out what package most likely provided them? This will be offline, so I can't use dpkg -S etc. The original O/S is Raspbian if that helps. (Background: I'm trying to look at SD card backups and work out what packages were installed without booting them.) -- 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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UPS
by steve-ALUG＠hst.me.uk 06 Jul '19

06 Jul '19

Can anyone recomend a linux friendly UPS for a home server. Pref not too expensive working with apcupsd. Same sort of load as a desktop pc, monitor & printer. Currently have a smartups 700 running at 13% load. Ta Steve

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Linux Laptop
by steve-ALUG＠hst.me.uk 06 Jul '19

06 Jul '19

My laptop is vexing me muchly. I think it's time for a new one, possibly brand-spanking new. It doesn't have to have a large screen. I'm currently using only about 50GB disk space of a 500GB disk, so any disk size probably, but probably would want at least 256GB. Ram, I'm struggling with 2GB ( a lot of paging to disk). I'm guessing about 8? I have lots of browser windows open. Running some flavour of xubuntu or lubutu, or perhaps mint. No idea what sort of processor I'd need. Like some sort of optical drive & fair battery life. Extra bonus feature: I hate touchpads, so if it had a mouse "nipple" I'd be made up!! So folks.... What's good? ISTR that Thinkpads were good. Are Dells good with preinstalled ubuntu at the moment? Any recommended suppliers or hardware or any other comments? Thanks in anticipation! Steve

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firewall hardware recommendations
by mick 03 Jul '19

03 Jul '19

This is (slightly) off topic because I am after advice for hardware to run pfsense/opnsense router/firewall software (which is BSD based, not linux) but I hope you will forgive me. I have been running openvpn on a SOHO router for a while now (so that all my internet traffic goes over a VPN tunnel to one of several VMs I have dotted about). That has worked fine and I saw little in the way of speed degradation over my ADSL line (I got around 8-10 Megabits/s over the tunnel when my ADSL speed was around 11-12), But I have recently upgraded my broadband to FTTC and get around 30 Megabits/s over the WAN. However, my openvpn tunnel speed has stayed at the 8-10 mark. Not good. At first I thought that the problem lay with openvpn itself, but of course I then twigged that my router was probably the culprit because it can't hanndle the encryption load. Sure enough, testing connections to my VPN endpoints whilst running openvpn directly from my i7 desktop showed that I could get the full 30 Meg. So I now need to ditch the router and get something a bit beefier. I would also like to run another firewall between my two internal Lans - hence the interest in opnsense or pfsense (though additionally I am open to recommendations for alternative F/W software so long as it includes openvpn capability). I could simply re-purpose an old desktop (I have a couple lying around, including an old i5 with 8 gig of RAM) but that strikes ma as too much of a power hog when something much smalller would probably do. So - does anyone out there have any recommendations? The CPU must have AES-NI to help with the crypto load (that is probably what is killing my current router setup), but I don't need much in the way of storage so some small fanless device would probably do fine. Cheers Mick --------------------------------------------------------------------- Mick Morgan gpg fingerprint: FC23 3338 F664 5E66 876B 72C0 0A1F E60B 5BAD D312 https://baldric.net/about-trivia ---------------------------------------------------------------------

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T-O-T!
by Ted Harding 19 Jun '19

19 Jun '19

Totally-Off-Topic! But you are the one bunch I know likely to be amply knowledgeable regarding what I want to find out. This is to do with wgat happens when the time comes (if it comes) to replace the battery of a mobile phone. The discharge/recharge cycle with rechargeable batteries leads in the end (but slowly) to loss of rechargeability, at which pointhe battery needs to be replad. I basically have a couple of questions: 1: If say 40-80% of the capacity is used each day, with full rechaging at the end of each day (phonr switched off at nght), how long is the battery likely to last until it needs replacenent? 2: During replacement, the phone is presumably totally without power for a short prtiod of time. Can this lead to information stored on the phone being lost? Specifically, my phone is a fairly basic mobile, a DORO 6520. (And it has so far been running happily for about 2 years). With thanks in advance for any info (and apologies for ny B-O-T), Best wishes to all, Ted.

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Webmail Server
by steve-ALUG＠hst.me.uk 17 Jun '19

17 Jun '19

I was happily using Squirrelmail as a webserver inside my network, firewalled so it couldn't be accessed by the big-bad internet. This seems to have been removed from the *Buntu distros because it had security issues that weren't fixed. I've looked at various alternatives but each time I look at the requirements, they all seem a bit heavy for my extremely occasional use requirements. I don't need spell checking & fancy graphics. I don't need all the mail to be loaded into a database for fast response and searching. I just need: To be able to login as any valid email user to access those emails. To access via a web browser Simple configuration Minimal processor load when not in use sending/reading emails Is there a leightweight equivalent to squirrelmail that anyone uses? Advice gratefully accepted. Cheers Steve

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T-o-T - phone battery
by Christopher Dawkins 16 Jun '19

16 Jun '19

> Message: 2 > Date: Sat, 15 Jun 2019 16:17:36 +0100 > From: Ted Harding <ted.harding(a)wlandres.net> > Subject: [ALUG] T-O-T! > > This is to do with what happens when the time comes (if it comes) to > replace the battery of a mobile phone. > > The discharge/recharge cycle with rechargeable batteries leads in the end > (but slowly) to loss of rechargeability, > at which point the battery needs to be replaced. > > I basically have a couple of questions: > > 1: If say 40-80% of the capacity is used each day, with full recharging at > the end of each day (phone switched off at night), > how long is the battery likely to last until it needs replacement? > Varies widely. I find most modern batteries last a lot longer than they used to, and I can keep phones for four years or more. Though since I have been buying Chinese ones from geekbuying.com I can afford a new one every three years. My Elephone 8000 had the problem of compulsory diagnostics in Chinese, where I had to guess by bitter experience which symbol meant 'OK' and which meant 'try again', the worst problem being the 'make emergency call' function on which I had to give a fast apology. But then I got a Xiaomi A1 M1 with 'World' ROM, which is all in English and doing very well indeed. I did get a new second battery for my Samsung 3 many years ago, and within a few years found both old and new batteries equally good (both Samsung 3 and Elephone are still in action). The nice thing about Chinese phones is that they all take two SIM cards, very useful when travelling and inded also in the UK when in bad reception areas, so long as they are completely different. > 2: During replacement, the phone is presumably totally without power for a short period of time. Can this lead > to information stored on the phone being lost? > Never been a problem for me. > Specifically, my phone is a fairly basic mobile, a DORO 6520. (And it has > so far > been running happily for about 2 years). > Goole it. New batteries seem to be available for under £20. (Though googling DORO 6520 battery returns at first hit an amazingly useless official 7-item help page) -- Christopher Dawkins, Archivist, Felsted school Garnetts Corner, Jollyboys Lane North, Felsted, Dynmow, Essex CM6 3DU 07816 821659

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Reformatting a PDF
by Mark Rogers 03 Jun '19

03 Jun '19

On the Royal Mail website is a "handy" price guide available as a PDF: http://www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/Royal-Mail-Our-Prices-March-20… It's only actually "handy" if you have a weird printer (or at least very unusual sized paper). I'm not sure what size/shape you'd call it but it would go into a DL envelope without folding... What I'd like to do is split the individual pages out and merge them to get three (maybe four) "pages" per A4 sheet so that I can print it on my very normal A4 printer. Suggestions? This is an annual headache and I'm fed up with a different manual solution every year. -- 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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applets for mint
by Bev Nicolson 23 May '19

23 May '19

Ubuntu had a bunch of applets too of course but amongst them was one that enabled you to copy and paste fractions, copyright symbols, accents (French, Spanish, etc). Very useful. There doesn't appear to be anything similar for Mint, though. Ideas? Bev.

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