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Weekly IRC reminder
by Neill Newman 26 Jul '04

26 Jul '04

This is the automated ALUG IRC meeting reminder sent to remind you that there is an IRC meeting tonight (Monday) at 8.00pm. The meeting takes place on the irc server irc.alug.org.uk in the #alug channel. Most IRC clients should allow you to get there with the commands "/server irc.alug.org.uk" and "/join #alug". Popular IRC clients include tkirc, bitchx, xchat and EPIC on Unix, and Mirc under windows. Here are some links to help you get started with irc. Unix http://www.xchat.org/ http://freshmeat.net/ http://www.epicsol.org/ Windows http://www.mirc.com (loads of help with irc for newbies!)

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VoIP talk?
by Jonathan McDowell 25 Jul '04

25 Jul '04

I mentioned this to various people earlier, and they seemed interested, so I thought I'd vaguely float the idea here. Would people be interested in a VoIP (Voice over IP) talk? I've been playing with it this week and setting up a connection to the normal phone network using an ISDN line, with a hardware VoIP phone locally. I'm also planning to look at Linux based softphones over the next week and should have a magic PCI card coming which will let me hook up to a normal phone line, so hopefully should be able to come up with bits of interest to anyone who's curious about this stuff. Takers? Do we have any locations for talks were we could get a reasonable net connection for a live demonstration perhaps? J. -- /-\ | The problem with the gene pool is |@/ Debian GNU/Linux Developer | there's no lifeguard. \- |

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How to unlock a directory?
by Russell Ward 24 Jul '04

24 Jul '04

I've been using kde for a while now but have recently found my cdrom to be inaccesible. It's on \mnt\cdrom but the properties describe it as a Locked Directory. The icon shows the directory with a little padlock on it. I've tried changing permissions (both as a 'normal' user and as root) but nothing changes. It means I can't install packages using rpm from the original Mandrake cdrom. The problem applies to other cdroms as well. It happened at the same time with the \mnt\floppy drive but that cleared when I put another floppy in. Any ideas, please? Cheers Russell _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself with cool new emoticons http://www.msn.co.uk/specials/myemo

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Re: main digest, Vol 3 #230 - 1 msg
by John Seago 24 Jul '04

24 Jul '04

On Saturday 24 Jul 2004 06:25, =?iso-8859-1?q?Colin=20Brett?= <colinabrett(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: <snip> > In the meantime, what is the "form" for asking > questions on the list, so I get the netiquette right! Thats it, you asked a question, I've answered, (I just couldn't remember where the apostrophe went in <thats>). -- John Seago Linux User #219566 (http://counter.li.org)

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New member signing in ...
by Colin Brett 24 Jul '04

24 Jul '04

Hi All, I have just joined the list and am introducing myself as suggested in the confirmation mail. My name's Colin Brett. I am, by profession, a UNIX systems administrator and (reluctant) Oracle DBA for a firm in Cambridge. I've been using various flavours of UNIX for over 10 years now and got into the Linux scene about 4 years ago. I don't unfortunately use Linux in my job but have been using RedHat and/or Mandrake at home on a regular basis. In fact, the only reason I have a machine at home is because of Linux: there's no way I'd pay the Microsoft tax for a windows machine! I'm willing to share any experience you may find useful from the wider UNIX arena: scripting, administration, a bit of Perl programming, some HTML. Just drop me a line or to the list in general and I'll see what I can come up with. I can't promise a quick answer, however, as work and family committments (a 9 month old baby boy!) do keep me rather busy. In the meantime, what is the "form" for asking questions on the list, so I get the netiquette right! Cheers, Colin ===== == Colin Brett. colinabrett(a)yahoo.co.uk == ___________________________________________________________ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - sooooo many all-new ways to express yourself http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com

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Re: [ALUG] Linux User Group for Essex is here!
by MJ Ray 22 Jul '04

22 Jul '04

On 2004-07-22 13:03:27 +0100 Simon Williams <alug(a)no-dns-yet.org.uk> wrote: > * On Thu, Jul 22, 2004 at 12:29:28AM +0100, MJ Ray wrote: >> Sorry you felt you couldn't help ALUG serve Essex better. > I think it was mainly the name that could cause confusion. It it > stayed part of ALUG, it would be the Chelmsford branch, which might > make some people think that it's more localised than it is. Why not an Essex branch, like the mid-Suffolk one? I suspect this has more to do with some people wanting to be called "admin" like in all the worst LUGs, but I hope I'm wrong and wish it the best. The LUGs I've liked best, Peterborough and Anglian, have had "admin" people who spend most of the time trying to avoid the label, but still do the work. >> Remember we're here if you need a hand and co-operation is always >> good. > Thanks (even though I'm not the/an admin). I don't see why members of > each LUG couldn't turn up to the other LUG's meetings and be welcomed. Oh, I agree. I'd take up SoSLUG's invitation if I could find time to travel there and I visit PLUG as often as I can. Cam-LUG have been very hostile to ALUG in the past, though. Because of the above suspicions, I'd appreciate this staying off-list so I don't start a flamewar. You emailed me off-list first, anyway. -- MJR/slef My Opinion Only and not of any group I know http://www.ttllp.co.uk/ for creative copyleft computing Please email about: BT alternative for line rental+DSL; Education on SMEs+EU FP6; office filing that works fast

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Broadband Hardware
by IanBell 22 Jul '04

22 Jul '04

Broadband seems finaly to have arrived at my small coastal village. I have a Dell laptop with an Ethernet port and no network. Assuming I go for a wires only package, what is the most suitable hardware? As far as ISPs are concerned I have heard good reports of F9 and ukfsn.org ought to be worth a look/supporting. Any group experience of, preference for either? Thanks Ian

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Linux User Group for Essex is here!
by LUGE Admin 22 Jul '04

22 Jul '04

http://www.luge.org.uk I know there's one in Southend, but I thought Chelmsford would be too narrow, and I like the name Chris Walker came up with a couple of months back and after all, Linux is supposed to be fun! Look forward to building something cool and having some meetings. My design friend Kelly said she'd wave her magic wand at some point in the next week or two and make it look pretty (she did www.LinuxVAR.co.uk design) so I look forward to Tux on Ice! ;) I'm "semi-geek" (you think after 20 years of coding I would class higher!) so look forward to learning from the uber-geeks and helping a few non-geeks experience and enjoy the freedom of FLOSS. Steve Purkiss Linux User Group Essex admin http://www.luge.org.uk

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Sage alternative for Linux
by Seb James 22 Jul '04

22 Jul '04

Dear all, If anyone out there has been looking for an alternative to Sage or Quickbooks that they can run on a Linux or BSD box, then take a look at phpOrganisation. phpOrganisation is an open source php/mysql based business process application, which is aimed at UK organisations (because it understands VAT). It features: An address database, which is the central information around which phpOrganisation structures its processes. All entities relating to the organisations processes are in this database, whether employee, supplier, associate or personal. Customer relationship tools. Two marketing lists are available; the tracker, and the client list. Move a contact onto one of these lists, and then keep a record of emails, phone conversations and use the "next contact due" feature to act as a reminder for re-contacting. Ordering System. Generate purchase orders for products and services, view the PO and print it out for the supplier. As invoices are received from the supplier, register the invoices and track the time left to pay on the supplier invoice page. Project and Contracts can be set up and time and costs can be allocated to a project or contract. Track your costs to learn what it really costs to deliver your services and develop your products. Generate quotations and store a record of previous quotations. phpOrganisation assists you in storing your quotation wordprocessor files in a single location on your filesystem. phpOrganisation doesn't generate web based quotations, in the way it does for purchase orders, invoices and statements, as this lacks the flexibility that is required in drafting quotations for most small businesses. Generate client invoices against contracts, print the invoices, or generate statements for a client, showing paid and overdue invoices. Generation of VAT return information, to aid to process of completing your VAT paperwork. Help notes feature. Each user can have descriptive notes about phpOrganisation show up in the webpages. When familiarity is gained, the helpnotes can be turned off. phpOrganisation does not yet feature stock control, or a groupware style shared calendar, but these are planned features. phpOrganisation is GPLed and available at sourceforge: http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/phporganisation Support in installing, running and implementing new features for phpOrganisation is available; contact me at the email address below. We'd welcome contributions to phpOrganisation - there's much still to do. Drop me a line if you'd like to help. More information about phpOrganisation and Hypercube Systems is at: http://www.hypercubesystems.co.uk/ regards, Seb James -- Business Systems, Hypercube Systems Ltd Providing Open Source IT solutions. Tel: 0845 458 0277 Web: www.hypercubesystems.co.uk Mob: 07900 958964 Email: seb(a)hypercubesystems.co.uk

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RE: [ALUG] So where do I start then?
by Steve Purkiss 20 Jul '04

20 Jul '04

On Tue, 2004-07-20 at 08:50, bjsamuels(a)beenthere-donethat.org.uk wrote: > On 19-Jul-2004 Steve Purkiss wrote: > > > > Met Chris from frugalIT in Witham the other night at my A12 business > > networking club meeting and he said would be good to set something up > > for the - let's say "lower" regions of East Anglia - Norwich is a bit > > too far and Southend is an entirely different world to Chelmsford. > > > > So, where do I start then? Do I buy a domain or set up a subdomain? > > Anyone wanna point me in the right direction? > > > > I may not be a sysadmin wizard but I'll help all I can to set up and > > run... > > Chris > > Are you aware that there is an Essex Linux User Group (ELUG) in existence? > > It does have a web site at http://www.epos.demon.co.uk and I am still actually > subscribed, I think, to the mailing list. The web site doesn't appear to have > been updated since 1997 and the mailing list has been dead since 2001. > > I did post about this to the ALUG list at the beginning of July but it seems to > have gone largely unnoticed. > > I don't know where you are geographically but I am near Tiptree. I may be able > to offer some help. You can either email me or telephone on 01621 816561. > > Regards > > Barry Samuels > http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk > The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain Hi, Steve here actually - yes was aware of the one in Essex - I contacted the guy who ran it about a year back and he said it was now defunct. So I'm starting up a group for Essex/the East which is not covered by the rest - mainly Chelmsford and surrounding areas (Brentwood, Braintree, etc.) Until I get the site up then happy to collect names if anyone's interested. Cheers, steve -- Open for Organisations supporting open source software http://www.open4.org/

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