December 2006 - KCLUG

Request for Presenter Demonstrator
by Arthur Pemberton 31 Jan '07

31 Jan '07

Dear KCLUG List, I am emailing on behalf of the UMKC Chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery (I haven't finished building our website yet). As part of the School of Computing and Engineering's "E-Week" (Feb. 19 - 23), I am attempting to organize a "Linux on the desktop" demonstration which would be open , and advertised to the UMKC student body. The objectives which I would like to meet are as follows: - Boost interest, membership, and awareness of my organisation - Boost awareness of the availability of operating system other than those produced by Microsoft and Apple - Correct misconceptions that Linux is only used on servers - Generally show that Linux can be a viable foundation on which users can focus on productivity, while still having a full functioning personal computer complete with "shinny" graphics. I hope to also present Linux running on my office machine (customized to various themes) along side, or more in assistance to the KCLUG representatives. Currently, there is very little probability of financial incentives. The presenter(s) would have to supply their own hardware, however, I should be able to organize transportation. I am currently unaware of (but can find more information if necessary) of the cable television coverage within the SCE building - in case the presenter(s) would like to showcase MythTV (or TvTime). The exact day of the week and time have not yet been decided by the organizers of the week, however, demonstration length would be between 30 mins and 60 mins. Wifi and ethernet access can be provided for. I hope that some members will be willing to make this presentation and represent KCLUG. Please reply on or off list ( I do not have a preference). And please feel free to request any further information that may be needed to come to a decision. Thank you. Arthur Pemberton President UMKC ACM -- Fedora Core 6 and proud

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ALSA Setup
by Jim Herrmann 29 Dec '06

29 Dec '06

I took the Tascam USB card I had that Kubuntu wouldn't recognize as a sound card, and I got a Roland Edirol UA-25, which is supported out of the box. When I plug it in, it seems to be recognized as a sound card: root@jim-laptop:~# cat /proc/asound/cards 0 [Intel ]: HDA-Intel - HDA Intel HDA Intel at 0xd8240000 irq 58 1 [UA25 ]: USB-Audio - EDIROL UA-25 Roland EDIROL UA-25 at usb-0000:00:1d.1-1, full speed However, I can't see it in Kmix, Alsamixergui, Jack, or any other higher level sound application. Does anyone have any suggestions of what I need to look at to get this working? Of course, I tried it in Windows today, and it just works. Doh! Help! Thanks, Jim

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WTB: DDR RAM and a Socket 478 mobo
by Jon Pruente 28 Dec '06

28 Dec '06

1. I'm the "in family" computer tech for my father-in-law's business. They are needing to upgrade the RAM in a Dell PowerEdge 400SC. For that I'm looking for a matched pair of DDR400 PC3200 128MB DIMMs. The system already has a pair of 128s in two slots, and I'm looking to fill the remaining slots cheaply and bring it up to 512MB RAM. Running XP SP2 and a virus scanner causes so much VM swapping that they can't get any work done when it runs, even on it's HT P4. 2. For myself I'm in need of a Socket 478 motherboard, as I'm in the process of building up my first P4 level Linux workstation. I've got two chips that need homes, a 1.8GHz Celeron and a 2.8GHz HT P4. I'd prefer to get the P4 in a system, but it seems that 800FSB boards are not as common as 533FSBs. If someone has something cheap I'd take it if it only works with the Celeron, but if someone has an 800FSB capable board for cheap I'd be rather happy.

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MrZaius moving back to KC!
by cragos＠gmail.com 27 Dec '06

27 Dec '06

Looks like I'm moving back to the KC metro, thanks in part to the LUG. Got a few questions about the area, since this will be the first time I'll have lived in the KC area outside of college housing, and will therefore be the first time I'll be paying taxes outside of Illinois. It'll also be the first time in my life when I'll have any real choice over my ISP. Verizon and a couple little wireless companies are pretty much it, back home. I apologize in advance if any of these questions trigger a flamewar, but I'm going to have to make a number of important decisions surrounding each in the coming weeks. 1: ISP Choice: I've heard recommendations for Everest and Time Warner cable service, and I've heard that Speakeasy offers some sort of DSL service over the local telcos' copper. Who have you found to be most reliable and easiest to deal with? 2: Kansas vs Missouri, with regards to taxation: I'm not likely to buy a house anytime soon, so the main questions are these: Which state is it cheaper to pay income tax and keep a car in? 3: Neighborhood recommendations: Any neighborhoods or suburbs you love or prefer to steer clear of? 4: Where are the decent used computer-parts stores? Looks like my old haunt in Pleasant Valley has disappeared. Thanks everybody, -Sean Crago/MrZaius

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Re: MrZaius moving back to KC!
by James R. Sissel 27 Dec '06

27 Dec '06

>1: ISP Choice: >I've heard recommendations for Everest and Time Warner cable service, >and I've heard that Speakeasy offers some sort of DSL service over the >local telcos' copper. Who have you found to be most reliable and >easiest to deal with? I use AT&T as my DSL provider. They are reliable but not the cheapest. I'm going to have to have a chat with them about that. >2: Kansas vs Missouri, with regards to taxation: >I'm not likely to buy a house anytime soon, so the main questions are >these: Which state is it cheaper to pay income tax and keep a car in? I've found that Kansas charges more income tax that Missouri. Don't live or work in Kansas City, Missouri. If you do they will charge you a 1% city income tax right off the top. >4: Where are the decent used computer-parts stores? Looks like my old >haunt in Pleasant Valley has disappeared. If I have to shop at a local store I usually go to MicroCenter on 91st and Metcalf but I usually try to buy at www.newegg.com. There is a used PC store in the shopping center across from the Bannister area Wal-Mart Supercenter. I've donated a few things there years ago just to get rid of them but never bought anything. Most of my latest donations have been at the recycling center in the Bannister Wal-Mart Supercenter's parking lot. They work with the Surplus Exchange. By the way, that recycling center is great. They take almost anything ... paper, phone books, magazines, cardboard, glass, plastic (1&2), Styrofoam, metal cans, metal in general, and have a "free" table.

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look, someone has reinvented the minicomputer architecture!
by David Nicol 24 Dec '06

24 Dec '06

http://userful.com/ad/public-computing-multi-user -- perl -le'1while(1x++$_)=~/^(11+)\1+$/||print'

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Re: Cups - lpoptions - I Dunno?!?!
by RtX 22 Dec '06

22 Dec '06

Sometimes it seems that you have all the bases covered in your post but under stress you leave things out. Sorry. System here is Xubuntu 6.06 LTS (Debian). CUPS V-1.2.2. Okidata ML 320 Turbo. I found a post on the net where someone had the same issue. Upgrading from on old SCO box to Linux. They said this: <-- snip --> Since CUPS supports modern formats and languages, the sample drivers have to run your printers in graphics mode, which is significantly slower than the text mode used by the old SCO (System V) print spooler. The simplest fix is to use the interface scripts from your old server with CUPS: lpadmin -p printername -i scriptname.sh <-- snip --> I don't have access to the old system as it has sunk to "not working" yesterday. I gotta get this printer to print in text mode (high speed). Anything else you need, just ask. On 12/20/06, Kelsay, Brian - Kansas City, MO <brian.kelsay(a)kcc.usda.gov> wrote: > http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Essays/smart-questions.html > http://plone.org/documentation/how-to/ask-for-help > > You are doing pretty good, BUT you might like to tell us what distro of > Linux you installed, what version of CUPS, what config tools for CUPS, > if any, are installed. This is important for a few reasons, like what > updating tools might be used to install additional software, where apps > live (path to), etc. You did a really good job of describing the > problem, but you need to add those details so the solution can be > tailored to you. > > I might look at linuxprinting.org for config info on your printer. I > have not actually set up more than just an old laser printer under linux > and it may not have been using CUPS, but I got some good info there. > > > >-----Original Message----- > >From: On Behalf Of RtX > >Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 5:10 PM > >To: KC Linux Users Group > >Subject: Cups - lpoptions - I Dunno?!?! > > > >So, I'm finishing up my conversion from SCO UNIX 3.2 / > >Keypoint to Linux. Got the data off the old server and onto > >the new server. Had the VAR setup Keypoint software and > >everything is working on that end. > >I still have a few hiccups that I'm working on and could use some help. > > > >1.) The Keypoint software requires WYSE 60 emulation to work properly. > >We are using SecureCRT for Windows workstation clients and all > >works well however, the ANSI characters are not the same as > >they were in the old serial terminals they were using. Dashes > >or hyphens that are used in the program for simple menus are > >now O's and the like. Is there a way (or setting) to get the > >proper characters back? > > > >2.) The biggest problem! They print from Keypoint using an > >Okidata ML320 9-pin printer which is connected to the server > >directly through lp0. The software prints everything fine but > >the printer prints in LQ mode instead of Draft mode. I need > >this printer to print in Draft mode for speed reasons. All > >settings on the front panel of the printer are overridden by > >cups (or lp?) at print time so simply selecting "Draft" > >from the printer's front panel does not work. > > > >On the old system, the printer would print everything in Draft > >mode and all was good. They have one certain page that they > >print that they would select a CPI of 17 (instead of 10) to > >get everything on the page. This no longer works. If I select > >a CPI of 17 on the front panel, then try to print this page, > >the CPI is changed back to 10 by the server. > > > >If I add "raw=true" in /etc/cups/lpoptions, the printer will > >print in Draft mode but does not handle page length properly. > >It feels like I need to add a "Draft" option to lpoptions but > >I have not found any reference to setting print quality in > >lpoptions on the net so I'm stuck. > > > >Comments? Please help and thanks a bunch! > > > >-- > >RtX... > > > >Ty Unes - Overland Park, Ks. > >riverty(a)gmail.com > -- RtX... Ty Unes - Overland Park, Ks. riverty(a)gmail.com

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Re: [DISCUSS] 10 Good Unix command line habits
by Ed Allen 21 Dec '06

21 Dec '06

> ----- Forwarded message from Luke-Jr <luke(a)dashjr.org> ----- > Notes: > In "Quote variables with caution", it says to use square brackets, and then > goes on to give a correct example with curly braces. > "Stop piping cats" only refers to piping to grep, but in reality there's > almost never a good reason to pipe a single-file cat. The < operator provides > a file on standard input. So "cat foo | wc -l" can become "wc -l < foo" > An easy to see case where 'cat' is truly the easiest way... (cat /tmp/header; date; uptime;cat - /tmp/signature) | \ mail -s 'A case where cat is needed' kclug(a)kclug.org The ( ) pair spawns s sub-shell which allows multiple commands to share the same input, output, and error streams. In this case I used 'date' and 'uptime' along with a second 'cat'. The second 'cat' reads from stdin (standard in) till it sees EOF (End Of File <Control-D>) and then follows that with the /tmp/signature file. Stdout of all those commands is sent to stdin of the 'mail' command.

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Cups - lpoptions - I Dunno?!?!
by RtX 20 Dec '06

20 Dec '06

So, I'm finishing up my conversion from SCO UNIX 3.2 / Keypoint to Linux. Got the data off the old server and onto the new server. Had the VAR setup Keypoint software and everything is working on that end. I still have a few hiccups that I'm working on and could use some help. 1.) The Keypoint software requires WYSE 60 emulation to work properly. We are using SecureCRT for Windows workstation clients and all works well however, the ANSI characters are not the same as they were in the old serial terminals they were using. Dashes or hyphens that are used in the program for simple menus are now O's and the like. Is there a way (or setting) to get the proper characters back? 2.) The biggest problem! They print from Keypoint using an Okidata ML320 9-pin printer which is connected to the server directly through lp0. The software prints everything fine but the printer prints in LQ mode instead of Draft mode. I need this printer to print in Draft mode for speed reasons. All settings on the front panel of the printer are overridden by cups (or lp?) at print time so simply selecting "Draft" from the printer's front panel does not work. On the old system, the printer would print everything in Draft mode and all was good. They have one certain page that they print that they would select a CPI of 17 (instead of 10) to get everything on the page. This no longer works. If I select a CPI of 17 on the front panel, then try to print this page, the CPI is changed back to 10 by the server. If I add "raw=true" in /etc/cups/lpoptions, the printer will print in Draft mode but does not handle page length properly. It feels like I need to add a "Draft" option to lpoptions but I have not found any reference to setting print quality in lpoptions on the net so I'm stuck. Comments? Please help and thanks a bunch! -- RtX... Ty Unes - Overland Park, Ks. riverty(a)gmail.com

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Fwd: [DISCUSS] 10 Good Unix command line habits
by Don Ellis 18 Dec '06

18 Dec '06

KC Guys - I thought you might like to see this item. --Don Ellis ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Ed Howland <ed.howland(a)gmail.com> Date: Dec 16, 2006 2:09 PM Subject: [DISCUSS] 10 Good Unix command line habits To: discuss(a)sluug.org, Central West End Linux Users Group < cwe-lug(a)lists.firepipe.net> A good article from IBM developerWorks. http://tinyurl.com/vof3r Or the full thing: http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/aix/library/au-badunixhabits.html?ca=… Now some of the examples don't work (mkdir with parenthesized dirs) on Debian-like systems. But you might find a few gems there. I did. Ed -- Ed Howland http://greenprogrammer.blogspot.com ------- St. Louis Unix Users Group - http://www.sluug.org/ To unsubscribe from the SLUUG discussion mailing list, send a message to discuss-request(a)sluug.org with the word 'unsubscribe' as the body

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