December 2007 - Roundtable

Clean Linux install problems
by Mike Pfaiffer 04 Jan '08

04 Jan '08

So far it's not going too well. I've tried a couple of distros and variants. Here is what I've been doing so far... Fedora 8 installed but froze severely on the post boot load (I saw grub). CentOS installed didn't like my existing user drive. Then I tried four types of Ubuntu (the current Gutsy). The regular Ubuntu and Kubuntu froze while trying to run /etc/rc.local. I spent the entire afternoon and evening trying the Ubuntu alternate. It installed but when it was time for the reboot (default option) it froze at the same location as the live CDs. I was able to get into recovery mode without any problems. After disabling a whole bunch of power management, bluetooth, and laptop stuff (even so it was still convinced my mini-tower is drawing power from a battery) I was able to get to a user account text prompt. Now I'll admit I prefer text mode but some of the things I do require a GUI. Since I have a working Mac I was not in much of a panic. From Google I found there may be a little trouble with the Radeon 7000 video card (go figure...). I saved the old xorg.conf and replaced it with one which was working with the Gutsy Beta. It then complained about no device. I fiddled around with it a little more and got to the point where it complained about no screens. After merging the two files it ended up at the point where it said it found screens but none were usable. By this time the Kubuntu alternate was down and burned. I installed it and it looks like it's going to be more of the same. I figure I have a reasonable number of options at this point. - Ask the group here for advice (I may ask again on Tuesday). - Go back to the Gutsy Beta. Possibly update from there. - Go back to Feisty. - Go back to FC 2 (I dislike anything newer in this distro). - Install Free BSD. Has anybody had this problem and fixed it? Is there anything I have missed? I gather there are problems with the update from previous installs as well. Here is some info on the setup. Plenty of hard drive and RAM. An Athlon 1800XP+ processor. An OEM ATI Radeon 7000 video card. All this stuff was working with older installs. This is mostly a workstation dual booting into Windows ME on the same drive (only for games). The sole user account is on a separate (larger) hard drive so I'm not really worried about things messing up too badly. Obviously I wouldn't want a solution which would take over the entire system. I'd better stop now otherwise I'd end up writing a whole lot more. ;-) Later Mike

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U of M Mainframe funeral
by John Lange 19 Dec '07

19 Dec '07

Just though some of you might be interested know that the U of M mainframe funeral made the front page of Slashdot today: http://it.slashdot.org/it/07/12/19/0115201.shtml John

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Mac VNC
by Kevin Scott 19 Dec '07

19 Dec '07

> However, System Preferences on my Mom's Mac helpfully reports that "Others > can > manage your computer using the address 10.64.x.y", which doesn't do me any > good. Is there a way to get an IP address that I can from Shaw's network? > > > ------------------------------ 10.64. indicates Private IP address, and a router being used? so Port Forwarding in that router should be what you need, but thats a Network answer, I do not know alot about how mac's operate. I imagine that there are much more Mac knowledgable people around then myself... Kevin

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TRLabs' Manitoba ICT Symposium, Feb 13, 2008
by Gilbert E. Detillieux 07 Dec '07

07 Dec '07

FYI... -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Request for Announcement Placement Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2007 09:36:40 -0600 From: Jeff Rohne <jrohne(a)win.trlabs.ca> ... TRLabs, a not-for-profit information and communications technology (ICT) research and development consortia, is holding its annual *Manitoba ICT Symposium* on *February 13, 2008, 7:30AM to 4:30PM *at the *Delta Winnipeg*, 12 speakers will share their experience in and vision for *Connected Media*. Mark you calendar and watch for further announcements here or at www.trlabs.ca <http://www.trlabs.ca/> Thank you, Jeff Jeffrey Rohne | Vice President, Administration & Director Manitoba Operations | TRLabs | 100-135 Innovation Drive, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 6A8| ( 204-488-5601| Ê 204-488-1564|* j <mailto:jrohne@trlabs.ca>rohne(a)trlabs.ca <mailto:jrohne@trlabs.ca> //CONFIDENTIALITY WARNING This email message is intended only for the personal and confidential use of the recipient(s) named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient or an agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, or if after receipt you are advised that this message has been sent to you in error, you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify me immediately by telephone at the number set out above and delete the original message.//

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MUUG Meeting, Dec 11, 7:30pm -- Putting Linux on a Stick
by gedetil＠cs.umanitoba.ca 04 Dec '07

04 Dec '07

The Manitoba UNIX User Group (MUUG) will be holding its next monthly meeting on Tuesday, December 11. The meeting topic for this month is as follows: Putting Linux on a Stick This talk is motivated by a problem of the presenter, Michael Doob: when visiting universities in different countries, computer and internet access is invariably provided. These computers, however, come with a variety of operating systems, wildly varying hardware (for example keyboards) as well as totally differing software installations. Traveling with a laptop computer helps, but sometimes it turns out that local conditions make connecting to the internet something not be done easily. What all computers do seem to be equipped with is a USB port that can read vfat plus other file systems. One solution to this problem is to put Linux on a USB flash drive. In this presentation we'll look at some of the different approaches for doing this that will allow us to make bootable systems. We'll include a live demo of the construction of a rescue USB stick whose uses might include saving a crashed system or repartitioning a hard drive. This presentation is meant to be of intermediate level. No deep understanding of Linux internals is required, but enough information will be given to allow either personal or pre-built Linux systems to be implemented on a USB stick. The group holds its general meetings at 7:30pm on the second Tuesday of every month from September to June. (There are no meetings in July and August.) Meetings are open to the general public; you don't have to be a MUUG member to attend. ********************************************************************** Please note our meeting location: The IBM offices, at 400 Ellice Ave. (between Edmonton and Kennedy). When you arrive, you will have to sign in at the reception desk, and then wait for someone to take you (in groups) to the meeting room. Please try to arrive by about 7:15pm, so the meeting can start promptly at 7:30pm. Don't be late, or you may not get in. (But don't come too early either, since security may not be there to let you in before 7:15 or so.) Non-members may be required to show photo ID at the security desk. Limited parking is available for free on the street, either on Ellice Ave. or on some of the intersecting streets. Indoor parking is also available nearby, at Portage Place, for $3.00 for the evening. Bicycle parking is available in a bike rack under video surveillance located behind the building on Webb Place. ********************************************************************** For more information about MUUG, and its monthly meetings, check out their Web server: http://www.muug.mb.ca/ Help us promote this month's meeting, by putting this poster up on your workplace bulletin board or other suitable public message board: http://www.muug.mb.ca/meetings/MUUGmeeting.pdf -- Gilbert E. Detillieux E-mail: <gedetil(a)muug.mb.ca> Manitoba UNIX User Group Web: http://www.muug.mb.ca/ PO Box 130 St-Boniface Phone: (204)474-8161 Winnipeg MB CANADA R2H 3B4 Fax: (204)474-7609

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Fwd: USENIX '08 Call For Papers Submissions Deadline: January 7, 2008
by Gilbert E. Detillieux 03 Dec '07

03 Dec '07

FYI... -------- Original Message -------- Subject: USENIX '08 Call For Papers Submissions Deadline: January 7, 2008 Date: Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:24:42 -0800 From: Lionel Garth Jones <lgj(a)usenix.org> --------------------------------------- Call for Papers 2008 USENIX Annual Technical Conference June 22-27, 2008, Boston, MA Paper Submissions Deadline: January 7, 2008, 11:59 p.m. PST http://www.usenix.org/usenix08/cfpb/ --------------------------------------- Dear Colleague, On behalf of the 2008 USENIX Annual Technical Conference program committee, we request your ideas, proposals, and papers for tutorials, refereed papers, and posters. Authors are invited to submit original and innovative papers to the Refereed Papers Track of the 2008 USENIX Annual Technical Conference. Papers can be either full papers of at most 14 pages or short papers of at most 6 pages. Authors are required to submit papers by 11:59 p.m. PST, Monday, January 7, 2008. In full papers, we seek high-quality submissions that further the knowledge and understanding of modern computing systems, with an emphasis on implementations and experimental results. Short papers should describe early ideas, advocate a controversial position, or present interesting results that do not require a full-length paper. We encourage papers that break new ground or present insightful results based on practical experience. The USENIX conference has a broad scope. Specific topics of interest include but are not limited to: * Architectural interaction * Deployment experience * Distributed and parallel systems * Embedded systems * Energy/power management * File and storage systems * Networking and network services * Operating systems * Reliability, availability, and scalability * Security, privacy, and trust * System and network management and troubleshooting * Usage studies and workload characterization * Virtualization * Web technology * Wireless, sensor, and mobile systems More information on these and other submission guidelines is available on our Web site: http://www.usenix.org/usenix08/cfpb/ IMPORTANT DATES: Paper submissions due: Monday, January 7, 2008, 11:59 p.m. PST Notification to authors: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 Final papers due: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Poster submissions due: Tuesday, May 6, 2008 Please note that January 7 is a hard deadline; no extensions will be given. We look forward to your submissions. On behalf of the USENIX Annual Tech '08 Conference Organizers, Rebecca Isaacs, Microsoft Research Yuanyuan Zhou, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2008 USENIX Annual Technical Conference Program Co-Chairs usenix08chairs(a)usenix.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------- About this mailing list: USENIX never shares, sells, rents, or exchanges email addresses of its members or conference attendees. We would like to continue sending you occasional email announcements like this one. However, if you do not wish to receive these announcements, please reply to this message and include the word REMOVE in the body. Please do not alter the subject line, as we need your ID number in order to process your request. Please use usenix08chairs(a)usenix.org to contact Rebecca Isaacs or Yuanyuan Zhou. Rebecca_Isaacs(a)usenix.org is for automated list management only. To change your contact information, please visit: http://www.usenix.org/membership/ If you have any questions about the mailing list, please send email to office(a)usenix.org. We may also be reached via postal mail at: USENIX Association 2560 9th Street, Suite 215 Berkeley CA 94710 (510) 528-8649

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