January 2009 - Roundtable

New laptop with XP?
by Kevin McGregor 04 Feb '09

04 Feb '09

Not really apropos of this list, but does anyone know where one can still get a new laptop with Windows XP pre-installed as opposed to Vista? It's for someone at work who's asking. Thanks, Kevin

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Connection tracking in ipfilter (Solaris) or ipfw (Mac OS X)?
by Gilbert E. Detillieux 21 Jan '09

21 Jan '09

I asked about this at the meeting last week, but nobody present was familiar with ipfilter, so I thought I'd ask here in hopes of finding a Solaris and/or Mac guru familiar with firewall configuration on these platforms... I've been using the Linux kernel's Netfilter/iptables configuration for some time now, to handle firewalling for each of our Internet-connected Linux hosts, and I'd like to do the same for our Solaris and Mac OS X hosts as well. I've found some reasonable tutorials and FAQ's online to help with the basic setup, but I'm stuck with a few issues surrounding connection tracking. With iptables, you can load kernel modules to do connection tracking that is application-layer-specific. I use 3 such modules: - ip_conntrack_amanda, to handle Amanda backup requests - ip_conntrack_ftp, to support FTP server data connections - ip_conntrack_netbios_ns, to support NetBIOS name services (e.g. in Samba) I haven't found an equivalent mechanism in either ipfilter or ipfw to allow for this, and their state-table mechanisms aren't powerful enough. For example, for NetBIOS name services, the request goes out as a broadcast, but replies come back directly, so they don't match the state of the requests. (I can work around this by allowing all NMB replies from the local net, but this is uglier.) Amanda backup support is even trickier, for two reasons: First of all, replies to requests can come back much later, after the state table entries will have expired (whereas with ip_conntrack_amanda, you can set a longer delay if needed), and secondly, there will be related, follow-up connections on other ports, which need to be tracked. (Again, I can work around this by allowing replies from the amanda port for hosts on the local net, using a separate rule, as well as opening up entire ranges of other ports for the local net. Again, this is uglier.) Supporting an FTP server is even more problematic, particularly if I want to open it up to connections from outside of the local net, without opening up an entire port range to the outside world as well. Any suggestions for clean, secure ways to implement firewall support for these services using ipfilter or ipfw? -- 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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Looking for 2 things...
by Adam Thompson 17 Jan '09

17 Jan '09

I'm looking for two (unrelated) things right now: 1) an older laptop I could borrow, P-III 1GHz or better, 256Mb RAM or better, 4Gb HDD or better, **with a PS/2-style keyboard/mouse port**. I only need one for (I think) about 3 months, so I don't want to go buy a laptop for this particular purpose. Renting such a thing could be for a token amount only. 2) a CMS specialist for hire. Drupal, Plone, Joomla, don't care... but looking for any consultants who are actually comfortable with any of these systems *today*. I can get myself up to speed fast enough, otherwise. If you know of anyone, please let me know. Thanks, -- -Adam Thompson <athompso(a)athompso.net>

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Who is NewWinnipeg.net ?
by Adam Thompson 17 Jan '09

17 Jan '09

Anyone know who's behind New Winnipeg hosting? ( http://www.newwinnipeg.net/company) -- -Adam Thompson <athompso(a)athompso.net>

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Open Office fraud
by Bill Reid 15 Jan '09

15 Jan '09

I now know of two people who have paid to download Open Office. There is a company that that pops up in google searchs and looks official. It charges $29.88 to download OpenOffice. The name that appears on your credit card statement is mbcontact.com. A google search indicates that many people have been caught. It does bug me that people think they are supporting Open Source when in fact they are just giving money to some con artist. -- Bill

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Nortel
by Montana Quiring 14 Jan '09

14 Jan '09

We were talking about Nortel at the meeting last night. Here's some (expected) news: http://www.financialpost.com/news/story.html?id=1172528 -- -Montana My Google Reader Shared Items: http://tinyurl.com/montanashare My Netvibes page: http://www.netvibes.com/antikx#About_Montana

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Fwd: info39@info.ubmtechdirect.com: Introducing Rackspace Cloud Hosting
by Gilbert E. Detillieux 13 Jan '09

13 Jan '09

About a month ago, Montana was asking about inexpensive local hosting services. While this one isn't local, and may not be exactly what he wanted, some of you may find this useful. Their pricing for some of the services are not bad... ----- Forwarded message from Rackspace <info39(a)info.ubmtechdirect.com> ----- Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:12:11 -0800 (PST) From: "Rackspace" <info39(a)info.ubmtechdirect.com> Subject: Introducing Rackspace Cloud Hosting RACKSPACE CLOUD HOSTING Pay as You Grow and Save Money (Not to mention frustration) Minimize your expenses for hosting your sites, applications, files and email. Pay only for what you use. Grow as you need to without worrying about managing hardware. And do it for a lot less than what you are doing right now. - Load and Go Wesites - On-demand Virtual Linux Servers - Fast, inexpensive Web Storage - Starting at Only $20/month Budget-friendly, scaleable, quick to deploy, easy to administer online, and of course, great 24x7x365 support Cloud Hosting is just another reason why Rackspace is the world's leader in hosting. Learn all you can do with Cloud Hosting http://info.ubmtechdirect.com/redir3/SyDQmgKAB!http//www.rackspace.com/inde… -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- Managed Hosting Customized, dedicated server configurations, fully managed 24x7x365 by certified experts - Full Control Over Your OS Environment - Servers, Storage, Security and Network Devices - Dedicated Support Teams Built Around You - Starting at $299/Month* for the Fundamental Server Email Hosting Business-class email for companies large & small, managed 24x7x365 by our email specialists - Hosted Microsoft® Exchange - POP/IMAP Email with Outlook Capabilities - Mobile Access and Synchronization of Wireless Devices - Starting at $3/Mailbox Learn More: http://info.ubmtechdirect.com/redir3/SyDQmgKAB!http//www.rackspace.com/inde… -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- * This offer cannot be combined with any other offer. The $299USD price is only available on the listed configuration and cannot be modified or customized. A 12 month contract is required to get this pricing. This offer is applicable to new Rackspace customers, when they purchase a new Managed Hosting Solution. Current Rackspace customers can take advantage of this offer with a net server addition to their contract with this exact configuration. This pricing is subject to change at the end of your contract. This offer is only available to customers in our US data centers, with US support, and is not available in the UK. Rackspace reserves the right to alter this promotion at any time. Rackspace US, Inc. 9725 Datapoint Drive San Antonio, TX 78229 www.rackspace.com If you would like to be removed from future Rackspace promotions, please send an email to the following address: mailto:optout@rackspace.com **************************************************************** ----- End forwarded message ----- -- 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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Computers with XP
by Kevin Scott 07 Jan '09

07 Jan '09

Dell still sells laptops and desktops with XP on them. Kevin

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MUUG Meeting, Jan 13, 7:30pm -- RT: Request Tracker
by gedetil＠cs.umanitoba.ca 06 Jan '09

06 Jan '09

The Manitoba UNIX User Group (MUUG) will be holding its next monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 13. The meeting topic for this month is as follows: RT: Request Tracker RT is an enterprise-grade ticketing system under developent since 1996 which enables a group of people to intelligently and efficiently manage tasks, issues, and requets submitted by a community of users. RT has undergone a lot of development in the last few years that makes it even more flexible and usable for everyone from 1-man "teams" to 10,000-strong communities, from tracking my shopping list (OK, maybe not...) to streamlining tech support and customer contact for huge enterprises. "How do you take an disorganized, overworked, overstressed, and unmanagable sysadmin in a small company and make him an organized and managable sysadmin? Install RT and tell him that if it's not in RT it doesn't exist." - Paolo Supino, Telmap Adam Thompson has researched, evaluated and implemented ticketing systems from software defect-management to customer management and everything in between, for over ten years. So far RT is the most flexible solution he's found and has personally used it for both his personal ToDo list and network infastructure servicing 10,000+ clients. 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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