November 2022 - Roundtable

How does on get the date function to work in Libre Office spreadsheet?
by eh＠eduardhiebert.com 08 May '23

08 May '23

Hi, I've formatted the cells as date mm/dd/yy and entered the values as is. Also tried by preceeding with equal sign in case deemed to be a formula but neither works. I assume a difference between two days yields the difference in days, correct? Or are the formula different than plain math? Eduard the Osborne guy at last meeting

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Remi repo bug?
by Trevor Cordes 04 Dec '22

04 Dec '22

I switched to using Remi repo for php8 as suggested at the last meeting. It's all great (pretty easy to change from IUS to Remi, too!) except now cron.hourly gives me this every hour: /etc/cron.hourly/0yum-hourly.cron: Not using downloaded remi-php80/repomd.xml because it is older than what we have: Current : Mon Nov 28 01:24:53 2022 Downloaded: Wed Nov 23 03:16:18 2022 Not using downloaded remi-safe/repomd.xml because it is older than what we have: Current : Mon Nov 28 01:20:57 2022 Downloaded: Wed Nov 23 03:18:00 2022 Never seen that before. Something wrong with Remi? Or something on my side? Net hasn't been much help. This is a RHEL7 box.

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Free books
by Kevin McGregor 29 Nov '22

29 Nov '22

Is anyone interested in any of these books? If not, they’ll be recycled tomorrow night. Kevin

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Free books
by Kevin McGregor 28 Nov '22

28 Nov '22

Is anyone interested in any of these books? If not, they’ll be recycled tomorrow night. Kevin

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Issues encountered with the Shaw BlueCurve modem and app
by Brian Lowe 24 Nov '22

24 Nov '22

Hi all, Following is an information dump detailing all the issues I've encountered with the Shaw BlueCurve gateway and app since I got it installed back in September. The intent is to add this as a detailed attachment to a short (paper) letter I intend to send to Paul McAleese, president of Shaw Communications, outlining my disappointment with the BlueCurve service and asking him to follow up with his residential internet division to implement improvements. Also, after much discussion with various Shaw technical support departments, it looks like I finally have a way forward: 1. Switch out the current WiFi-only TV player device for an older coax unit 2. Put the BlueCurve gateway into bridged mode and use the D-Link router Alberto gave me to act as my home router. For those willing to wade through its 1,250 words, I'd appreciate any comments you have. Remember, it's intended to be an attachment to the main letter. I'm not expecting Paul McAleese to read through it, although he may glance at it. I am hoping he'll pass it along to the residential internet services division. Brian Issues Encountered with the Shaw BlueCurve Gateway and App * I was supplied with a CGM4141SHW gateway with custom Shaw firmware; the device's Hardware page reports it's a CGM4140COM and the Software page says it's running CGM4140COM_5.3p16s3_PROD_sey. * The gateway's built-in DHCP server cannot be disabled. This is a big problem for me because I want to run my own DHCP server that tracks devices to which it has assigned IP addresses, and supplies the IP address of my ad-blocking DNS server instead of Shaw's servers. I've managed a partial work-around by running my own DHCP server along side Shaw's, but giving the Shaw DHCP server a range of only two IP addresses and ensuring both of them are assigned. However, often times my devices end up getting no IP address, Shaw's DNS servers, and a bad default route. (The inability to disable the DHCP server is probably needed for the Shaw BlueCurve Home app to work—much more on that later.) * Some very important configuration items on the gateway--SSID and password, port forwarding, DMZ, parental control--are not available through its web interface and must be managed using the Shaw BlueCurve Home app. The app is available only for Apple iOS and Android devices, and specifically not available for Windows, MacOS, or Linux. * Using an Apple/Android app is suboptimal because the standard way to configure a modern gateway/router device is to use its built-in web interface. This works for pretty much any modern small computer operating system such as Windows, MacOS, Linux, BSD, legacy UNIX (HP-UX and AIX), VMS, Android, and iOS, because they all have access to capable web browsers. But this is not an option with the CGM4141 because its web interface has been eviscerated. * The app is available only on Apple's App Store or (officially) Google Play. However, the only way to get the app from Google Play is to set up a Google account and link it with an Android device. This is a problem for me because I see Google as a huge user-hostile American advertising company that's not subject to Canadian privacy laws, and I desire to do as little business with them as possible. To me it is unacceptable that Shaw, a Canadian company, is compelling its customers to business with American companies in order to use basic functionality for its services. * There is an unstated assumption that all users have access to a device that will run the app. While it's likely a safe assumption for today's parents and computer-savvy users, as usual it fails to take into account various edge cases: - People who are uncomfortable with smartphones and use a feature phone instead - People who have a supposedly compatible device but its operating system has fallen behind and can't run the app - People who value their privacy and don't want to download an app that can't be audited so see if it's sending information to servers outside of Shaw, or even sending information to Shaw that's not related to the application's use * Shaw support can set the SSID and password for the customer, but by policy cannot assist with port forwarding and DMZ issues. For this they always tell the customer to use the app. * Additionally, the app has issues: - It's enormous! It weighs in at 204 megabytes, making it one of the largest non-game apps I've ever seen. By comparison: - WhatsApp: 41 MB - Facebook: 56 MB - Instagram: 63 MB - Facebook Messenger: 72 MB - SnapChat: 126 MB - TikTok: 183 MB - As a seasoned programmer, the app's size in relation to its capabilities raises red flags: - It looks like the development team has pulled in a huge number of libraries from all over the Android development ecosystem. I wonder why they used so many libraries instead of developing at least some of the functionality in-house. It makes me wonder about the overall capability of the development team. - The large number of libraries runs the risk of becoming a maintenance nightmare down the road because inevitably some of these libraries will become outdated, deprecated, and possibly disappear altogether. The development team could end up spending as much time or more trying to keep on top of the library dependencies as they will making improvements to the app. - Bug: Setting port forwarding in the app appeared to work, but packets were not getting through to the forwarded device (more on this 3 points down the list.) - Bug: Attempts to set up a DMZ were consistently met with "We're Having Some Trouble. Please try again. If the problem persists, check back later." (more on this 3 points down the list) * On Google Play, complaints about the app are legion: - Overall, the app is buggy, difficult to use, and does not work as advertised - Users are often unable to sign in - App often shows the BlueCurve gateway as being offline when in fact it is not - App forgets configuration options that were previously set - Parental controls are unreliable - A video showing how the app works has not been updated for newer versions * Google Play gives the app a score of 3.5/5. Independently, I computed an overall approve/ disapprove score based on 1,318 reviews. Reviews with 1, 2, or 3 stars were "disapprove" (even three star reviews had a tendency to point out problems) while 4 and 5 star reviews were "approve." The result was 287 approve and 1,031 disapprove, for an overall disapproval rate of 78%. The average rating from those 1,318 reviews was only 2.1, well below Google's 3.5. * Attempts to engage various Shaw support departments on the port forwarding and DMZ portions of the app were consistently met with "Port forwarding/DMZ is something we don't support because we haven't been trained on it," even though the problem I was attempting to report was with the failure of the app to work as advertised.

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On forcing people to get Google accounts
by Brian Lowe 17 Nov '22

17 Nov '22

A general question for the Roundtable. Is it acceptable for Canadian companies to compel people to create an account with a giant user-hostile American advertising company in order to get stuff done in their lives? I'm referring to the tendency of companies to make Android apps available only through Google Play. In its initial incarnation, the Android App store was free to use. If you wanted an app for your Android device, you simply downloaded it from the store. No more. Now that the app store is Google Play, one /must/ create a Google account to get any app from it, including ones that are ostensibly "free." This requires giving Google some personal information, which fortunately need not be accurate. At one point I understand Google was requiring a valid telephone number, but that didn't happen when I signed up for a (throwaway) account today. But things get worse. One cannot simply download an APK from Google Play. /The account must be associated with an Android device in order to install apps. /I most certainly do not want to add a Google account to my Android phone; I don't trust them with the additional information it would give them from whatever telemetry the phone is sending. In addition, because they're American, they're not subject to Canadian privacy laws. The most egregious offender here is Shaw Communications. In order to make even basic changes to their BlueCurve modem (change the SSID or WiFi password, setup port forwarding or DMZ, apply parental controls, etc) one /must/ use their Shaw Home app. They offer no alternative. In truth, there is an alternative: someone kindly uploaded it to apkpure.com. But that's not the case for my Credit Union's app: it's not on apkpure. So if I wanted to use that app, I must create a Google /and/ add it to my phone. Why should I have to do that? Like I said, Google is a huge, user-hostile American advertising company that's not subject to Canadian privacy laws. So why is it permissible for Canadian companies to compel me to do business with them?

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Who Said It: Elon Musk or Mr. Burns?
by Gilbert Detillieux 16 Nov '22

16 Nov '22

This was fun... and surprisingly harder than you'd think... https://newrepublic.com/article/168572/rich-guys-say-the-darndest-things I got 9/12. Gilbert

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Reminder: MUUG Online Meeting, Tonight, Nov 8, 7:30pm -- MediaWiki Backups, RTFM: micro(1)
by Gilbert Detillieux 08 Nov '22

08 Nov '22

A reminder that the MUUG online meeting will be on BBB this evening... The Manitoba UNIX User Group (MUUG) will be holding its next monthly meeting online, on Tuesday, November 8th, at 7:30pm: MediaWiki Backups Kevin McGregor will present one possible way to back up and restore a MediaWiki site using common Unix and Linux tools for local use or disaster recovery. RTFM: micro(1) Brad Vokey will give us a quick demo of micro(1). Micro is a terminal-based text editor that aims to be easy to use and intuitive, while also taking advantage of the full capabilities of modern terminals. As the name indicates, micro aims to be somewhat of a successor to the nano editor by being easy to install and use, but also aims to be enjoyable to use right from the start, with modern universal keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl-S, Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, Ctrl-Z etc.). This will once again be an online meeting. Stay tuned to our muug.ca home page for the official URL, which will be made available about a half hour before the meeting starts. (Reload the page if you don't see the link, or if there are issues with connecting.) The group normally holds its 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. For more information about MUUG, and its monthly meetings, check out their web server: https://muug.ca/ Help us promote this month's meeting, by putting this poster up on your workplace bulletin board or other suitable public message board, or linking to it on social media: https://muug.ca/meetings/MUUGmeeting.pdf -- Gilbert E. Detillieux E-mail: <gedetil(a)muug.ca> Manitoba UNIX User Group Web: http://muug.ca/

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MUUG Online Meeting, Tuesday, Nov 8, 7:30pm -- MediaWiki Backups, RTFM: micro(1)
by Gilbert Detillieux 01 Nov '22

01 Nov '22

The Manitoba UNIX User Group (MUUG) will be holding its next monthly meeting online, on Tuesday, November 8th, at 7:30pm: MediaWiki Backups Kevin McGregor will present one possible way to back up and restore a MediaWiki site using common Unix and Linux tools for local use or disaster recovery. RTFM: micro(1) Brad Vokey will give us a quick demo of micro(1). Micro is a terminal-based text editor that aims to be easy to use and intuitive, while also taking advantage of the full capabilities of modern terminals. As the name indicates, micro aims to be somewhat of a successor to the nano editor by being easy to install and use, but also aims to be enjoyable to use right from the start, with modern universal keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl-S, Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, Ctrl-Z etc.). This will once again be an online meeting. Stay tuned to our muug.ca home page for the official URL, which will be made available about a half hour before the meeting starts. (Reload the page if you don't see the link, or if there are issues with connecting.) The group normally holds its 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. For more information about MUUG, and its monthly meetings, check out their web server: https://muug.ca/ Help us promote this month's meeting, by putting this poster up on your workplace bulletin board or other suitable public message board, or linking to it on social media: https://muug.ca/meetings/MUUGmeeting.pdf -- Gilbert E. Detillieux E-mail: <gedetil(a)muug.ca> Manitoba UNIX User Group Web: http://muug.ca/

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