[KLUG Members] KLUG Meeting Notes for 04/01/2003 NO FOOLING HERE!!!
magoo
members@kalamazoolinux.org
03 Apr 2003 20:52:36 -0500
KLUG Meeting Notes: Tuesday - April 1, 2003 7:00PM
I. PRESENTATION RECAP
II. NEXT WEEK'S MEETING INFO <=== Samba Shorts!!!
III. KLUG MAILING LISTS
IV. KLUG & LINUX NEWS FLASHES
V. KLUG CONTACT & MEETING INFO
Tonight's Meeting Moderator: KLUG Chairperson Todd Pillars
I. PRESENTATION RECAP
THIS WEEK'S KLUG PRESENTATION: (26 active KLUG participants)
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Linux for Beginners
by Todd Pillars
THE BEGINNER'S MEETINGS ARE HELD the first Tuesday of each
month. Linux basics and distribution installs are the
lessons of these evenings. If you do want KLUG's FREE help
installing Linux on your computer at one of these meetings,
http://kalamazoolinux.org/meetings/installform.html
Contact the KLUG Installmasters for more information:
installmaster@kalamazoolinux.org
- and -
ORDER YOUR SOFTWARE HERE: http://kalamazoolinux.org/bsware
Now is the time to get started! Linux is becoming a mainstay
of free software, free choice, dependability and power.
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THE STANDARD KLUG BEGINNER'S PRESENTATION - LINUX BOOT CAMP!!!
http://kalamazoolinux.org/presentations/beginner01.html
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BEGINNER'S NIGHT SUMMARY:
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There was an introductory demonstration of Gnome and KDE!
Stu Gillis (KDE 3.1) and Brian Ritz (Gnome 2) showed us
the features and functions of these two Linux desktop
environments. You can run them both on top of Linux!
Of course there are other desktop environments too! You
don't get that kind of choice with proprietary software!!!
These two presenters did a great job and kept the tone
civil despite the strong feelings users have for their
favorite applications. Stu pointed out that KDE v3.1.1
is now out and he will be upgrading for the next demo.
Five new faces showed up at the KLUG meeting this month!
There were welcomed and drawn into the circle of Linux
fun and support! Welcome Brian, Rich, Jay, Steve, and
William! We want to see you at many more KLUG meetings!
It was an exciting night for KLUG's install master Andrew
Thompson and the other KLUGites who helped with the installs.
Dirk Bartley, Bill Howlett, and others were sharing insights
with newbies about Open Source and GNU Linux software. There
were six installs in progress. Nik was doing a custom install
of Red Hat v8.0 on his desktop. Steve had an IBM workstation
that he was doing a custom BSWare install on. Dirk has another
Linux Terminal Server Project [LTSP] client workstation up now
(in addition to the LTSP server and another client box). Todd
Pillars was in the midst of an upgrade on his laptop from Red
Hat v8.0 to the HOT & NEW Red Hat 9... in hopes that his PCMCIA
NIC card will now be supported. Bill Howlett was hoping to get
his desktop upgraded to Red Hat 9 as well! Chris was back again
to attempt to get Mandrake to recognize the CD-ROM on his sharp
Sony VAIO laptop with docking station. At last check he was
installing Red Hat to see if that would handle the tricky setup
of docking station drive accessibility.
The coffee was hot and the cookies were sugary! The noise level
was an indication that people were having a great time and lots
of GNU Linux information was being exchanged by avid users and
those that wanted to know what they were missing. The Open
Source business model is a positive motivational force that is
being enjoyed and appreciated by a growing legion of happy PC
users on ALL levels. "It is free so it can't be any good," one
local attorney was recently quoted as saying. Of course, he just
hasn't done the research or verified the irrefutable evidence.
Thank to everyone who made this KLUG Beginner's Meeting such an
exciting evening for those who were fortunate enough to attend.
Note:
As Linux matures as an OS, the educational needs are evolving.
The Beginner's Meeting format is changing with those needs.
It is difficult to cover all the basics in one meeting. Linux
is not just for CS experts and IT professionals. The "BASICS"
meetings are intended for those with limited experience with
Operating System's or even Personal Computer's. Your comments
and questions are welcomed!
Todd Pillars is the Chairperson of KLUG! His first PC
was a 1981 TRS-80 Model 3 2.03Mhz, 16K ram, 5 1/4 floppy
running TRS-DOS and QBASIC. In 1997 he started running
a web development company that hosted web sites with Red
Hat 5.2. He was named the Executive Director of Southwest
Michigan Information Technology Institute in 2003. SMITI
provides education and alternatives to proprietary OS's and
software. They supply technology to small startup companies.
He has memberships in KLUG, Chamber of Commerce, and GLIMA.
Admittedly a HUGE Detroit Red Wings fan who loves NASCAR too.
II. NEXT KLUG MEETING - TUESDAY 04/08/2003
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Samba Shorts (Time & Printer Drivers)
by Peter Buxton and Adam Williams
KLUG presents "Samba Shorts", brief presentations detailing
specific features of the ubiquitous Samba server package.
First Peter Buxton explains clock synchronization of UN*X
servers and Win32 workstations. Second Adam Williams explains
how to load Win32 print drivers onto a Samba printer server
so that they can be automatically downloaded by the client,
should they connect to a given printer.
Peter Buxton has been messing with computers since middle
school but has stubbornly refused to learn programming until
recently. He learned to manually configure sendmail.cf and
ppp comand lines while he used, as few others did, OS/2 on
his desktop. This personal quirk proved a valuable asset
when he switched to Debian GNU/Linux 2.1 in 1999, as
linux.net.support is a vital resource (especially for Debian).
Adam is a network administrator based in Grand Rapids, but
the network he deals with is all over Michigan, with a
couple of hundred workstations, running Linux and other
Operating Systems. Not only does he deal with domain
issues at work, but he is also the owner of the domain
"whitemice.org". Adam has been a regular contributor to
technical discussions on our main mailing list, both
presenting and solving some of the most challenging
networking and configuration problems.
III. K L U G M A I L I N G L I S T S
*************************************************************
Diversified mailing lists can be found on the KLUG web site.
http://kalamazoolinux.org/listserv/
Facilitated by - John Bridleman listmaster@kalamazoolinux.org
Sign up and participate to serve the Open Source community!!!
IV. K L U G & L I N U X N E W S F L A S H E S ! ! !
=====================================================================
BUSINESS EXPO IS PLANNED FOR WEDNESDAY MAY 21ST AT THE RADISSON HOTEL.
The Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce will be holding another business
exposition in the Grand Ballroom at the Radisson Plaza Hotel. There
will be an "IT Zone" designated that will highlight digital technology.
A KLUG speaker is also needed to make a presentation in the IT Zone's
program. Please contact Bob at publicitydirector@kalamazoolinux.org
if you can volunteer as a presenter for this event.
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RED HAT LINUX V9 ADDS THREADING LIBRARY
Matt Wilson, who manages the base operating system for Red Hat, told
eWEEK on Tuesday that the most significant technical feature in Red
Hat Linux 9 is the inclusion of the Native Posix Threading Library
(NTPL), essentially an enhanced threading technology that allows
developers to create software with increased scalability, faster
speeds and standardized development processes. "This is where we
put the bulk of our engineering efforts for version 9. Linux has
been lacking a scalable thread implementation for some time. The one
we've had in the past didn't scale well, had some behavior problems
and wasn't standards compliant. "We felt we had the expertise needed
to really spearhead and implement a threading library that was going
to be scalable and maintainable in the long run," he said.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,974838,00.asp
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RED HAT LINUX V9 - WHY DROP THE DOT? {HUMOR}
Yesterday we issued an announcement that we'd be making our next
release, Red Hat Linux 9, available early for RHN subscribers. It
was lacking some supporting info, and as you'd expect, we got a lot
of questions. Most notably, "Why 9?" and "Why drop the dot?"
http://newsforge.com/newsforge/03/03/25/2125220.shtml?tid=16
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SUN DROPS ITS LINUX DISTRIBUTION
In a major strategy shift, Sun Microsystems Inc. officials said it
will stop offering its own customized version of Linux and will
instead turn to several other standard Linux distributions. "Yes,
this is a change in strategy. Our Sun Linux distribution is
essentially Red Hat Linux with a few minor tweaks," John Loiacono,
vice president of Sun's operating platforms group, told reporters
at a "town hall" meeting in San Francisco Friday morning. "But our
customers told us they didn't want a standard distribution that had
some tweaks, so I decided to fix the problem by simply supporting
between two and four standard Linux distributions, though I have not
as yet decided which these will be. Loiacono added that Linux
provider Red Hat "would be a logical partner!"
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,981353,00.asp
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SUSE LINUX V8.2 WILL BE RELEASED ON APRIL 11TH
Yes, it is new - with a new look and lots of new features! The
installation and operation of SuSE Linux 8.2 is quick, easy,
intuitive, and transparent! Newcomers will discover many interesting
features and hardly miss anything.
http://www.suse.com/us/private/products/suse_linux/i386/index.html
http://www.suse.com/us/private/products/suse_linux/i386/new_features
.html
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INTERVIEW WITH GAEL DUVAL OF MANDRAKESOFT
OSNews features today a mini-interview with Gaël Duval, co-founder of
MandrakeSoft. These days, Gaël serves in the Communications department
of MandrakeSoft and he shares his insight with us about the recent
release of Mandrake Linux 9.1 (review).
http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=3131
EVEN MORE MANDRAKE V9.1 INFORMATION
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/9.1/91PR.php3
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PHP 4.3.2RC1 RELEASED
PHP 4.3.2RC1 has been released. This is the first release candidate
and should have a very low number of problems and/or bugs. Nevertheless,
please download and test it as much as possible on real-life
applications to uncover any remaining issues. http://www.php.net/
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INTRODUCTION TO PHP5
PHP core developer Sterling Hughes has a excellent presentation (mirror)
about PHP5 online. So far it seems to be the best coverage of the new
features in PHP5; highlights include the new object model, namespaces,
interfaces, access control and exceptions.
http://developers.slashdot.org/developers/03/03/28/208225.shtml?tid=169
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ENTERPRISE LINUX AT TIPPING POINT
In 2004, Linux adoption will skyrocket, according to a recent study by
Forrester Research titled "The Linux Tipping Point." Based on interviews
with a wide array of firms, the study concludes that while "enterprise
support remains a concern," most respondents are continuing with plans
to adopt Linux.
http://www.forrester.com/FirstLook/0,5767,133,00.html
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TOO MUCH FREE SOFTWARE?
The plethora of Free Software applications available today, none working
perfectly, is a problem which stands in the way of major adoption of
Linux on the desktop. In order to conquer the desktop, we have to stand
united. http://freshmeat.net/articles/view/774/
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TOOLS FOR DESKTOP SUCCESS
The April issue of Linux Journal looks at applications that meet the
needs of business and standards that are bridging the gap between
competing Linux desktops. The last thing we're going to try to do this
month is answer the question, ``Is Linux ready for the Desktop?'',
because only you can answer that. Nobody's going to blow a whistle and
make it practical for everyone at once to install desktop Linux.
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6596
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PENGUIN COMPUTING ANNOUNCES MAMMOTH NEW LINUX IDE SERVER
with Sixteen IDE Drive Capacity. New 4U Penguin Relion Server features
Intel® Xeon™ Processor Technology and 3.2 Terabyte Storage Subsystem.
http://www.penguincomputing.com/about/press_releases.php?prName=Relion+
430+Press+Release+3-25-03
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LOWER COST LINUX PROVES IRRESISTABLE
The latest study commissioned by OpenForum Europe shows that directors
are increasingly confident of deploying open-source software throughout
public and commercial organizations.
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/news_story.php?id=40332
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THE MANDRAKE V9.1 AUDIO WORKSTATION HOWTO
On the eve of Mandrake's latest release, Austin Acton has published a
guide to create a digital audio workstation using Mandrake V9.1. This
'HowTo' describes how to set up a professional quality audio workstation
in an afternoon or less without compiling or text editing.
http://www.desktoplinux.com/articles/AT8018846552.html
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ERIC RAYMOND GOES BACK TO BASICS
"Author of The Cathedral and the Bazaar and publisher of the now-famous
'Halloween Documents,' Eric S. Raymond talks about his latest projects
and sheds light on why UNIX developers don't like IDEs..."
http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-ivesr.html?ca=dgr
-lnxw02EricRaymond
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LINDOWS MEDIA COMPUTER: POWER TO STRIKE MICROSOFT?
"LinuxHardware.org has just published the first review of the
Lindows Media Computer from iDOTpc.com. The review covers the
hardware behind the machine but also goes through all of the
machine's claimed functionality: "After looking over all the
media hype, I went searching for one of these little machines.
Could the Lindows Media Computer really pull off meeting the
new Windows machine in a pitched battle?
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/03/31/1740213
&mode=thread&tid=163 {Submitted by TAZ}
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PROGENY RELEASES LINUX PLATFORM MANAGER
Briefly, Platform Services provides componentized versions of
Red Hat and Debian, and Linux Platform Manager allows people
to easily assemble these components into custom distributions.
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/03/31/151221
&mode=thread&tid=90&tid=163 {Submitted by TAZ}
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SNAG THE RED HAT 9 ISO'S VIA CASH OR BITTORRET
Red Hat Linux 9 is out, and as of today the ISOs are officially
available to Red Hat Network subscribers ($60/yr). Or, as of
right now, you can grab the same ISOs using BitTorrent.
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/03/31/1256236
&mode=thread&tid=110 {Submitted by TAZ}
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KLUG NEEDS VOLUNTEERS TO FILL SEVERAL VACANT POSITIONS
Nutrimaster and Education Director volunteer slots are still
vacant. We need additional volunteers to act as the "Meeting
Firewall" to handle Chamber access control and security issues.
The Chamber has asked us to safeguard their assets as KLUG
members come and go from the meeting room each Tuesday night.
Bob and Zac need help with this function which requires that
you get to the meetings early and see that the everything is
locked up as the last person leaves. This means being at the
Chamber at 6:30pm and hanging around until 10:00pm. We have
other volunteer positions available and many of these duties
could be shared if you have an interest. GET INVOLVED IN KLUG!
Volunteers are needed for Beginner's Nights and Installfests.
Please contact installmaster@kalamazoolinux.org for more details.
See http://kalamazoolinux.org/organize for position descriptions.
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********* - ********* - ********* - ********* - ********* - *********
KLUG NEEDS SPEAKERS FOR THE WEEKLY LINUX RELATED PRESENTATIONS!
********* - ********* - ********* - ********* - ********* - *********
Contact Adam if you can give a presentation on any area of Linux
related subject or application. He would also like to hear your
suggestions for topics and possible speaker referrals. Do you
know anyone who is using Linux in Southwest Michigan and might
be willing to share their Linux expertise by making a technical
presentation? Professional, individual, or commercial speakers
on Linux accepted. Contact programdirector@kalamazoolinux.org
with your referrals and ideas. See the meeting schedule for open
dates. http://www.kalamazoolinux.org/meetings/schedule.php3
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V. K L U G C O N T A C T & M E E T I N G I N F O
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KLUG WEB SITE http://kalamazoolinux.org
MEMBERS AND GUESTS - COME JOIN US FOR A MEETING!!!
http://kalamazoolinux.org/meetings
WE MEET WEEKLY, EACH TUESDAY AT 7:00PM.
Our meeting site is the Kalamazoo Chamber
of Commerce office building downtown.
346 W. Michigan Ave. - Kalamazoo, MI 49007
http://kazoolug.org/meetings/maps.php3 <=== MAP!
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Kalamazoo Linux Users Group, Inc.
6749 South Westnedge Avenue
Suite K-288
Portage MI 49002
e-mail address: chair@kalamazoolinux.org
Copyright 2003
Kalamazoo Linux Users Group, Inc.
>><< send corrections, additions, flames to the KLUG scribe >><<
Ralph Worick
recordingsecretary@kalamazoolinux.org
= or =
KLUG Meeting Notes Assistant Editor
Bruce Atherton
Taz <htgage3@chartermi.net>