[KLUG Members] KLUG Meeting Notes for 10/07/2003
magoo
members@kalamazoolinux.org
07 Oct 2003 23:46:59 -0400
KLUG Meeting Notes: Tuesday - October 7, 2003 7:00PM
I. PRESENTATION RECAP
II. NEXT WEEK'S MEETING INFO <=== Dueling VPNs!!!
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: (19 active KLUG participants)
*****************************************************************
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.
PRESENTATION SUMMARY:
**************************
We had the standard KLUG Beginner's Night introductions while
the two people getting help with installs got their equipment
assembled. BS-Ware v9 was selected as the Linux distribution
for both of the installs tonight.
We had a few first-time KLUG meeting attendees tonight! There
were plenty of good questions and lots of Linux information
being exchanged while the KLUG Installmaster - Andrew Thompson
helped John and Jack get their PC's running BS-Ware v9. Robert
G. Brown jumped in to help Jack with his hard drive and modem
configuration questions. Jack had already installed BS-Ware v9
on his hot rod Athlon 2.1GHz with 512Mb RAM at the KLUG install
session in September. John's laptop was smoothly flying through
the install interface for Red Hat v9 and ahead is the final
configuration of various services.
Dirk Bartley was demonstrating Linux concepts to a small group
on a KLUG LTSP client PC on one side of the room. Todd Pillars
was leading a group exploring Samba. They were using a laptop
running Linux and a laptop running Windows connected to the local
network in this demonstration. There were questions about how
to access Windows files from the Linux box with Samba running.
Bruce Smith and John Bridleman were busy working on the KRAP
project. They are part of a KLUG group implementing nocat auth
on a Linux machine to control access to the wireless network at
the Chamber. Looked like they were making progress and that it
should be up and ready to go soon.
There was a group near the snacks that were newer to Linux
and asking many good newbie Windows vs. Linux questions.
Several people entered into this orientation conversation
and several good novice resources were shared. One good
question was how to make the important Linux boot disk.
The new KLUG Beginner's Night presentation is being updated.
The GUI has become a more common interface than the 'command
line preferred' days when the current KLUG Beginner's guide
was written. We accomplished the education mission with the
small group format but it won't be long before we have a new
teaching tool to help us to welcome those new to Linux.
Thanks to the KLUG Nutrimaster - William Jordan for the tasty
selection of snacks & beverages that added to the hospitality.
===============================================================
THE STANDARD KLUG BEGINNER'S PRESENTATION - LINUX BOOT CAMP!!!
http://kalamazoolinux.org/presentations/beginner01.html - OLD -
===============================================================
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 10/14/2003
******************************************************************
Dueling VPNs: OpenVPN & PPTP (Shorts)
by Bruce Smith and Adam Williams
Tonight Bruce Smith will explain OpenVPN (OPEN Virtual Private
Network) and Adam Williams will explain PPTP (Point-To-Point
Tunneling Protocol). OpenVPN is a simple yet secure VPN
technology with Linux server/client support and clients for
Windows 2000/XP. PPTP is the VPN technology from the
M$-Windows world, with servers and clients for the Linux
platform as well.
Check out these sites:
http://openvpn.sourceforge.net/
http://www.schneier.com/pptp.html
Bruce Smith is a Systems Administrator and Software Developer
for Armstrong International Inc. where he is responsible for
a Unix and Linux network of Servers, Workstations, printers
and X-Terminals spanning five buildings in Three Rivers. Bruce
has a degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Central
Michigan University. (go Chippewas! :) Bruce recently joined
Heiko Zuerker's team as a core developer on the CD-based Devil
Linux (firewall) distribution. He also creates the BSware
distribution for KLUG, is co-webmaster, sitemaster, and is a
past KLUG officer.
Adam Williams 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. Adam is known as an LDAP wizard in
the global Linux community and has written a classic piece that
explains how it works and what is necessary to get LDAP functional.
He is also part of the early core of organizers and nurturers of
KLUG and has served as Program Director for many years, providing
the content of KLUG's world class educational meetings each week.
The Eloquent Master of Ceremonies and originator of the legendary
KLUG GEEK JEOPARDY EXTRAVAGANZA provides stellar answers in search
of those categorized Linux culture focused questions.
BE THERE OR ELSE!!! OCTOBER 28th IS THE PARTY DATE!!!
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!!!
(240 plus registrations on the "KLUG members" mailing list)
IV. K L U G & L I N U X N E W S F L A S H E S ! ! !
=====================================================================
MONO V2.8 RELEASED (OSS OF M$ .NET)
"A new version of Mono(2.8) has been released: Mono has now integrated
SourceGear's webservice enhancements, and there has been a lot of
improvement in XML, serialization and web services. Other features
are new thread locking and ahead-of-time compiler optimizations."
http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/10/05/
1846213&mode=thread&tid=109&tid=126&tid=156&tid=170&tid=187
=====================================================================
OPENOFFICE.ORG HITS V1.1
"OpenOffice.org 1.1.0 has finally been released (after 5 release
candidates -- should make it pretty sweet). The announcement is here,
there is a really nice features page and a long list of mirrors
carrying the goodies."
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/10/01/182237
&mode=thread&tid=102&tid=162&tid=185&tid=187&tid=99
=====================================================================
WILL VANDERPOOL MAKE LINUX MORE POPULAR?
"New Scientist is reporting that Intel's forthcoming multi-core
processor architecture, codenamed "Vanderpool", could undermine
Microsoft's dominance by letting other operating systems run
simultaneously more easily. From the article: 'The chip will allow
future machines to run, say, Windows XP together with Linux or the
Apple operating system as easily as today's Windows computers run
Word and Internet Explorer simultaneously.'"
http://slashdot.org/articles/03/10/06/1723238.shtml?tid=185&tid=190
=====================================================================
MANAGING LINUX SYSTEMS WITH WEBMIN
Book Review: "Webmin is a pretty neat tool for administering a server
using a GUI, particularly remotely. Managing Linux Systems with
Webmin, written by Webmin's author, Jamie Cameron, is an extensive
look at using and extending it, a good guide not without flaws."
http://books.slashdot.org/books/03/10/02/1551210.
shtml?tid=106&tid=126&tid=185&tid=188&tid=192&tid=95
=====================================================================
SAMBA EXPERT DIGS INTO V3.0 UPGRADE
"Some key features make Samba 3.0 a better mousetrap than Samba 2.0
for Windows-Linux file and print sharing, says Samba Team co-founder
John H. Terpstra..."
http://linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/2003100300626INSVSW
=====================================================================
EFF REVIEWS 5 YEARS UNDER THE DMCA
"The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has a new report,
Unintended Consequences: Five Years under the DMCA, detailing how
the DMCA has stifled competition, innovation, scientific research,
and fair use. The original news release is here, and the report is
also available as a PDF. Check it out if you want a good summary of
all the DMCA cases over the past five years."
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/10/04/219200
&mode=thread&tid=103&tid=153&tid=158&tid=99
=====================================================================
OPEN SOURCE MAKING INROADS IN SMALL BUSINESSES
"In a story mainly about new OpenOffice release, NewsFactor Network
quotes an interesting finding of Jupiter Research analyst:
"Open-source productivity suites did "surprisingly well" in the
mid-size business market, with the OpenOffice suite alone claiming
a share of about 6%. Furthermore, [Joe Wilcox] found that some 19%
of small businesses ran Linux on their desktop, and a whopping 26%
ran Linux on their servers.""
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/10/03/1254238
&mode=thread&tid=126&tid=163
=====================================================================
NEGOTIATING PAY FOR OPEN SOURCE WORK?
"For about nine months now I've been working on an Open Source
software project; the first release was five months ago. It's
reasonably popular given its age -- several hundred users at least
(users, not downloads) -- but despite my best attempts, I've been
unable to get even a few dollars in donations to help support this
(and being a student, I really need to get some money from somewhere).
Now suddenly I've been approached by a company which wants to pay me
to continue working on this project.
http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/10/02/1913216
&mode=thread&tid=126&tid=156&tid=98&tid=99
=====================================================================
WHY OPEN SOURCE MAY BE DOOMED
"But of course, the object of this lawsuit is not to stop Linux from
using the code; it's to stop Linux from eating SCO Unix's lunch. And
it seems to me that it's very likely to succeed..."
http://linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/2003100601726OPCDLL
=====================================================================
LINUX IN HOLLYWOOD: STATUS REPORT
"TechNewsWorld is running an article about Linux in Hollywood. The
article describes speed advantages, cost advantages, movies in which
Linux played a role (including Shrek, Star Wars, and Titanic).
Mentions of the embrace for Linux with history on Apple, Microsoft,
and other vendors, and how they've adapted to the use.`As a rule,
no major studio will rely on a tool without access to the source
code. The risk is too great.
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/09/30/2250233
&mode=thread&tid=126&tid=152&tid=163&tid=185&tid=188&tid=97
=====================================================================
OPENSSL SECURITY VULNERABILITY
"On the heels of multiple OpenSSH vulnerabilities, the OpenSSL
project is now reporting a number of security vulnerabilities of
its own. OpenSSL is a standard cryptographic library used in a
wide variety of security applications. The new vulnerabilities
range from denial-of-service attacks to stack corruption, which
imply the possibility of running malicious code."
http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/09/30/2039241
&mode=thread&tid=126&tid=148&tid=172&tid=185
=====================================================================
LINUX VS. WINDOWS VIRUSES
"There are about 60,000 viruses known for Windows, 40 or so for
the Macintosh, about 5 for commercial Unix versions, and perhaps
40 for Linux. Most of the Windows viruses are not important, but
many hundreds have caused widespread damage. Two or three of the
Macintosh viruses were widespread enough to be of importance. None
of the Unix or Linux viruses became widespread - most were confined
to the laboratory."
http://www.linux.org/news/2003/10/06/0002.html
=====================================================================
SKIPPER ACCESSIBILITY SUITE V1.6.0 RELEASED
Skipper 1.6.0 is a GPLed Linux accessibility suite for the severely
physically disabled - cerebral palsy, road traffic accidents, motor
neuron disease, Parkinsons etc. It takes input from multiple devices
like graphics tablets and microswitches connected directly to the
printer port, does input switching and processing (configured
graphically like modular synthesisers), and provides clever
genetically annealed menu systems for application and desktop
control. With just one detectable click, people can have full
Web and email access - in fact the whole Linux desktop - in
complete privacy.
http://www.linux.org/news/2003/10/02/0011.html
=====================================================================
KLUG MAKES LINUX AVAILABLE AT THE LOCAL COMPUTER SHOW
A team of KLUG volunteers and officers were on hand at the last
fairgrounds computer show to tell people about KLUG and Linux.
They talked with lots of people and demonstrated Linux for many.
BS-Ware was readily available with nice labels and jewel cases.
To volunteer for a future show contact: showperson@kalamazoolinux.org
http://www.a1scs.com <--- Check schedule
=======================================================================
IN THE OPEN SOURCE SPIRIT KLUG CALLS FOR MEETING SUPPORT VOLUNTEERS
Please don't make us RANT about organization needs for volunteers!
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 truly does need
help with this function which requires that you get to the meetings
early and see that everything is locked up as the meeting attendees
leave. We have several other KLUG volunteer positions available
and many of these duties could be shared if you have an interest.
G E T I N V O L V E D I N K L U G N O W ! ! !
Please contact installmaster@kalamazoolinux.org for more details.
See http://kalamazoolinux.org/organize for position descriptions.
=====================================================================
THE WMU COMPUTER CLUB - YAKKO IS THEIR MAIN LINUX SERVER!
The Computer Club at Western Michigan University exists to promote
a better understanding of computers for both members of the club
and members of the WMU community. This goal is achieved through
various club projects, member presentations, Linux Install Parties,
and discussions at our meetings. Do you need help getting your
computer to function properly? Are you interested in installing
Linux? Do you just want a place to hang out and have a good time?
If the answer to any of those questions or any other question is
'yes' then you should come check us out. We welcome anyone
(regardless of computer experience) who is willing to share
whatever talents they have, listen to others, and have a good
time. http://yakko.cs.wmich.edu/
=====================================================================
KLUG SUPPORTING MEMBERS CAN GET THEIR PICTURE ON THE WEB SITE
Want your picture posted with your name as a KLUG Supporting
Member? Send the tasteful graphic file and your request to
webmaster@kalamazoolinux.org.
=====================================================================
KLUG NOW OWNS A NEW XGA VIDEO PROJECTOR
Adam reported that KLUG has upgraded the video projector from SVGA
to XGA!!! From 800 x 600 to 1024 x 768, it should boost presentation
viewing pleasure. This projector is well rated:
INFOCUS LP335 DLP PROJECTOR
1000 LUMEN - XGA - LP-0335-V + Extended 12 month warranty
Digital Light Processing DLP which provides sharp images under
variable lighting conditions.
=====================================================================
KLUG NEEDS VOLUNTEERS TO FILL SEVERAL VACANT POSITIONS
"Firewall" and Education Director volunteer slots are still vacant.
Please contact chair@kalamazoolinux.org for more details.
Volunteers are needed for Beginner's Nights and Install fests.
Please contact installmaster@kalamazoolinux.org for more details.
See http://kalamazoolinux.org/organize for position descriptions.
=====================================================================
********* - ********* - ********* - ********* - ********* - *********
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
=====================================================================
V. K L U G C O N T A C T & M E E T I N G I N F O
*************************************************************
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
NOTE:
Effective January 1st, 2002, KLUG has been granted 501C3 status by
the IRS. This is a big step forward. Now all donations (including
hardware, services, cash, or membership dues) are tax deductible!
>><< send corrections, additions, flames to the KLUG scribe >><<
Ralph Worick
notetaker@kalamazoolinux.org
= or =
KLUG Meeting Notes Assistant Editor
Bruce Atherton
Taz <htgage3@chartermi.net>
Copyright (c) 2003 Kalamazoo Linux Users Group, Inc.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU
Free Documentation License".
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl.html#TOC1