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cheap Windows tablets today
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 09 Dec '16

09 Dec '16

The Microsoft Store is selling two Win 10 tablets at a low price today. <https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msca/en_CA/list/categoryID.70394700?ic…> Both have IPS displays with 1920 x 1200 resolution (nice). Both can probably run linux, but with varying amounts of difficulty. The $74 one has 32-bit UEFI firmware which is annoying for Linux. So I would ignore it. The $119 one has a 64-bit UEFI firmware. At a minimum, you should be able to install Windows Linux subsystem on this (most of text-mode Ubuntu). I have a Win 10 tablet with a similar processor and have been able to boot Ubuntu (some months ago). I needed a kernel parameter that de-tuned the video drive a lot to get it working. With enough experimentation, I could probably have figured out a better work-around. But desktop distros aren't actually much fun on tablets These tablets have very limited USB: one port, USB 2, probably also used to charge tablet. There's something quite interesting about being able to buy a tiny Windows box quite inexpensively and Windows is an OK tablet OS. But generally an Android tablet makes more sense as a tablet (more relevant software, longer battery life). Still, if I didn't already have Windows tablet, I'd consider buying one of these to play with.

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Wheezy no longer accepts my passwords to open /home and /mnt partitions on boot
by Ken Heard 08 Dec '16

08 Dec '16

In my Wheezy box I have two encrypted hard drive partitions, /dev/mapper/md07_crypt for /home and /dev/mapper/md05_crypt for /mnt. (Mnt is no longer used. That partition was originally for /tmp; in a weak moment I persuaded myself that I needed to encrypt /tmp. I have since changed the mount point for /tmp to tmpfs and consequently changed the mount point of /dev/mapper/md05_crypt to /mnt pending its deletion. In the meantime it still has to be opened.) This morning, when I tried to boot this box, I found that the passwords for those two partitions were not accepted. Finally, after entering the correct passwords numerous times, the following messages were received. [info] Loading kernel module loop. [info] Loading kernel module coretemp. [info] Loading kernel module it87. [ok] Activating lvm and md swap ... Done [....] Checking file systems ... Fsck from util-linux 2.20.1 BOOT was not cleanly unmounted, check forced. BOOT: 245/120960 files (20.4% non-contiguous) 58505/241664 blocks Fsck.ext4 No such file or directory while trying to open /dev/mapper/md07_crypt. Possibly non-existent device? VAR: recovering journal Fsck died with exit status 9 Failed (code 9). [FAIL] File system check failed. A log is being saved in /var/log/fsck/checkfs if that location is writable. {My note: that location was not writable; so no such log was created.} Please repair the system manually ... Failed! [warn] A maintenance shell will now be started. CONTROL-D will terminate the shell and resume system boot ... (warning) Give root password form maintenance (or type CONTROL-D to continue): After entering the root password the root bang appeared. At this point I did not know what to do by way of reparing the system manually. I consequently closed the box, first by running "shutdown now". After various messages flashed by on the monitor I was asked once more to give the password for maintenance or type CONTROL-D again. After typing CONTROL-D again my user login appeared, but of course I could not log in. At that point I was finally able to close the computer with the Alt-S command. I hope that somebody or bodies can tell me what to do to make this computer usable again -- short of having to do a completely new installation. Regards, Ken Heard -- -- Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity. -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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[GTALUG-Announce] Meeting on 13 December with Peter Sylvester
by hi＠gtalug.org 01 Dec '16

01 Dec '16

<http://gtalug.org/meeting/2016-12/> # Exposing High Level InnoDB Mechanics via Tunable System Variables in MySQL with Peter Sylvester In this discussion we will have a look at the InnoDB related system server variables in MySQL 5.6 as a way to learn more about the high level mechanics of InnoDB, the most popular storage engine for MySQL. This talk with cover the most popular variables that cover how InnoDB works with memory, I/O, concurrency, consistency, and statistics handling. This topic will be presented by Peter Sylvester, Principal MySQL Consultant for Pythian. ## Location George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre 245 Church Street, Room 203 Ryerson University <http://goo.gl/maps/16oJ2> <http://www.openstreetmap.org/way/23447525> ## Schedule * 6:00 pm - Please discuss on the general mailing list (i.e. <talk(a)gtalug.org>) where you want to go for dinner. * 7:30 pm - Meeting and presentation. * 9:00 pm - After each meeting, a group of GTALUGers move to The Imperial Pub (54 Dundas St East) for refreshments and more socialising. # Code of Conduct We want a productive happy community that can welcome new ideas, improve every process every year, and foster collaboration between individuals with differing needs, interests and skills. We gain strength from diversity, and actively seek participation from those who enhance it. This code of conduct exists to ensure that diverse groups collaborate to mutual advantage and enjoyment. We will challenge prejudice that could jeopardise the participation of any person in the community. The Code of Conduct governs how we behave in public or in private whenever the Linux community will be judged by our actions. We expect it to be honoured by everyone who represents the community officially or informally, claims affiliation or participates directly. It applies to activities online or offline. We invite anybody to participate. Our community is open. Please read more about the GTALUG Code of Conduct here: <http://gtalug.org/about/code-of-conduct/>. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the GTALUG Code of Conduct please contact the GTALUG Board @ <board(a)gtalug.org>. --- GTALUG Announce mailing list announce(a)gtalug.org https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/announce

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implementing "dropbox requests" + encryption
by Matt Price 01 Dec '16

01 Dec '16

Hi everyone, I am trying to finally wean myself off my Dropbox habit. This will probably involve a self-hosted sparkleshare or nextcloud installation, though I haven't really sussed out the alternatives yet. One feature of Dropbox that I use a lot is the "Requests" function, which lets people with a link upload documents to a folder in my dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/en/help/9090 It has been extremely convenient for me in many ways, but some of the stuff I've been requesting is actually a little sensitive, and should be encrypted. I'd like to set up a similar system to DB Requests, but which encrypts the uploaded files automatically with my public key, or something similar. Has anyone implemented a system of this kind? Any hints on how to do it? Thanks! Matt

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Linux box to run Ubuntu Server
by Paul Allen 29 Nov '16

29 Nov '16

Hi I'm looking to buy a Linux tower with Ubuntu Server preinstalled - anyone interested in selling to me - or any recommendations? I'm in Toronto. Sent from my iPhone

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Packtpub Black Friday Sale - $150 per year
by CLIFFORD ILKAY 26 Nov '16

26 Nov '16

Hello All, Packt is having a Black Friday sale. Annual subscriptions are $150 ($12.50/month). -- Regards, Clifford Ilkay + 1 647-778-8696

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unexpected firefox "server not found" messages
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 25 Nov '16

25 Nov '16

Once in a while I've been getting "Server not found" errors from Firefox that surprise me. The links are to real sites. Other browsers can see the site. I thought that the problem might have to do with some tightened security rules. No, the problem is IPv6. I don't have IPv6 at home. But Fedora has it enabled normally. This generally doesn't cause problems. But now it has. Fix: <https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/server-not-found-connection-problem?re…> type URL "about:firefox" Change the setting of network.dns.disableIPv6 to true. (Setting Fedora (glibc?) to not try IPv6 might make other things faster. I don't remember how to do this.)

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Ubuntu
by Irwin Barrer 24 Nov '16

24 Nov '16

Dear Talk List Members I am brand new to Linux, open source, etc. I am a user, not a developer. I am interested in buying a laptop and installing Ubuntu on it—I like the idea of a free alternative to Windows or MacOS, and price is a big factor. A while back I saw some relatively inexpensive laptops on Dell with Ubuntu preinstalled. Unfortunately these are no longer available and only a high-end developer system is available with Ubuntu preinstalled. So I have started looking into laptops with Chrome OS (Chromebooks) and installing Ubuntu. I’ve done some research, but still uncertain. Intel processors seem to be a must and 4GB RAM—which is the most I can find on a Chromebook. Does anyone have any experience with Ubuntu? Any help/advice would be appreciated. Best IB Irwin Barrer irwin(a)irwinb.com

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Re: [GTALUG] unexpected firefox "server not found" messages
by lsorense＠csclub.uwaterloo.ca 24 Nov '16

24 Nov '16

On Thu, Nov 24, 2016 at 05:32:25AM +0200, ac via talk wrote: > On Wed, 23 Nov 2016 09:52:43 -0500 (EST) > "D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk" <talk(a)gtalug.org> wrote: > > Once in a while I've been getting "Server not found" errors from > > Firefox that surprise me. The links are to real sites. Other > > browsers can see the site. > > I thought that the problem might have to do with some tightened > > security rules. No, the problem is IPv6. > > I don't have IPv6 at home. But Fedora has it enabled normally. This > > generally doesn't cause problems. But now it has. > > > > Fix: > > <https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/server-not-found-connection-problem?re…> > > > > type URL "about:firefox" > > firefox ver 50.0 about:firefox = The address isn’t valid about: works, and is what I always used. -- Len Sorensen

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Re: [GTALUG] unexpected firefox "server not found" messages
by o1bigtenor 24 Nov '16

24 Nov '16

On Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 9:32 PM, ac via talk <talk(a)gtalug.org> wrote: > On Wed, 23 Nov 2016 09:52:43 -0500 (EST) > "D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk" <talk(a)gtalug.org> wrote: >> Once in a while I've been getting "Server not found" errors from >> Firefox that surprise me. The links are to real sites. Other >> browsers can see the site. >> I thought that the problem might have to do with some tightened >> security rules. No, the problem is IPv6. >> I don't have IPv6 at home. But Fedora has it enabled normally. This >> generally doesn't cause problems. But now it has. >> >> Fix: >> <https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/server-not-found-connection-problem?re…> >> >> type URL "about:firefox" > > firefox ver 50.0 about:firefox = The address isn’t valid > > not sure if I care enough to figure out why they removed that. > > I may just change to chrome > > I find that the common trend in software is over development. > > Developers simply cannot accept that a product has reached a level of > maturity and functionality where the use is optimal in relation to the > issues that additional functionality would presume. > If it were only about functionality! I found firefox to bork regularly give my usage style. Now I am using Opera limiting myself to at most a couple or three pages and being diligent about limiting the number of tabs and it works OK. I use min for my normal working browser as I can have a much larger number of windows open, called tasks, and seem to be able to get away with having large numbers of tabs open (varying in number) per task - - - YMMV! I despise Chrome for its reporting to the alphabet company all my browsing!! Regards Dee

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