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war story: some tablet-ish computers don't sleep
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 20 Apr '17

20 Apr '17

Some recent tablets don't know how to sleep. I know, this is crazy. Instead they are designed to take frequent naps, interleaved with checking on "stuff". Kind of like a smart phone. This feature was called "Connected Standby" by Microsoft but is now called "InstantGo". <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InstantGo> Linux has no support for InstantGo and PCs with it have no support for Sleep or Hiberate power states. Example machines: Mirosoft Surface Pro machines and Dell's Venue 11 Pro. I'm typing this on a Venue 11 Pro (model 1140) running Fedora 25. That's how come I've learned this. The best work around has been to add a file /etc/systemd/sleep.conf with this (not indented): # see https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=102281#c56 [Sleep] SuspendState=freeze Freezing isn't as good at saving power as Sleeping, but it will do. I think that this was the only painful discovery I've made so far while setting up Linux on the Venue 11 Pro.

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tablet-with-keyboard deal?
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 18 Apr '17

18 Apr '17

I've never seen or touched one of these so I cannot attest to the qualities of the actual device. <http://www.ebay.ca/itm/eduGear-11-6-Tablet-With-Keyboard-Intel-Core-i3-128G…> - sale ends in 20 hours - $249.99 + tax, free shipping. Netbook price, but better - low power Haswell Intel i3 processor. Still takes a lot of power for a tablet, but pretty good for an i3. Introduced 4 years ago. - only 1266x768 resolution, but on 11.6" notebook that's OK (we expect more of tablets) - Comes with Win 10 pro and MS Office 2016, which is worth something to somebody. - eduGear seems to be a local Markham company targetting education. Same address as CDI (I saw it every time I went to the IBM lab a couple of weeks ago). - IPS screen (good) - USB 3 (good) - 4G RAM (not bad) - 128G SSD (nice) - Supports 802.11ac (good) - beware: the keyboard or its attachment may be annoying

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Shopping for barebone PC
by Evan Leibovitch 17 Apr '17

17 Apr '17

Hi there. I will probably be shopping for a new barebone PC system in the neatr future. I'm looking for recommendations for both a barebones model and the best CPU for it. Intended OS is Linux Mint, Main uses are for browsing (Chromium), Samba client and video conversion using Handbrake. Most files will be on a server, in fact the new system could get by with just a minimal-sized SSD. Also appreciated is a link to anywhere that would tell me, at any given moment, the current state/generation of Intel processors to help the shopping process. Thanks! -- Evan Leibovitch Toronto, Canada Em: evan at telly dot org Sk: evanleibovitch Tw: el56

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[GTALUG-Announce] Meeting on 9 May 2017 at 7:30pm
by hi＠gtalug.org 17 Apr '17

17 Apr '17

<http://gtalug.org/meeting/2017-05/> # Lessons learnt as a maintainer with Dhaval Giani I have been an upstream maintainer of libcgroup. As a maintainer, I have had varied experiences which have taught me important lessons. This talk goes over some anecdotes, and hopefully they provide some humour and some lessons. ## 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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Keeping it alive: Nexus 7 (2012) running lineageOS 14.1
by Scott Sullivan 17 Apr '17

17 Apr '17

At Hacklab.to's recent Junk Day, I managed to acquire the older model of the Nexus 7 (2012 WIFI, aka grouper). It's most recent vendor firmware was Android 5.1.1 and it ran like molasses. So I decided to take a look at getting LineageOS on it. Firstly to see if I could, second to have recent version of android, and three to remove any bloat by having a lean starting point. For those unfamiliar, the Company named Cyanogen, imploded, and so the community android distro of the same name, re-branded and are continuing the work under the name LineageOS. I've already been testing it on a nexus 4, and will likely move my OnePlus One to it in the foreseeable future. LinageOS 14.1 is Android 7.1 equivalent. After a look around the internet, I found a dev doing a not yet official build of lineageOS for the Nexus 7 (2012). And an official build of TWRP which is LineageOS's recommend recovery image. https://twrp.me/devices/asusnexus72012wifi.html http://www.lineageosdownloads.com/download-nexus-7-2012-lineage-os/ http://opengapps.org/ (ARM, 7.1, Pico) Modifying the general instructions (and having done this a few times, they really are all the same). https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/flo/install adb reboot bootloader fastboot oem unlock fastboot reboot fastboot flash recovery /home/scott/Downloads/twrp-3.1.0-0-grouper.img # reboot into recovery adb push /home/scott/Downloads/lineage-14.1-20170315-UNOFFICIAL-aaopt-grouper.zip /sdcard/ adb push /home/scott/Downloads/open_gapps-arm-7.1-pico-20170414.zip /sdcard/ # then install these ZIPs and reboot. Took a long time to get through initial boot, and then first time configuration. But when it was all done, while it is still a bit laggy to use, it noticeably better then before. Also by using the pico package all the stock google bloat is gone, basically just having the play store to install only the apps I need. It's now good enough to be a kitchen 'doohicky'. I know there are a number of folks with Nexus 7 (2013) in your community, but any earlier adopters of the 2012 might appreciate this. -- Scott Sullivan

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Upcoming Meeting (was Meeting on 11 April at 7:30pm)
by Myles Braithwaite 15 Apr '17

15 Apr '17

11 April - A Bit More Than Mostly Searchable: Scanned Paper You Can Find with Stewart Russell Building on a GTALUG Lightning Talk from 2015, Stewart goes over what you'll need to turn messy piles of paper into a (mostly) organized archive of compact searchable electronic files. 9 May - Lessons learnt as a maintainer with Dhaval Giani I have been an upstream maintainer of libcgroup. As a maintainer, I have had varied experiences which have taught me important lessons. This talk goes over some anecdotes, and hopefully they provide some humour and some lessons. 13 June - Intelligent Availability; The evolution of High Availability with Madison Kelly Madison will discuss the tenants of and concepts behind “Intelligent Availability” and how it provides “next gen” availability. The “Anvil!” platform is the first full IA platform, combining a fully redundant architecture along with the 100% open source Striker UI and ScanCore “decision engine”. A live demonstration of this platform will be used to show IA in action. Various faults will be induced, showing how the Anvil! autonomously reacts to mitigate these changing risks. Attendees will be learn how to apply these IA techniques and concepts, allowing them to make their own IT environments more resilient. -- Have an awesome day, and happy open-sourcing :-).

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dinner before meeting!
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 12 Apr '17

12 Apr '17

Stewart almost suggested this last month, so I'll propose it this month: Doner Kebab House 391 Yonge St. (East side, south of Gerrard St) <https://wiki.gtalug.org/pre-meeting_dinner#doner_kebab_house_turkish> <https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/3708420193> (Notice who put it on the map.) I thought that the place had closed to be replaced by condos but they still answer the phone. Backup: Ramen Raijin at 3 Gerrard East - <https://wiki.gtalug.org/pre-meeting_dinner#raijin_ramen> <https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/2454474820> (Look at when this was added to the map.) Time: 18:00. Bring cash since DKH does not take credit cards.

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File tagger
by Christopher Browne 12 Apr '17

12 Apr '17

I'd alluded to a "file tagger" last night... Here's the one I was aware of... https://github.com/oniony/TMSU It sets up a SQLite database in a .tmsu directory, and allows attaching metadata via labelling files. The metadata lives in the database, separate from the files, so it has certain aspects of, erm, fragility. Furthermore, they've got a neat extension whereby you can mount the database as a filesystem via FUSE so you can explore the tags looking for files. Unfortunately, that has a strong propensity to fall over leaving the special filesystem pretty mussed up. So it's more interesting as a concept than as reality. Neat idea, nonetheless... -- When confronted by a difficult problem, solve it by reducing it to the question, "How would the Lone Ranger handle this?"

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Hardware Hack - help needed
by Giles Orr 12 Apr '17

12 Apr '17

I have a deceased Thinkpad 340CSE. I'd like to use it as a shell for a Raspberry Pi (the case has a lot of space). The original keyboard is a thing of beauty by modern laptop standards, with several millimetres of movement and a good feel - so I'd like to use it if at all possible. Unfortunately, a lot of searching has sent me repeatedly to a page on how to convert a T60 keyboard to USB - different keyboard, different connector(s). There's a full explanation with photos here: https://www.gilesorr.com/blog/thinkpad-retrofit-1.html If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know on or off list. If you think I need to add more information to the web page, same thing: let me know. If you know someone who might be able to help, please forward this to them. Thanks! -- Giles https://www.gilesorr.com/ gilesorr(a)gmail.com

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[Fwd: Re: Hardware Hack - help needed]
by phiscock＠ee.ryerson.ca 11 Apr '17

11 Apr '17

> Back in the days of the Commodore PET, I wanted to convert the keyboard >> into Dvorak layout. Nowadays, I'd find the keyboard translation table, >> edit that and blow a new ROM. > Usually keyboards are wired as a matrix with the lines in the cable representing the X and Y scan lines and each switch at the junction of a pair of scan lines. The output scan lines have resistor pullups so they are normally all in the high state. One set of 'input' scan lines (say X) is then sequentially made LOW and the other set of scan 'output' lines is read in and decoded. When a switch is closed, one output line will go low when some specific input line is activated. This scan operation can happen very fast, so the keyboard is repeatedly scanned at 60 times a second or faster. (This matrix arrangement minimizes the number of required connections to the keys.) Then a computer decodes the XY coordinates into a key code. This would not be difficult to do with an arduino type processor: you'd use the output parallel port lines as the keyboard output scan lines, and another parallel input port as the input scan lines. Send the decoded information out the Arduino usb port. We used to give this to our EE students at Ryerson as an exercise in assembly language programming. Peter -- Peter Hiscocks Syscomp Electronic Design Limited, Toronto http://www.syscompdesign.com USB Oscilloscope and Waveform Generator 647-839-0325

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