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Spare Thinkpad AC adapters?
by Scott Sullivan 09 Feb '16

09 Feb '16

If anyone has spare Thinkpad AC adapters, and would like to see them go onto good use, contact me off list. Specifically I'm looking for the 20v with the round barrel. Not the rectangle from recent years. Wattage doesn't matter. -- Scott Sullivan

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Lightdm "Secure Remote connection"
by Giles Orr 08 Feb '16

08 Feb '16

Lightdm offers as one of the options at the login screen, a "Secure Remote connection" (this is on Debian jessie). If this is selected, you enter a username and password as usual, and when you click "Log in" it asks for a "host:port" combination. I haven't used this before, so I guessed that 192.168.0.105:22 (a valid machine on my network) would be appropriate. After some cogitation and a bit of screen flashing, this returns to the login prompt. What settings do I need locally and remotely for this to work? Where should I look for errors? Any thoughts? A bunch of points that may help: - ssh is installed on both machines, sshd is running and remote logins work both ways - the lightdm and lightdm-gtk-greeter packages are installed on both machines - the remote machine is running Ubuntu trusty - the remote user I'm trying to connect as is already running a local X session on the remote machine: I'm assuming that doesn't matter? - wireshark and the hard-to-read logs in /var/log/lightdm/ (on both ends of the connection) suggest that ssh connects properly and X starts ... and then fails, but I'm not clear on why. Nor am I totally sure I'm reading this right - this feature appears to be totally undocumented: the interface explains nothing, there's nothing in the man page, and even Google knows nothing ... I even resorted to code diving, but "Secure Remote connection" isn't in there. It's also not anywhere in /etc/ where I would have expected to find it if it was an option configured by Debian (although it could be under /usr/ ... I haven't done a grep of that entire tree ...) Thanks for any assistance. -- Giles http://www.gilesorr.com/ gilesorr(a)gmail.com

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Motherboards and Network Chips
by Howard Gibson 07 Feb '16

07 Feb '16

I am trying to update Linux on my desktop. I have a Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 with a Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 network chip built into it. Installing Fedora_20 onto this is dead easy. If I try anything more recent, the networking does not work. I have tried Fedoras 22, 23, KFedora_23, and Ubuntu_15.04. When I boot from the install DVD, there is no network. I have even installed a wireless card. This works fine from Fedora_20. It does not work from KFedora_23. How up to date is Slackware these days? Normally, when something does not work, I go out on the internet and find a solution. Non-functioning network is an order of magnitude more difficult. I had network problems upgrading my laptop. I was able to overcome them, but we seem to have transitioned from an easy install of Linux, to a difficult one, at least for some motherboards and network chips. Has anyone figured out a reliable way to install Linux on this hardware? -- Howard Gibson hgibson(a)eol.ca howard.gibson(a)teledyneoptech.com jhowardgibson(a)gmail.com http://home.eol.ca/~hgibson

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Headless laptop - controlling X settings
by Giles Orr 06 Feb '16

06 Feb '16

I have an old laptop (an Acer Travelmate 270 to be exact) that has no screen. The screen busted years ago, and I simply removed it. This wasn't a big problem until a couple days ago: I'd hook it up to an external screen via the VGA out, and everything was fine. But a couple days ago, I upgraded from Debian wheezy to Debian jessie, and after the upgrade the external monitor now claims the provided signal is "Out of Range." This doesn't appear to be the same as "No signal" because after several minutes it switches off (about when the screen blanking would kick in) and pressing a keyboard button brings back the "Out of Range" signal. I can ssh into the machine, so there's an option to fix it. I could potentially install Ubuntu or re-install wheezy, but I'd prefer to fix this if possible. How do I tell X to detect and use the monitor over the external VGA connector - and only that connector, ignoring the now-missing internal screen candidate? And failing that, how can I force 1024x768 (which is what was working fine with wheezy) with mirroring across both outputs? Thanks. P.S. I was clever enough to try ssh with X-forwarding and then running arandr and eventually xrandr, but they work with the X server they can talk to ... which is your local machine, not the remote you've sshed into. Even had that worked, I wouldn't know what settings to put into what file: it was bad enough back in the days of editing /etc/X11/Xorg.conf by hand, but it's now been replaced by a twisty maze of start-up scripts that are supposed to detect everything for you that mostly work but which have remained stubbornly opaque to me when they fail ... -- Giles http://www.gilesorr.com/ gilesorr(a)gmail.com

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Linux Conference at Conestoga College, 30 Jan 2016
by Bob Jonkman 04 Feb '16

04 Feb '16

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hi Everyone: Colin Mills has organized a Linux Conference at Conestoga College on 30 January 2016 from 9:00am to 4:00pm Map: http://osm.org/go/ZXnnGeOx-?m= (yes, the arrow points right at the correct room in the building!) - -------- Forwarded Message -------- Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2016 16:33:23 -0500 From: Colin Mills <colin.j.mills96(a)gmail.com> To: KWLUG discussion <kwlug-disc(a)kwlug.org> Subject: [kwlug-disc] Linux Conference... List-Subscribe: <http://kwlug.org/mailman/listinfo/kwlug-disc_kwlug.org> Hi Everyone, Just wanted to remind you about the Linux Conference coming up on January 30th 2016. The conference will be held at Conestoga College Doon campus in room 1E05. If you have any questions please feel free to talk to me about it. Cost: $5.00 at the door Schedule: 9:30->10:40: Bob Jonkman :: What is Free Software? 10:40->12:00: Randy Kolenko 12:00->1:00: Lunch (Pizza and Coffee :: A programmer's favorite meal) 1:00->2:10: Ed Barsalou :: IOT Talk 2:10-3:20: Colin J. Mills :: LFS Educational? 3:20-4:00: Unscheduled. (Anyone is more then welcome to apply just talk to me. If we cant get someone Bob volunteered to do his GNU Social workshop). 4:00-4:20: Closing remarks. Colin J. Mills (cjm) Conestoga College, Kitchener Ontario Canada. 2nd Year Software Engineer. "Don't patch bad code - rewrite it" -- P. J. Plauger - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -- Bob Jonkman <bjonkman(a)sobac.com> Phone: +1-519-635-9413 SOBAC Microcomputer Services http://sobac.com/sobac/ Software --- Office & Business Automation --- Consulting GnuPG Fngrprnt:04F7 742B 8F54 C40A E115 26C2 B912 89B0 D2CC E5EA -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.20 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Ensure confidentiality, authenticity, non-repudiability iEYEARECAAYFAlacYqkACgkQuRKJsNLM5eqV1wCgtX60gxA3beimL/bM4MLILMSK fFAAn3TNupmycN1Fu+gsSSXG3rzP+eb4 =+1Cx -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Looking for a used 1U server
by Alex Volkov 02 Feb '16

02 Feb '16

Hello everyone, I'm looking for a used 1U server, mostly to use as a virtualization host, so the general requirements are -- SATA, lots of ram slots available and the support of relatively cheap RAM, lots of cores. I've been looking really hard at HP Proliant DL160 G6 and HP Proliant DL165 G7, budget -- around $500. Also, are there any local computer recyclers that would have 3-5 year old off-lease systems? Thanks, Alex.

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Postfix question
by William Witteman 31 Jan '16

31 Jan '16

I am running a mailserver (Postfix, Dovecot, Spamassassin), and I have some virtual alias maps that send some email to gmail addresses. My question is, is there a way to see if postfix is forwarding the email to the alias list *before* it runs the spam checking? Because I think it might be, which means that I am trying to send spam to gmail, which they take a dim view of (refusing all connections an gumming up my queue). If this is happening, can I get postfix to weed out the spam before running the virtual aliases? Thanks!

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little Android set-top boxes with HDMI in
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 28 Jan '16

28 Jan '16

Scott brought his Tronsmart Pavo M9 to the last GTALUG meeting. <http://www.tronsmart.com/products/tronsmart-pavo-m9> This looks like one of many Android TV boxes. But it has a unique feature: it has HDMI-in as well as out. So, Scott, how's the hacking going? I ask because there seems to be a very good deal on these for the next 3.666 days: <http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Tronsmart-Pavo-M9-4K-TV-BOX-Android-4-4-2-Ms…> US$49.99. Free shipping (slowly, from China). This is based on the MSTAR MSO9180D1R chip. There is a theoretically better box based on this chip (and also with HDMI in), the Zido X9. It has 2G of RAM (vs 1G) and might have better I/O (I haven't checked). But it seems to be ~US$120.00. I guess (without making any attempt) that hacking on these cheap Android boxes is more trouble than it is worth. Especially since hacking on cheap Windows boxes is so much easier (at least the ones with 64-bit UEFI). But nothing else that I know of has HDMI in. Scott: can you summarize what you've learned about the box and how you feel about it so far?

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[GTALUG-Announce] Meeting on 9th February at 7:30pm
by Myles Braithwaite 27 Jan '16

27 Jan '16

<http://gtalug.org/meeting/2016-02/> # Raspberry Pi Projects and Lighting Talks To start off the meeting we have two ten minute talks about using the Raspberry Pi in interesting ways: * Alex Volkov's Over-Enginerring of a Flower Pot using a Raspberry Pi. * Mike Kalles's using a Raspberry Pi for Intrusion Detection. After Alex's and Mike's talk there will be a bunch of audience organised short talks. If you would like to give a talk, all you have to do is write your name on a post-it and stick it on the whiteboard in the front of the room. When your talk get's picked you will have five minutes of uninterrupted time for you to present, then five minutes of audience questions/concerns. ## 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 The Imperial Pub (54 Dundas St East) for refreshments and more socializing. # Upcoming Meetings * 8th March: systemd with Bill Thanis and another 30 minute talk. * 12th April: Vector Graphics Panel with Trent, Stewart, and Myles. # 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 jeopardize 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 honored 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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PHD-VRX2 Linux-based PVR to scrap
by phiscock＠ee.ryerson.ca 25 Jan '16

25 Jan '16

I have a PHD-VRX2 Linux-based PVR that is misbehaving and I've replaced it with a ChannelMaster unit, so the PHD is being scrapped. It boots up (the display says 'boot') and then after a few seconds, it reboots itself again. If you're handy, you might want to have a go at fixing it. Or check with the company if they can fix it for a reasonable price. Or reprogram it with Myth TV ;). PrimeDTV Technologies, Inc. Anaheim, CA 92807 Tel: (714) 630 630- -6899 www.primedtv.com I have the user manual and can send it on request. Or you can get it here: http://www.epvision.com/HDTVSTB/phdvrx2main.htm Anyone want to take this away? Peter -- Peter Hiscocks Syscomp Electronic Design Limited, Toronto http://www.syscompdesign.com USB Oscilloscope and Waveform Generator 647-839-0325

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