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Meeting
by bitmap 08 Aug '24

08 Aug '24

Hi, I was wondering if anything had firmed up re an IRL meeting? I usually work Tuesday evenings but might be able to get off early to attend.

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Anyone else having issues with 6.9.12-1 kernel?
by Michael Galea 07 Aug '24

07 Aug '24

This kernel has been pretty awful for me. On my desktop it barfs while trying to build nvidia support via dkms, with some sort of signing error. On my laptop, after install I get a 251Mb initrd after install, compared to the 44Mb initrd of the 6.7.12 kernel it replaced. Is anyone else that is running debian testing seeing these issues? -- Michael Galea

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Portable Monitors
by Nick Accad 07 Aug '24

07 Aug '24

Anyone got recommendations? I’m not looking for anything fancy, just something that I can use occasionally that won’t die after a dozen or so uses. I travel once a month and I’m getting too old to rely on just the laptop screen. Thanks -nick

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pcal again
by mwilson＠Vex.Net 02 Aug '24

02 Aug '24

Not actually pcal's fault. Last time we sorted out how to get pcal to refer to the month after this month. But today the command line pcal -l -m -Pletter $((`date +%m` % 12 + 1)) $(date -d"next month" +%Y) | ps2pdf - $HOME/Desktop/nextmonth.pdf threw out /home/mwilson/bin/nextmonth: line 3: 08: value too great for base (error token is "08") `date +%m` returns '08' for August, which is an illegal octal number. The fix for this is to force decimal casting, the way Ada does: pcal -l -m -Pletter $((10#`date +%m` % 12 + 1)) $(date -d"next month" +%Y) | ps2pdf - $HOME/Desktop/nextmonth.pdf I guess `$(` takes special care of pound signs. So I've learned something again.

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a quick question about power supplies?
by Karen Lewellen 29 Jul '24

29 Jul '24

Hi wise souls of computing. One of the creative problems going on with my recently built computer is that the fan in the power supply no longer works. Nor can I use the power button to actually turn off the machine anymore. When it gets too warm in fact, I must flip the switch on the supply in the back..its scary, but so is overheating. While I am still hunting for sighted help to fix the mess my prior contact left behind..the cd rom is disconnected too, I want to plan properly for the power supply replacement. I have several, including at least one still in the box. I am quite sure that the power supply capacity is too low for the several things the machine is doing, I have three hard drives in the unit, several internal boards in use those kinds of things. Is there a guide, or rule of fun, for determine how much power capacity a supply should provide based on how much work the computer processor will be doing? With appreciation. Karen

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Bundle on ORA Linux books
by Evan Leibovitch 28 Jul '24

28 Jul '24

Hi all. Humble Bundle has on sale a book bundle of what it calls "Linux for Seasoned Admins", which includes titles for a number of common open source tech including Docker, Ansible, Kubernetes, and one called "Efficient Linux at the Command Line". The full bundle of 15 titles is available for CAD $34.18 or as few as $1.38 for five of them. https://www.humblebundle.com/books/linux-for-seasoned-admins-oreilly-books Looks like it expires at the end of the month. - Evan

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In praise of Sir. Lenn! was power supply, and honestly allot of threads.
by Karen Lewellen 27 Jul '24

27 Jul '24

Hi everyone, While my subject line may be light, my words of praise run deep and sincere..and a bit hard to articulate for being weepy. For better or worse I spend lots of time apologizing for the complexity that is my body experience, not being disabled according to stereotype. Not even being consistently disabled for moment to moment. Prior to the surgical stroke i experienced, I used to apologize, but in the other direction, still stereotypes of course, about sight loss and intelligence and culture and so forth. In 1988 when the state rehab system, <Arkansas> refused to buy me a computer for law school, I sang for it instead..literary. put on a concert, raised the funds with help and bought the things I needed. it was the first, and the last computer I ever got off the shelf, because when there was a problem, the computer store lost almost all of my data. After then, I knew the insides of machines very well, but as life and work and so forth got busier I started to find other people. That was fine at first, but once said surgical stroke made communicating less conventional, more often then not I would find those computer types who decided my disability experiences mean I am incapable of learning understanding or knowing about machines, or worse yet that what i need was impossible, usually followed with the suggestion I use equipment physically impossible for me to use instead. Fast forward to Sir. Lenn. In the past year and a half, I have lost more computers than the roughly 35 years prior. Due to hydro in my apartment, or not being heard about moving items..my reading machines, or well meaning people more interested in bluffing their way through and showing off, or less well meaning people deciding I need not be heard, because they know more about my needs, they are the able bodied person after all. In two hours, almost to the minute, Sir Lennhart, with a great deal of patience and humor and likely skills years in the making, did open heart computer surgery on my machines. I use plurals, because apparently being a hardware hoarder is a very wise thing indeed. He added a driver line giving me cd Ron access for the first time since..at least 2019 when my computer from two machine's back had a hardware crash, hmm still need to recover that data. He changed my power supply..twice...that might have been once, but even I forgot just where which older machine was sitting..I have three of them laughs. He insured I had quality rich functional speech suitable for more than 30 screen readers across operating systems, without likely knowing this, simply because he kindly answered questions while including my input. Most amazingly enough on top of all that? He gave me a first time computer experience, placing the heart of my computer, the CPU, into my hand..I have never held one before. as a bonus Lenn got some information, another computer knight, Sir Ron, needs for the back door Ron is providing me to my gmail account. The results are a machine that is quiet, with a fully functional DOS USB driver again, and cd rom function, and a working power supply. My computer no longer vibrates the desk, or overheats, or smells of smoke. I can turn it off, or leave it on..I may even for the first time in many years add speech to the boot process.. There is another thread going about why Linux is not more popular. Personally? I feel part of that is because so few get a chance to experience the magic that can be a Linux community at its best. when someone like sir. Lenn draws upon little details discovered, likely over many a project based on the kind of personal connection you have to gain for running understanding, and fully using Linux. The pieces, power supply and heart now in this computer came from a machine built by another Linux user, and if memory served, a person Colin a third Linux soul, directed me to, in 2010 or so. That computer was still working until this year, now living on in my newly created little wonder. I am speechless with appreciation for this community, your brilliance, wonderful questions, capacitor to help me even when what I do with my machines is unique. Deeply thankful for the ways you have chosen to let Linux keep both your skills sharp, and your imaginations vibrant rich and creative. Each of you teach me with your posts, your questions and your own challenges. best of all at this moment though, because you continue to build a community rooted in Linux, with its many paths to the surprising, I miraculously connected with sir. lenn. Who in two hours did what I had been told was impossible. never doubt the terrific gift that is this Linux community, the value of what you choose to learn with your own projects, the importance of each conversation head here. One never knows when the slightest bit of wisdom might help a person connect the outside world, do their job..or play computer monopoly once again. With profound appreciation, Karen Lewellen

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TLDs
by Giles Orr 26 Jul '24

26 Jul '24

This isn't directly Linux-related, but it's a topic that's probably of interest to many on this list. https://tld-list.com/tlds-from-a-z That shows a list of all top-level domain names - which is interesting enough. But if you click on any given TLD, it shows you who owns it, the intended purpose, and the pricing ... not just the registration price and the renewal price now, but over time. Being as fascinated by this as I am requires a combination of a couple different geeky inclinations. I own several domains and also have often registered them for my work - but I'm also fascinated by words and ideas, and by the demand for them (here translated into dollar values for domain names). For example: .black and .green are apparently "cool" colours, because their registration cost is in the $50-$60 range. Other colours aren't as cool - eg. .pink which sells for ~$15. And some colours (eg. .yellow) don't exist at all. I guess no one thought they could make money off that domain. And this is before we get into the incredible and absurd diversity of domain names. .ninja anyone? (Its registration price is very low, but renewal costs more.) I could of course register gilesorr.recipes for all that cooking blogging that I do ... I'm curious: what's your pick for weirdest TLD? What's the strangest one you've actually seen in use? -- Giles https://www.gilesorr.com/ gilesorr(a)gmail.com

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why reliable linux hasn't gained more market share?
by Karen Lewellen 24 Jul '24

24 Jul '24

Hi folks, Sharing the start of what has been a creatively interesting discussion on the Debian list. No idea where the person is in the world, but all the stuff felt globally after cloudstrike was the motivation. Here is part of the post. What answer would you give? Kare ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2024 11:54:06 +0800 Subject: why reliable linux hasn't gained more market share? Resent-Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2024 04:27:37 +0000 (UTC) Resent-From: debian-user(a)lists.debian.org crowdstrike makes news headlines, many Windows become blue screens it is evident that many people around still use Windows according to some statistics linux has only 4% desktop market, 73% for MS, 15% for MacOS why free OS hasn't gained more share even after 30 years of development?

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Off Topic: FreePhoneLine.ca
by Ansar Mohammed 24 Jul '24

24 Jul '24

So I have 3 lines with freephoneline that I PAID $50 to activate with SIP. I have been using it for many years and now they are going back on that promise and charging for monthly access. Anyone else used their services?

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