- Talk - lists.gtalug.org

small laptops (recommendation?)
by William Park 28 Apr '23

28 Apr '23

Hi all, Following the current thread on "cheap small computers", I've been browsing again. I have 11.5" chromebook and am looking for similarly small but decent laptop to run Linux on. I looked at 15", 16", 17" laptops, but decided that even T450, that I already have, is too big. I've been eying ThinkPad 11e laptop, partly because Lenovo has been spamming me. Is there any alternatives you know of or recommend?

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slides from Marcel Gagne's talk "Advancements in Generative AI"
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 27 Apr '23

27 Apr '23

| From: Alan Heighway <alan(a)heighway.ca> | Subject: [GTALUG-Announce] Reminder: GTALUG General Meeting - Tuesday, | April 11, 7:30pm | | Advancements in Generative AI <https://gtalug.org/meeting/2023-04/> with | Marcel Gagne <https://gtalug.org/> The slides from this talk are at: <https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/890409767602884650/10964891083244912…> This is from GTALUG's #general-discussion: <https://discord.com/channels/890409767141535775/890409767602884650> (I barely use discord so I think it is nice to have this kind of thing on the mailing list.)

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bell home hub 3000?
by Karen Lewellen 27 Apr '23

27 Apr '23

Hi wise folks, in the latest chapter of troubleshooting the situation with Internet here, my landlord and I have a question. well, I have a question, my landlord freely owns he knows absolutely nothing about the workings of his technology. which is why I am seeking a manual for the bell home hub 3000, or anyone here who might have this particular modem? Thanks profoundly, Kare

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Checking TLS certificates across multiple machines
by Giles Orr 27 Apr '23

27 Apr '23

Three weeks ago I mentioned to a couple people on this mailing list that I'd written a script at work that live-checks TLS certificates across multiple machines. This is a very useful thing to have when one of my jobs is maintaining multiple small websites. One of these people responded that I should give a short talk about this project, and added "Most of us do a little sys-admining and can learn from the pros." At which point I burst out laughing ... and realized Imposter Syndrome had reared its ugly head once again. A "professional" is someone who gets paid to do a job, and I am that. Doesn't mean I feel like a "professional sys-admin," even though I am - more of a professional jack-of-all-trades ... But "Imposter Syndrome" is another huge discussion ... we now return you to our irregularly scheduled programming. That message prompted me to talk to my bosses, one of whom not only endorsed my idea of publicly releasing this code, but did so enthusiastically. My thanks to Toronto Public Library for that. And so I give you: https://github.com/gilesorr/robotface-utils (The naming is a weird story - explanation in the README if you're curious.) Given a list of fully qualified domain names, the 'chkcertexpiry' script goes to each one, retrieves the TLS certificate, and lists the expiry date and issuer. If the expiry date is soon (number of days settable by a command line switch) the date is colour-highlighted. If there are connection problems, those are noted. At work, I run this once a week against all the sites I'm responsible for. I don't think we've had an expired cert on any of those domains in the 5-7 years I've been using this script. I hope people will use this. I welcome comments and suggestions. I'm a little scared of PRs because I've never had to deal with them before ... Please feel free to share as you think appropriate. -- Giles https://www.gilesorr.com/ gilesorr(a)gmail.com

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Fedora 38 is out
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 24 Apr '23

24 Apr '23

I just downloaded a 2G .iso. It seemed to take less than 30 seconds to download! I was using a 1g Rogers Cable connection. I guess that 20 seconds is about the fastest theoretically possible so this is startling.

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Apr 30th - Hacklab Junk Independence Day
by Scott Sullivan 23 Apr '23

23 Apr '23

Dropping this here as it's a favorite of much of this crowd. Hacklab Junk Independence Day Come drop off / swap old electronic and e-waste. * Sunday April 30th * 2PM – 7PM https://hacklab.to/archives/junk-independence-day-2/ -- Scott Sullivan

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Canadian hosting?
by Stewart C. Russell 14 Apr '23

14 Apr '23

I know that Akamai Cloud (formerly Linode) has dedicated root Linux servers in Toronto, but is there anyone else non-terrible*? There's a potential client who absolutely must have all data and processing hosted in Canada. I realize there's probably a 3x (or more) premium for in-country hosting. Any suggestions/caveats greatly appreciated. Best Wishes, Stewart *: your definition is fine. I don't know enough to have an opinion

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how I sign PDFs
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 13 Apr '23

13 Apr '23

We don't seem to have a Public Key Infrastructure that makes digital (cryptographic) signatures useful for non-computer work. I think signing a document is a solemn act. So I don't want to just paste a .PNG of my signature, I want to actually sign it. I don't have a modern Linux device with a stylus. (Somewhere I have a ThinkPad x61 and a couple of Sharp Zaurus PDAs.) I do have an iPad and a ThinkPad C13 ChromeBook, both of which have styli. In each case it is a little intricate so I thought others might find my methods useful. Suggestions welcome. On the iPad: - I can plug in the ipad to a USB port of my desktop and instruct the iPad to act like an external disk drive - using Gnome Files, I can transfer the PDF to a directory on the iPad. - using the file browser on the iPad, I navigate to the PDF, long press on it, and select "Quick View". I don't want Adobe tools. - I can just write on the document with the stylus and save it. I usually save it with a different name, one that indicates that it is a signed document. - using Gnome Files, I copy the signed document from the iPad to my desktop. - Using Gnome Files, I "eject" the two removable filesystems that are the iPad's. I can then unplug the iPad On the Chromebook: - I have already installed the Linux subsystem. I start up the terminal in the Linux container. - I use scp to copy the PDF from the desktop to ChromeBook's Linux filesystem (my home directory) - I use the ChromeOS Files application to open the PDF file (the Linux container's filesystem is visible to Files). - I tap a snake-like symbol on the top of the screen (It seems to signify scribbling). - I write my signature - I save the result, with a distinct name, in the Linux Container filesystem - back in the terminal, I issue the scp with the arguments suitably adjusted (easy to type with bash's history mechanism). I find the ChromeBook a bit easier. Partly because WiFi is easier than wiring (I have only one lightening cable and it is usually hooked up to a charger). If I found an iOS SCP application that might even the platforms.

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Free 8GB DDR2
by William Park 10 Apr '23

10 Apr '23

Anyone need 8GB (4x2GB) DDR2 memory sticks? Otherwise, it's to the garbage.

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Reminder: GTALUG General Meeting - Tuesday, April 11, 7:30pm
by Alan Heighway 09 Apr '23

09 Apr '23

Advancements in Generative AI <https://gtalug.org/meeting/2023-04/> with Marcel Gagne <https://gtalug.org/> 11 April, 2023 at 07:30 PM Join us for an insightful talk on the cutting-edge advancements in generative AI. Marcel will guide us into the intricacies of powerful models like GPT-3.5, GPT-4, and ChatGPT. Discover the potential of API access to ChatGPT and explore groundbreaking innovations in AI-driven creative tools, such as Stable Diffusion, and he'll even show you how to run it on your own computer. Prepare to be amazed as we delve into the capabilities of DALL-E, Midjourney, and AI-powered voice technologies like Revoicer. Don't miss this opportunity to expand your understanding of the current AI landscape and learn how these breakthroughs are revolutionizing the way we interact with technology and the world around us. We're going to use Big BLue Button for this meeting: https://blue.lpi.org/b/eva-zjc-gjy-kgl *Time:* April 11, 2023 7:30 PM Eastern Time *Join us on Big Blue Button:* https://blue.lpi.org/b/eva-zjc-gjy-kgl. *A*lan *H*eighway <http://heighway.ca/> heighway.ca VA3WAH / VA3YKZ [image: Please consider the environment before printing]

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