Re: [Hampshire] E-Readers re-visited
At 11:44 17/11/2010, you wrote: some weeks back there was a discussion about e-readers and at the time I hadn't any plans to get one. I knew I'd not go down the kindle route as I don't like amazons policies, mainly the fact they don't really let you own the books you have 'purchased' yes a worry along with no local storage ie a SD card. I also thought the Sony readers too expansive. I really only wanted to spend in the region of £50 and there don't seem to be any second-hand ones around, at least not on-line. I got my Sony 505 from cash generator for £100 in store though. The I stumbled upon one selling for just under £80 on the JohnLewis website http://www.johnlewis.com/231015788/Product.aspx?om_i=Ca7fEzom_u=_BM2AKGB8VjJZqA I'd not seen any mention of this Sovos reader before and did some browsing for reviews and it seemed to be OK so ordered one. I have been using it for several weeks now and am quite pleased with it. It doesn't have an e-paper screen but I'm happy enough with the greyish background. eurgh! The whole point to me of ebook readers is eink makes it easy on the eyes to read. What you have bought is as bad as an iPad laptop or normal monitor for eye strain. Page turning is quite quick enough although there is an audible click when using the buttons. I downloaded a bunch of epub format books from various websites and found there is one problem with that format in that zooming the image spoils the page formatting. This may be common to all e-book formats and I can live with it. A couple if things I probably won't use are the ability to store jpeg and mp3 files and display/play them. The demo pics included look good thanks to the colour screen. One of advantage of the screen is that is is backlit so the reader can be used in bed ;-) there are book cover lights for e-ink readers. A bonus is that I don't need to purchase a case or mains charger as they are included. The case is rigid so protects the somewhat delicate screen. I used calibre to copy the e-books onto the reader and that seems to have messed up the original file system and the demo Music and Photo files are now included in the eBook menu I hope it works our ok for you. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.6 (Nov 2010) on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] E-Readers re-visited
At 11:44 17/11/2010, you wrote: some weeks back there was a discussion about e-readers and at the time I hadn't any plans to get one. I knew I'd not go down the kindle route as I don't like amazons policies, mainly the fact they don't really let you own the books you have 'purchased' yes a worry along with no local storage ie a SD card. I also thought the Sony readers too expansive. I really only wanted to spend in the region of £50 and there don't seem to be any second-hand ones around, at least not on-line. I got my Sony 505 from cash generator for £100 in store though. The I stumbled upon one selling for just under £80 on the JohnLewis website http://www.johnlewis.com/231015788/Product.aspx?om_i=Ca7fEzom_u=_BM2AKGB8VjJZqA I'd not seen any mention of this Sovos reader before and did some browsing for reviews and it seemed to be OK so ordered one. I have been using it for several weeks now and am quite pleased with it. It doesn't have an e-paper screen but I'm happy enough with the greyish background. eurgh! The whole point to me of ebook readers is eink makes it easy on the eyes to read. What you have bought is as bad as an iPad laptop or normal monitor for eye strain. Page turning is quite quick enough although there is an audible click when using the buttons. I downloaded a bunch of epub format books from various websites and found there is one problem with that format in that zooming the image spoils the page formatting. This may be common to all e-book formats and I can live with it. A couple if things I probably won't use are the ability to store jpeg and mp3 files and display/play them. The demo pics included look good thanks to the colour screen. One of advantage of the screen is that is is backlit so the reader can be used in bed ;-) there are book cover lights for e-ink readers. A bonus is that I don't need to purchase a case or mains charger as they are included. The case is rigid so protects the somewhat delicate screen. I used calibre to copy the e-books onto the reader and that seems to have messed up the original file system and the demo Music and Photo files are now included in the eBook menu I hope it works our ok for you. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.6 (Nov 2010) on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] heads up - UK Online ISP closing January
At 23:11 15/11/2010, you wrote: On 15/11/10 22:51, alan c wrote: I happen to be using UKOnline ISP and have just discovered they are being shut down by their now owner, SKY. Thanks for that -- I've got an elderly friend who will need help in transferring from UKOnline to something else. Holy mackerel ! I have all my email on there and it looks like my email address will be invalid from January. I will need to change all my yahoo group subscriptions as well as tell friends. Am i correct in remembering that sky email is Gmail like? I am not too keen on Gmail webmail layout so does anyone have a suggestion of an email service that has a clean interface like ukonline as well as able to offer downloading emails by pop3? thanks for the info ,sky haven't told me anything :( Martin N Running MorphOS v2.6 (Nov 2010) on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] heads up - UK Online ISP closing January
Lo, At 22:15 16/11/2010, you wrote: On Tue, 16 Nov 2010 15:38:48 + trotter m.nutt...@ukonline.co.uk wrote: I have all my email on there and it looks like my email address will be invalid from January. I will need to change all my yahoo group subscriptions as well as tell friends. Am i correct in remembering that sky email is Gmail like? I am not too keen on Gmail webmail layout so does anyone have a suggestion of an email service that has a clean interface like ukonline as well as able to offer downloading emails by pop3? I have no idea what gmail or ukonline look like since I won't use any off-line mail storage cos I'm paranoid. Do you mean online storage? I do know that opera have a webmail service so you might like to have a look at that. I also know that my favorite ISP (zen) also have a webmail service so other ISPs may also do it. I was thinking of using a different service primarily as a pop3 and webmail for occasional use. I would even pay a small amount for an account. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.6 (Nov 2010) on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] heads up - UK Online ISP closing January
Lo, At 22:17 16/11/2010, you wrote: Hi trotter, On Tue, Nov 16, 2010 at 03:38:48PM +, trotter wrote: On 15/11/10 22:51, alan c wrote: I happen to be using UKOnline ISP and have just discovered they are being shut down by their now owner, SKY. [...] Holy mackerel ! I have all my email on there and it looks like my email address will be invalid from January. I will need to change all my yahoo group subscriptions as well as tell friends. Worth considering buying your own domain name so you never have to change your email and web addresses again? Doesn't necessarily mean a lot of work, you can can just throw Google at the job if you're that way inclined (I know you said you don't like the interface). Or get your hands dirty as much as you like. That's the great thing about it! I dont really want to spend much time on it at all as its going to take a while sorting out my numerous Yahoogroups mails as well as other mailing lists like this one. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.6 (Nov 2010) on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Notebook remix Linux distro
At 18:34 07/11/2010, you wrote: On 6 November 2010 16:59, trotter mailto:m.nutt...@ukonline.co.ukm.nutt...@ukonline.co.uk wrote: Surprisingly a on-line Linux questionnaire recommended SuSE or fedora but i thought they were heavy distros. Fedora have an LXDE based spin: http://spins.fedoraproject.org/lxde/http://spins.fedoraproject.org/lxde/ I run this on my EeePC 701. So this is still fedora but with LXDE window manager included instead of KDE or gnome? I can only find brief information which seems to indicate it is the latest fedora with the latest LXDE WM and no further optimisations. Thanks for the information it would better for me to have a rpm based distro if possible. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Notebook remix Linux distro
At 13:37 06/11/2010, you wrote: http://www.linux.com/news/embedded-mobile/netbooks/308465-five-best-linux-netbook-oses-for-now They mention Puppy in there, which is a great OS but a bit of an acquired taste. However, depending on what hardware you are thinking of installing on, there is also Pupeee, a version of Pupeee tailored toward EeePCs. Sean I have found Pupeee works best on my eeePC 701. It very fast as it runs in memory but as Sean says it is an aquired taste. Is it a rpm or deb based distro i couldn't find much info on the site. Surprisingly a on-line Linux questionnaire recommended SuSE or fedora but i thought they were heavy distros. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Notebook remix Linux distro
Lo, At 17:13 06/11/2010, you wrote: I'm currently running openSUSE 11.2 on an Acer Aspire One D150-Bw 10.1-inch Netbook, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD and it's fine, everything works I don't find it slow. I'll be putting 11.3 on there soon. Guess it'll depend on the spec of the machine you're putting it on. What sort of processor does it have? I have a 1ghz single core processor and 512meg of ram. Martin N On Saturday 06 Nov 2010, trotter wrote: At 13:37 06/11/2010, you wrote: http://www.linux.com/news/embedded-mobile/netbooks/308465-five-best-linux -netbook-oses-for-now They mention Puppy in there, which is a great OS but a bit of an acquired taste. However, depending on what hardware you are thinking of installing on, there is also Pupeee, a version of Pupeee tailored toward EeePCs. Sean I have found Pupeee works best on my eeePC 701. It very fast as it runs in memory but as Sean says it is an aquired taste. Is it a rpm or deb based distro i couldn't find much info on the site. Surprisingly a on-line Linux questionnaire recommended SuSE or fedora but i thought they were heavy distros. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- -- We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet. - Stephen Hawking FLOSS - Not just for your teeth - Free Linux Open Source Software -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Notebook remix Linux distro
Lo, At 19:02 06/11/2010, you wrote: On 06/11/10 17:20, trotter wrote: Lo, At 17:13 06/11/2010, you wrote: I'm currently running openSUSE 11.2 on an Acer Aspire One D150-Bw 10.1-inch Netbook, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD and it's fine, everything works I don't find it slow. I'll be putting 11.3 on there soon. Guess it'll depend on the spec of the machine you're putting it on. What sort of processor does it have? I have a 1ghz single core processor and 512meg of ram. Sounds like ideal Puppy/Pupeee material to me. I'd suggest downloading it, putting it on a USB stick and giving it a go. It's tiny by comparison to fully fledged distros (~120MB) and is designed for machines with slower processors and less RAM. I am more familiar with rpm and would rather stick with it but puppy is starting to look like a Hobsons choice option if I want something thats reasonably responsive What sort of machine are we discussing here? Old Thinkpad, so its not a netbook and doesn't have a crippled CPU. Martin N Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] Notebook remix Linux distro
Lo, Are there any other notebook remix editions of any Linux distro other than ubuntu? A quick google just shows ubuntu. Martin N Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Linux Foundation and Linux Certification Programs
Lo, At 10:31 23/10/2010, you wrote: On Sat, 23 Oct 2010 09:21:46 +0100, h...@3720.co.uk said: if someone applied for job with these either of certifications would it standout to you? It would be of some interest, and may swing the balance in favour of offering an interview. It would have very little impact after that, by which I mean the knowledge gained may well be useful, but the certification itself would not be. The way we assess candidates (if you care): most of the communication we have with our customers is by telephone and email, with the occasional face to face meeting. Potential employees who cannot write an email that demonstrates good grammar, good spelling and a logical flow are rejected at the application stage, regardless of qualifications (disappointingly, a significant proportion of new graduates fall into this category). It would be interesting if you could copy n paste some common errors in the applying email. I have noticed since i graduated my English has been getting steadily worse. Its a case of if you dont use it regularly you lose it. thanks Martin N Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Linux Foundation and Linux Certification Programs
At 14:36 23/10/2010, you wrote: On Sat, 23 Oct 2010 13:30:17 +0100, m.nutt...@ukonline.co.uk said: It would be interesting if you could copy n paste some common errors in the applying email. I have noticed since i graduated my English has been getting steadily worse. Its a case of if you dont use it regularly you lose it. OK (and only because you asked, OK?). Your paragraph above with my corrections in [brackets]: It would be interesting if you could copy n paste [copy and paste] some common errors in the applying email [application emails]. I have noticed since i [I] graduated my English has been getting steadily worse. Its [It's] a case of if you dont [don't] use it regularly[,] you lose it. I knew you would do that to my email :) The only one I was not aware of was the application emails. (A personal opinion: the best way to improve one's English is to read lots of good English). Some real examples: this is [name removed].i have seen ur add on this web site.if u think i mach for any position i request u to give me a chance Here with, I am sending you my resume for above challenging post. I have seen an email on linuxjobs mailing list about Job Vacancy. I am interested to apply, may be you could take look at my CV for your consideration. I [name removed] Hereby to Apply for Employment at Your Company As Linux Consultant i am new in linux i would like to grow in your company as a Linux Consultant i am willing to learn even from from scratch The above are pretty obvious and I am surprised people really are using text speak in an application email. Maybe I come across as a grumpy old man that no one in their right mind would want to work for... I think the above examples would bother me as well and I admit to having not the best English skills so no you not a grumpy old man just yet :) thanks Martin N Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OT: Using a PC/SPS Tester
At 15:03 30/09/2010, you wrote: On 30 September 2010 02:34, trotter m.nutt...@ukonline.co.uk wrote: At 15:09 29/09/2010, you wrote: I am starting by testing the power supply. I have a PC/SPS Tester I, but have never used it. Before I blow myself, my computer or the house sky-high I would be grateful for some advice. Firstly - the risks are vanishingly small. All the high voltages will be safely caged in the metal box of the PSU. What is a sps tester BTW? Its not one of those plastic boxes that you can get from scan and plug PSU connectors in to test if different rails work? Yes. If it is, i wonder if a multimeter would be better. Probably - but I own one of those plastic boxes! Ok, thanks for clearing that up. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OT: Using a PC/SPS Tester
At 15:09 29/09/2010, you wrote: I am starting by testing the power supply. I have a PC/SPS Tester I, but have never used it. Before I blow myself, my computer or the house sky-high I would be grateful for some advice. Firstly - the risks are vanishingly small. All the high voltages will be safely caged in the metal box of the PSU. What is a sps tester BTW? Its not one of those plastic boxes that you can get from scan and plug PSU connectors in to test if different rails work? If it is, i wonder if a multimeter would be better. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] eReaders
At 14:40 13/09/2010, you wrote: On 12 September 2010 22:35, trotter m.nutt...@ukonline.co.uk wrote: Is there a feature in the 350 that you are looking for? Haven't heard about it and most features seem to be present in the 505 including a SD card slot. It has a touch screen. Unlike the older PRS-600, the new PRS-350 and PRS-650 do not use an overlay, but inferred detectors around the screen edge. That avoids the problems caused with extra layers over the eInk display. The current Sony touch screens apparently suffer from screen glare which the 300 and 500 dont. Thats according to reviews on play.com and amazon. A touch screen interface would be nice but not at the expense of readability. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] eReaders
Lo, At 22:24 12/09/2010, you wrote: I would be interested in peoples thoughts on ereaders. so would I :) Ever since I first read about eink displays, I have been fascinated. Recently, the price has dropped to a point where I am seriously tempted, but I have a problem. Likewise the older pr300 is around £100 on some sites, The two that interest me the most are the Kindle from Amazon, and the new Sony PRS-350 due out soon. They both have the ability to display PDF's but only the Sony will work with industry standard ePub format, avoiding the lock in to Amazon with the Kindle. This would be great, except I have tried to run Sony's library software and Adobe's digital editions, and failed as they are only supported on Windows and Mac. Is there a feature in the 350 that you are looking for? Haven't heard about it and most features seem to be present in the 505 including a SD card slot. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] UK ISP TalkTalk Monitoring its Customers Online Activity Without Consent
At 10:20 29/07/2010, you wrote: UK ISP TalkTalk Monitoring its Customers Online Activity Without Consent This, if true, would seem to be yet another clear breach of the Regulatory of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. But good luck trying to get that enforced - the police have been singularly unwilling even to investigate such criminal activity in the past. Unfortunately so, with financial online crime being left to the banks to sort out as well. Like they are going to do anything about it when their reputation is at stake. As a pipex customer it looks like I am being monitored and I am wondering if the only way to stop it is to use a blocklist program? The only way to stop such behaviour is to make in commercially unviable. Ring up TalkTalk, tell them how disgusted you are with their behaviour, then migrate to an ISP with some basic level of ethics[1] Apparently migrating from talk talk is notoriously difficult. Is it something like 3 months before you can get the ombudsman involved? Too long to be without internet unless i go with cable and virgin I guess. Martin N Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] UK ISP TalkTalk Monitoring its Customers Online Activity Without Consent
UK ISP TalkTalk Monitoring its Customers Online Activity Without Consent http://bit.ly/bVeCWE (ISPreview) from--Lauren-- NNSquad Moderator Has anyone else come across this story? As a pipex customer it looks like I am being monitored and I am wondering if the only way to stop it is to use a blocklist program? Martin N Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Lenovo laptops
At 22:29 22/06/2010, you wrote: I'm thinking of getting a Lenovo ThinkPad SL510. General googling indicates linux should work ok with it. However; I was wondering if anyone had any good or bad experience with Lenovo laptops and linux? Lenovo thinkpads usually work well with Linux hence a Linux Thinkpad list. linux-think...@matrix.de Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] KDE applications in windows
Hello, Does anyone use the KDE apps in windows package manager in XP? The whttp://ktorrent.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2t=3741start=0sid=949379baad4b711336d4f736be2f8f0dindows package manager doesn'thttp://ktorrent.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2t=3741start=0sid=949379baad4b711336d4f736be2f8f0d have ktorrent listed on install Maybe ktorrent been taken out temporarily as I cannot see it but I can see various KDE games etc just on the off chance, thanks Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] Freeview
At 11:18 22/05/2010, you wrote: On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 12:09:13PM +0100, Leo wrote: Freeview has been playing up recently on both my digibox and computer. Essentially I've lost about half the channels. Although they don't seem to be frequency specific: so I can still get BBC3, but not BBC4. BBC3 and BBC4 are on different frequencies, though... Have you had the analogue switch off yet in your area? In the NW we have had it switched off and bizarrely the signal strength of digital has gone down since then. Presumably as was mentioned to make room for the Freeview HD which BTW is ridiculously below 10mbps which means its standard def!? bloody BBC Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] Freeview
At 23:22 22/05/2010, you wrote: At 11:18 22/05/2010, you wrote: On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 12:09:13PM +0100, Leo wrote: Freeview has been playing up recently on both my digibox and computer. Essentially I've lost about half the channels. Although they don't seem to be frequency specific: so I can still get BBC3, but not BBC4. BBC3 and BBC4 are on different frequencies, though... Have you had the analogue switch off yet in your area? In the NW we have had it switched off and bizarrely the signal strength of digital has gone down since then. Presumably as was mentioned to make room for the Freeview HD which BTW is ridiculously below 10mbps which means its standard def!? Darn, I meant its widely speculated that the drop in Freesat from 15 to below 10 is to ensure freeview HD doesn't look poor in comparison. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] TalkTalk and low IP addresses
At 13:51 18/05/2010, you wrote: Hi Chris, On Tue, May 18, 2010 at 01:50:12PM +0100, Chris Dennis wrote: I've just been to a client who suddenly lost access to various websites including www.hants.gov.uk It turns out that TalkTalk have assigned to her router an IP address like 2.97.x.x, and that Hampshire County Council think that it's invalid. I come across this all the time. HCC are running what networky types call a bogon filter. An outdated bogon filter is worse than no bogon filter at all. Who are the sort of people who would use Bogons? I notice iblocklist.com has a Bogon list for its IP blocking software. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] TalkTalk and low IP addresses
At 22:22 20/05/2010, you wrote: Hi trotter, On Thu, May 20, 2010 at 08:42:06PM +, trotter wrote: At 13:51 18/05/2010, you wrote: I come across this all the time. HCC are running what networky types call a bogon filter. An outdated bogon filter is worse than no bogon filter at all. Who are the sort of people who would use Bogons? People setting random source addresses on their packets (usually denial of service bots) and people who want to use IP ranges that aren't allocated to them for whatever reason, usually so they don't get any grief for the content of their packets. e.g. spammers. Interestingly enough there is a spammers blocklist from spamhaus as well on the site. Along with hackers and hijacked machines. I do get a fair amount of Chinese hackers cropping up when downloading Linux distros via a torrent. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Laptop Hardrive
At 20:12 18/05/2010, you wrote: My laptop hardrive is faulty, does anyone have a spare/old one I can have/buy Second-hand HDDs are usually a bad investment - they have a limited lifespan, so if someone else has taken one out of service, it's probably used up quite a bit of that life... A brand-spankers SATA laptop drive can be had for about £30. I simply wouldn't bother looking for a used drive. Vic. p.s. I've replaced two SATA HDDs this last weekend. Neither was over 2 years old. I have a suspicion they don't last like they used to... In the desktop arena with 3.5 the experience of my last 2 drives would bare out your thinking. The western digital blue 640GB has 2 error sectors reallocated as soon as i installed it. The 1.5TB Seagate has had 3 sectors go bad after a few weeks. Its looking like higher capacity drives are more error prone at the mo on my very limited sample. All the previous Samsung 750GB, 500, 400 have no sector reallocation after up to 2 years. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] 32- or 64-bit distro?
At 17:44 04/05/2010, you wrote: On Tue, May 04, 2010 at 06:14:36PM +0100, Russell Morris wrote: Yup, Adobe's x64 flash player works really well, I've not encountered anyone who has had a problem with it. Before it was around, problems galore! I've had nothing but crashing Firefox and black boxes with Adobe's 64-bit Flash 10. It just doesn't work, at all. Dreadful piece of tat. Not that I miss it greatly. The sooner HTML5 starts working, the better. For youtube I think theres a html5 option in the preferences somewhere but you do have to register. Doesn't help with other sites but show were google are going. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
At 13:04 16/04/2010, you wrote: The main downside of OpenDNS (and many similar services) is that nonexistent domains resolve to one of their ad servers. You can turn that off - but IMO, you shouldn't have to. But we're all Linux geeks here - why not just run your own resolver? It's dead easy, and is the single biggest improvement to web browsing I've made. Running my own resolver would require a PC up 24/7 wouldn't it? So you have noticed an improvement in how quick a websites starts to load? I have noticed this with OpenDNS but wasn't sure since i have only been using it for a day whether it was the ADSL connection or the DNS server Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
At 09:02 16/04/2010, you wrote: On 15 April 2010 16:31, trotter m.nutt...@ukonline.co.uk wrote: I have been trying OpenDNS and have noticed similar services while googling. I have it setup now but was wondering if anybody else had tried other services and has any comments on whether they are faster more reliable or have better privacy policies? The main downside of OpenDNS (and many similar services) is that nonexistent domains resolve to one of their ad servers. So when you type a nonexistent domain into a web browser, you get an advert. I dont mind that with the advantage it seems to provide in startup speed snippage Now, Google Public DNS doesn't do this, and provides a similar service - it falls under Google's standard privacy policy. I'm tempted to use it at work, because our main DNS server is a bit flaky... How long do they retain search data? I cant remember if its 6months or 2 years and they have been criticised for it so I get the impression there policy leaves something to be desired. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
At 15:43 16/04/2010, you wrote: Running my own resolver would require a PC up 24/7 wouldn't it? No. Why would it? There's no need to run a resolver when you haven't got any clients needing resolution... Ok thanks. So you have noticed an improvement in how quick a websites starts to load? Yes. ISPs frequently under-invest in DNS. There's little point having super-fast data transfer if it takes you half an hour to find the server you need in the first place... Good stuff not my imagination after all then. thanks Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] OpenDNS benefits
Lo, I have been trying OpenDNS and have noticed similar services while googling. I have it setup now but was wondering if anybody else had tried other services and has any comments on whether they are faster more reliable or have better privacy policies? thanks Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] Content might offend Penguins
At 10:11 31/03/2010, you wrote: On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 10:17:41AM +0100, James Courtier-Dutton wrote: The laptop has the Vista license key on the bottom, so I am figuring that if I can obtain some install media, I could still use the key that came with the laptop. I just need the correct version of the install media. This might save the user paying £150 for new media and license. AFAIK, retail Vista (and Windows 7) media contains all of the versions available in retail channels (Home Basic, Home Premium, etc) - the version actually installed gets determined by the serial number. OEM versions are different, of course. This is my experience as well there is only one vista dvd to install them all. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [hants] Linux works, Windows doesn't....
At 09:21 31/03/2010, you wrote: On 31 March 2010 00:15, Isaac Close isaaccl...@yahoo.co.uk wrote: Hello, Sometimes I am confronted with a computer that refuses to install or run windows without crashing badly at every attempt, yet the machine will happily run linux without problems. Which version of windows are you trying to install? If it is Windows XP, try Windows 7 instead. Windows XP does not work so well with newer motherboards. Do you know of any reason why that is? or is just a case that less of the drivers are known and it takes longer to get a working windows xp install. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] Smartphones with keyboards
At 16:31 16/03/2010, you wrote: On 16/03/2010 16:27, Ian Park wrote: I'm looking around for a phone to replace my current model, a Sony Ericsson v630i. I'd like one with a keyboard a la Blackberry; it's also important for me that I can use it as a modem for my laptop netbook (both of which run Ubuntu). There's no constraint about which operator it's tied to; in fact I want one that *isn't* tied to an operator (it would take a long time to explain...). Can anyone with experience of such a machine suggest which models would be worth researching further please? Thanks Ian BlackBerry Bold 2? 3G enabled, software allows tethering, superb email support by default of course. Theres also the palm Pre and the Palm Pixi with a good hardware keyboard you can play with them in the orange phone shop. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Playing music in my living room
At 14:46 11/03/2010, you wrote: Andy Random wrote: Any suggestions? I've been contemplating one of these: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=735 It plays just about every file format you'd want to play (inc. mp3s avis oggs and flacs), and it will stream across the network or it will accept a USB drive plugged in directly. I have the non-streaming USB version and am very happy with it on the whole, although I use it solely for avi files and have therefore not looked into what outputs it this might have for audio. I simply plug in a usb stick with the files on it, and then browse the menu on the TV and play. Reasonably cheap at £90. I got one of those boxes for playing HD files through the TV via a 2.5 HD in an external box. Never toyed with the music size of things but I like it for TV stuff so ask if you have any questions. The only complaint for my use is the menus move a bit slow with the cheapo rubber button remote otherwise works well. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Playing music in my living room
At 19:19 15/03/2010, you wrote: trotter wrote: At 14:46 11/03/2010, you wrote: Andy Random wrote: Any suggestions? I've been contemplating one of these: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=735 It plays just about every file format you'd want to play (inc. mp3s avis oggs and flacs), and it will stream across the network or it will accept a USB drive plugged in directly. I have the non-streaming USB version and am very happy with it on the whole, although I use it solely for avi files and have therefore not looked into what outputs it this might have for audio. I simply plug in a usb stick with the files on it, and then browse the menu on the TV and play. Reasonably cheap at £90. I got one of those boxes for playing HD files through the TV via a 2.5 HD in an external box. Never toyed with the music size of things but I like it for TV stuff so ask if you have any questions. The only complaint for my use is the menus move a bit slow with the cheapo rubber button remote otherwise works well. Agreed on the menu selection - it can be a bit slow and patience is required between options. With regard to using it for music I've discovered that I will need to by a DAC to convert the signal from the optical out to an analogue input on my amplifier. Well a DAC on ebay could well be £30 or Maplin could have a dirt cheap one. I got a movie sound processor for £17 at cash convertors. Its does Dolby digital 5 channel but no DTS which is growing in popularity. The box does have analogue phono left and right which i have used for sound output but again its for TV programs. There is an option in the settings to output sound in digital or analogue so worth trying that out. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.4 on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] UPS wanted
At 09:10 04/02/2010, you wrote: James Courtier-Dutton wrote: Hi, After the power supply to my house destroying the PSUs of my computers three times now, I would like to get a UPS. Does anyone have a UPS (Uninterruptible Power supply) that is surplus to their requirements? I have two with dead batts. The problem is tha the batts are cost of a UPS! As a matter of interest wouldn't the UPS still work as a mains battery filter getting rid of spikes or if theres a few minutes of power left in the battery coping with minor sags in power? I intend on using my old Belkin to protect some of my more valuable equipment that is not a computer when the battery goes. It is a pain to replace the battery in my belkin; I had to bend the metal cage that held it to get it out. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
At 14:15 05/10/2009, you wrote: On Mon, Oct 05, 2009 at 02:05:55PM +0100, Philip Stubbs wrote: 2009/10/5 Hugo Mills h...@carfax.org.uk: On Mon, Oct 05, 2009 at 08:46:35AM -0400, Andy Random wrote: Reviving this thread briefly, I'm surprised I've not seen any mention of the Palm Pre during it, it's even due out this month (though exclusive to 02) and generated quite a buzz when launched in the US earlier this year. Also has anybody seen a confirmed release date for the Nokia N900? Not official, but Amazon seem to think October 19th. Or even the 26th. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-N900-Mobile-Computer-Software/dp/B002QEBX5E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8s=electronicsqid=1254747786sr=8-1 So it's slipped a week since I last saw it. :) They had an a display for it in the O2 shop in bolton town centre so you could have a look there for their date. No actual physical phone yet just card board display about what it does etc and its also in their phone catalogue. I did actually mention the Palm Pre in this thread but it must have got lost in the rest of the messages. BTW the gadget show compared the Nokia and Iphone alongside the palm pre. The iphone came out best and the palm second which isn't too bad for a new OS. You may be able to see it on channels fives website still. Try about a month ago. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] New Linux-based phone
At 16:25 26/09/2009, you wrote: 2009/9/26 Chris Dennis cgden...@btinternet.com: James Courtier-Dutton wrote: ... Conclusion: A 3G phone should still be able to fall back to do GSM based GPRS. Thanks for that James. Is GPRS unusably slow for things like GPS (where the relevant bit of map gets downloaded as you go)? GPRS on GSM is slow but still works. A better option is to use a pre-installed map, like tomtom and garmin use, instead of google maps that load as they go. People seem to have missed out Palms new WebOS that is supposed to based on Linux. The app store equivalent is supposedly closed off to developers apart from 1 exclusive company for now though. According to the NNsquad email list google have sent a cease and desist order against the main alternative ROM hacker so we will have to see if android remains as open as it once was. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] Anyone used Eclipse Computers or LambdaTek?
At 11:51 23/09/2009, you wrote: When only two parts of three turned up from Lambdatek, I was expecting a battle, but no, a human being went and sorted it out and explained where the foul up happened (which I always appreciate). So -1 + 1 = 0 for me. Unfortunately these days 0 is rather a good score since competency seems in such short supply. Yes i have encountered a robot system at SVP and some muppets at play.com which made it difficult to replace incorrect products. Used lambdatek for cables and MiniDisc and they have been okay although I Haven had to send anything back. Eclipse i have heard of but not used. I think they advertise in MicroMart magazine. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] An excellent description of Windows Mobile
At 21:29 31/07/2009, you wrote: I've had colleagues with Windows-based smart phones, blackberries and I-phones. Personally I prefer the I-phone (oooh, Tim being pro-Apple... how often does that happen?) from a set-up point of view, and those who have had them seem very happy with them. The gripe I have with Blackberries (which I presume is the plural of Blackberry), other than a questionable choice on the touch-screen with certain models, is the web-based setup procedure. Not a major concern, just not the way I'd want to set it up. My colleague with the windows smart phone got rid of it some time ago, as it would occasionally crash during calls, holding the GPRS line connected, and consequently costing a not insignificant amount of money over a month. I try not to Microsoft-bash for the sake of it, and I try to keep an open mind about their new products, but you must admit, they do produce some grade A s**t at times. Incidentally, all three listed can connect to both Exchange and IMAP. There is the older palm classic range like the Treo however there is now the palm Pre thats getting good reviews in the US. Will be in uk around Sept/Oct. From what i can tell from ex palm users it seems win mob offers more of the flexibility and the amount of applications that the palm does than blackberry or iphone. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Cardbus USB 2 cards
At 16:39 05/12/2008, you wrote: 2008/12/5 Paul Stimpson mailto:p...@stimpsonfamily.co.ukp...@stimpsonfamily.co.uk Hi, I've seen cards similar that have a socket for an external PSU to power the devices. Have you seen any like this? I would ask the manufacturer is it does have a current limiter as a blown voltage regulator is very bad news. Cheers, Paul. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device -Original Message- From: Peter Salisbury mailto:peterthevi...@users.sourceforge.netpeterthevi...@users.sourceforge.net Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2008 15:10:54 To: mailto:l...@beer.org.ukl...@beer.org.uk; Hampshire LUG Discussion Listmailto:hampshire@mailman.lug.org.ukhampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Subject: Re: [Hampshire] Cardbus USB 2 cards 2008/12/5 Vic mailto:l...@beer.org.ukl...@beer.org.uk: Does anyone know if a cardbus USB 2.0 card is likely to work OK? There's always a risk if you don't know the chipset - but I've never had a problem. One problem you probably will face is the amount of current you can source from the new ports - it's unlikely to be very much... Vic. Thanks Vic, I'll give it a go then. It says the entire device is limited to 500mA, whereas USB 2 should allow that for each port. OTH it has a current limiter so no lasting damage should be caused. Peter I use an ADS Tech card in my A21m and X30 and it works well in both. It also has a socket for 5v DC in. I was thinking of going this route myself for my thinkpad x30 but cant find a ADS tech card on ebay. The cards i have come across also dont come with a power adaptor the best i have seen is a usb1 to slot power adaptor. Would this be a good one to get or do the psu ones exist still? This is one: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/32Bit-PCMCIA-USB-2-0-4-Port-HUB-Cardbus-FOR-Laptop-UK_W0QQitemZ110418398332QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_LaptopAccessories_PCMCIACards?hash=item19b5730c7c_trksid=p3286.c0.m14_trkparms=65%3A10%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50 or http://tinyurl.com/navwfm Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] LiveCD distro reputation good device detection
At 18:45 21/07/2009, you wrote: trotter wrote: I was thinking if someone could suggest a LiveCD distribution that has a good reputation for a wide range of device detection. Generally speaking the more modern the distribution the better compatibility it is likely to provide. Also more likely to provide better fail feedback. okay If the main purpose is to see where the kernel catches you don't need much more than a small distro. Its more a case of when it boots up I can add to the weight of evidence that says that some hardware component has died. I would consider making your own. I was recently asked to use Debian to build a live CD for software demonstration purposes and found this manual helpful http://live.debian.net/manual/html/ live-helper and corresponding GUI tool are simple to use... ...and for software testing, equally as simple, Fedora's livecd-creator and corresponding documentation http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FedoraLiveCD/LiveCDHowTo is here. Just a thought, Damian I don't really have the time to role my own at the moment but thanks for the suggestion. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] LiveCD distro reputation good device detection
Hello, I work in a computer workshop and often get PCs in with weird windows install problems. I was thinking if someone could suggest a LiveCD distribution that has a good reputation for a wide range of device detection. Then i would have a cd that could proove that the hardware was working and it was likely to be a driver or other software problem. Any thoughts? Feel free to suggest something that works better on laptops than desktops and vice versa since latops are custom build in comparison to off the shelf desktop parts. Thanks Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] LiveCD distro reputation good device detection
At 23:16 20/07/2009, you wrote: On Monday 20 July 2009 23:05:47 James Ashburner wrote: trotter wrote: Hello, I work in a computer workshop and often get PCs in with weird windows install problems. I was thinking if someone could suggest a LiveCD distribution that has a good reputation for a wide range of device detection. Then i would have a cd that could proove that the hardware was working and it was likely to be a driver or other software problem. Any thoughts? Feel free to suggest something that works better on laptops than desktops and vice versa since latops are custom build in comparison to off the shelf desktop parts. Thanks Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. PCLinuxOS would be my choice, though I'm sure plenty here will suggest Ubuntu :) And then there is Knoppix. And Puppy PCLOS, Knoppix and Puppy are the ones I find myself actually using for that type of purpose. Puppy is good for comparatively low-resourced computers. But if I am only taking one with me, that one is Knoppix. :-) Okay I could do with some info if there is better perceived hardware detection in desktops or laptops with either of those 3 distributions. Any version to avoid? I seem to remember someone on here or another list saying that a particular distro version was better at coping with errors than another on bootup. thanks Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OT:Fwd: Mark Thompson on Media Show on R4 about FM switch off
At 13:26 24/06/2009, you wrote: On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:36:11 +0100, James Courtier-Dutton james.dut...@gmail.com wrote: I cannot see any good reason for going with DAB is the sound quality is worse! Not everyone thinks like that though. The success of MP3 over CD as a distribution format is due to reasons other than sound quality. Similarly the popularity of relatively cheap and nasty camera phones over proper cameras. Some of the most popular contributed videos on youtube are badly lit, poorly shot and technically inferior. For some people, rightly or wrongly, content is more important than presentation. True enough but with DAB radio i cant even see an improvement in convenience which makes mp3 and phone cameras popular. To start with we have to buy new radios or get a DAB dongle. Next up poor reception on DAB means you get it cutting in and out in a start stop fashion which is a lot worse than poor fm reception that just background hiss. The only beneficiaries of DAB are the BBC with lower costs and the government with revenue for selling off the VHF frequencies. Why do i have to subsidise the BBC and government for something i don't want ? Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OT:Fwd: Mark Thompson on Media Show on R4 about FM switch off
At 13:03 24/06/2009, you wrote: On Wed, 2009-06-24 at 12:36 +0100, James Courtier-Dutton wrote: From reading the DAB standards, European Standard 201 980, it seems quite clear that the audio quality of DAB, or DAB+ for that matter is worse than the old FM. It uses 12kHz or 24kHz sampling when we are all used to 44.1kHz CDs and 48kHz DVDs. I thought Musicam could use those higher sampling rates. Most of the distortions I hear on DAB are compression artefacts (sometimes it's barely transparent at 192kb/s). Haven't the BBC already reduced all stations to below 192kb/s to cater for more stations like 1xtra and Asian network? I seem to remember radio 3 has the highest bit rate of 160 ? but that varies depending on if radio 5 extra is running or not. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OT:Fwd: Mark Thompson on Media Show on R4 about FM switch off
At 12:38 24/06/2009, you wrote: 2009/6/24 James Courtier-Dutton james.dut...@gmail.com: From reading the DAB standards, European Standard 201 980, it seems quite clear that the audio quality of DAB, or DAB+ for that matter is worse than the old FM. It uses 12kHz or 24kHz sampling when we are all used to 44.1kHz CDs and 48kHz DVDs. FM is equivalent to about 32kHz sampling. thanks for the comparative sampling rate. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] OT:Fwd: Mark Thompson on Media Show on R4 about FM switch off
Some interesting stuff about FM turn off. Apologies for not sending a newsletter for a long time, but as you'll no doubt have heard the BBC bullies are trying to force DAB upon us (the BBC lobbied the Government to set an early FM switch-off date, so the Government merely did what the BBC recommended, so the BBC is to blame, IMO), so I think now would be a good time to start sending newsletters again. *** Mark Thompson to appear on The Media Show on R4 tomorrow re FM switch-off *** BBC Director-General Mark Thompson is appearing on The Media Show tomorrow at 1.30pm where he will apparently be answering questions about FM switch off. So if you're not overly ecstatic about the decision to inflict low audio quality on the entire population via DAB, you can send your views to The Media Show via the following web contact form: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/the-media-show/contact/ *** Radio 4 Feedback asking for listeners' comments on FM switch-off *** In the latest edition of Feedback on Radio 4, they also asked people to send their views about the plans to switch off FM. Feedback has continually ignored the fact that there's a problem with DAB's sound quality over the last few years, either because they don't realise that the poor audio quality is an entirely separate issue to that of having poor reception quality, or they've simply swallowed the BBC's dishonest spin on the subject. So now would be a good time to remind them that there is still a problem. You can send your messages to Feedback via this web form: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/feedback/contact/ *** FM switch-off on You Yours *** If you're not already peed off about FM being switched off, the following recording of an interview with the chief exec of the DRDB (Digital Radio Development Bureau) Tony Moretta, promoting DAB and justifying why it's fine to switch off FM in 2015, will likely do the trick. His interview starts 34 mins 40 seconds into the programme on the iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00l36gn/You_and_Yours_23_06_2009/ The DRDB is co-funded by the BBC, and the BBC's Director of Radio Tim Davie is the Vice Chair of the DRDB, yet this bloke seems to think that's it's perfectly acceptable to lie on Radio 4 to millions of listeners. For example, he claims that DAB+ only offers very, very slightly higher quality than DAB. That is simply a bare faced lie. And when asked whether the UK is using a less advanced system than the rest of Europe, the first thing he says is that that's an urban myth. Er, no, it seriously isn't an urban myth, it is a stone cold fact of life. It may be an uncomfortable truth for the DAB supporters, but that's no excuse to lie on Radio 4, especially when the public are paying part of his wages. Happy listening. *** Save FM Campaign started *** I'd also like to draw your attention to the new Save FM Campaign website: http://www.savefm.org/ It's only just launched, so it only consists of the home page at the moment, but more content will be added soon. The main aim of the campaign is to stop the BBC switching off its national FM stations, although it will also be campaigning for the BBC to switch from using DAB to DAB+ by the time FM is switched off if the BBC does intend to switch off its FM stations - by deinition the vast majority of digital radios would support DAB+ by then, so there is absolutely no justification to continue broadcasting using a 20-year old system - which would be around 30 years old by the time FM could be switched off (I don't think FM could be switched off until around 2020). There is justifiably a lot of anger about the plans to switch off FM, mainly because the vast majority of people simply don't want it to happen as they're perfectly happy with FM, plus for a whole host of other reasons as well, obviously including the fact that DAB provides low audio quality. A few hundred people managed to stop the BBC switching off its Radio 4 Long Wave station, so given the number of listeners who would be opposed to the BBC switching off its national FM stations, hopefully it will be possible to convince the BBC to leave its national FM stations broadcasting. The FM stations only cost around £10 million per annum to transmit, which is a small fraction of what it will cost to broadcast DAB nationally, and it's only 22 pence per adult per year, or 0.28% of the BBC's £3,600m annual revenue from the licence-fee. £10m per annum may be a big number when taken on its own, but it's peanuts to the BBC. *** BBC's live Internet radio streams at higher quality than DAB DAB+ *** And finally, some good news. The BBC has finally launched its live AAC Internet radio streams, and it using 192 kbps AAC for Radio 3 and 128 kbps AAC for the other stereo streams. The same bit rates are being used for on-demand streams as for the live streams. It's also possible to say that these streams
Re: [Hampshire] OT:What? 6 years to analogue radio off
At 06:51 18/06/2009, you wrote: IIRC Germany are binning DAB due to poor uptake and quality. That said, most of the cars I've hired in Germany have had DAB radios in them. Yes they are going to use DAB + instead. Apparently only the uk and finland? (or some other country near there) are using dab which is why the price of the radios are very expensive for something decent sounding. Economies of scale kicks in to make the switch over even more insane. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] OT:What? 6 years to analogue radio off
Hello, I heard this on radio 4 news yesterday. I have not heard it anywhere else though and was wondering if anyone else had come across it? Unfortunately DAB radio is pretty poor using old musicam mp2 leaving FM sounding better than the newer technology. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OT:What? 6 years to analogue radio off
At 22:38 17/06/2009, you wrote: On Wednesday 17 June 2009 22:28:10 trotter wrote: I have not heard it anywhere else though and was wondering if anyone else had come across it? I heard it too, and I have heard it elsewhere. So all our radios will need to be junked, including car radios. And that is another new arial needed. And expensive DAB radios must be bought. :-( Parliament has no idea how the rest of us live. Its more a case that we are paying for new technology that is worse than what its replacing. The only people who benefit are the bbc who have lower running costs with digital. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OT:What? 6 years to analogue radio off
At 22:44 17/06/2009, you wrote: On Wednesday 17 June 2009 22:28:10 trotter wrote: Hello, I heard this on radio 4 news yesterday. I have not heard it anywhere else though and was wondering if anyone else had come across it? Unfortunately DAB radio is pretty poor using old musicam mp2 leaving FM sounding better than the newer technology. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. Its correct, I downloaded the 245 page Digital Britain report today but have not got very far into reading it yet. Not very impressed with the 50p tax on phone lines though Its 50p on each landline so you can guess what happens next ..we all switch to mobile only to avoid it! duh! Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OT:What? 6 years to analogue radio off
At 22:52 17/06/2009, you wrote: trotter wrote: Hello, I heard this on radio 4 news yesterday. I have not heard it anywhere else though and was wondering if anyone else had come across it? It's one of the proposals in the government's new Digital Britain paper (along with 2Mbps broadband across the country, paid for by an additional levy on phone lines). It was on pretty much all the mainstream media outlets yesterday. Ahhh a proposal thats hopeful i really dont want it to go through. I heard the tax on landlines but not the analogue switch off of radio Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] OT:What? 6 years to analogue radio off
At 22:56 17/06/2009, you wrote: trotter wrote: Hello, I heard this on radio 4 news yesterday. I have not heard it anywhere else though and was wondering if anyone else had come across it? Unfortunately DAB radio is pretty poor using old musicam mp2 leaving FM sounding better than the newer technology. *sigh* My £22 NAD tuner (off Ebay) sounds bloody lovely too... Ahhh NAD that UK company produces good sounding kit. Probably not as good as my Sansui 70s TU 9900 vintage radio that cost me £400 off ebay. Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Re installing windows XP on a dual boot pc
At 21:28 15/06/2009, you wrote: Roger Munford wrote: I have a PC (6 months old) which dual boots windows XP with Ubuntu which is used by the family. My son switched off the power before Windows shut down and it doesn't boot anymore. Ubuntu is unaffected and so I don't believe that any hardware has failed. My main gripe is with the so called recovery console which should have been the path to recovery. However it refused to start. This is apparently due to the absence of SATA drivers which can helpfully be fixed by putting them on to a floppy disk - if I had a disk drive. Thanks to Ubuntu, I have all the data and I was happy to re-install XP but when I tried that, setup just hung looking for previous windows versions. To verify that these problems were linked to the Sata drivers, I tried an old IDE disk with a win2k partition which was found both by recovery console and setup within a few seconds. It makes me angry that a company with the resources of Microsoft do not have better tools and I am convinced that this is deliberate. During the struggle I came across ntsfix which unfortunately wasn't a substitute for chkdsk but it reset XP's log which triggered chkdsk when XP was rebooted. Unfortunately the screen went blank at the end so I don't know the results. Can anybody advise on what to do next? I installed XP on the blank SATA disk when it was new without a problem and do not understand why setup cannot do it again or at least give a sensible reason. I would prefer to leave Ubuntu undisturbed and if possible the existing windows data. I am not even confident that re formatting the whole drive would allow me to reinstall. Thanks Roger You can reinstall XP without the SATA drivers by going into your BIOS settings and looking for something labelled SATA Native Mode or AHCI mode. If you have the former, set it to disabled for the install, if you have the latter set it to IDE (they're the same things just different names). This setting makes your SATA drive behave like an PATA drive for the install. Once you've reinstalled the AHCI drivers for your motherboard you can change the setting back. Yes its called something like NativeIDE on my gigabyte MB. I left it as IDE since syllable OS and w2k doesnt support AHCI with my gigabyte motherboard. There is also a roll your own windows install cd that can be made with your motherboard drivers. I havent done it myself though so i dont have a link. Tell us how you get on Martin N Owner of the bwfc yahoogroup and Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Backup media
At 12:05 07/05/2009, you wrote: Hi, There is already lots of data regarding backup media like CDs, DVDs, Tapes etc. The best being off-site network backup to a remote backup facility. I cannot find anything on usb flash disks. Does anyone know how long data will last on a usb flash disk if I store a picture on it, and leave it in a draw. How long before my data fades? I don't think there is any as the media hasn't been around long enough for meaningful tests. I seem to remember magneto-optical media was the best but i don't think there is anything aimed at the consumer. Last encounter i had with MO was my syquest drive. Syquest are dead now though. Maybe someone will know if Jaz drives from iomega that are sold to companies are MO or something else. Martin N Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] linux for toshiba satellite pro 4320
At 23:31 18/04/2009, you wrote: [1] http://www.tinycorelinux.com/ nice one, will. i love the idea of having a basic installation then choosing which apps you require... i don't need 3 web browsers, 7 email clients and 19 text editors. in fact, i like this idea so much, i've registered on the forum and hope to donate some time and energy into helping this project. Suprising that we haven't had popular distros doing this. With broadband not being available to some people and BB being flaky enough that sometimes a corrupt ISO is downloaded. Theres also how long it takes for a dvd ISO to download with 4 Mb connection I tend to look for cd based distributions to download. Martin N Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Choice of home wireless network set-up
At 23:04 13/04/2009, you wrote: I have looked at the thread last year about which router people recommended, but would be grateful if people felt able to comment on these - or add any others that I ought to have included. I would be grateful for both favourable and unfavourable feedback. I am particularly interested in reliability and reach. Netgear DG834G¹ I have this myself and am very pleased with it. But our house is on only two floors and has thin walls. How does it perform where penetration is more difficult, with three floors and thick walls? I have read the reviews and they are mixed, with some adverse comments on reliability. Netgear-DG834PN-RangeMax-MIMO-G-Wireless² This sounds ideal. But I would like a bit of feedback if anyone has had experience of it. It may not match what is claimed for it. Zyxel P660HW³ Recommended last year by Tim and John Cooper. Any further comments? Has the ZyXEL Prestige 660HW-T1 enough of an advantage over the P660HW to justify the higher price? And has anyone any experience of either the Solwise HomePlug AV /11n Router, or the Solwise HomePlug ADSL Modem Router + Solwise HomePlug Ethernet/Wireless combination?(4) Or of similar set-ups? While i Haven bought a homeplug ethernet combination it would be what i would buy based on what i have heard about them. The speed would be consistent and be faster than wireless at a distance from the router as the data goes over the mains cable. ie the drop off is faster for wireless over distance. Theres no problem with people hacking your wireless network either since its a physical connection. Martin N Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] What is a Shuttle PC?
At 11:22 13/04/2009, you wrote: - Original Message - From: Sean Gibbins s...@funkygibbins.me.uk To: Hampshire LUG Discussion List hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2009 3:30 PM Subject: Re: [Hampshire] What is a Shuttle PC? Rob Malpass wrote: Hi all I've done a bit of googling but (apart from the obvious shape of the case) what's so special about a shuttle PC? I'm looking to put together a new machine with quite a bit of grunt (6Gb RAM+ and as fast a CPU as I can afford). The only other real specification I need is that it can handle dual monitors. Aside from that, standard sound is ok, as is standard network. A front USB port would be handy but no other major requirements. I intend to dual boot Ubuntu and Vista and the main thrust of the machine's work will be video editing (hence the RAM, CPU and graphics). Physical space is an issue but is there anything else to watch out for? I notice for instance that lots of Shuttle PCs have only 275W power supplies - presumably the case can't take any more hardware so a stronger PSU isn't an issue - is that right? TIA - I promise I have done a lot of googling on this but not turned up the one answer I need - why buy a shuttle PC as opposed to a traditional tower? Having owned a couple I'll have a go for you Rob! Shuttles are typically compact, nice looking, and well built from good quality components, and as such come with a price tag to match. For your money you'll get a case, a Shuttle motherboard and a cooling system that latterly has negated the need for fans. You'll get good instructions and pretty much everything you need to get going if you buy barebones, and obviously if you shell out for a pre-built system you'll get something ready to go out of the box. High-end Shuttles will typically take a similarly high-end graphics card, although you need to be careful when selecting it that the physical size of the card (or cards!) does not make it incompatible with the case. The last Shuttle I owned had room for an optical drive and two hard drives on board, which made conditions pretty cramped inside although because of the clever design cooling was not compromised by this. The last time I upgraded to take advantage of the then new dual-core AMD CPUs I struggled to get everything working where Linux was concerned (Ubuntu Hoary or Warty - I forget which), and workarounds were needed where some of the newer components were concerned. Shuttles are typically up to speed where latest developments in CPU technology and memory are concerned, although I'm not sure about the spec as far as maximum memory is concerned so you'll need to check out the Shuttle site [1] for specifics, but I suspect that you might be pushing it where 4Gb+ is concerned. The PSUs are often the topic of hot debate regarding whether or not they are suited for purpose in a high-end machine. They are good quality and the ones I owned were certainly capable of performing above and beyond what their rating might have suggested in normal PC terms; I was using a PCI-e graphics card that demanded a PSU rated over 400W, and the 275W Shuttle unit worked just fine. Why buy a Shuttle? Well, if you want a good looking machine that has a small footprint and is reasonably quiet then a Shuttle might be the one for you. However, due to the proprietary nature of the mobos you will not be upgrading that machine forever, and as mentioned the small size of the case will limit you in terms of what will physically fit inside. I have a soft spot for them but I don't think I will be going back to them for the reasons outlined here and because of the high purchase price. So, my advice is that if you want a beast of a gaming machine or a real workhorse you'll probably get more mileage out of a decent tower machine than you will out of Shuttle, which will look nice and perform well for a while, but will age quicker and not be as upgradeable in the long run. Sean [1] http://sys.eu.shuttle.com/home.jsf -- The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows. Frank Zappa -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- Thanks Sean - very useful. My inteded use for this new box is to basically build something that can run Vista or W7 brilliantly so I guess the exapandability argument wins it for the traditional desktop case. If only decent screen magnification software were around for Linux, I reckon I could dump M$ completely but I've done a lot of research and those programs that there are e.g. gmag are very buggy - hence I use Vista and VNC into Linux boxes where I can
Re: [Hampshire] Recommendation on Virtualisation books
At 13:28 13/04/2009, you wrote: 2009/4/13 john lewis johnle...@hantslug.org.uk: *Sun version 'cos I've had module-mismatch errors trying to use the Debian sid version. Everytime there is a kernel update (a fairly frequent occurrence with sid) I'd get errors next time I tried to start XP. Have you got dkms installed? If so that should dynamically recompile the modules when a kernel update comes in, so you wouldn't have to worry about that. I tried rebuilding the modules but to no avail so when a message popped up saying Sun had an upgrade available to download I went for it. The closed version (that you now have) also supports USB which the open one in the repo doesn't. Is the closed version not free then? I tried to get my palm TX to run in VMware via USB but VMware seems to go through the host OS first which has a palm Treo 680 installed. Windows the host OS doesn't like the palm TX as its got a palm Treo on it already hence me trying to run XP in VMware to avoid the palm conflict. Mickeysofts Virtual PC doesn't support USB at all I was wondering if Suns VM works differently so theres no mismatch in device drivers. Martin N Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] Vinyl Ripping Issue
At 18:41 30/03/2009, you wrote: trotter wrote: At 10:19 30/03/2009, you wrote: Hi All, A bit OT I know but I am hoping that someone somewhere has encountered this issue or at least something similar. Basically I have a Pro-ject Debut II turntable hooked up to a Pro-Ject Phono Box II USB phono stage. Decent beginner turntable. Heh, it was all I could afford at the time - a used 'bargain' from ebay. Badly packaged, it arrived in a 'kit form' never intended by the manufacturers, and a combination of postal insurance and a partial refund made it viable once the replacement parts had been purchased. It's actually in great condition now and sounds good to my none-too-discerning ears. I recall that it nearly cost me a great deal more than money when my wife discovered I wanted to start buying vinyl again! ;-) I have a projective perspective which was £600 new but i picked it up for £400 on ebay. Unfortunately vinyl hardware is expensive for sound that is better than cd. CD is better bang for buck unfortunately. I enjoy trawling car boot sales for vinyl. Then cleaning them up with disco knosti antistat fluid bath. It occurs to me that the alternative is to unhook the phono stage from the amp and attach it to the line-in Is that the line in on the amp? I was actually thinking of going from phono stage line-out to laptop audio line-in, via a cable to convert phono leads to a 3.5mm jack plug, but yes it occurs to me now that you mention it that I may be by-passing the DAC device in the phono stage by doing this. I ripped my copy of De Stijl by The White Stripes today and got an excellent result. The problem is that it is currently a lottery as to what input levels I get! Unfortunately line in on sound cards are frankly abysmal quality wise. In a recent PC pro magazine feature on ripping vinyl it stated that you really need to buy a sound card close to £100 for anything remotely decent. This put me off doing it with a PC so i am sticking with MiniDisc for now. Besides its easier that way. Martin N Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] Vinyl Ripping Issue
At 20:26 30/03/2009, you wrote: trotter wrote: At 18:41 30/03/2009, you wrote: trotter wrote: At 10:19 30/03/2009, you wrote: Hi All, A bit OT I know but I am hoping that someone somewhere has encountered this issue or at least something similar. Basically I have a Pro-ject Debut II turntable hooked up to a Pro-Ject Phono Box II USB phono stage. Decent beginner turntable. Heh, it was all I could afford at the time - a used 'bargain' from ebay. Badly packaged, it arrived in a 'kit form' never intended by the manufacturers, and a combination of postal insurance and a partial refund made it viable once the replacement parts had been purchased. It's actually in great condition now and sounds good to my none-too-discerning ears. I recall that it nearly cost me a great deal more than money when my wife discovered I wanted to start buying vinyl again! ;-) I have a projective perspective which was £600 new but i picked it up for £400 on ebay. Unfortunately vinyl hardware is expensive for sound that is better than cd. CD is better bang for buck unfortunately. I enjoy trawling car boot sales for vinyl. Yeah, I love hitting the charity shops too, although round here its all Hammond organ music or oompa bands! Yeah that's what i found i charity shop in bolton as well -car boot is the way to go. :) Then cleaning them up with disco knosti antistat fluid bath. Will investigate that. Its a good cheap way to clean things up. there are better and more expensive vacuam turntables that do a better job but they start at £400 IIRC. It occurs to me that the alternative is to unhook the phono stage from the amp and attach it to the line-in Is that the line in on the amp? I was actually thinking of going from phono stage line-out to laptop audio line-in, via a cable to convert phono leads to a 3.5mm jack plug, but yes it occurs to me now that you mention it that I may be by-passing the DAC device in the phono stage by doing this. I ripped my copy of De Stijl by The White Stripes today and got an excellent result. The problem is that it is currently a lottery as to what input levels I get! Unfortunately line in on sound cards are frankly abysmal quality wise. In a recent PC pro magazine feature on ripping vinyl it stated that you really need to buy a sound card close to £100 for anything remotely decent. Well, bearing in mind that hearing differs from person to person I am very happy with the results I have got so far, despite the odd bit of rumble from the platter and earthing noise at high volume. That said, I'll bear in mind your comments and stick to attempting to resolve the issue with the mixer settings for the time being. If it works for you then that's fine, if you are happy so am I. Just thought I would point it out that if you can get hold of a audio CD recorder or MiniDisc recorder it might be a better way of doing things. This put me off doing it with a PC so i am sticking with MiniDisc for now. Besides its easier that way. MiniDisc should be due for /its/ revival any time now, huh? :-) Never owned one myself, just recall everyone selling them off to buy digital media players at work! Got one of those as well (cowan iaudio D2 supports FLAC ) as its my main portable device. MiniDisc is good for convenience rather than traveling. Martin N Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] [OT] Vinyl Ripping Issue
The record company released MiniDisc were awful i would agree. The recording side got good around version 4.5 of ATRAC earlier versions were poorer. Cumulating in full Cd quality with HiMD and so no compression. I don't know what you mean with the screws falling out of the media as none of my MiniDisc have screw in. They are sealed plastic cases with a metal floppy disk like flap. As a format its relevance today is that it plugs into my separates and records like old tape does but with the option of longer times at lower quality. Its also Magneto Optical like the old syquest drives and has been shown to have a long shelf life. Its more of a home recording format than a portable format to most users now. Martin N Co-Moderator of MiniDisc and amithlonopen yahoo groups. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] How well would Debian Lenny work on this?
Hello, I was looking at this motherboard: http://www.acube-systems.biz/eng/sam.phphttp://www.acube-systems.biz/eng/sam.php How well do people think this will work with debian lenny? It will be used as a standard desktop ie internet wordprocessing so theres nothing to heavy cpu wise. Yes its expensive but I do rather like being able to use amiga os4.1 on it, however it does need to be useful as well for applications that arent available on amiga os. I will be dual booting the two oses. thanks for your time Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] Asus EEE PC 900A £210 at oyyy.co .uk
Lo, Since some have been talking about netbooks heres one that arrived on offer in a flyer email today. oyyy.co.uk have been ok service wise although i havent sent anything back to test them. 2Asus EEE PC 900A 8.9 Notebook RRP:£268.40 Only £209.24 Inc VAT Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Media players
At 08:05 26/02/2009, you wrote: trotter wrote: Where did you buy it from? Hi Martin, I bought it through Amazon, from a reseller called SpecialTech [1], although I must confess I thought it was coming from Amazon directly and was a little perturbed (as an Amazon seller with a 100% rating myself) to find they only had a 94% rating. That said, it was here within a couple of days and I suspect the low-ish rating largely comes from chumps rating the product as opposed to the company's performance, or blaming Royal Mail's iffy service on them. FWIW I note that Play sell them too [2], and I would probably have used them in preference had it occurred to me at the time. Eugh! I have had poor customer service from play. They sent my a 5 dvd box set of a quadrilogy which had 2 disk threes. Disk one was missing I sent it back with a letter explaining and they just sent it back with no note and with the same duplicate disk in :( We watched a couple of shows last night and I have to say that the picture quality was superb and any misgivings about the slightly high price have been soothed away by the total lack of faff. Sounds good. Looking at the amazons 2 pages of reviews it does seem to be well liked however there seems to be a problem with the hdmi socket not being very well made. Did you notice anything with that socket or were you using the other video outputs instead? Thanks Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Media players
At 15:09 26/02/2009, you wrote: trotter wrote: Sounds good. Looking at the amazons 2 pages of reviews it does seem to be well liked however there seems to be a problem with the hdmi socket not being very well made. Did you notice anything with that socket or were you using the other video outputs instead? Our telly is far from HD-ready... so composite all the way for us! ;-) Until you get a high def source it will be a good idea to stick with the non HD tv. Thats if my dads LG tv is anything to go by. It is HD 780 but he runs it on SD freeview and its awful. The picture breaks up into pixels on fast scenes, everything looks blocky and theres digital noise in the picture it is just bobbins. His old phillips CRT is better on freeview but since i am using it I better not mention it ;) However, I'd say that the build quality is pretty good overall, for what my opinion is worth. Ok thanks for the info. Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Drive Imaging
At 07:21 25/02/2009, you wrote: On Tue, 2009-02-24 at 21:03 +, Rob Malpass wrote: Hi all Sorry - but if a newbie question - but do people have a favourite drive imaging program? I'm looking for something to take an image of both my NASses (is that how to spell the plural?!) which can happily be Linux and one specifically for XP. As far as Linux is concerned - is this the sort of thing mkisofs was built for? Cheers Rob mkisofs will make a ISO image of files (regardless of what they are). Many of the hardcore Linux folk will cite DD, rsync and others - which are excellent in their own way. However, for a quick 'fix' similar to Ghost/Acronis/Others have a look at 'Clonezilla' http://clonezilla.org/ The website and interface win no awards for aesthetics but it works very well indeed. Does either clonezilla or partimage support HFS+ the mac journaling filesystem? It would reduce the file size of the image a lot if it does. I currently use Norton ghost 11 which does fat NTFS and ext3 fine but not the mac file system. thanks Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Drive Imaging
At 17:25 25/02/2009, you wrote: On Wednesday 25 February 2009, trotter wrote: At 07:21 25/02/2009, you wrote: Does either clonezilla or partimage support HFS+ the mac journaling filesystem? It would reduce the file size of the image a lot if it does. According to their website it does yes. [1], Had a bit of a look at it at the weekend while trying to save a dying HDD it does look pretty good. David Rozzell [1] http://clonezilla.org/ Thanks i will take a look Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Drive Imaging
At 20:33 25/02/2009, you wrote: At 17:25 25/02/2009, you wrote: On Wednesday 25 February 2009, trotter wrote: At 07:21 25/02/2009, you wrote: Does either clonezilla or partimage support HFS+ the mac journaling filesystem? It would reduce the file size of the image a lot if it does. According to their website it does yes. [1], Had a bit of a look at it at the weekend while trying to save a dying HDD it does look pretty good. David Rozzell [1] http://clonezilla.org/ Thanks i will take a look Tried it but it only shows 4 hard drives just like ghost 11 :( Imaging of 1 partition went fine though so it does work even if it isn't the easiest imaging program around. Yeah i know 5 drives is messy but thats the problem with windows drive letters and an evolving system were i like playing with different oses. Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Media players
At 22:28 25/02/2009, you wrote: Hugo Mills wrote: On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 03:05:24PM +, Imran Chaudhry wrote: Take a look at Popcorn Hour: http://www.popcornhour.com/ I think that will satisfy your tech requirements regarding video but unsure of NFS support. I recall the reviews praising it's lack of noise. Can't vouch for it's stability as I don't have one myself. There are several reviews on the web. Check the forums on the site for user feedback. Oddly enough, someone at work pointed me at this one, too. The review in the new LXF is glowing, and the review I found on cnet is the same. This looks like it could well be the Right Thing for me. Heh - definitely /not/ the right thing for me on account of the price, although it does look rather nice! Being somewhat limited in funds and with simpler requirements, I splashed out on one of these: http://tinyurl.com/d2rgvb [Western Digital TV HD Media Player] ... and I am very glad that I did. Quite simple in every way (i.e. looks, build and use), it takes an avi file on a usb hard drive and plays it on your telly, with none of the artefacts and faff associated with converting from avi to dvd-friendly formats. If you have numerous files on your usb hard drive then these are listed out for you to choose from and searchable. Interesting. its the first player i have noticed that does high def mkv file format which is the high def equivalent of divx I'd recommend it a good deal more heartily if it cost around £75, but I am pleased with it all the same. Gotta say i am tempted with the mkv support. Currently I burn divx files to dvd to play on a dvd player. Where did you buy it from? Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Problems changing boot order in Ubuntu
At 00:06 06/01/2009, you wrote: On Tue, Jan 06, 2009 at 12:02:47AM +, trotter wrote: At 21:06 05/01/2009, you wrote: Thanks James - that solved it. I found that the /boot in /etc/fstab was commented out, but I checked in cfdisk and I definitely did have a boot partition. I uncommented the line and mounted it and then edited the menu.lst file on that partition. It then worked first time! :-) Are you saying every single line in menu.lst is commented out? and thus grub goes and finds menu.lst elsewhere. No, he's saying that the menu.lst he was editing wasn't the one the system was using. He mounted the filesystem that grub was looking at, and edited the menu.lst on there, and it all worked. Duh! Misread the email, thanks for the clarification. Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Floppy drives
At 23:01 03/12/2008, you wrote: 2008/12/3 Bob Jelf [EMAIL PROTECTED]: on Wed 03 December 2008 21:28 Rob wrote Part of the problem is the only cable I have that has connectors for both has no ridge in the centre so I don't know whether I'm alligning it correctly. You will find that the No. 1 pin (the red connector) should be on the same side as the motor on both the 5.25 and 3.5 floppy drives. ... and that is the side of the long connector that is nearest to where the 4-pin power connector goes. I would check your motherboard manual to see if it supports 2 floppy drives. I spent a while trying to get two 3.5 drives working in the same machine not realising that the motherboard doesn't support it. Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Belkin shame
At 12:05 01/12/2008, you wrote: That router is the last piece of kit they're selling in here. Shame, I used to think they were a decent company. After their traffic hijacking stunt? There's no way I'd buy Belkin now. It might have been 5 years ago, but that sort of thing is plain unforgiveable. Whats the traffic hijacking stunt? Belkins quality seems to have gone right down. They used to produce quality products but now there stuff just seems as nasty as most no name manufacturers are. I wonder if they sold their name off to some Korean company like warfedale seem to have. Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Serial to USB dongle
At 20:28 25/11/2008, you wrote: On Tue, Nov 25 at 05:20, Clive Woodfine wrote: I am looking for a means of connecting my Psion Revo to my laptop which has no serial port. Is there anything I should look for under Linux? FTDI[1] sell a wide variety of USB to serial cables with all manner of connectors and voltages, 3.3V, 5V(ttl) and RS232, bare leaded, 3.5mm jacks, 9pinD or bare PCBs to attach your own wires to. All work out the box with linux in my experience. Nice to have a device where the Windows guys are the ones that have to install the driver :-) It's a free download :-( They are described as engineering samples but they happily sell one offs to joe public. Just expect a cable in a jiffy bag not a four colour box. [1] www.ftdi.com Sorry the eshop don't publish useful internal UrLs but it should be obvious. Hmm i get a flower shop at that website. I did type usb to serial in the search box to be sure and it returned nothing. Trying to connect my belkin ups to new motherboard thats serial connection-less. The usb port is dodgy on my ups hence using serial. Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Linux Admin IQ Test
At 17:08 08/11/2008, you wrote: hi Got 75 not bad for a newbie huh? Yeah not bad. I got 65 with a lot of educated guesses since I dont use linux that much. Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Which distro next?
At 13:19 30/10/2008, you wrote: Phillip Chandler wrote: Hi Paul. Have you consider PCLinuxOS ? The 2007 version is rock solid with KDE, but there is now a 2009 version out, still in Beta but starting to look good. Texstar (who is the main person on the distro) came from Mandriva, so has that way of thinking, and also sways towards the Debian way of thinking, IE It will be released when we're happy with it, if thats a month or 4 months then tough, thats the way its going to be. Phillip +1 for PCLOS, though I use the 2008 mini-me build. Very easy to use, great hardware support, easy wizard for installing ATI/nVidia video drivers, no problems with Wireless on my Thinkpad T60p. the minime link was down for me yesterday Does anyone else have a different a different sources as the ones i googled refered to pclinuxos website. Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Which distro next?
At 16:33 30/10/2008, you wrote: trotter wrote: the minime link was down for me yesterday Does anyone else have a different a different sources as the ones i googled refered to pclinuxos website. Martin N http://dl.btjunkie.org/torrent/pclinuxos-minime-2008/50276487d2dfae54efa4f96749cee8cbd7a3ba1c934c/download.torrent or http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/texstar/pclinuxos/live-cd/english/preview/ With torrent probably being the fastest way to get hold of it :) Duh! Thanks, downloading torrent now - still think of torrents as illegal thanks to all the bad publicity. Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Suggestions for replacement motherboard
At 22:27 10/10/2008, you wrote: On Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:42:03 +0100 David Rozzell [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I bought this [1] Barebones bundle from Novatech almost 2 weeks ago, not had any issues with it, installed Opensuse11.0 64bit on it without any problems at all. It uses the MSI K9N6PGM2-V motherboard [2] which is 24.4cm (9.6) X 20.5cm (8), so not quite as big as the one you have now. Novatech also sell the motherboard separately [3] or as a motherboard bundle with processor RAM [4] [4] http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?MBB-A502M That bundle looks about the right price but will have to consult the accountant first :-) It will eventually need a PCI Express graphics card I guess but with 2 pci slots I can still use the advansys scsi card I need for my scanner and a PCI graphics card to get me going. I expect the pci graphics card would be worse than on board gfx nowadays particularly since newish motherboards have to support gfx heavy vista premium. I bought a gigabyte ga-ep35c-ds3r with quad core in the last two weeks but the ide port has been a real pain. It wouild only pick up one hard drive the slave it didnt like nor a optical drive either. On the windows side the drivers installation software didnt like xp sp3. This motherboard has been quite a pain really but now its working its nice enough. Almost all the motherboards i could find have only 1 ide port which could mess things up if you get some weird config error like i did. Also if you have 3 ide devices you will have to get a pata to sata adaptor to use it. Hope that helps, Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
