Re: [PLUG] Want Low power long duration UPS

[jim karlock]

I guess I am out of knowledge at this point, except for a couple of loose
ends:
* I searched for battery life under float conditions and found only this:

ROLLS OPzV GEL BATTERY INSTALLATION
& CHARGING
Designed and well-suited for regular cycling as well as float and backup
applications, Rolls sealed OPzV GEL batteries have a low internal
resistance than Flooded deep cycle models allowing quick recharge and a low
self-discharge rate (2% per month). Rolls OPzV GEL batteries perform well
in installations requiring frequent cycling even under extreme operating
conditions and* offer more than 20-year cycle life in float applications at
25ºC (77ºF)*.
https://rollsbattery.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Rolls-Battery-User-Manual.pdf

.* Car batteries in daily use get 4-5 years, so 20 does not surprise me for
being floated at the proper, manufacturer recommended,  voltage and
temperature.
.
* If one were really lucky, the wall wart would be 13.6 and one could just
float a gel battery across it or, better, a precisely regulated 13,x to
exactly match the battery manufacturer's specs for float.
* If the wallwart were 12v, I would consider the precise float voltage
supply & putting a 12v regulator (be sure the power design, temperature, is
very conservative for long life) between the battery and the appliance. Of
course connectors may be a problem in either case.

(I presume that this will be my last post on this.)
Thanks
JK




On Fri, Apr 12, 2024 at 11:24 AM Keith Lofstrom  wrote:

> On Fri, Apr 12, 2024 at 06:21:56AM -0700, jim karlock wrote:
> > How about the lowest power UPS you can find and replace the little
> battery
> > with car battery?
>
> > (car battery should be the kind that doesn't require periodic watering.)
>
> Tried that before - car batteries eventually "sulfate",
> and won't have full capacity years later, when they are
> unpredictably needed.  The LiFePO4 sealed batteries last
> decades, and are a heck of a lot lighter.  Data centers
> use them, but the technology hasn't trickled down to
> smaller SOHO users ... or not yet, AFAIK.
>
> Hence my question to the list.
>
> An array of smaller "lantern format" batteries can be
> charged one at a time, perhaps at a bicycle-accessible
> location that still has power when my home doesn't.
>
> BTW, I also considered replacing the 12V wall warts on
> both devices with a direct feed from the 12.8V batteries.
> However, the electronics in the Optical Network Terminal
> may be finicky about voltage levels, and I would need to
> pry open the ONT case to access the internal plug and jack.
>
> Thanks for the suggestion; if you've had better long-term
> success with car battery UPS, tell me more.
>
> Keith
>
> --
> Keith Lofstrom  kei...@keithl.com
>

Re: [PLUG] Want Low power long duration UPS

[jim karlock]

How about the lowest power UPS you can find and replace the little battery
with car battery?

Or a low power inverter and small charger and a car battery with manual
move power plugs to the inverter?  A standard UPS would allow time to
switch the plugs.

Or like above with a home built transfer switch that also makes the
inverter run.

(car battery should be the kind that doesn't require periodic watering.)

thanks
jk





On Fri, Apr 12, 2024 at 12:15 AM Keith Lofstrom  wrote:

> On Tuesday, Ziply fiber installed an optical network
> terminal (ONT) ... which I will discuss in another email.
> Besides being wicked fast, the wallwart that powers the
> ONT draws only 5 watts.
>
> If we have another ice storm and 8 day power outage like we
> had in January, I would like to power that O.N.T. and a
> 5 port gigabit switch (2 more watts) for a week or more.
>
> BTW, the neighborhood "hub" for the Ziply fiber is a
> "wavelength division multiplexer" - a glass marvel that
> splits a single bidirectional multiband fiber into separate
> bands for customers.  The WDM uses no electrical power.
>
> A typical 200 watt UPS uses quite a lot of the battery
> power just to power internal circuitry, and has limited
> sealed-lead-acid battery capacity.  I can imagine a 10 watt
> output "mini" UPS that uses a tray of external lithium iron
> phosphide batteries and runs for days, using far less power
> for internal operation.
>
> Do products like that exist?  Where can I buy one?
>
> Keith L.
>
> --
> Keith Lofstrom  kei...@keithl.com
>

Re: [PLUG] Power converters for power outages

[Jim Karlock]

The simplest approach would be to have a UPS than can run all of the 
stuff, then during an outage merely unplug it from the dead wall 
outlet and plug it into an inverter powered from the appropriate battery bank.

thanks
JK



At 03:02 PM 9/29/2017, you wrote:
>Three weeks ago, a suicidal squirrel (or "Rocky the Frying
>Squirrel") tested his electrical "mettle" on the power feed
>to our street, and lost.  We were without power for a few
>hours, until PGE diagnosed and fixed the blown fuse.
>
>We were involuntarily reminded that the cordless POTS
>phones in our house are powered by wall warts.  We lost
>landline phone service until I plugged in an ancient
>princess phone from a basement junkbox, so we could call
>PGE (using caller ID to verify the outage location).
>
>The grid will become increasingly unreliable in coming
>decades; it wasn't designed for intermittent "alternative
>energy", electric car charging, and squirrels frightened
>by climate change predictions.  It could be ... but "why
>not" is a whole 'nother rant.
>
>Anywhoo, the bottom line is that we will be on battery
>power and generator backup more often in the future, and
>it is prudent to prepare.  For example, alternative power
>strategies for essential wall-wart-powered devices, like
>the cordless phones, the firewall computer, and the
>wireless access point.
>
>Most of the wall warts are 12V or less; the phone base
>sets are 7.5V *DC*.  Chinese suppliers on ebay sell
>little 3 amp LM2596S step-down ("buck") converter boards
>for less than $1 ... and a longish delivery time.  I
>plan to put a 12V marine battery in an unused fireplace
>(to vent hydrogen, if any) and distribute (fused!) 12V
>power to a few places in the house.
>
>I will replace the essential wall warts with properly
>adjusted step-down converters.  Then the phones and
>the wireless power will keep running for a few hours
>while the battery discharges.  For extended outages
>(and we had a two week outage a decade ago) I'll fire
>up the kilowatt Honda portable generator.  That won't
>power motor startup on our older refrigerator and
>freezer, but we will replace those soon.  I presume
>we can find refrigerators with "low inrush current"
>soft-start electronic motor controllers;  I expect those
>have been developed for off-grid solar homesteading.
>
>In any case, relevant to PLUG, I have a bag of these
>buck converters to play with, which might be useful for
>powering your low-power computer gizzies after Oregon
>plunges into darkness.  Or powering them in your gas
>guzzling car(*).  Let's schedule a play date here for
>fooling with them; contact me via email.
>
>Keith
>
>(*) visions of the Personal Telco 500, a high speed
>automobile race where the lead car with the access point
>races around the track, while distracted drivers race
>behind it with their laptops, debugging and uploading
>kernel patches; Indy Indie networking!  :-)
>
>--
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Re: [PLUG] Power converters for power outages

[Jim Karlock]

A few comments on this topic:
1. I got a dual fuel generator because of the problems with gasoline 
carburetors - apparently you have to clean them out after each use. 
Not so with propane.

2. The output waveform is kinda crappy - lots of high frequency trash 
on top of a not too good sine wave. This waveform is BETTER than the 
three level square wave that comes from most UPS and power inverters 
which usually is a 165v square wave with zero volt times to make the rms 115v.

3. I made up a power loss detector and line changeover switch to turn 
a 12v to 115v inverter on and switch the load to it. Simple 3PDT 
relay with held in with power line. When the line goes away, two 
contacts switch the power line and the third shunt across the 
inverter power switch. The switchover is too slow for some computers 
which was solved with a bottom line (ie: cheap) UPS for that computer.

3a. I really should do a proper design for a power loss detector to 
switch the inverter ON and power line changeover switch.

4. Check the inverter current consumption when turned OFF - many draw 
significant power when off.

5. Once you have 12v battery power, you can add as many batteries as 
desired for  long run times and get a battery charger to run off of 
the generator.

6. I am using a pair of 12v deep cycle marine batteries of about 100 
Ahr. Since these are expected to only cycle once every few years, 
ordinary auto batteries may have been a better choice.

I am not convinced of the value of replacing wall warts with step 
down or step up converters because of the issue of ground isolation 
(or not) and some that put out ac. Plus any power efficiencies may 
not be worth the cost and hassle compared to buying another 12v battery.

thanks
JK





At 03:02 PM 9/29/2017, Keith Lofstrom wrote:
>Three weeks ago, a suicidal squirrel (or "Rocky the Frying
>Squirrel") tested his electrical "mettle" on the power feed
>to our street, and lost.  We were without power for a few
>hours, until PGE diagnosed and fixed the blown fuse.
>
>We were involuntarily reminded that the cordless POTS
>phones in our house are powered by wall warts.  We lost
>landline phone service until I plugged in an ancient
>princess phone from a basement junkbox, so we could call
>PGE (using caller ID to verify the outage location).
>
>The grid will become increasingly unreliable in coming
>decades; it wasn't designed for intermittent "alternative
>energy", electric car charging, and squirrels frightened
>by climate change predictions.  It could be ... but "why
>not" is a whole 'nother rant.
>
>Anywhoo, the bottom line is that we will be on battery
>power and generator backup more often in the future, and
>it is prudent to prepare.  For example, alternative power
>strategies for essential wall-wart-powered devices, like
>the cordless phones, the firewall computer, and the
>wireless access point.
>
>Most of the wall warts are 12V or less; the phone base
>sets are 7.5V *DC*.  Chinese suppliers on ebay sell
>little 3 amp LM2596S step-down ("buck") converter boards
>for less than $1 ... and a longish delivery time.  I
>plan to put a 12V marine battery in an unused fireplace
>(to vent hydrogen, if any) and distribute (fused!) 12V
>power to a few places in the house.
>
>I will replace the essential wall warts with properly
>adjusted step-down converters.  Then the phones and
>the wireless power will keep running for a few hours
>while the battery discharges.  For extended outages
>(and we had a two week outage a decade ago) I'll fire
>up the kilowatt Honda portable generator.  That won't
>power motor startup on our older refrigerator and
>freezer, but we will replace those soon.  I presume
>we can find refrigerators with "low inrush current"
>soft-start electronic motor controllers;  I expect those
>have been developed for off-grid solar homesteading.
>
>In any case, relevant to PLUG, I have a bag of these
>buck converters to play with, which might be useful for
>powering your low-power computer gizzies after Oregon
>plunges into darkness.  Or powering them in your gas
>guzzling car(*).  Let's schedule a play date here for
>fooling with them; contact me via email.
>
>Keith
>
>(*) visions of the Personal Telco 500, a high speed
>automobile race where the lead car with the access point
>races around the track, while distracted drivers race
>behind it with their laptops, debugging and uploading
>kernel patches; Indy Indie networking!  :-)
>
>--
>Keith Lofstrom  kei...@keithl.com
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Re: [PLUG] Looking for PC/Main board x686 (could be K7) with 2-3 EISA slots

[Jim Karlock]

I got several hits when I entered 8" floppy on ebay.

Thanks
JK


At 05:04 PM 1/8/2017, you wrote:
>Sadly I've given up on FG. I was looking for a couple 8" DS floppy
>drives, had a request to see if I could recover some CAD data. Someone
>said the same thing so I called FG. Confirmed they still had them but
>they would not sell them to me, had to be scrapped, gave some super
>lame excuses.
>
>-pete
>
>On Sun, Jan 8, 2017 at 4:55 PM, Chuck Hast  wrote:
> > Dropped two machines with that sort of board in them off at Free Geek a bit
> > over a week ago.
> >
> > On Sun, Jan 8, 2017 at 4:50 PM, Pete Lancashire 
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Anyone have an old PC K7 or newer that has at least 2 EISA slots that
> >> they no longer want ?
> >>
> >> -pete
> >> ___
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> >> http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > Chuck Hast  -- KP4DJT --
> > Glass, five thousand years of history and getting better.
> > The only container material that the USDA gives blanket approval on.
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Re: [PLUG] Mint 18.0 Cinnamon 64-bit: Message 'Boot is Full'

[Jim Karlock]

At 04:39 PM 11/13/2016, Vedanta Teacher wrote:
>Everyone,
>
>I'm running a relatively new HP Pavilion desktop with:
>Mint 18.0 Cinnamon 64-bit
>Version 3.0.7
>Linux Kernel 4.4.0-47-generic
>AMD A8 CPU
>RAM 14.6
>HD 945.9GB
>
>Yesterday it threw a message at my of: Boot is Full
>
>I've used the default installation settings for Boot & Grub.
>
>**
>I did a quick search on Chromium and some people recommended:
>
>apt-get -f install
>apt-get clean
>dpkg
>
>I searched the Mint site and some recommendations were:
>
>Using the Synaptic Package Manager to remove old kernel
>images (but I'd need to know which ones...)
>
>**
>Question:
>
>I must be having a senior moment... Is there a quick easy way
>to remove the unneeded items or, just make the Boot partition larger?
>I'm no super user but I can run some simple command lines.
>
>There are some files on this machine that I'd like to save.

Don't forget that you can remove the hard drive and read it on 
another computer with a USB adapter.

Thanks
JK


>If I totally bonk things I do have a laptop running 17.3 that
>I can use.
>
>Blessings,
>Paul W.
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Re: [PLUG] my printer is out of ink, recommendations for a new printer?

[Jim Karlock]

The first step in buying ANY printer is to look at ink costs.

That probably means looking at third party cartridges, refilling and 
if there is chip to prevent refills like HP has.

thanks
JK




At 11:31 PM 10/27/2016, you wrote:
>Russell Senior wrote:
> > The subject line is partly a joke.  I have an HP Deskjet 932c, probably
> > 10 years old or something vaguely like that.  The ink cartridges are
> > about shot (currently blue instead of black, morphing into a red).  A
> > replacement set of ink (HP 78/45) is about $80, which is close to a new
> > printer.  The printer is attached to an Ubuntu box, printing occurs
> > through CUPS.
> >
> > Advice?
>Advice? ... no, maybe not ... my hp officejet 7310 broke beyond repair
>(>5 years old) ... bought (on sale) an hp officejet pro 8710 for $109
>CAD, but the ink (4 separate cartridges) is priced at $30 CAD/cartridge
>(total $120 CAD) ... sigh
>
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Re: [PLUG] Web site URL points to localhost

[jim karlock]

That is actually a well recognized economic fallacy. What it leaves 
out is the fact that that money could have been spent on other things 
that would improve our lives, instead of replacing perfectly good 
things with no net benefit.

That is why many people oppose "alternative" energy - it will waste 
the billions we spent on our perfectly OK current power system with 
new. While that money would be better spent improving our lives, 
bringing people out of poverty, building new roads, or feeding our families.

Unfortunately most politicians don't have a clue about this or other 
economic concepts.

thanks
JK




At 08:57 AM 9/24/2016, Denis Heidtmann wrote:
>On Fri, Sep 23, 2016 at 8:20 PM, Russell Johnson  wrote:
>
> >
> > ...
> > Just as law enforcement won't eliminate or curtail, or in a lot of
> > instances prosecute these crimes because the gain to the economy is much
> > more than the losses incurred.
> >
>
>
>If true, this is an example of why I could never understand economics.  If
>I set fire to a bunch of buildings, the economy improves since all those
>fire fighters, demolition and construction workers are now employed.  Let's
>become the richest country in the world by setting fire to all our cities!
>Econ-logic.
>
>-Denis
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[PLUG] Another reason to NOT buy HP

[jim karlock]

from: 
http://www.zdnet.com/article/hp-just-made-it-impossible-to-use-third-party-ink-in-its-printers/


HP just made it impossible to use third-party ink in its printers

HP silently disabled the ability to use third-party printer ink 
cartridges in its HP Officejet printer lines.

By 
Steven 
J. Vaughan-Nichols for Between the 
Lines | September 20, 2016 -- 19:29 GMT (12:29 PDT) | Topic: 
Hardware
Recommended Content:

White
 
Papers: Practical Options for Deploying Small Server Rooms and Micro 
Data Centers
Small server rooms and branch offices are typically unorganized, 
unsecure, hot, unmonitored, and space constrained. These conditions 
can lead to system downtime or, at the very least, lead to "close 
calls" that get management's attention. Practical...
Read
 
more
* 
116
 

* 1020
* 125

It's an old business model. You sell razors cheaply and then you make 
your profit from selling expensive blades. 
Hewlett-Packard (HP), and other printer 
companies, have been using the 
razor/blade 
model for years. Now, they've taken it to a new level. HP, according 
to the Dutch ink seller, 123inkt.nl, is 
deliberately making it impossible for you to use refurbished ink 
cartridges in HP 
Officejet printers.

The ink in this HP printer costs more than any other element within it.

Guess what? They're right.

While HP took its time getting back to me, I tried a third-party ink 
cartridge in my 
HP
 
OfficeJet Pro 8610. Sure enough, it didn't work. Instead, I was 
informed that the ink cartridge was damaged. I was unable to print a 
single page.

Since then, HP has gotten back to me. The company's official statement said:

Beginning in 2015, HP implemented updates to the firmware related to 
the security chip in HP OfficeJet, OfficeJet Pro and OfficeJet Pro X 
printers that maintains secure communications between the cartridge 
and the printer. The purpose of this update is to protect HP's 
innovations and intellectual property. These printers will continue 
to work with refilled or re-manufactured cartridges with an Original 
HP security chip. Other cartridges may not function. In many cases 
this functionality was installed in the HP printer and in some cases 
it has been implemented as part of an update to the printer's firmware.

Innovations? Intellectual property? It's a printer, not a nuclear submarine.

What HP really wants, of course, is to make more money.

This is not the first time, not will it be the last, that HP has gone 
after companies offering users a cheap deal on printer ink.

More than a decade ago, HP, Epson, and Canon were all trying to use 
smart
 
chips to keep users from using refilled ink cartridges. Since then, 
HP has 
sued 
companies for violating their printer cartridges patents.

[PLUG] codeweaver crossover

[jim karlock]

Will codeweaver crossover work better than wine?
Any pros & cons?

I need to run:
Sony Vegas (they say it works OK)
Page plus (appears to not run)
quick basic, a DOS program

any advise?

thanks
JK

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Re: [PLUG] G5 Macs?

[jim karlock]

I forgot to mention that there are several grades of electrolytic 
caps. Be sure to match or upgrade teh temperature spec.

I still recommend Mouser.com

thanks
JK


At 12:57 AM 5/4/2016, you wrote:
>On Wed, May 4, 2016 at 12:39 AM, Michael Dexter  wrote:
> > Did the place near the old Norvac on Nimbus survive?
>
>Oregon Electronics is now only in Eugene:
>http://www.oregon-electronics.com/x/home.php?cat=260
>
>I stopped by URS a year ago and was shocked at how little they seem to
>stock out front compared to the Good Old Days. Maybe they still have
>lots of stock out back?
>
>I didn't have much luck at Fry's either a couple years ago re-capping
>a TiVo power supply. When I stopped by in April I was surprised they
>moved all the PC stuff around for the first time ever as far as I
>recall. Not sure it didn't shrink considerably and the cap selection
>may not be that good either. I seem to recall they carry the NTE line.
>You could check to see if they even have the caps you want part
>numbered before heading down.
>
>You might have some luck at Surplus Gizmos on Cornelius Pass but the
>caps may not be of recent manufacture.
>
>NealS
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Re: [PLUG] G5 Macs?

[jim karlock]

Frankly, for a power supply, I'd look at the diodes and transistors first.

Are all outputs dead?

thanks
JK



At 12:15 AM 5/4/2016, you wrote:
>On 5/3/16 10:43 PM, wes wrote:
> > I can replace caps, or there is a plethora of talented people who frequent
> > ctrlh.org who I'm sure would be happy to do it for you.
>
>I confess I have heard passing mention of CTRL-H but didn't realize they
>had a building. That is great!
>
>There is a risk I will have the power supply at the Thursday meeting and
>that CTRL-H folks will be present. I can't predict the outcome.
>
>Michael
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Re: [PLUG] G5 Macs?

[jim karlock]

At 10:22 PM 5/3/2016, you wrote:
>On 5/3/16 12:56 PM, Jason Bergstrom wrote:
> > The powersupply would be:
> >   Model: DPS-400GB-1 A Rev:01
> >   Apple P/N: 614-0264
>
>Are there any brave recappers out there?
>
>https://shawnhogan.com/2015/06/xserve-5g-power-supply-repair-delta-dps-400gb-1-614-0264.html
>
>http://www.w00tw00t.ca/repair-power-supply-g5-xserve-delta-dps-400gb-1-pn-614-0264/
>
>http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=12429
>
>Heck, are there any local stores left that even stock capacitors?


Fry's
Probably URS in NE Portland.

Mouser.com giver pretty good service from Texas,

thanks
JK



>Michael
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[PLUG] Need web/blog software advice

[jim karlock]

I am looking for software to put up a web site that allows for many 
different authors can post to only certain sections of certain pages 
- their own topics, so to speak. A full history needs to be available 
so people can browse older articles. Many authors will have poor 
computer skills.

thanks
JK





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Re: [PLUG] Video editor with audio graph?

[jim karlock]

I use Sony Vegas on Windows.

Thanks
JK


At 01:11 PM 9/25/2015, Dick Steffens wrote:
>Does anyone know of a video editor that also includes a graph of the
>audio ala Audacity?
>
>I'm working on a transcription where I need to list the time codes at
>the beginning and end of a "line" which is not necessarily a sentence.
>The video I have is just the time code on the screen plus audio. I can
>open the .mov file in Audacity and can pretty much line up elapsed time
>and get close to that with the OpenShot video editor, but not quite.
>Note that time code is h:mm:ss:ff where ff is the frame number within
>that second, there being 24 frames per second. This is working, but
>takes a fair amount of time to "see" the start and end of a line. It
>would be much easier if I could also see the graph of the audio.
>
>--
>Regards,
>
>Dick Steffens
>
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[PLUG] Ubuntu boot problem - what files to replace?

[jim karlock]

My ZOTAC with Ununtu LTS 14.04 LTS & 60G SSD boots to password 
request, but won't take keyboard or mouse input.

I have replaced the drive, did a fresh install from the same CD. Now 
I would like to fix the problem with the other drive.

Can anyone tell me what files or directories to just replace from the 
fresh install? (Replacing too many files probably won't be a problem, 
but I would like to preserve the user files and settings.)

Thanks
JK

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Re: [PLUG] Desktop failure returned

[jim karlock]

At 10:05 PM 7/15/2015, you wrote:
>After upgrading to Grub2 on the 13th the hope was that would fix things.
>Not so.
>
>This time the failure happened after it was running for 5-10 minutes, not
>on boot.  First symptoms were Chrome failed to start 3 times.  Then
>Nautilus did not display properly; it closed when I attempted to view the
>root directory.  Then the desktop icons were big and spurious text
>appeared.  ^ alt bksp yielded:
>*Stopping save kernel messages
>speech dispatcher disabled;edit /etc/default/speech-dispatcher  WARNING:
>All config files
>need.conf:/etc/modprobe.d/nvidea-current_hybrid.conf.hidden, it will  be
>ignored in a future release.
>*Starting Virtual Box Kernel Modules
>*Starting Virtual Box Kernel Module...
>*Starting MD monitoring service mdadm--monitor
>saned disabled; edit /etc/default/saned  *checking battery state...
>[2033.461491] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 606863455
>[2033.461491] EXT3-fs error(device: sda1): ext3-_get_inode_loc:unable to
>read inode block- inode=18964526,block=75857924
>8 more similar messages...
>^ ALT DEL produced 3 more messages
>Each repeat of ^ ALT DEL yielded an identical message.
>
>Power off, then restart.  Now it is working fine, AFAICT.
>
>This is screaming disk problem, yet tests of the disk say it is fine.  What
>else could be failing erratically?

Power supply
plugs, connectors

thanks
JK



>-Denis
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Re: [PLUG] USB Port/XSane

[jim karlock]

At 01:32 PM 4/7/2015, Rich Shepard wrote:
>The flatbed scanner is plugged into a 4-port USB adapter that is connected
>to a USB port on the rear of the system. The speakers are also plugged into
>the 4-port adapter.
>
>The speakers work just fine. Xsane no longer finds the flatbed scanner
>when plugged into any of the three available ports in the adapter. But,
>plugging the scanner into a USB port on the front of the system, xsane
>immediately finds it and opens without asking me which of the two entries
>for the same scanner to use.
>
>Any thoughts on what might be happening here?
>
>Puzzled,
>
>Rich

If the scanner is powered by USB, my guess would be that is the problem.
Try powering the hub if it has a power jack (or get one with a 5v 
power supply).

Thanks
JK


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[PLUG] Zotac

[jim karlock]

OK, I got one like Keith's, a BI320.
Put in 4 G of memory & 500G hard drive (not solid state)

First surprise is that it only takes about 1/2 amp at 15-19v and it 
seems to work as low as 10v (current went up as one expects). That 
means the power consumption is very low - under 10 watts. That also 
means it should work on a 12 battery.

I set it up to dual boot between 2 instances of Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

Now my question:

Is there some way to completely hide one instance of Ubuntu from the 
other for security: I want one for secure banking and the other for 
general use. A superficial test shows that the general use instance 
can see the file structure of the entire drive, but cannot get into 
the other's files without the password. I feel more secure if it were 
not visible (except as a boot choice at boot time.)

Thanks
JK
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Re: [PLUG] T60 upgrade at Clinic

[jim karlock]

Thanks for the update.
Your showing the Zotac box cost me about $150. (I had to have one 
after seeing yours.)

Thanks
JK


At 06:29 PM 1/19/2015, Keith Lofstrom wrote:
>At Linux Clinic on Sunday, we put together Larry's T60 thinkpad laptop
>(from a $20 carcass at Green Century) and rebuilt some of my spare
>pile.  I finished upgrading them;  7 machines upgraded to the latest
>BIOS, 3GB RAM, new 2GHz 64 bit T7200 processors, replacing some T2xxx
>series 32 bit processors.  Those will be my lifetime spares, until
>full-size screen laptops with trackpoints and shaped keys are for
>sale again, or I get a graphics brain implant.
>
>BTW, I purchased 8 processors on eBay for $8.59 each from
>xhenxia-2011 in Hong Kong.  They are clean and seemingly brand
>new, and all are working fine so far.
>
>The processors came in little plastic clamshell containers with
>AMD tags on them, and were wrapped with what looked like toilet
>paper.  The "toilet paper" is actually slightly conductive (about
>100 Giga-ohms/square ) so it is antistatic - perhaps it is a
>brand of tissue that just happens to be good for antistatic wrap.
>
>The T60s in use will get terabyte drives - I'm thinking of using
>the new hybrids. a terabyte of rotating disk and 8 gigabytes of
>SSD.  The laptops will run Scientific Linux 7, which promises
>security updates until 2027.  With the spare fans, keyboards, and
>screens, they should last a while, and I can worry about more
>important things than the hardware upgrade treadmill.
>
>Keith
>
>--
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Re: [PLUG] Rebuilding laptop battery packs

[jim karlock]

Might check prices for replacement batteries (not the cells inside) 
on Amazon - I have gotten several very OK batteries very cheap for 
cameras and 2 computers.

Thanks
JK


At 05:58 PM 12/29/2014, Keith Lofstrom wrote:
>I have accumulated a bunch of old Lenovo T60 laptop battery
>packs that don't hold a charge.  Lifting the label - the
>cells are standard, perhaps replaceable by new ones.
>
>Anybody interested in rebuilding battery packs?
>
>My packs are glued or plastic-welded together, so I would need a
>hot knife to open them, appropriate adhesive to put them together
>again, a small spot welder to tab the batteries, and presumably
>a ventilated space to work, in case a cell catches fire.
>
>With enough participants we could buy the right tools and buy
>cells in bulk.  Not sure how many types we would need. My T60s
>and X60s both use CG18650 cells, which are $39 for 12 Panasonic
>cells on eBay, $499 for 360 cells.  Chinese cells might be
>cheaper (both ways).
>
>This cell size is often used for "vaping"; does that push price
>up or down, or merely attract dangerous counterfeits?
>
>Keith
>
>--
>Keith Lofstrom  kei...@keithl.com
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Re: [PLUG] Directions: wiki.keithl.com/Directions

[jim karlock]

I never did see the copy of this appear on PLUG are you sure it got posted?

1 pm is a bit early for me. How about 4pm?

(Actually my interest is moderate (I thought I'd just take a quick 
superficial look) so maybe it'd be best to call it off unless others 
are interested.)

Thanks
JK


At 05:52 PM 12/25/2014, Keith Lofstrom wrote:
> > Jim's is the only reply I've heard so far, so I will expect him
> > and others Saturday 1pm.  Email for directions, soon.
>
>http://wiki.keithl.com/Directions
>
>--
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Re: [PLUG] Clinic Sunday - bring new Zotac Zbox and play with two user mode?

[jim karlock]

I can go for Sat afternoon at your place.

Thanks
JK


At 07:25 PM 12/21/2014, Keith Lofstrom wrote:
>On Thu, Dec 18, 2014 at 09:37:03PM -0800, Keith Lofstrom wrote:
> > Assuming we have a clinic on Sunday (with only a week to
> > go before Newtonmass, most people will be at the mall
> > purchasing apples and reflecting telescopes), I'm may
> > bring in the Zotac ZBOX B1320 which I just received
> > from Newegg.  $90 for the machine, $60 for 8GB of RAM,
> > and $60 for a 1TB hard disk.  Quiet little guy.
>
>On Sun, Dec 21, 2014 at 07:42:11AM -0800, Michael Rasmussen wrote:
> > I'd like to see that ZBOX, so please bring it.
>
>Sorry to Michael (who responded) and two others who did not respond
>but were expecting me to bring the Zotac.  Sunday mornings before
>Clinic are hectic, I usually don't get a chance to check email
>beforehand, so I should have specified an earlier email response.
>
>Meanwhile, we kept pretty busy at clinic, doing a Mint reinstall
>for a storebox that was not set up correctly, and two attempted
>installs of Arch with inadequate instructions.  All that took up
>a lot of table space.  Clinic was full; I was surprised at how
>many people showed up three shopping days before Newtonmass.
>
>SO, a proposal:
>
>On Saturday December 27, we can play with the Zotac, and attempt
>to set it up in dual workstation mode, and then attempt to make
>it switchable to cloned-screen mode without restarting X (?).  We
>won't have space at Freegeek for that, so two possible venues are:
>
>1) My place in West Slope between Beaverton and Portland.  Two bus
>lines, either 4 blocks north or south, location and details on
>request.  Theoretically, 15Mb download bandwidth, though many
>websites seem slow-to-very-slow lately.
>
>2) Someplace in inner Portland with lots of table space, good
>internet connectivity, and no pet emissions.  This is supoptimal
>unless the place has lots of spare parts, cables, and nearby
>stores with computer gizzies.
>
>Please let me know soon so we can schedule; if I don't set aside
>the time I will plan something else for that Saturday.
>
>Keith
>
>--
>Keith Lofstrom  kei...@keithl.com
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Re: [PLUG] Line conditioners

[jim karlock]

Not all UPS reform the sine wave. ALL of the low cost ones I have 
played with merely pass through the line, then switch to internal 
power when the line goes away.

My main worry would be over voltage. Get a voltmeter!

PS: None of those low cost UPS, that I played with, put out a sine 
wave - they put out a "modified sine wave" which has a zero volts 
time to allow a peak voltage the same as a sine wave, with a RMS the 
same as a sine wave:

------ --- ---
   |   |  |   |   |   |   |   |
- - - - - - - -
|   |   |   |   |   |
 --- --- ---
thanks
JK


At 05:15 PM 11/13/2014, David wrote:
>On 11/12/2014 09:45 PM, John Jason Jordan wrote:
>
>< lots of stuff clipped >
>
> > Do I need to be concerned? If so, what kind of line conditioning
> > equipment shuld I use?
> >
>
>I am not an electrician nor do I have a lot of experience with this, but
>I think you would be safe with any of the reasonably priced UPS devices
>on the market as an intermediary.
>
>The UPS should help to reform the sine wave, hence conditioning, the
>incoming signal from the wall to keep your equipment happy, and provide
>a bit of protection from surges as well.
>
>I've read that damage to electronics is caused more by brownouts than
>surges, so in addition to being able to keep the devices up and running
>(presuming no built-in batteries) during the switch from one outlet to
>the other, the UPS will hopefully prolong the life of your equipment as
>well.
>
>david
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Re: [PLUG] Repairing a dead MacBook Pro

[jim karlock]

At 08:35 AM 9/18/2014, Dale Snell wrote:
>On Wed, 17 Sep 2014 14:30:18 -0700
>"Loren M. Lang"  wrote:
>
> > I'm assuming the power supply voltages are out of
> > spec so I pulled out my voltmeter. Measuring the SATA power connector
> > with the dead hard drive attached and Mac powered on, I found 5V on
> > the 5V supply lines and no voltage on the 12V or 3.3V lines. No
> > indication of something that might kill a logic board, but I would
> > expect to see 12V on the supply.
>
>Okay, this is wrong.  There should be a +12V supply at the drive pins.
>It's not surprising that there isn't a +3.3V logic supply.  Most
>drives don't use it, so most manufacturer's don't provide it.
>However, the 12 volt supply is required, and should always be
>there.  Did you measure the voltages with the drive plugged in or
>not?  The presence or absence of a load can make quite a
>difference.

My laptop drive is labeled 5v 800ma, while several of my
full size drives are labeled like this: 5v, 0.5A, +12v 0.33A.

Are we sure laptop drives use 12v?

Thanks
JK






>Also, did you check for an AC component on the supply pins?  Or
>better yet, use an oscilloscope on them?  It's entirely possible
>to have high-amplitude AC coming out of the power supply, yet
>still have it read the proper DC voltage with a meter.  That sort
>of thing can fry your logic board.  (Heed the Voice of Experience,
>my son.)
>
>Hope this helps.
>
>--Dale
>
>--
>Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the
>usual way.  This happens to us all the time with computers, and
>nobody thinks of complaining.
> -- Jeff Raskin
>
>
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Re: [PLUG] Accounting Software -- anyone doing their books with Linux?

[jim karlock]

You prompted me to do a google search and this might be interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postbooks

I'd love to hear opinions on this as it looks like I may be able to use it.

Thanks
JK


At 02:32 PM 5/1/2014, you wrote:

> > On May 1, 2014 9:38 AM, "Tim Wescott"  wrote:
> >
> > > To date, I've been doing my accounting in Peachtree, on Windows XP, in
> > > Virtual Box, under Linux.
> > >
>
>:: snippity ::
>
>Thank you all for your replies so far: please don't stop if you've got
>something more useful.  The notion of doing my books online hadn't
>occurred to me at all.  Goody.  Now I have twice as many facets to mull
>over!
>
>--
>
>Tim Wescott
>www.wescottdesign.com
>Control & Communications systems, circuit & software design.
>Phone: 503.631.7815
>Cell:  503.349.8432
>
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Re: [PLUG] Ubuntu on thumb drive

[jim karlock]

No.

How do I do that?

Thanks
JK

At 10:33 PM 4/29/2014, you wrote:
>Have you tried running benchmark tests on the old thumb drive versus the
>new one?
>
>
>On 04/28/2014 03:29 PM, jim karlock wrote:
> > I have been experimenting with Ubuntu. I had 12.04.01 on a thumb
> > drive (USB2) and decided to try 14.04 on a new USB3 thumb drive.
> >
> > The 14.04 seems to be quite a bit slower, but the the thunb drive
> > should be faster.
> >
> > Is 14.04 slower, or is it just my setup?
> >
> > Thanks
> > JK
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[PLUG] Ubuntu on thumb drive

[jim karlock]

I have been experimenting with Ubuntu. I had 12.04.01 on a thumb 
drive (USB2) and decided to try 14.04 on a new USB3 thumb drive.

The 14.04 seems to be quite a bit slower, but the the thunb drive 
should be faster.

Is 14.04 slower, or is it just my setup?

Thanks
JK
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[PLUG] Ubuntu on thumb drive

[jim karlock]

I have been experimenting with Ubuntu. I had 12.04.01 on a thumb 
drive (USB2) and decided to try 14.04 on a new USB3 thumb drive.

The 14.04 seems to be quite a bit slower, but the the thunb drive 
should be faster.

Is 14.04 slower, or is it just my setup?

Thanks
JK
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Re: [PLUG] Ubuntu update problem - fixed itself

[jim karlock]

Thanks,
I found that and switched to the "main server" which told me I didn't 
need any updates.
I then switched back to the "United States" server and it found 103 
updates. But the update failed again.

I just tried it again today and it updated OK.

Thanks for the help
JK




At 10:45 AM 10/19/2013, you wrote:
>On Sat, 2013-10-19 at 01:03 -0700, John Jason Jordan wrote:
> > On Sat, 19 Oct 2013 00:49:19 -0700
> > jim karlock  dijo:
> >
> > >Where do I find Software Sources? (I am a newbe.)
> >
> > They may have deleted it as a separate application.
>
>Just moved.
>
>Software Center -> Edit ->Software Sources
>
>or Update Manager ->  Settings
>
>--
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>   Free Geek Tech Support: supp...@freegeek.org
> (503) 232-9350 option 6 Tuesday-Saturday: 12-1,1:30-5:45PM
>
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Re: [PLUG] Ubuntu update problem

[jim karlock]

At 12:13 AM 10/19/2013, you wrote:
>On Fri, 18 Oct 2013 23:52:42 -0700
>jim karlock  dijo:
>
> >I have Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.
> >When I start the update it gets a list of 51 updates.
> >When I select install updates it starts then reports "failed to
> >download package files"
> >This happened from Comcast tonight and a few days age. Tonight I also
> >tried Clear Wireless with the same result.
> >
> >Any help would be appreciated.
>
>Probably the issue is the server. Sometimes the server can be offline.
>I suggest waiting a day or so and trying again.

I just found the error details:

Failed to fetch 
<http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/h/hplip/printer-driver-postscript-hp_3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2_all.deb>http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/h/hplip/printer-driver-postscript-hp_3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2_all.deb
 
404 Not Found [IP: 91.189.92.190 80]
Failed to fetch 
<http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/h/hplip/printer-driver-hpijs_3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2_i386.deb>http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/h/hplip/printer-driver-hpijs_3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2_i386.deb
 
404 Not Found [IP: 91.189.92.190 80]
Failed to fetch 
<http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/h/hplip/libsane-hpaio_3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2_i386.deb>http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/h/hplip/libsane-hpaio_3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2_i386.deb
 
404 Not Found [IP: 91.189.92.190 80]
Failed to fetch 
<http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/h/hplip/hplip_3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2_i386.deb>http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/h/hplip/hplip_3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2_i386.deb
 
404 Not Found [IP: 91.189.92.190 80]
Failed to fetch 
<http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/h/hplip/libhpmud0_3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2_i386.deb>http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/h/hplip/libhpmud0_3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2_i386.deb
 
404 Not Found [IP: 91.189.92.190 80]
Failed to fetch 
<http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/h/hplip/hplip-data_3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2_all.deb>http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/h/hplip/hplip-data_3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2_all.deb
 
404 Not Found [IP: 91.189.92.190 80]
Failed to fetch 
<http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/h/hplip/printer-driver-hpcups_3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2_i386.deb>http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/h/hplip/printer-driver-hpcups_3.12.2-1ubuntu3.2_i386.deb
 
404 Not Found [IP: 91.189.92.190 80]



>If that does not resolve the issue, then go into Software Sources and
>check what server you are set to. I believe the default is the server
>for the US, but it may be "Main" or some other server. Whatever it is,
>set it to use a different server.

Where do I find Software Sources? (I am a newbe.)

Thanks
JK



>And while you're at it, there is an option to find out which server is
>the fastest. Try it out and you may find that your current server is
>not the fastest. Having said that, in the past I have set it to what
>appeared to be a faster server only to discover that not all servers
>mirror every single package, so sometimes stuff will be missing.
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[PLUG] Ubuntu update problem

[jim karlock]

I have Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.
When I start the update it gets a list of 51 updates.
When I select install updates it starts then reports "failed to 
download package files"
This happened from Comcast tonight and a few days age. Tonight I also 
tried Clear Wireless with the same result.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
JK
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Re: [PLUG] Trying to buy a new laptop (sigh)

[jim karlock]

I think somewhere on this thread someone asked if ethernet can work over USB.

I just tried a quick test of a Soundstream model 
ss1001 USB to Ethernet device. It let me load web 
pages, so I guess it works OK. Ubuntu on an acer 
Aspire netbook. The device is about 2" long and 
3/4" square cross section box with a Ethernet 
jack on one end and a USB cable coming out the other end.

PS: I successfully installed Ubuntu to a 16G 
thumb drive (but couldn't get a 32G to work something about the formatting.)

Thanks
JK

At 08:36 PM 4/23/2013, Joe Shisei Niski wrote:
>On 04/22/2013 08:03 PM, John Jason Jordan 
>wrote: > Why do I want a docking station? 
>Because I have three USB 2.0 devices > and one 
>USB 3.0 device that I want attached at all times 
>when at home, > plus an ethernet cable. The USB 
>and ethernet ports on every laptop I > have ever 
>seen are on the sides, meaning I would have five 
>cables strung > down the sides of the computer 
>interfering with the papers I have on > the left 
>side and the mouse on the right. This is not 
>acceptable. i've used several different docking 
>stations over the past 20 years (starting with 
>the venerable PowerBook Duo, continuing with a 
>so-so Toshiba, and more recently with the docks 
>for Dell's Latitude series), and wasn't that 
>impressed with any. They were all tied to a 
>specfic laptop (or family thereof) and in my 
>opinion none offered enough convenience to 
>justify the cost. For the last five years i've 
>used an XBrand laptop stand (the fanless model, 
>though my machine would benefit from the extra 
>fan). Not only does it provide extra USB ports, 
>but it has real ergonomic value, elevating the 
>screen to a comfortable height. Sadly, it 
>appears that they may have gone out of business 
>- the domain is for sale, and Amazon has a but 
>handful available (for very good prices). 
>http://www.amazon.com/Xbrand-Height-Adjustable-Laptop-Cooling/dp/B002ELNCB2 
>http://www.amazon.com/Xbrand-XB-1002F-US-Rotating-Laptop-Stand/dp/B000GB3E9W 
> Joe 
>Shisei Niski Portland, Oregon, USA 
>è‡³èª 
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Re: [PLUG] Clear wireless internet on linux

[Jim Karlock]

Thanks
I got the latest clear dongle and it works with Ubuntu 12.04.1.

Had some hassle getting the right unit. I asked for the one that 
works with Linux and they said they had a special. Turned out it was 
a special on the previous version. After another call, they sent the 
latest version - the one with the LEDs on it. When I asked about 
reurning the old units, they said to keep them - they were old models!

It worked on windows without the usual Clear connection manager 
popping up. It reports the login progress on its LEDs.

When I first tried it on Linux it appeared to not work. I tried it 
again tonight and it a little notification window told me it was 
connected & it just worked!

PS: At a friend's suggestion, I tried putting Linux on both 8G and 
16G thumb drives and it installed just like it was a hard drive. 
Seems to run OK too. But couldn't get it to install on a 32G

Thanks for the help
JK



At 10:57 PM 3/18/2013, Vincent L. Damewood wrote:
>On Sat, Mar 16, 2013 at 1:35 PM, jim karlock  wrote:
> > Doers anyone know how to get on mobile clear wireless from Linux?
>
>On Sat, Mar 16, 2013 at 10:09 PM, jim karlock  wrote:
> > I need the little USB device for being away from home.
>
>I successfully set this up with CentOS 6 (I forget which kernel, and
>I've since canceled my service) without any configuration or voodoo on
>my part.
>
>http://www.clear.com/devices/details/id/devatlas
>
>--
>Vincent L. Damewood
>+1.503.926.4563
>http://damewood.us/
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Re: [PLUG] Clear wireless internet on linux

[jim karlock]

I need the little USB device for being away from home.

Thanks
JK


On Sat, Mar 16, 2013 at 4:04 PM, wes  wrote:

> The best way is to get Clear's standalone modem/router. then it's just an
> ethernet cable. their little USB access device is non-trivial to get
> working last I checked. things may have changed since then, for better or
> worse.
>
> -wes
>
>
> On Sat, Mar 16, 2013 at 1:35 PM, jim karlock  wrote:
>
>> Doers anyone know how to get on mobile clear wireless from Linux?
>>
>> Thanks
>> JK
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Mar 16, 2013 at 12:28 PM, Keith Lofstrom > >wrote:
>>
>> > Imagine the shame of showing up at Bar Camp (
>> http://barcampportland.org/)
>> > with a laptop running M$ Windoze.  Your geek cred will be destroyed
>> > forever!
>> >
>> > Save your reputation!  Bring your laptop (or your desktop, if you
>> > want to haul /that/ to Bar Camp) to Free Geek at 1pm through 5pm
>> > on Sunday, March 17 and we will help you replace boring old Windows
>> > with wonderful new Ubuntu, Fedora, Slackware, Mint, or zillions of
>> > other Linux or BSD distros.
>> >
>> > We've got wired and wireless internet, distros, keyboards, displays,
>> > mice, hot coffee, hot geeks, and various munchables.  We gather
>> > every third Sunday (yes, it's that time already) at Free Geek,
>> > 1731 SE 10th Ave., in Portland two blocks south of Hawthorne.
>> >
>> > That is, if John shows up with the key - he may have raptured
>> > into open source linguistic heaven.  If so, we'll commandeer
>> > some tables over at Lucky Lab.
>> >
>> > Keith
>> >
>> > --
>> > Keith Lofstrom  kei...@keithl.com Voice (503)-520-1993
>> > ___
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Re: [PLUG] Clinic Sunday March 17 - Pre-barcamp edition

[jim karlock]

Doers anyone know how to get on mobile clear wireless from Linux?

Thanks
JK


On Sat, Mar 16, 2013 at 12:28 PM, Keith Lofstrom wrote:

> Imagine the shame of showing up at Bar Camp ( http://barcampportland.org/)
> with a laptop running M$ Windoze.  Your geek cred will be destroyed
> forever!
>
> Save your reputation!  Bring your laptop (or your desktop, if you
> want to haul /that/ to Bar Camp) to Free Geek at 1pm through 5pm
> on Sunday, March 17 and we will help you replace boring old Windows
> with wonderful new Ubuntu, Fedora, Slackware, Mint, or zillions of
> other Linux or BSD distros.
>
> We've got wired and wireless internet, distros, keyboards, displays,
> mice, hot coffee, hot geeks, and various munchables.  We gather
> every third Sunday (yes, it's that time already) at Free Geek,
> 1731 SE 10th Ave., in Portland two blocks south of Hawthorne.
>
> That is, if John shows up with the key - he may have raptured
> into open source linguistic heaven.  If so, we'll commandeer
> some tables over at Lucky Lab.
>
> Keith
>
> --
> Keith Lofstrom  kei...@keithl.com Voice (503)-520-1993
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Re: [PLUG] Where should I download ubuntu from

[Jim Karlock]

Thanks everyone.
I downloaded it and made a CD.

Thanks
JK

At 04:57 PM 1/3/2013, you wrote:
>On Thu, 3 Jan 2013 16:20:16 -0800
>Mike Cherba  dijo:
>
> >If the main ubuntu.com site is too slow, you could give the torrent a
> >try. http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/alternative-downloads
>
>Or if you're going to be at the meeting tonight, bring a blank CD or
>DVD or two and I'll burn it for you.
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[PLUG] Where should I download ubuntu from

[Jim Karlock]

Where is a good place to download Ubuntu in the Portland OR area?

Thanks
JK

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Re: [PLUG] playing PAL region 2 DVDs with subtitles on Linux

[Jim Karlock]

FWIW, my 5(+/-) year old COBY stand alone player has a PAL/NTSC 
switch that controls the OUTPUT independently of the DVD format! 
Don't know about the region BS.

Thanks
JK


At 10:15 PM 12/7/2012, you wrote:
>For bimonthly movie night, my wife and I watched "Absurdistan".
>The title is apt.  Director Veit Helmer recently made "Baikonur",
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iK464i6tzw
>a drama filmed at the active Kazakh/Russian launch center, which
>I would like to see.  Amazon sells the DVD for PAL region 2,
>which is incompatable with my Hollywood-infested DVD player.
>
>Will a PAL region 2 disk play using Linux DVD player software?
>Will the English subtitles display?  I'm guessing this can be
>set up with a lot of effort,  but many tweaks may be needed,
>and frame-rate incompatabilities leading to ugly video.
>
>Keith
>
>--
>Keith Lofstrom  kei...@keithl.com Voice (503)-520-1993
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Re: [PLUG] Goodbye

[Jim Karlock]

Please don't leave. The disruptive person will get tired fairly soon 
and things can return to normal.

Thanks
JK

At 02:44 AM 10/10/2011, you wrote:
>There are over 500 people on this list.
>
>It appears that one member is killing it.
>
>I can think of just 30 or so that actively participate. I hope that 
>someone is someday able to teach discretion to Michael.
>
>Today is a sad day for the plug mailing list.
>
>Russell Johnson
>r...@dimstar.net
>
>
>
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Re: [PLUG] Ban me? Ban yourselves.

[Jim Karlock]

Would you be kind enough to take your free speech to government 
property, the only place with guaranteed free speech.

But if you insist on turning this into a religious forum, please 
start at the beginning - and tell us where GOD came from? And why 
that same explanation could NOT explain where the universe came from 
without requiring a GOD in between.

Thanks
JK


At 02:35 AM 10/10/2011, you wrote:
>On Mon, 2011-10-10 at 00:04 -0700, Ronald Chmara wrote:
> > On Sun, Oct 9, 2011 at 9:42 PM, Bill Ensley  wrote:
> > > We will let Homeland Security decide how literal you are.
> >
> > fbi.gov given a heads-up.
> >
> > -Ronabop
> > ___
> > PLUG mailing list
> > PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org
> > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
>
>What on Earth is your problem?  Speech is not illegal.  I had a
>disclaimer, so I didn't really threaten anyone.  Yes I shocked people,
>I had to.  I've tried to say all along, "don't take me literally all the
>time," but if people don't listen I can't help that.  A lot of this is a
>result of people not listening.  Shock and awe only works if you say
>something that grabs enough attention to do some good.  I'm sorry that
>people ignored the don't take this too seriously disclaimer.  Reality
>check, you don't announce that you are going to blow something up before
>you do so if your intent is bodily harm.  Without the element of
>surprise, the target could get away.  Not to mention, you are asking to
>get caught before you can pull it off.  The fact that I said don't take
>this too seriously and the added fact that I said I'm going to do a
>horrific thing proves I'm not going to.  What else could I have said to
>get across how angry I am at this community for it's blatant
>discrimination and preferential treatment of certain people,
>specifically Keith?
>
>Maybe fbi.gov does need a heads up, not concerning me, but concerning
>the stupidity of certain people and the lengths they will go to to win
>against a man who says, "maybe I should blow you up."  I have no
>intention of causing mass physical destruction, but you don't antagonize
>a person who says something like this.  The point is, people feel
>threatened and yet they hate me enough to push me which is the point I
>wanted to make.  If I were unstable, this pushing is equivalent to
>asking to get killed.  Wake up, you don't push people's
>religious/political buttons when they appear to be approaching a point
>where they could hurt someone over it.  Being silent is not working, two
>months of hell on this list being proof of that.  Correcting people
>doesn't seem to matter, the hate runs so deep.
>
>I am trying to find another Linux list, but so far I am having very
>little luck.  Whether it is the asterisk list or the Silicon Valley
>Linux user's group, it seems that I can't get on.  I'm sure that
>everyone here wants me to dump Linux and badmouth it to everyone I
>meet.  Linux is not the exclusive privilege of the God hating freaks of
>the world.
>
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Re: [PLUG] Dangerous stuff! Sandbox test?

[Jim Karlock]

Is that the pop up window that warns you that your machine is 
infected and trys to get you to purchase their program to remove the infection?

Thanks
JK

At 01:14 PM 6/22/2011, you wrote:
>Does anyone have a sandbox security setup, and can check out the
>following in a secure way?
>
>Do not try this unless you are SURE you know what you are doing!
>
>WARNING MALWARE WARNING MALWARE WARNING MALWARE WARNING MALWARE
>XXX http://74.53.12.233/bbermoaen.php?bCIDID=Y1aly XXX
>WARNING MALWARE WARNING MALWARE WARNING MALWARE WARNING MALWARE
>
>This came in an email from a friend, whose machine is very
>likely 0wned.  It may exploit a recently discovered firefox
>pointer bug.  I'm wondering what it does.
>
>Again, unless you have a machine you can afford to lose, and
>can take apart the malware and see what it does, don't run this!
>
>Keith
>
>--
>Keith Lofstrom  kei...@keithl.com Voice (503)-520-1993
>KLIC --- Keith Lofstrom Integrated Circuits --- "Your Ideas in Silicon"
>Design Contracting in Bipolar and CMOS - Analog, Digital, and Scan ICs
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Re: [PLUG] Ubuntu question

[Jim Karlock]

What was the reference to Vbasic? Is that Microsoft's visual basic, 
or another basic. In any case, is there a good basic compiler for Linux?

Thanks
JK

At 03:10 PM 9/3/2010, you wrote:
>This is what I thought, but I could say for sure as I have personally
>installed Ubuntu in a long time.
>
>In any case, Craig wrote back to say he had solved the problem.
>
>Thank you everyone.
>
>David Mandel
>
>On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 6:11 AM, Daniel B. Herrington
> wrote:
> > David,
> >
> > If he installed Ubuntu, the installer would have prompted him for a
> > username and password. That's what he would use to login. If he's using
> > the livecd, then there shouldn't be a username and password, at least
> > not in the most recent builds (~since 8.04?). I'm not familiar with
> > earlier versions than 8.04.
> >
> > --
> > Daniel B. Herrington
> > Director of Field Services
> > Robert Mark Technologies
> > dherring...@robertmarktechnologies.com
> > o: 651-769-2574
> > ho: 503-419-6464
> > m: 503-358-8575
> >
> >
> > On Fri, 2010-09-03 at 00:34 -0700, David Mandel wrote:
> >> Craig Wojcik  sent me the following question.
> >> I don't use Ubuntu very often and don't know the answer off hand and
> >> don't have time to do research on this at the moment.
> >>
> >> Would some Ubuntu user answer Craigs question for me.
> >> Send the answer directly to Craig as he isn't (yet) a PLUG member.
> >>
> >> THE QUESTION IS:
> >>
> >> David,
> >>
> >> I am the person that spoke to you at the fair today about VBasic,
> >> parallel port control of step motors etc.  I just installed Ubuntu on
> >> a Win 7 computer to run as a choice on the initial startup.  It comes
> >> up with a window for a name and password entry.  I tried to enter a
> >> password of my choice and used my name but I can not get anything to
> >> go forward from that point.  Is there an initial name/password
> >> combination that I need to get things going?
> >>
> >> Regards,
> >> Craig
> >>
> >>
> >> Thank you,
> >>
> >> David Mandel
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[PLUG] Loca lBlog: Portland looking at open source

[Jim Karlock]

from: http://bojack.org/2010/05/portland_city_hall_computers_e.html


Portland City Hall + computers = endless fun

Here's
 

 
an odd one out of the Portland fire bureau. They're going on a 
fishing expedition to see if they can find somebody to convert the 
bureau computer system from some homegrown products created using a 
now-obsolete Microsoft program to open source software. But they're 
not even offering a contract at this point -- they just want some 
free advice in the form of "information" to be submitted by potential 
future contract bidders.


Thanks
JK
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Re: [PLUG] Do it yourself Linux UPS...

[Jim Karlock]

At 02:40 PM 8/14/2009, you wrote:
>I know I need an inverter/charger and a rectifier.  What I haven't
>found out is how many batteries and what kind to use.

12 batteries come in deep cycle and auto starting. Get the deep 
cycle. You will find an amp-hour rating (at the 20 hr rate). This is 
what a new battery will put out before it is discharged. Multiply by 
, say 11v, to get watt-hours.

Find the watts of what you want to drive and divide into the above 
watt-hours, then toss out 20-30% to get APPROX. hours the battery 
will power your stuff. A 60 a-hr batt will  run 500 watt for around 
an hour. Measure your computer - you'll probably find it draws far 
less than you would expect form the power supply rating.

>  I see a Coleman
>1000 watt inverter on ebay and it supposedly shuts down automatically
>when it's about to deplete the battery...

Size the inverter for the expected load - computer + monitor +??

All modern inverters automatically shut down on low battery (as well 
as over voltage.)

Be sure to check both Harbor Freight & Fry's - for inverters. Will 
probably be cheaper than Ebay + shipping. and easy to return.

>but how do I signal the
>computer that the batteries are about to be drained completely?
>I don't know if the Coleman unit is a charger as well or just an
>inverter.

I have only seen one unit at Fry's/Harbor Freight with a charger and 
it was not automatic. (There are units with charger & auto switch 
available from Trace and their competitors.)

>A UPS needs surge suppression capability and undercurrent
>protection and most of the time power should be applied w/o using
>the batteries.
>
>The nicest way to do signaling would be to use say a PIC micro
>controller and put a signal out over the local ethernet line.

I am using a setup with a simple 3PDT relay:
Use two poles to switch the power out between the wall socket and the 
inverter out.
Use one pole to switch the inverter on (wire across its on-off switch)

Remaining item is charger. Ideally  it will sense a low battery and 
take the battery up to 14-14.5v them revert to 13.6 for float. I got 
one of these form harbor freight a few years back, but they don't 
seem to have these anymore.

>So, what kind of batteries should I use?
>
>   I don't like the typical sealed lead acid because where do you
>   get them A and how do you revive them without special equipment B?

Fry's has sealed lead acid.

>   Nickel metal hydride batteries are a possibility where the AA
>   variety are available at most electronic stores.  Nickel metal
>   hydride RC car packs might be ideal.  Another possibility is
>   to see about getting say D cells.

NMH = expensive.


>   There are some AA Lithium ION batteries, but I don't think these
>   are typically rechargeable batteries.

More expensive

>   There are laptop battery packs, but using these might be a bit of a
>   challenge and expensive.
>
>So I am thinking car batteries as they pack a lot of punch, are
>available practically everywhere, and they are recoverable without
>special equipment.  However, open lead acid batteries are not
>appropriate for use on a desktop.  I've also heard if these
>batteries don't vibrate that they will sulfate up much faster.

Phone company used to (and may still) use stationary liquid lead 
acid. Get deep cycle.

>So say I start with 2 12V car batteries.

One may do - look at the run time required. 200 watts for 2 hrs 
should be easy for one battery.

Thanks
JK


>A do it yourself UPS doesn't make much sense unless the
>UPS you are replacing is say an APC Matrix UPS, so let's
>pretend that we are doing just that.
>
>For the inverter, do I need a 1000 watt capacity?  Do I need
>more than that?  How do I figure out how many batteries to
>hook to it?
>
>For the rectifier/charger, do a typical say car battery
>charger if I'm using lead acid auto/marine batteries?
>Will the typical marine/auto battery battery charger
>stop charging when the battery is fully charged?  How
>do I monitor the state of charge and report that on the
>network?
>
>Perhaps for the rectifier/charger and inverter I should
>build my own, but how do I do that?
>
>Well, here are the results of a quick google search:
>
>http://www.dansdata.com/diyups.htm
>
>http://www.wikihow.com/Build-Your-Own-Uninterruptible-Power-Supply
>
>http://www.diy-computer-repair.com/UPS-Uninterruptible-Powe-Supply.html
>
>http://dev.emcelettronica.com/ups-uninterruptible-power-supply-reference-design
>
>
>
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