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We're returning to Wright State University June 19. | |
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DLUG | DMA® | Events | Feedback | Files | Forum | Install | Links | People | Upload |
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DLUG Events of 2003 |
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Here are summaries of our events we had in 2003. Our usual meeting time is 7 - 9 p.m. the third Thursday each month. All meetings are free and open to the public unless stated otherwise. See maps and cue sheets for directions.
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December 2003December 2003 meetingThe main topic of this meeting was SmoothWall 2.0, presented by Grant Root. Before the main presentation, there were some questions about music editors, rippers, recorders, etc. for Linux that were similar in function to certain Windows applications. There is a nice list of Linux applications that correspond to their Windows counterparts at linuxshop.ru/linuxbegin/win-lin-soft-en. Someone else asked for suggestions for windows managers suitable for underpowered PCs. A couple suggestions I heard were icewm and fvwm. There is some nice discussion of this (and the difference between a desktop and window manager) and more suggestions at archive.sourcemagazine.com. Here is an extensive list of window managers. Finally, it was mentioned that you can use Drive Image (a Windows program) to backup Linux partitions by booting from CD. After considerable struggling trying to connect to the rest of the world (thanks for Paul Visscher's help), Grant Root described the (rather easy) SmoothWall installation process, then showed most of the configuration options. It looks quite impressive, and easier to configure than conventional firewalls using ipchains or iptables. Several of us adjourned to the new Mexican restaurant across the street for lively conversation and plenty to eat. November 2003November 2003 meetingThe topic for this month's meeting was firewalls, presented by Ken Phelps and Jason Cook. I did not take notes during this meeting, since I was very drowsy due to medication. If someone else has details to post here, please let me know. October 2003Bradley M. Kuhn, of the FSFSoftware Freedom and the GNU Generation For more information see www.cs.wright.edu/~csclubs In this talk, Mr. Kuhn introduces the issues of software freedom, copyleft, and the history and future of the Free Software Movement to an audience that is generally familiar with computer software. (The talk is geared toward computer users, but developers will not be bored.) Bradley discusses in detail the most popular copyleft license, the GNU General Public License (GPL), and introduce its advantages for users, programmers, and businesses. In contrast to the talks given by the Free Software supporters who founded the community (such as Richard Stallman), this talk comes from the perspective of someone who came of age in the Free Software Movement after the early work was complete. Thus, this talk addresses the "GNU generation"—those of us who learned of Free Software only after GNU/Linux systems were beginning to become popular. Mr. Kuhn addresses the stark contrast of two existing worlds in the software industry: the developers of proprietary software and the developers of Free Software. As someone who has lived in both of these worlds, Bradley speaks with some authority about the terrible challenges and drawbacks faced in the proprietary software realm, and how the Free Software community has overcome them by giving the same freedom to all users, whether they program often, occasionally, or not at all. He explains how one specific copyleft software license, the GNU GPL, has worked to ensure freedom while creating a thriving user, developer and business community. Finally, Mr. Kuhn discusses the great challenges that we, the Free Software Movement, face in the years ahead. Too often, people assume that since the job of writing a a Free Software operating system is done that there is nothing left for the Free Software Movement to do. Bradley dispels this misconception by giving real-world examples where we face challenges today. He also identifies dangerous trends that indicate challenges that we may face in the future. BiographyBradley M. Kuhn is a supporter of the Free Software Movement. He hacks on, teaches about and documents Free Software and advocates the importance of software freedom. He began working with the Free Software Foundation and the GNU project as a volunteer in the mid-1990s. In February 2001, he was hired full-time, and now serves as Executive Director of the FSF. When not putting in overtime for his official duties, Mr. Kuhn contributes to GNU as a volunteer by hacking on various Free Software programs and Free Documentation. Mr. Kuhn holds a summa cum laude B.S. in Computer Science from Loyola College in Maryland, and an M.S. in Computer Science from University of Cincinnati. Before working full-time for the FSF, he worked as a Free Software consultant in the technology industry. If you have any questions please contact Todd at 937-901-7492 or e-mail him. Links for more information: October 2003 meetingThis month's meeting was held in Room E041 in the Student Union. Eventually 17 people found us. We will return to our usual location in November. Paul Ahlquist gave a relatively short discussion of using either non-Red Hat packages or packages not matching the currently installed version with Red Hat. When he puts his presentation on-line we'll link to it. We had expected to have a video tape of Todd Warner's talk from earlier this month, but it didn't get taped. GT sends his apologies. Todd Warner from Red Hat Friday, Oct. 10"Life at Red Hat" For more information see www.cs.wright.edu/~csclubs Red Hat has spent years making Linux easier to install and manage, their expertise has created the most popular distribution of Linux. Todd Warner, a student who graduated from WSU in 2000, and currently works for Red Hat, returned to Dayton for homecoming and was willing to speak with students. Todd spoke about "Life at Red Hat" and answered numerous questions. Topics Todd Warner planned to discuss: (most were at least mentioned and several discussed at length)
After his presentation, Todd gave out several copies of "Red Hat RPM Guide", Red Hat T-shirts, and presented Todd Rovito a Red Hat Fedora for his work in organizing the presentation. Links for more information: September 2003September 2003 meetingInstallfestAugust 2003August 2003 meetingFor our August meeting, we started setup of the Linux Playground at Hara. July 2003July 2003 meetingGuest Warrick Mann led a discussion and demonstration of phpBB. Warrick is using phpBB on dmapub for www.daytonlanfest.com. We are also evaluating it for use by Computerfest® and our SIGs at phpBB2, as well as a similar system by Invision Power Board at invboard. Perhaps we can also have someone discuss PHP and MySQL soon, since phpBB uses both. InstallfestWe held another very successful Installfest in Wright State University's Russ Engineering Center on Sunday, July 13, 2003. Included were some presentations in room 146, as well as some refreshments this time. Presentations included:
June 2003June 2003 meetingWe watched the movie "Revolution OS". See details at IMDb.com. Thanks to Todd Rovito for bringing his DVD and Dave Lundy for providing the DVD player. We had hoped to also have some discussion led by Warrick Mann of phpBB, but learned at the last minute that he couldn't attend this month. We'll try again in July. Warrick is using phpBB on dmapub for www.daytonlanfest.com, and we expect to also use it soon for Computerfest(R) and our SIGs. Mike Linden suggested Invision Power Board as an alternate to phpBB. After the meeting, several of us enjoyed good food and lively conversation at Giovanni's in Fairborn. May 2003May 2003 meetingDon Corbet did a "Mandrake PowerPack Tips and Tricks" presentation. Don started by showing the documentation included with PowerPack, then did a fresh install of Mandrake 9.0 PowerPack (the 9.1 PowerPack edition was just released this month and is available as either 7 CDs or one DVD) over an older version, while preserving data in the /home partition. He cited two advantages to doing a fresh install rather than doing an upgrade. An upgrade takes much longer, due to the numerous tests and comparisons that must be done, and there's a slight risk of encountering version conflicts with libraries when upgrading. After the installation completed, Don demonstrated adding an application, then demonstrated using GtKam to download images from older cameras (either serial or USB) that don't conform to the newer USB mass storage device standard. Don was thorough in his presentation and pointed out some areas in which Mandrake installations differ somewhat from others. However, I was somewhat disappointed that he didn't spend more time explaining the differences between PowerPack and the downloadable version beyond the printed documentation and the limited on-line support. What additional applications do you get with all those extra CDs? One lucky attendee won the PowerPack set. After the meeting, about half of us went to Don Pablo's where we struggled to hear each other over the din somewhat resembling music. I strongly urge meeting at a quieter place next time. April 2003April 2003 meetingAttendance was a bit low, with only 18 signing in, although I saw at least 5 other regulars present. The meeting opened with an informal Q & A session. Then Ken Phelps demonstrated an installation of FreeBSD 4.8. Ken briefly discussed the history of UNIX and BSD and also touched on the differences between FreeBSD, Linux, and OpenBSD. After the meeting, some adjourned to Quaker Steak and Lube. InstallfestOur last Installfest was held Saturday, April 5, 2003, from noon to 6:00 p.m. in the Russ Engineering Center at Wright State University. Several people wanting Linux installed brought their computers and we attempted to help them install any flavor of Linux. Red Hat 9.0 and Mandrake 9.1 were the most popular. We had expected to have several presentations, including:
However, both Mike Linden and David Jones had last minute obligations and were unable to participate. I was unable to attend either of the others so don't know specifically what applications Don demoed nor what Jason's topic was. Attendance was good - we had 24 people sign in, but I know there were several more who didn't bother to sign in. March 2003InstallfestDue to an error in the flyers we distributed at the Spring 2003 Computerfest®, we held a limited Installfest Saturday, March 29, 2003, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Russ Engineering Center at Wright State University. Officially, attendance was 19, although I'm sure a few others attended without signing in. We had a couple Mandrake 9.1 CD sets and made several additional copies. I attempted to upgrade from Mandrake 9.0 to 9.1, but it stalled after nearly an hour and a half. I finally aborted and did a fresh 9.1 install in about 45 minutes. I heard of a couple other upgrade problems, but don't know the details. The clean install from the same set of CDs went smoothly. We will hold another, larger, Installfest next week, Saturday, April 5 from noon to 6 p.m. March 2003 meetingSince the wrong date was listed for our next Installfest on the flyers we distributed at last weekend's Computerfest®, it was decided to hold Installfests on two consecutive weekends - Sat. Mar. 29 & Sat. Apr. 5. There was no topic scheduled for tonight's meeting so we entertained several questions (and even answered some). A few topics mentioned were:
February 2003February 2003 meetingTodd Rovito described and demonstrated Linux From Scratch. Linux From Scratch (LFS) is a project that provides you with the steps necessary to build your own custom Linux system. A few of the reasons Todd gave for using LFS instead of one of the major distributions were:
Jason commented briefly on Gentoo Linux, which is another build from scratch distribution, but uses a different package management method. Don Corbet asked for volunteers to help with the Linux Playground at the spring Computerfest®. He and George Ewing also mentioned Linux training and certification testing that will be available the three days preceding Computerfest®. It was decided to postpone the next Installfest from March 29 to Saturday, April 5, 2003. It will still be held at Wright State University's Russ Engineering Center from noon to 6 p.m. This change was made to better accommodate students returning from spring break. We also learned that Todd will miss Computerfest because he's getting married! Congratulations, Todd, but you need to schedule better in the future. ;-) GT continued his discussion of swapping vs. paging from last month. Unfortunately it seems that part of the problem is that even though the two are really different, they are similar enough that the terms are often incorrectly used interchangeably. F. William Lynch had provided a nice summary of the two in a message to our unixsig mailing list earlier today. GT also described intermittent "lock-up" type symptoms that have been observed recently on a server running Red Hat Linux and asked for suggestions on accurately diagnosing the problem. The consensus seemed to be that it may be starved for either processes or RAM. Tonight's weather was much more favorable for getting out than last month, and attendance was up accordingly. I believe attendance was just over thirty. About half of us went across the street after the meeting to try the new Quaker Steak and Lube and much more spirited conversation and camaraderie. January 2003January 2003 meetingWe met in room 145 (instead of room 150) beginning with tonight's meeting. There was no scheduled topic. Since the weather was horrible and attendance was the lowest it's been in a couple years, that was fortunate. GT queried those who braved the elements about swap space, paging, etc., but little was resolved. He said he would investigate further and report at the February meeting. There was some discussion of last Saturday's Installfest. One important lesson learned was to have more distros copied in advance of the event! Even though we had three PCs with CD burners, they were all busy nearly all day making copies. Any comments about the presentations? We decided to have the next one on March 29, 2003 again at Wright State. That will be two weeks after Computerfest(R). January 2003Installfest Sat. Jan. 11, 2003This was our first Installfest held in conjunction with Wright State's ACM/IEEECS organization. Todd Rovito did a splendid job of organizing the event. Todd has been a very valuable addition to our Linux SIG in coordinating with Wright State. He has also posted his pictures of the event on their web site: www.cs.wright.edu/~csclubs - we will have pictures on our Install page soon. The following is his summary of the event. ACM-IEEECS/DMA® LUG Linux Install Fest Success The ACM-IEEECS in partnership with the DMA® LUG (Dayton Microcomputer Association Linux Users Group) hosted a Linux Install Fest on January 11; the event was a huge success. Twenty-eight successful Linux installs were completed and over 200 Linux Distribution CD's were given to attendees. Presentations included the following:
Estimated attendance was seventy people. March 29th is the tentative date for the next Install Fest. Student comments from the install fest:
Need help with your Linux system and can't wait until the next ACM-IEEECS/DMA® LUG Install Fest? Bring your questions to the DMA® LUG meetings on the 3rd Thursday of each month. The meetings are held on campus in room 145 RC. See the DMA® LUG home page for more information: <http://www.dma.org/linuxsig>. Thanks to the DMA® LUG for their Linux expertise, Dr. Garcia and the Computer Science Department, Dr. Mateti for the use of his lab equipment, Keith Huck for providing lots of cables, Parag Sharma for help with setup, Dr. Rizki for using his lab space, and all the other volunteers. | |||
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Search the contents of all the publicly available web pages at www.dma.org/linuxsig/ or archives of our mailing list. Subscribe to our Linux-SIG mailing list for occasional technical correspondence regarding Linux, Unix, & Open Source Software at the Linux-SIG Info Page & read our archives. Check out our other Special Interest Group (SIG) mailing lists here. Users Group Contact: Grant Root 937-274-3378, Dave Lundy 937-426-1132 9 am–10 pm, Gary Turner 937-313-BITS DLUG-contact Web Site Contact: For questions about, or suggestions for our web site, please write to DLUG-web | |||
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