Rogue Penguins

Next Meeting  is confirmed by our host, Jim Teece, and will be 5:30PM Thursday, January 11, 2001 at Project A, 340 A Street in Ashland 97520.I will publish an agenda as it develops. If you would like to install Linux at the meeting, do two things:

1. email me me a note saying you would like to install, so I can plan for space and time, and
2. read the Install Prep Checklist in our HOWTOs area.

I've been working with Caldera to get some freebees, and they are coming through like crazy. We should have some Caldera OpenLinux2.3 CDs in time for the January meeting. All they ask in return is that we publish a review of installation, setup, and use experiences. Anyone wishing to collaborate with me on this please email me and we can talk it over. You furnish notes, screenshots, and comments, I'll edit and write it up. We'll start a "Reviews" page here at the RPLUG site. I don't have a system free to install on at the moment.

I had an opportunity to speak to a small group of SAO students at SOU's Computer Services Center last month. Never having graduated from college, here I was presenting at one! This was a great way to show that, in life as well as in the Linux community, you needn't be broadly educated to be able to contribute. If you have detailed experience and knowledge on just ONE THING, you can profess. I just hawked Linux, pushed RPLUG as a Linux resource and answered a few install questions.

    Any suggestions for modifications/additions are welcome - email me.
    --Rik Nilsson

Next Meeting  is confirmed by our host, Jim Teece, and will be 5:30PM Thursday, January 11, 2001 at Project A, 340 A Street in Ashland 97520.I will publish an agenda as it develops. If you would like to install Linux at the meeting, do two things:

1. email me a note saying you would like to install, so I can plan for space and time, and
2. read the Install Prep Checklist in our HOWTOs area.

I had an opportunity to speak to a small group of SAO students at SOU's Computer Services Center last month. Never having graduated from college, here I was presenting at one! This was a great way to show that, in life as well as in the Linux community, you needn't be broadly educated to be able to contribute. If you have detailed experience and knowledge on just ONE THING, you can profess. I just hawked Linux, pushed RPLUG as a Linux resource and answered a few install questions.

    Any suggestions for modifications/additions are welcome - email me.
    --Rik Nilsson

The "Install" Meeting  on October 12th went very well. It lasted *much* longer than many of us expected, but we did get all four of the installs completed. All but one included a full StarOffice5.2 install also.

I want to thank all attendees for their participation. I especially thank the young group of Debian enthusiasts! Gentlemen, your experience and helpfulness was extremely appreciated. Keep up the good work, but hey, don't forget to have *lives*, for Pete's sake! A special thanks to Loran and Jacek too. Dave Finch showed good Linux form, persevering almost entirely on his own!

There may be a local UNIX group starting up in a couple of weeks. We are thinking of becoming sister groups. More news at 11.

I am researching Easy Access software sources and hope to build a page eventually that will be devoted to serving the special needs of our sight-impaired friends. If anyone has URLs of projects dealing with this issue, please forward them to me.

    Any suggestions for modifications/additions are welcome - email me.
    --Rik Nilsson

"Install" Meeting This Week!  The meeting will be 5:30PM Thursday, October 12, at Project A, 340 A Street in Ashland 97520. We have at least three volunteers who are bringing systems to install on (please see tips below!). I will bring a hub and some cables to show how easy it is to network a couple of "Linux boxes".

SuSE has been gracious in again sending some free evaluaton CDs. These give you a full Linux install, less the major apps they put on the other CDs of the full distribution, like StarOffice. We will also have RedHat 7 and StarOffice5.2 on CD if you want it. A full RH or SuSE install typically requires a Pentium with 48MB RAM, 2Gig drive space, and a CDROM to install from.
Thanks ! for the free CDs.

Tips:  If you intend to bring a rig to get Linux installed, please do a little homework:

• If you want a dual boot (Win/Lin) please backup and defrag your Windows partition so we can use Partition Magic to shrink it.
• Please bring your complete system - cpu, monitor, keyboard, mouse and cables/power cords.
• Pick a distribution you'd like to install. We will have the latest BIG releases, RedHat6.2 and SuSE6.4, plus some earlier versions of Debian, Mandrake, etc. on hand. Newbies are encouraged to start with either RedHat or SuSE.
• Round up as much detailed info on your system devices as possible (bring manuals if you have'em):
  • video card type and amount of VRAM
  • monitor make and data - vert/horiz sync rates
  • modem model (no "Winmodems")
  • CDROM model
  • network card type

RPLUG meetings are open to the public - bring a friend and his computer and we'll put Linux on it (the computer).

    Any suggestions for modifications/additions are welcome - email me.
    --Rik Nilsson

General:  RPLUG went to the fair this year on an invitation from Jim Teece of Project A on behalf of the SAO (Software Association of Oregon). The SAO booth in the USWest Technology Pavilion was a welcome non-commercial stopping point for many visitors in search of jobs, software marketing help, and other interests as varied as the individuals. Youngsters and adults alike were surprised at the feature-familiarity and friendliness of the Linux/Gnome disktop I had on display. When I explained that Linux and its applications were designed by literally thousands of largely anonymous user/developers around the world who use Windows, Mac and Sun OSs on the job, they readily recognized the collection of best features from those sundry sources.

Thanks again, !

Just after the July meeting, I contacted SuSE to see if they had any interest in repeating their generosity of 1999. Yesterday I received their LUG "care package" containing a full SuSE 6.4 distribution and a half-dozen personal version CDs.

I was joined in the booth at various times by Loran Hughes, his son Thomas, and Robin, my Unix guru. Marie and Dave Finch were very helpful in expediting the replacement connection hardware I lost between home and the fair. It wasn't at home when I returned, so I'm probably guilty of littering Highway 238. Thanks to all for your support.

Judging by the number of visitors who actually stopped to chat, I think we could have exposed Linux a great deal more with additional people manning the Linux workstation over the weekend. I hope to get more folks signed up for next year. As it was, we picked up seven new members to add to the mailing list. Most were unaware there was a LUG in town.

    Any suggestions for modifications/additions are welcome - email me.
    --Rik Nilsson

July 13th Meeting:  The meeting was held at Project A as scheduled. There were fifteen attendees. The owner of the one system presented for an install had some operational requirements that required more time than available for completion at the meeting. I guess I'll have to be more specific about system readiness preparation next time, sorry. I also submit that we make a standing offer to install the distribution of your choice at ANY future meeting. We will always have a variety available. Just bring your system in a configuration that allows us to powerup and install - in other words, have a blank harddrive or drive partition available for immediate installation.

While we attempted the RH6.2 install, we conducted an informal Q&A session, and by the mail I've received since the meeting it was a great success. Many folks got answers to questions that will improve their Linux experience. That's what RPLUG is for. Thanks to Harold for the quarters and stories, Harold, Loran, Bill and others for the technical help. Thanks again to Marie for logging attendees, and Dave for operating the display machine. Thanks to Jim Teece for the meeting place.

It was suggested that a mailing of all members email addresses be made to make all of us available as resources for newbies and to increase communications between members. I will update the list with the new members within one week after each meeting and mail the list to everyone. If you DO NOT wish to have your address mailed to all members, drop me a line. Members are naturally admonished to respect the privacy of others and not abuse this resource.

I have set the navigation tree to open to the Message Board on the RPLUG home page, in response to another suggestion. Please use the board - it can get you the help you need. Experienced members are encouraged to look at the messages frequently and volunteer to mentor or answer as needed. I am seeing a nice trend at meetings in which new users are, because of their varied goals and applications for Linux, contributing very early in their Linux experience. This means that the more we help newbies, the faster we get a return on investment.

    Any suggestions for modifications/additions are welcome - email me.
    --Rik Nilsson

Next Meeting:  The next meeting will be 5:30PM this next Thursday, July 13, at Project A, 340 A Street in Ashland 97520. (Use Yahoo! > Maps to get directions)
    The agenda stands as-is, folks:

1. RedHat 6.2 installs, and
2. discuss plans for participation in the SAO Technology Pavillion booth at the Jackson County Fair this year.
3. while the installs are proceeding, we will have group discussions and ad-hoc mini-clinics.

We will have RH6.2 CDs available for use at the meeting - bring your 486 or better system and get Linux installed! Remember to read up on your computer hardware info bring:

• your cpu
• your CDROM drive
• your monitor, mouse, and keyboard
• video card model & mem size info
• a power plugstrip, if you can

    I'd appreciate having experienced users present to contribute to the mini-clinics, please. Come on, admit it, some of you are experienced!

    Any suggestions for modifications/additions are welcome - email me.
    --Rik Nilsson

Next Meeting:  The next meeting will be 5:30PM Thursday, July 13, at Project A, 340 A Street in Ashland.
    I am working on an agenda and will post it when it comes together, but two things we will do are 1) RedHat 6.2 installs, and 2) discuss plans for participation in the SAO Technology Pavillion booth at the Jackson County Fair this year. That leaves about an hour for other topics, sooo... we will have RH6.2 CDs available for use at the meeting - bring your 486 or better system and get Linux installed!
    I'd really appreciate volunteers to speak for ten to fifteen minutes on a fun thing you did with Linux this spring. Wire your house for CAT5 ethernet network? Set up a web server? Topics we heard requests for are: NFS, NIS, and NDS serving, DHCP services implementation, setting up a list server, setting up a web server, tutorials on telnetting, ftp-ing, remote login (console), remote login (X server).

    Any suggestions for modifications/additions are welcome - email me.
    --Rik Nilsson

April Meeting:  Thanks to those who attended. Positive comments were appreciated, as well as the tip about control-C vs. control-Z!. I expect to hear of some successes and adventures in home networking!
    The text of the presentation is hosted here [http://www.saragossa.net/LinuxG3/ls-IP_Sharing.shtml] along with other tips including several ways to capture all or part of a Linux X desktop screen.
    Other HOWTO volunteer presenters are welcome. Topics we heard requests for are: NFS, NIS, and NDS serving, DHCP services implementation, setting up a list server, setting up a web server, tutorials on telnetting, ftp-ing, remote login (console), remote login (X server).

    Any suggestions for modifications/additions are welcome - email me.
    --Rik Nilsson

Next Meeting:  Sorry to be away so long, this is pretty much a one-person show and I've been busy with work, at my business and at home.

     The meeting is on for 5:30-7PM Thursday, April 13th at SRCVISION (map) in Medford (North on hwy 62 to Delta Waters Blvd, left at light, straight on thru two stop signs to the SRC parking lot.). After parking, walk around to front lobby door. Sign in at front desk and follow signs to the lunch room.
Agenda:  I will describe how I built a simple inexpensive home network including pricing and buying sources for hardware and software needed (none - Linux comes with everything you need!) how to test the network, set up IP forwarding and IP masquerading, and starting print serving. A heckling session will then be held for those more experienced in networking to tell you where I may have goofed. Other HOWTO volunteer presenters are welcome. Topics we heard requests for are: NFS, NIS, and NDS serving, DHCP services implementation, setting up a list server, setting up a web server, tutorials on telnetting, ftp-ing, remote login (console), remote login (X server).

    Any suggestions for modifications/additions are welcome - email me.
    --Rik Nilsson

New: Message Board  After trying the list I put up yesterday, I decided it was pretty lame. I grabbed a script for a message board and spent all morning customizing and getting it working. Operation is pretty standard, like the message posts at Linux Today, for example. Messages can contain HTML code if you want to emphasize or whatever. To start a sign-up list for a Linux party, post a message inviting members; members wishing to sign up should then post follow-ups to that post.
    To post a message or a message follow-up, use the menutree on the home page; it's under Resources/RPLUG/Messages.

Enjoy.

    Any suggestions for modifications/additions are welcome - email me.
    --Rik Nilsson

Next Meeting:  After conferring with a few folks, analyzing past attendance counts, the impending sale of the company I work for and the stir that has caused, I have decided to cut the regular meeting schedule to once per quarter. This is more manageable for those who have to make the arrangements and provide hosting, and it is also more in line with the common practices of other LUGs. That puts the next full RPLUG meeting on the second Thursday of April, the 13th.

Before you newbies and wannabes start grumbling, let me agree that this schedule is only fair IF we also provide a venue and activities for getting Linux installed for you and spreading the wealth, as it were, of training, support resources, and expertise to solve your problems, and adding members.
    So - I will be adding a sign-up feature to the RPLUG site that will allow us to determine the need and plan for install-fests, clinics and the like for the long periods between quarterly meetings. The sign-up will operate much like a site guestbook; I will post a suggested time, you fill in a little form and your compatriots can add theirs, until we get a sizable list (say at least 3 or 4 folks) wishing to get together. We will locate a person (using the mailing list) to help you, schedule a time and just do it. Until further notice, all clinics will be held at SRCVISION (see the Jan 4th, 2000 entry for directions). There is a fast internet connection, good lighting, and lots of table space there. SRC is also not far from eaterys and watering holes, to gather afterward for some suds 'n Linux fellowship.
    Anyone wishing to throw a "Linux Party' at home is welcome to use the sign-up as well.

    Any suggestions for modifications/additions are welcome - email me.
    --Rik Nilsson

Happy New Year!
Next Meeting:  All fired up for Thursday's meeting? The meeting will be at 6:30PM at Computer Pro's HQ in Grants Pass. Since many of you will be arriving from the south, here's how you find the place:

1. Go north on I-5 till you get to the first (south) Grants Pass exit. (#56?)
2. Follow Redwood Spur past Wal-Mart and Fred Meyers, turn Right at the E street stoplight. (a mile or so total)
3. CPros is located between 6th and 7th street, on the right. It's a brick building, with parking on the east and north sides. Turn right into the lot BEFORE you pass the building, Sixth St. is one-way, going south (the wrong way). This used to be the Pacific Power building, and the building is well marked. To summarize, it's on the NorthEast corner of the E St and 6th St junction.

Thanks to Computer Pros for providing the meeting space.
Tentative speaker topics include:

• Steps to Building Your Own Kernel
• Introduction to Networking
• TrueType Fonts Add Pizazz! to Netscape

Long-Awaited Install-Fest!: Just to make this clear - the idea is to install Linux on your machine, so you have to bring it with you (CPU box, monitor, keyboard and mouse). It's on for 9:30-12AM the following Saturday, January 15th at SRCVISION (map) in Medford (North on hwy 62 to Delta Waters Blvd, left at light, straight on thru two stop signs to the SRC parking lot.). After parking, walk around to front lobby door. Sign in at front desk and follow signs to the lunch room. See you there!
    All you experienced Linux users are invited to volunteer to come and mentor a newbie - that's what RPLUG is (mostly) about!

Watch for Updates!

    Any suggestions for modifications/additions are welcome - email me.
    --Rik Nilsson