Rogue Penguins

Next Meeting:    The next meeting is postponed while we look for a more central meeting location, to make it easier for our more remote members to make it to meetings on time. Past and current attendance seems to indicate that meeting in medford would make everyone a little bit happier. -- Sam Powers

Last Meeting:    The last meeting was alright. We didn't actually install Debian or do any of that, but people seemed to be impressed by Forrest's HostAP box. We discussed what we were going to do to make future meetings more interesting. For details, see the UpcomingEvents page on the RPLUG Wiki. If you haven't signed up for the new RPLUG Mailing List, now would be a good time! Activity has picked up rapidly since it's moved over to Truffula now.

-- Sam Powers

Next Meeting:    Happy GNU year, folks! The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 9th, at 5:30pm at Project A in Ashland, as usual. I'm planning on showing off Debian at this meeting, so if you'd like to get your feet wet, bring down a reasonably sped computer and all the useful info you can dig up about it. We'll be pulling the install data down directly from the net, so if you want the most current system possible, you'd be wise to bring an Ethernet card as well. I will bring the first CD, however, so if you don't have a NIC, you needn't worry.

-- Sam Powers

Meeting tonight:   The next meeting will be tonight, 5:30pm December 12th, at Project A, 340 A Street, Ashland. Reuben Moore will be bringing some weapons to help the fight against the spam epedimic, including procmail filtering and ORDB configuration howto info.

We will also be installing RedHat on a Sony Vaio laptop, and will have a demonstration of a Sharp Zaurus PDA running embedded Linux. (Rik Nilsson)

-- Sam Powers

Last Meeting:   

The November meeting was last Thursday the 14th. Rik Nilsson gave an Introduction to Web Page Design Using CSS, and has put up the CSS pages used in the presentation in The Nest. The Nest is a new RPLUG feature, a repository for our presenters to post their handout documents, scripts, and such. It is a web-based CGI-backed system in a protected area. Presenters will be given the monthly password and instructions on how to post.

-- Sam Powers

Next Meeting:    Just to let everyone know, we always meet on the second Thursday of the month, usually at Project A in Ashland. Next month is no exception. Meet us there at 5:30 for an introduction to Shell Scripting by TJ and me, and FreeBSD installation tips from Nate Putnam. :)

-- Sam Powers

Next meeting:    Our next meeting is confirmed and is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 12, at Project A in Ashland. We will be meeting from 5:30 until whenever. Planned is a presentation by Rueben Moore on using Linux as a network firewall. We'd like to invite people to bring their computers down for help with installing Linux. If you don't want to bring your computer, just bring your questions, and we'll do our best to help.

-- Sam Powers

Last meeting:    The August meeting went without a hitch. We had some interesting discussions about old computers, and talked briefly about ideas for presentations to do next month. Rueben Moore offered to do a presentation on IP/port routing with IPTables next month, so if you're a linux sysadmin, I highly reccomend attending the next meeting. Reuben's presentation should spark some interesting discussion.

-- Sam Powers

Next Meeting:    Next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 8th, at our usual spot, Project A, in Ashland. Be there or b^2.

-- Sam Powers

Last Meeting:    The last meeting didn't go quite as well as I expected it to, probably due to my somewhat belated notice of confirmation. If you were planning to come, but were unsure if the meeting was actually going to happen, go ahead and chew me out about it in the rookery.
Besides myself, there were 4 other attendeees. We discussed Mac OS X, Linux on Sun hardware, and how boring things are when there are only 5 people in the room. ;)
I also took care of some RPLUG business, accepting dues from 2 members. Guys, I'll have your membership cards in the mail soon.

RPLUG at the JC Fair (Jul. 16-21):    RPLUG will be participating in the SAO booth at the fair this year; We'll be selling cheap cds of various Linux distributions, showing off recent developments in Open Source desktop technology, and other goodies.
I'd like to schedule another meet-up to discuss things about the fair at some point between now and the 15th. Please post on the mailing list or Rookery if you'll be able to attend, and which date is best, but post quickly, there's not a lot of time left!

-- Sam Powers

Next Meeting:    Our July meeting has been confirmed for tonight, Thursday, July 11th, 5:30 PM at Project A, 340 A Street, Ashland. Our new $10 yearly membership fees are due this meeting. Existing members only pay $5 this time. If you are on the mailing list you are a member. If you haven't paid by the September meeting, your name will be dropped from the mailing list and you must pay $10 to be reinstated. A list of current emails will be posted at the meeting (not on the Web, for obvious resons). If you can't make the meeting, mail your fee (checks or moneyorders only, no cash) to RPLUG c/o 1500 Waters Gulch Rd., Jacksonville, OR 97530. Include your current email address and name as you wish it to appear on your membership card. Your card will be mailed when your fee is received. Those paying at the meeting will get a receipt immediately and receive a card in the mail within 2 weeks. Memberships expire yearly in June. $100 gets you a life membership.

----------------

--Rik Nilsson

Next Meeting:    Our next regular meeting will be Thursday, June 13th, 5:30 PM at Project A, 340 A Street, Ashland. This is a swap meet, bring any computer hardware or software you wish to give away, trade, or sell.

--Rik Nilsson

Next Meeting:    Our centrally located meeting place at CybernetIsp, 8th and Grape Streets, Medford is no longer available, CybernetISP having moved to a smaller suite near GRRTech.

Anyone having knowledge of another large (20x30 feet or more) or multi-room space, please email me as soon as possible.
    --Rik Nilsson

Next Meeting:    Our next meeting is a swapmeet, Thursday, June 13th, 5:30PM to 8:30PM at CybernetIsp, 8th and Grape Streets, Medford.

Bring any and all stuff you think is worth selling or swapping for someone else's stuff.

We can probably also handle installing on one or two systems - please contact me in advance to discuss which distribution you want, etc. If you plan to bring a system to install on, please see the installation prep tips at http://www.rplug.org/rpHowtos.shtml. Bring complete systems with all necessary cables to interconnect your keyboard, mouse and monitor. We will have CDs of the major recent distribution releases, and I'm sure our Debian advocates will have some for that flavor, too.

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

Next Meeting:    Our next meeting is a Linux installfest, today, Saturday, April 20th, 9:30AM to 12:00 noon at CybernetIsp, 8th and Grape Streets, Medford.

If you are bringing a system to install on, please see the installation prep tips at http://www.rplug.org/rpHowtos.shtml. Bring complete systems with all necessary cables to interconnect your keyboard, mouse and monitor. We will have CDs of the major recent distribution releases, and I'm sure our Debian advocates will have some for that flavor, too.

Following the installfest, we can zip North a few blocks on Riverside to the Golden Spike Pizzaria for a quick no-host lunch.

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

Next Meeting:    Our next meeting will NOT be a regular meeting; we are foregoing that for a Linux installfest on Saturday, April 20th, 9:30 to 12:00 AM at CybernetIsp, 8th and Grape Streets, Medford.

If you are bringing a system to install on, please see the installation prep tips at http://www.rplug.org/rpHowtos.shtml. Bring complete systems with all necessary cables to interconnect your keyboard, mouse and monitor. We will have CDs of the major recent distribution releases, and I'm sure our Debian advocates will have some for that flavor, too.

Following the installfest, we can zip North a few blocks on Riverside to the Golden Spike Pizzaria for a quick no-host lunch.

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

Next Meeting:    Our next regular meeting will be Thursday, April 11th, 5:30 PM at CybernetIsp, 8th and Grape Streets, Medford.

Agenda:

• Presentation: TBD
• AWIP project update, by Forrest English
• RPLUG membership, fees, organizational discussions.
• We may also have a new member lined up to do a dual-boot Linux installation, including Ximian Gnome.

Last Meeting:    Nate Putnam gave an introduction to Smoothwall. We discussed some wireless topics and members exchanged opinions, problems and cures in true RPLUG open exchange fashion.
    It was suggested that we have an Linux installfest/tutorial session on a weekend in April, so for the sake of starting discussions I propose we do it Saturday April 20th, the week following the next meetin.

Presentations Needed:    I am trying to fill in the monthly calendar for the rest of the year and am seeking another speaker, if you know anyone who can and will deliver a presentation on a Linux related topic, let me know. As always, if you too would like to have Linux installed at this meeting, contact me in advance and please see the installation prep tips at http://www.rplug.org/rpHowtos.shtml.

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

Next Meeting:    Our next regular meeting will be Thursday, March 14th, 5:30 PM at CybernetIsp, 8th and Grape Streets, Medford.

Agenda:

• Presentation: Installation and use of "SmoothWall", by Nate Putnam
• AWIP project update, by Forrest English
• RPLUG membership, fees, organizational discussions.
• We may also have a new member lined up to do a dual-boot Linux installation, including Ximian Gnome.

Membership:    RPLUG has been going now for almost three years and our email list is over 75 entries long. It is time to consider becoming a "real" LUG, by electing leaders and establishing dues and membership fees as a means of building a cash-kitty for miscellaneous operational expenses such as Linux CDs. Each year we have speakers who should be re-imbursed for handout copies and projector rentals. We also should print up some handouts for the Jackson County Fair, to which we are usually invited to participate in the SAO booth. I would like to have more members volunteer to do booth duty at the fair. There are other Linux promotional events we should also participate in, like the annual September Linux Demo Days.
    Please be thinking of volunteering yourself or nominating somone you would like to elect to the offices of leader, secretary, or treasurer. These folks will jointly share the load of RPLUG site maintenance, presenter selection, meeting scheduling and other RPLUG activity tasks and planning as we grow. Please be prepared to discuss these ideas at the next couple of meetings. I would like to have elections and officers installed by the June meeting, our third anniversary.
Presentations Needed:    I am trying to fill in the monthly calendar for the rest of the year and am seeking another speaker, if you know anyone who can and will deliver a presentation on a Linux related topic, let me know. As always, if you too would like to have Linux installed at this meeting, contact me in advance and please see the installation prep tips at http://www.rplug.org/rpHowtos.shtml.

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

Last Meeting:    Vinnie Moscaritolo gave an extremely informative and entertaining presentation about types of cryptographic techiniques, how they work, how to pick the right one for you, and how they fit into your total security system. I was amazed to discover that the encoding is actually only a part of the cryptography picture, and that often the strategy for deployment is more important. Vinnie has agreed to repeat the presentation later in the year at our Medford location for those who missed it or who wish to see it again. Thank you very much, Vinnie.

AWIP:    For those of you not on the AWIP mailing list, the wireless project group will be meeting at Starbuck's in Ashland, 6PM next Wednesday Feb. 20th. Forrest will report on AWIP status at the next meeting.

Next Meeting:    Our next regular meeting will be Thursday, March 14th, 5:30 PM at CybernetIsp, 8th and Grape Streets, Medford.

Agenda:

• Presentation: Installation and use of "SmoothWall", by Nate Putnam
• AWIP project update, by Forrest English
• RPLUG membership, fees, organizational discussions.
• We may also have a new member lined up to do a dual-boot Linux installation, including Ximian Gnome.

Membership:    RPLUG has been going now for almost three years and our email list is over 75 entries long. It is time to consider becoming a "real" LUG, by electing leaders and establishing dues and membership fees as a means of building a cash-kitty for miscellaneous operational expenses such as Linux CDs. Each year we have speakers who should be re-imbursed for handout copies and projector rentals. We also should print up some handouts for the Jackson County Fair, to which we are usually invited to participate in the SAO booth. I would like to have more members volunteer to do booth duty at the fair. There are other Linux promotional events we should also participate in, like the annual September Linux Demo Days.
    Please be thinking of volunteering yourself or nominating somone you would like to elect to the offices of leader, secretary, or treasurer. These folks will jointly share the load of RPLUG site maintenance, presenter selection, meeting scheduling and other RPLUG activity tasks and planning as we grow. Please be prepared to discuss these ideas at the next couple of meetings. I would like to have elections and officers installed by the June meeting, our third anniversary.
Presentations Needed:    I am trying to fill in the monthly calendar for the rest of the year and am seeking another speaker, if you know anyone who can and will deliver a presentation on a Linux related topic, let me know. As always, if you too would like to have Linux installed at this meeting, contact me in advance and please see the installation prep tips at http://www.rplug.org/rpHowtos.shtml.

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

Next Meeting:    Our next regular meeting will be Wednesday, Feb. 13th, 5:30 PM at Project A 340 A Street, Ashland. At my wife's suggestion, I moved it up to Wednesday so as not to conflict with Valentines day. (I wonder what she's got planned...)
Agenda  Vinnie's description of his presentation:
"Cryptography is an important survival tool for the Internet bound. If you want to know what the buzz is all about, then don't miss this session. An introduction to the workings and practical uses of modern cryptosystems (for the math-impared). Discussion topics include: secret/public key encryption, digital signatures, key exchanges, key management, how crypto systems are broken, and government & patent issues.
slides are available at
http://www.vmeng.com/vinnie/Papers/rplug-Intro2Crypto.pdf
Vinnie Moscaritolo is currently an OS engineer at Apple Computer. He has more than 25 years of experience making computers do things that they were not intended to."
Also, Forrest English will give an update on the progress of AWIP. We also have a new member lined up to do a dual-boot Linux installation, including Ximian Gnome. I am trying to fill in the monthly calendar for the rest of the year and am seeking another speaker, if you know anyone who can and will deliver a presentation on a Linux related topic, let me know. As always, if you too would like to have Linux installed at this meeting, contact me in advance and please see the installation prep tips at http://www.rplug.org/rpHowtos.shtml.

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

Last Meeting: Jeff Woodall gave an excellent introduction to NetBSD and several helpful installation tips. His presentation outline is available on-line at his site. Following that, Forrest English, founder of the Ashland Wireless Internet Project (AWIP) introduced the project, its scope and goals, and demonstrated some wireless hardware. Both gentlemen gave outstanding presentations, thanks guys. Updates on these two topics will be standard meeting segments for future meetings. Loran Hughes and Alex Cox lead the Mandrake8.1 installation on a member's system, although we were unable in the time available to build a successful XF86Config file to enable using X. I am continuing to work with him on that problem. I was glad to see some members from far off places at this meeting, and I think the central location made that possible.
Next Meeting:    Our next regular meeting will be today, Wednesday, Feb. 13th, 5:30 PM at CybernetIsp, 8th and Grape Streets, Medford. At my wife's suggestion, I moved it up to Wednesday so as not to conflict with Valentines day. (I wonder what she's got planned...)Agenda  Introduction to Wireless Home Networking by Rik Nilsson (that's me), and updates as mentioned above. I am seeking another speaker, if you know anyone who can and will deliver a presentation on a Linux related topic, let me know. As always, if you too would like to have Linux installed at this meeting, contact me in advance and please see the installation prep tips at http://www.rplug.org/rpHowtos.shtml.

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

Next Meeting: ** New Location! **   Our next regular meeting will be today, Thursday, Jan. 10th, 5:30 PM at CybernetIsp, 8th and Grape Streets, Medford. CybernetIsp has a large room to accomodate our bigger attendance counts. It's about 15 by 30 feet, and we just may need some more folding chairs. If anyone knows where we can get some cheap, let me know.Agenda  Introduction to FreeBSD by Jeff Woodall, and an introduction to the Ashland Wireless ISP Project by Forrest English. Concurrently, we will install Mandrake8.1 on a Dell system offered by Warren C. Goines. As always, if you too would like to have Linux installed at this meeting, contact me in advance and please see the installation prep tips at http://www.rplug.org/rpHowtos.shtml.

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