COMMUNITY Community Notes

Community Notes LIFE IN THE LUGS Jon catches up with users in London and rounds up the activities

of some Linux User Groups around the world. BY JON MASTERS

ber of years now (a worrying sign that Next month, I’m going to try some- I’m getting older, and so are most of the thing a little different by re-introducing a Jon Masters is a UK-based LUGs). It’s refreshing also to see new LUG of the Month – don’t forget to send embedded Linux developer, faces that you’ve never seen before – a me your nominations-along with a de- sure sign that a new (should that be scription and some high res digital pho- writer, and consultant. He has GNU?) generation of Linux users is com- tos: Jon Masters, jcm@jonmasters. org. ing along behind us. This month I’ll roundup the happen- been actively involved with the I went to Oxford to catch up with the ings at a random selection of Linux User Linux community since starting OxLUG (my “alma matar”), as well as Groups around the world. the University’s Compsoc group. OxLUG his first degree at age 13. Jon is haven’t been meeting so much lately. Belgium (bxlug) Those of us who used to be heavily in- This French and English speaking group currently a member of more volved have gone on to do other things, was one of many debating Edgy than 50 Linux User Groups and the group has suffered a little as a Eft. The latest release hasn’t gone down result, but that’s part of what happens so well with some users, who complain around the world. toany group that’s been around for a that upgrades are painful and that they while. The meeting went reasonably have had more problems than in the past well, and it was good to see so many (though Dapper Drake was a bit of an people apparently interested in porting exception in terms of needing to be sup- his month I was in London, the . I think I’ll repeat this ported for so long out). One particular speaking at the LinuxWorld Expo talk a bit at other groups, as it’ll give poster on bxlug complained that Edgy Ton the portability of the Linux mean excuse to write about them in a had installed a proprietary kernel mod- kernel. It’s always interesting visiting future version of this column. ule for his graphics card without really LinuxWorld events, especially given the way they’ve changed in the years since the dotcom boom. These days, Linux- World is more about big corporations showing off their latest products and much less about grass roots enthusiasm. Still, we all turn up because LinuxWorld serves as a convenient opportunity to bring a bunch of Linux folks together in the same place on a semi-annual basis. And I guess that’s as good a reason as any to go again next year. For a full de- scription of the show, check out Roger’s show report elsewhere in this issue. I took some time out from the confer- ence to catch up with some of the local Figure 1: The MythTV project demonstrated Linux PVR technology at this year’s UK Linux- Linux folk I’ve known for quite a num- World in London.

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Community Notes consulting him about it first. Obviously, issue of . this kind of situation is a trade off – no- I discovered one year just body likes binary modules (some devel- how interesting this event can opers believe they are illegal, depending be when I noticed someone upon context), but users often think that using a fire axe to break up they want to install them. an argument that had erupted between some members of LIFE IN Paris (Parinux) the group – but don’t let that One Parinux mailing list poster wanted put you off. (Seriously, it’s a to “safeguard” 40 Microsoft Windows fun event.) The LBW group machines using a Linux box. The usual have a mailing list that, de- round of replies came back, including pending upon the time of THE LUGS various suggestions about ways to use year, gets a lot of posts about Samba tools to synchronize the content random things. This month, stored on individual machines with a the group have been spending centralized backup Linux system. Of some time debating green course, Microsoft have announced vari- server rooms as an alternative ous deals not to sue those using certain to the massive power con- Linux technologies. Hopefully, this pro- sumption of the average data tection now formally extends to the center facility. Samba project and the work it has done Figure 2: steps down as LUGmaster of over the years to reverse engineer Micro- Boston LUG (BLU) Wolves LUG, which he founded, to spend more time on soft’s “open standards” and make them Your author is speaking at a his day job working on Ubuntu for . actually open to the world. forthcoming Boston (BLU) meeting, and as part variety of reasons (timing, job commit- United Kingdom (Wolves) of that, we’ve decided to experiment ments, physical disabilities) so I’d like to As friends of the http:// www. with various online streaming and re- encourage us to come up with 21st cen- lugradio. org/ Linux radio show may cording technologies. The vague plan is tury solutions that enable them to partic- have gathered, wolves is hardly ever a to record the session via a remote dial-in ipate. Even an MP3 recording from a quiet list. But they have been having to one of my Asterisk servers and then cellphone is better than nothing. In fact, some trouble when it comes to organiz- proxy the audio to a website in real time. I think it’s probably time to create a ing physical meetings of late. New group It’ll probably take just a few meetings to community project to drive this – drop organizer David Morley, recently having perfect this process. Another idea is to me a line if you’re interested in helping taken over from Jono Bacon (now busily just record and upload a video after the out. employed on Ubuntu and busy as ever event (but where’s the fun in that?). running lugradio itself), decided to send Who knows if any of this will work, but Portland LUG (pdxlinux- out mail outlining his ideas for the way that’s part of the fun in trying. Eventu- plug) the group should head in the future. Like ally, it’d be nice to have realtime partici- A rather long thread resulted from an many groups, Wolves has been a victim pation from remote participants via IRC initial posting about errors generated of its own success, with a very large and questions, etc., but like most groups, we reading from trying to power back up an loyal fanbase which is keen to keep the don’t necessarily have good net connec- ancient machine after the poster went on group alive, yet it is all too easy for these tivity during the talk (just because vacation for a week. The box in question things to slide if you let them. David you’re using a local college classroom was (for some reason) running Red Hat outlined plans for a new venue and new doesn’t mean you’ve got access to their version 7.0 as opposed to anything more structure, promising to help revitalize network). recent (and thus more supportable), but the group’s wiki and also to help to The whole thing got me thinking in this case, it did appear to be hardware attract new members. about how many other groups actively that was at fault. stream or record their sessions. Of One helpful suggestion offered by Car- Linux Bier Wanderung course, not everyone is going to want to los Konstanski was running a Live CD The Linux Bier Wanderung (LBW) usu- be recorded (and that’s fine), but for distribution such as Knoppix and using ally takes place once every year in the those of us who are already uncomfort- the tools supplied therein to recover and summer, and involves a group of geeks ably living with the modern surveillance repair the filesystem, without necessarily coming together to share one too many world, it’d be fun to work together. From resulting in further data loss. Over the days in a remote countryside location, my brief analysis, it looks like few last few years, Live CDs really have just allegedly in the name of hiking and groups (even those who use Google HQ made this kind of forensic data reconsti- drinking beer (though it often turns into for their meetings) actually do any kind tution a whole lot easier, which is a great hacking and drinking beer). You may of recording – much less live streaming – reason to keep a copy of Knoppix handy have seen the report on this year’s Linux and that’s a shame. Many people can’t for the next time your computer experi- Bier Wanderung in the November 2006 make it to their local LUG meeting for a ences such a glitch. ■

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