October 2011 - luv-talk

NBN in the news
by Peter Ross 12 Oct '11

12 Oct '11

Hi all, amazing what ideology can do with facts: http://www.theage.com.au/national/nbn-a-version-of-cuba-turnbull-20111010-1… "The worst ranked country considering all policy indicators was Singapore, which is spending $US733 ($A750) in public money per household, followed by South Korea and Japan." That are by accident countries that achieved fast Internet access. Do we do something right here? ;-) Regards Peter

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External USB Hard disks
by jk＠smartguide.com.au 10 Oct '11

10 Oct '11

Hi all, I have a question about external USB hard disks that hopefully somebody should be able to answer off the top of their heads. I am looking for a 2TB disk that spins down when the USB power line goes off. USB-powered 2.5" disks are too small in capacity, and most of the 3.5" ones stay on unless you manually switch off their external supply. It's to plug into a TV, which is why I can't just use hdparm to spin it down automatically after a timeout, and I'd rather not have to build a little relay circuit that switches off power when the TV is turned off and the USB line goes low. And, for obvious reasons, I don't want to leave it spinning all the time. At some point I purchased a Samsung that did this, but it proved too unreliable and I had to send it back. Any suggestions? Thanks! jk

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National Geographic article about climate change in the past and predictions for us
by Peter Ross 10 Oct '11

10 Oct '11

Hi all, I read this article about a carbon dioxide driven climate change in the pre-historic past, (ca. 56 million years ago), World Without Ice. I quote below some predictions made by the scientists. I also would like to quote the Wikipedia about the fossil fuel resources available to us. Regards Peter Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel Years of production left in the ground with the current proved reserves and flows above Coal: 148 years Oil: 43 years Natural gas: 61 years Years of production left in the ground with the most optimistic proved reserve estimates (Oil & Gas Journal, World Oil)[citation needed] Coal: 417 years Oil: 43 years Natural gas: 167 years World Without Ice, http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/10/hothouse-earth/kunzig-text Matt Huber, a climate modeler at Purdue University who has spent most of his career trying to understand the PETM, has also tried to forecast what might happen if humans choose to burn off all the fossil fuel deposits. Huber uses a climate model, developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, that is one of the least sensitive to carbon dioxide. The results he gets are still infernal. In what he calls his "reasonable best guess at a bad scenario" (his worst case is the "global-burn scenario"), regions where half the human population now lives become almost unbearable. In much of China, India, southern Europe, and the United States, summer temperatures would average well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, night and day, year after year. Climate scientists don't often talk about such grim long-term forecasts, Huber says, in part because skeptics, exaggerating scientific uncertainties, are always accusing them of alarmism. "We've basically been trying to edit ourselves," Huber says. "Whenever we see something really bad, we tend to hold off. The middle ground is actually much worse than people think. "If we continue down this road, there really is no uncertainty. We're headed for the Eocene. And we know what that's like." .. Fossil fuel burning has released more than 300 billion tons of carbon since the 18th century?probably less than a tenth of what's still in the ground or of what was released at the PETM. That episode doesn't tell us what will happen to life on Earth if we choose to burn the rest. (Global emissions set another record last year.) Maybe there will be a burst of evolutionary innovation like the one that gave rise to our primate ancestors; maybe this time, with all the other pressures on species, there will be mass extinctions. The PETM merely puts the choice in long perspective. Tens of millions of years from now, whatever becomes of humanity, the whole pattern of life on Earth may be radically different from what it would otherwise have been?simply because of the way we powered our lives for a few centuries.

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Choose supplier for Brother DCP7065DN printer
by David 07 Oct '11

07 Oct '11

I need to replace my home laser printer. Using web search I have chosen Brother DCP7065DN printer/scanner for linux compatibility, features, price [1]. Also its print/scan is reported to work with arch linux [2]. But I'm not sure where to buy it. I live on a rural property near Wodonga. So is important to me to select a vendor that actually has stock, and good remote-customer service, eg for any warranty issues. www.myshopping.com.au shows [3] numerous vendors in the range $180-$280 plus freight. (the RRP is $298). Many of the cheaper vendors there have negative reviews. With only that info, I am considering tammex.com.au which has no bad reviews there, but they are all from 2009. I can't find any later comment on the web. Question: Does anyone have good/bad experience with Tammex or other online vendor? Alternatively, I could drive to Melbourne for personal pickup from a vendor with stock and good customer service. Feel free to reply off list if you prefer. Thanks. ----------------------------- [1] features and price: - monochrome laser printer A4 - duplex capable - scanner - copier - usb - ethernet - < $300 - linux printer driver available from Brother [4] - linux scanner driver available from Brother [5] [2] https://bleedux.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/brother-dcp-7065dn-receiving-data-… [3] http://www.myshopping.com.au/PR--388487_Brother_3IN1_MONO_LASER_26ppm_32MB_… [4] http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/bsc/public_s/id/linux/en/download_prn.… [5] http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/bsc/public_s/id/linux/en/download_scn.…

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Open Source in Dutch Education System
by Daniel Jitnah 05 Oct '11

05 Oct '11

Find below link to an article and petition in favour of Open Source in Dutch Education system. Sounds like a familiar story over there too!! http://www.janstedehouder.nl/2011/09/28/make-the-use-of-open-standards-in-e… Perhaps we could try similar? Daniel. -- ---------------------------------------- Daniel Jitnah Melbourne, Australia e: djitnah(a)greenwareit.com.au w: www.greenwareit.com.au SIP: dj-git(a)ekiga.net ---------------------------------------- ** For All your Linux, Open Source and IT requirements visit: www.greenwareit.com.au ** -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. For All your Open Source and IT requirements see: www.greenwareit.com.au

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free digital TV receiver
by Russell Coker 04 Oct '11

04 Oct '11

http://www.productreview.com.au/p/dgtec-dg-t99sd.html I have one of the above to give away. I believe that it's in perfect working order, and it has the remote. I can bring it to a LUV meeting. -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/

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