October 2012 - luv-talk

Local elections - who can vote?
by Peter Ross 22 Oct '12

22 Oct '12

Hi all, does anybody bother about the way we vote here in Victoria? I find it quite ridiculous that someone can cast a vote just because he owns a property in the area or is representing a company owning a property. Well, AFAIK, the "one man one vote" is one of the basic democratic principles people were fighting for - and it does not apply to the state of Victoria. I am owning a property ca. 30km away from my home - I have no idea about the way people live there, what they are talking about, the local issues, the people that stand for election - I just don't live there. Who can I make an informed decision about the ability of local candidates and what they present? The same goes for any owner or company representive - if you don't live there, you don't have a clue what's important to the people. Governments represent people not businesses. Is this actually legal? No wonder that we end up with a city mayor who is licensing buskers.. Besides, it seems that the Australians on the other side of the Murray are having a "one man one vote" system. Regards Peter

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Worker's Cooperatives: Why they work
by Lev Lafayette 18 Oct '12

18 Oct '12

Some people here may be familiar with the model of worker's cooperatives, where the people who work in a business own the business. In Spain, despite the economic problem that country faces, the Mondragon Cooperative, with 83,869 people working in 256 companies, has a particular resilience which is attracting attention. On Monday a representative of the cooperative will be speaking in Melbourne. For those interested in alternative structures - which have been used very successfully in IT - you may wish to attend this event and perhaps even the dinner afterwards. Resilience to the Euro Zone Crisis: The Unique Advantages of the Mondragon Cooperative When: Monday, 22 October 2012 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM (EST) Where: Sunderland Theatre, Medical Building - Corner of Berkeley and Grattan Street - Carlton - Melbourne, Victoria 3010 - Australia Employee Ownership Australia and New Zealand Monday, 22 October 2012 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM (EST) Melbourne, Victoria http://www.eventbrite.com.au/event/4470958758/ Free lecture and (not free) dinner afterwards with Mikel Lezamiz, the Director of Cooperative Dissemination at the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation. c.f., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation -- Lev Lafayette, mobile: 0432 255 208 RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1855.txt

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LTE version of Galaxy S3
by Russell Coker 16 Oct '12

16 Oct '12

http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/samsung-galaxy-s3-4g-i9305-black-16gb/ Kogan has the 4G version of the Samsung Galaxy S3, it costs $749 vs $499 for the 3G version. So you pay an extra $250 for 4G! If I was buying now I'd get the 3G version. -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/

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UPS service/new battery
by Jason White 14 Oct '12

14 Oct '12

I have an APC SmartUPS unit here which, as of today, is indicating that the battery needs changing. There may be an issue with the UPS hardware other than the battery - I wouldn't rule that out by any means. Who is reliable and experienced at UPS servicing in Melbourne? It's a home office environment if that makes any difference.

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Linux compatible HD tuner
by Edward Savage 13 Oct '12

13 Oct '12

Evening all, I want to setup a new MythTV media computer as a present and I'm looking for a hassle free HD TV Tuner that I can buy in Australia. The last few I've bought have required binary blob drivers or load-on-use firmware and have painful reliability issues as a result. I'm after something I can plug in, maybe at worst compile some libraries, and then expect to work well forever. I'd prefer an internal card though ease of use will win in my choice and a LIRC compatible remote control would be a bonus. I am well aware of the wiki lists of 'compatible' cards and used the V4L one for my last two purchases which turned out to be rubbish. So is anyone aware of a tuner card they can recommend that meet my requirements? Thanks guys, Edward

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Faraday-bag for my mobile phone ?
by Rohan McLeod 10 Oct '12

10 Oct '12

Assembled Illuminati; I am investigating making a flexible faraday-cage for my mobile phone; some sort of metalised fabric seemed like the go. Aluminium foil works but is not robust; curiously metalised plastic film, eg chip packet doesn't, film too thin ?; perhaps something like space-blanket material ?; anyway any suggestions welcome; especially with supply sourced; regards Rohan McLeod

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Fw: You're invited to Zeitgeist Monthly Documentary Screening: Open Source Technologies
by David E Payne 10 Oct '12

10 Oct '12

Random huh!? Dav(e/id/o/y) --- On Wed, 10/10/12, Zeitgeist Melbourne <info(a)meetup.com> wrote: From: Zeitgeist Melbourne <info(a)meetup.com> Subject: You're invited to Zeitgeist Monthly Documentary Screening: Open Source Technologies To: spyder.king(a)yahoo.com.au Received: Wednesday, 10 October, 2012, 11:53 AM Meetup _filtered #yiv1245561967 { } #yiv1245561967 * .filtered99999 , #yiv1245561967 * .filtered99999 { width:100%!important;float:none!important;} #yiv1245561967 .yiv1245561967showMobile { color:#222!important;line-height:16px!important;max-height:20px!important;height:20px!important;} #yiv1245561967 .yiv1245561967hideMobile { color:#fff!important;line-height:0px!important;display:none!important;} #yiv1245561967 _filtered #yiv1245561967 { width:100%!important;} #yiv1245561967 .yiv1245561967showMobile { color:#222!important;line-height:16px!important;max-height:20px!important;height:20px!important;} #yiv1245561967 .yiv1245561967hideMobile { color:#fff!important;line-height:5px!important;display:none!important;} #yiv1245561967 .yiv1245561967event-rsvp-box { margin-top:8px;} #yiv1245561967 .yiv1245561967other-meetups-rsvp { width:40%!important;} #yiv1245561967 .yiv1245561967other-meetups-event-meta { width:60%!important;} #yiv1245561967 .yiv1245561967event-rsvp-box-actions { width:100%;} #yiv1245561967 * .filtered99999 { width:100%!important;float:none!important;} #yiv1245561967 _filtered #yiv1245561967 { text-shadow:#b8263c -1px -1px 0;} #yiv1245561967 .yiv1245561967meetup-button-link { border:none!important;padding:5px 18px!important;} #yiv1245561967 New Meetup Zeitgeist Monthly Documentary Screening: Open Source Technologies Zeitgeist Melbourne Added by David Moss Thursday, October 18, 2012 7:00 PM Gertrude's Brown Couch 30 Gertrude St, Fitzroy Melbourne Will you attend? Yes No NEW VENUE! NEW TECHNOLOGIES! What more can you ask for? Come join us for what will be a night of "Holy crap I can do that?!" moments, as we explore maker movements, do-it-yourself gurus and simple people with amazing ideas! We will be covering ca... Learn more More Meetups from this group Oct 27 Hang out/newbie welcome (Oakleigh) Saturday, October 27, 2012 1:00 PM · 4 attending RSVP Nov 06 Zeitgeist Movement Meetup - Dandenong - Beletti Tuesday, November 6, 2012 7:00 PM · 2 attending RSVP Nov 24 Hang out/newbie welcome (Oakleigh) Saturday, November 24, 2012 1:00 PM · 2 attending RSVP Follow us! Add info(a)meetup.com to your address book to receive all Meetup emails To unsubscribe from similar emails from this Meetup Group, click here Meetup, PO Box 4668 #37895 New York, New York 10163-4668 Meetup HQ in NYC is hiring! http://www.meetup.com/jobs/

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Android phone hardware recommendations?
by Jason White 08 Oct '12

08 Oct '12

At some point it will become worthwhile to buy an Android phone (the alternative would be to enter the closed world of Apple, which doesn't appeal to me precisely because of its lack of openness). Android 4.1 has improved accessibility for users who are blind, so it should be a viable option for me. I don't have an urgent need for this, so I can afford to wait for upcoming products to be released - let's estimate a purchasing time-frame of the next 6 or 7 months, but it may be longer depending on other circumstances. Here are the desired features apart from those which all current phones seem to have: 1. Compatibility with as many networks as possible - there is a real possibility that I'll be travelling more in the next few years, so compatibility with Australian, U.S. and European carriers is important. I am also interested in Long-Term Evolution (LTE) support and any other standards that I should be aware of. 2. Unlocked, with root access and as open as possible - obviously, not locked to any carrier - suitable for development/testing, as needed. I know "open" is very much a relative concept in the mobile phone area, unfortunately. 3. Good hardware specs (CPU, RAM, Flash), capable of being upgraded to newer software releases for quite a long time - I am not in the "replace the hardware every few years" game, unless there's a hardware failure or accident, of course. 4. Hardware durability/reliability. 5. Any other features you think an experienced Linux user should look for... As well as suggested products, I would welcome advice or links to articles regarding what to look for and where to obtain quality devices in Australia with unlocked boot loaders/root access. A vendor who could enable the accessibility features would be desirable as well.

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Re: [luv-talk] Android phone hardware recommendations?
by Bianca Gibson 07 Oct '12

07 Oct '12

Oops, sent it only to Andrew... On 7 October 2012 18:03, Bianca Gibson <bianca.rachel.gibson(a)gmail.com>wrote: > I agree with the nexus assessment. They also don't have the bloated OEM > add ons, which I consider a plus. > > I wouldn't buy from kogan either. As good as their prices are, warranties > are also good. You can also bring down most bricks and mortar store prices > if you try. Some will do price matching, though they probably restrict it > to Australian businesses selling Australian stock. > > > On 7 October 2012 16:53, Andrew McGlashan < > andrew.mcglashan(a)affinityvision.com.au> wrote: > >> On 7/10/2012 2:24 PM, Russell Coker wrote: >> > http://www.kogan.com/au/shop/phones/android/ >> > >> > Kogan seems to have good prices, but they provide no support at all, >> they post >> > stuff to you and that's it. They have the Galaxy Nexus for $339. >> >> Honestly, .... seriously .... Kogan??????? >> >> Get serious, they grey import, you don't get AU stock, you don't get AU >> warranty ... they are far less than no good for "no support at all". >> >> When you buy something from Kogan, you buy the minimum AU statutory >> warranty and then you pay extra, sometimes a lot extra, for what should >> be "standard" warranty periods for equipment. >> >> Oh and like many other companies that use FB for likes so that you can >> comment on them, any negative comments will be simply deleted, however >> true and real they are as they obviously detract from the message. >> Needless to say the whole "like" situation on FB is way over blown and >> is a false way to further deceive the market (at least all the dills >> that think FB numbers really mean something). >> >> Cheers >> A. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> luv-talk mailing list >> luv-talk(a)lists.luv.asn.au >> http://lists.luv.asn.au/listinfo/luv-talk >> > >

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"Prospects for Obama's Democrats, Dangers of Romney's Republicans"
by Lev Lafayette 04 Oct '12

04 Oct '12

Hi everyone, Despite my level of political involvement outside of LUV, I normally shy from such discussions/invitations here to avoid suggestions of partisanship etc.. But in this particular case I do want to send out a general invite to readers of LUV-talk and friends because - from some experience - Linux users do seem to be a little more interested in politics and even US politics than average. The other matter is that the speaker, Dean, is a good friend of mine who is wise beyond his years and will give, I am sure, a very insightful and interesting presentation! Let me know (off-list) if you're able to attend. - - - - The 2012 US Presidential Election "Prospects for Obama's Democrats, Dangers of Romney's Republicans" Guest Speaker: Dean Edwards, Vice Chair of the National Executive Committee and the local coordinator for the Victorian Chapter of Democrats Abroad Plus: The acclaimed HBO Documentary "By The People: The Election of Barak Obama" (2009) Sunday, October 7th, 6.30pm $10/$5, proceeds to the Kooyong ALP FEA for the 2013 Federal Election Back meeting room, Glenferrie Hotel, 324 Burwood Road Hawthorn (near the corner of Glenferrie and Burwood, about 2 minutes from Glenferrie station) It's also cheap pizza night at the hotel! - - - All the best, -- Lev Lafayette, mobile: 0432 255 208 http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1855.txt

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