- luv-talk - luv.asn.au

Java in a browser and memory defaults
by Peter Ross 13 Oct '11

13 Oct '11

Hi all, recently I had some trouble with a login page of a commercial website that is providing a Java applet. Sometimes the login was successful, sometimes not. As the main user has a Windows XP desktop, I concentrated on the particular machine in question but I saw the same on my Ubuntu desktop too. Anyway, it seems to be resolved by putting more memory in the machine in question. Do you know how Java applets behave regarding memory? Do they question the host system at startup and adjust the memory settings? I know about the Java Control Panel and the applet settings - but I did not change them. Still: the increased system memory seems to have solved the problem. On a side I love an app that answers with "Login failed, wrong user or password" when it is an Out Of Memory. I requested password resets three times.. Regards Peter

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[Fwd: [free-software-melb] Rare opportunity on software patents]
by lev＠levlafayette.com 13 Oct '11

13 Oct '11

---------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------- Subject: [free-software-melb] Rare opportunity on software patents From: "Ben Sturmfels" <ben(a)stumbles.id.au> Date: Tue, October 11, 2011 3:23 pm To: australia-public-discuss(a)endsoftwarepatents.org linux-aus(a)lists.linux.org.au free-software-melb(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Folks, The Australian government is requesting comments in a review of "innovation patents". Submissions close *this Friday* 14 October. This is a rare opportunity to be heard. Please write to <mail.acip(a)ipaustralia.gov.au>, explaining the problems of software patents and pointing out that "innovation patents" are the same, but worse. (I've added some notes below to help get you started.) Important: 1. Please focus on software patents only, not patents in general. 2. Please BCC to <swpat(a)sturm.com.au>. 3. Try get your colleagues and organisation to co-sign. For more on the campaign, please visit: http://endsoftpatents.org/australia. The ACIP review: http://www.acip.gov.au/reviews.html#patsys Thanks for your help. Regards, Ben Sturmfels Ideas for your email ==================== Please feel free use your own words and ideas too. FYI: "Innovation patents" came about in 2000 as a replacement for "petty patents". They have a term of 8 years (std. patents 20 years), minimal examination and much lower barrier of "inventiveness" - easy to get, just as hard to defeat. Intro ideas: software patents in general ---------------------------------------- - you're in the software industry - patents on computation and information processing do the opposite of promoting innovation - harmful to both software industry and society - as such should be abolished - you're one of the thousands who signed the paper petition to the House of Representatives calling for this Body ideas: "innovation patents" are the same but worse ------------------------------------------------------- - pose all the same risks as standard patents - are worse because they have lower requirements for examination and inventiveness - should also be abolished Closing ideas: -------------- - you wish you'd been aware of the 2009 Review of Patentable Subject Matter so you could have commented on that too _______________________________________________ Free-software-melb mailing list Free-software-melb(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au http://lists.softwarefreedom.com.au/mailman/listinfo/free-software-melb

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Interesting Bush Telegraph interview 'The Serval Project'
by Rohan McLeod 13 Oct '11

13 Oct '11

There was an interesting interview with Dr Paul Gardner-Stephen from 'The Serval Project'; on Radio National 621's Bush Telegraph this morning (Wed12/10/11). Nice ad for FOSS, with an application to run on Android and Nokia phones; that seems to set up a self-organising wireless LAN for emergencies when the cell network falls over. Would be interesting to know whether the software could be ported to GSM and NextG phones Seems to be a site here: http://www.servalproject.org/ regards Rohan McLeod

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Naive IP network questions
by Rohan McLeod 12 Oct '11

12 Oct '11

Assembled Illuminati; some very naive IP network questions;understanding seems to come very slowly to me; but I am very 'nosy'.! Background: I have an iPrimus ADSL 2Plus account providing an internet connection via a DSL-502T router , accessible via ether USB or Ethernet cable; which is still functioning ! I had an iPrimus 'NBN Co First Release Trial' account providing an internet connection via a Linksys 2000; accessible via Ethernet or wireless; internet access is currently blocked, pending the replacement of the ADSL account with a NBN-Fibre account. Details of the latter: $66/month bundled internet and phone, VOIP local,STD included; mobile at $0.30/ min no flagfall; 15GB/ month cap , 25 Mb/s down 10 Mb/s up; Realistically I'm expecting about 1.25MB/s down ! which is still an improvement on my ADSL; which is only 0.150 MB/s on a good day. . Questions : 1/ The DSL-502T has a web interface at 10.1.1.1 and a 'system' interface at 10.1.1.1 using Putty; the Linksys 2000 has a web interface at 192.168.1.1 but no system interface at 192.168.1.1; why is that ? 2/ I take it that 10.1.1.1 and 192.168.1.1 are the local IP addresses ; other wise I would be accessing everyone else's routers ?...the mist clears very slowly ! 3/ Would the NBN Network Terminating Device which appears to be a fibre-optic router m/n 1-240G-R ;which has an Ethernet connection to the Linksys 2000 have a local IP address ?; talking to the cable tech's who installed the NTD it would seem to have an external IP address; any way to determine this ? Please feel free to correct me if the questions are 'wrong'; regards Rohan McLeod

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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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