[frgeek-michiana] Re: Lab Notes 12/16/06

  • From: "Rick L. Tribble" <rtribble@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <frgeek-michiana@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 10:39:44 -0500

I saw some companies selling flash drives with logo' on them. I don't know what 
qty you had to buy, but the 64mb was 8.99 in the ad. 
Also, I searched froogle for 64mb usb and got several that were 5.99 or 4.99 
(they were xd cards with a pen drive adapter).  

So far I have been able to use my usb drive at the library ok. I think the kids 
at LaSalle academy are almost expected to have flash drives. 

Also, my 69 year old mother-in-law's Ubuntu saw my flash drive quite easily. I 
haven't yet tried it on her other Linux box yet. 
--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld


-----Original Message-----
From: frgeek-michiana-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
<frgeek-michiana-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: FreeGeek Michiana <frgeek-michiana@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wed Dec 27 09:51:27 2006
Subject: [frgeek-michiana] Lab Notes 12/16/06

:: Modems To Test

Goose and I searched our mailing list, the Ubuntu forums and several 
web sites for the modems which FG-PDX recommends for Ubuntu. We 
ordered three modems from Gearx.com. If we don't choose Ubuntu as our 
new distro, we'll have some spare modems.

(1) Conexant/Rockwell internal
(1) Best Data external hardware controller modem
(1) Motorola internal

We wanted an Intel 536ep but clicked on the Motorola unit by 
accident. So, we'll have to exchange it right away.

:: GnuCash

Brace yourselves! The entire GnuCash data directory disappeared. And, 
we don't know why.

On the upside, Goose had backed up the dir to his usb pen drive 
several weeks ago. We mounted the usb stick and restored the data. 
Nothing much has happened financially since the backup so we only 
lost one transaction.

Our first thought regarding the missing directory is that last week 
Goose might have logged on at two terminals. Someone besides Goose 
could have had access to his home directory and may have deleted the 
files by accident. Goose and I are considering creating a "treasurer" 
account to avoid multiple logins.

Really, we are at a loss to explain the disappearance. Goose made a 
fresh backup on his usb stick.

:: Usb Stick vs. Floppy Drives

Rick has suggested we standardize on usb pen drives and avoid 
automount problems we've encountered with floppy disks. I confirmed 
that name brand usb drives (Sandisk, 32MB) are readily available at 
$5.00 plus shipping. Closer shopping might find 64 MB sticks for the 
same price.

Goose and I thought about actual use by our volunteers and clients 
and came up with a few questions:

- Which versions of Windows recognize and automount usb drives? Which do not?
- What are the policies at local high schools and colleges regarding 
mounting usb drives?
- Do the Linux distros we are investigating recognize and automount usb drives?

:: Debian Update Broke Servers

Goose reports that Debian Etch (testing) updated kernels to 2.6.18-3 
and broke two of three servers on his employer's network. Actually, 
it may have broken all three. When he became aware of the damage on 
the first two boxes, Goose left the third at 2.6.17. He checked his 
work servers from the lab and found NTP had changed too. There may be 
other problems he won't see until Wednesday.

The lab server is running 2.6.18-3. We didn't notice any problems 
aside from the missing GnuCash directory.

####

** This list is PUBLICLY archived. **
PLEASE don't post personal or sensitive information unless you wish for it to 
be in the public domain.

To post to the list send email to frgeek-michiana@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The archive is available at //www.freelists.org/archives/frgeek-michiana/

You may unsubscribe or change your list settings by going to the list website 
at //www.freelists.org/webpage/frgeek-michiana

Other related posts: