- Roundtable - muug.ca

Quick tip for tonight's meeting: make sure your browser is set for hardware acceleration of video!
by Alberto Abrao 10 Nov '21

10 Nov '21

Hello everyone, during our last meeting, I mentioned that I would try to put together a quick how-to to optimize the performance for our participants that are using Firefox on Linux. This may also be useful for some folks on Windows, especially these with older cards such as Radeon HD 5xxx series, which are (or maybe used to be?) blocklisted even on Windows. Now, a big change that happened between our last meeting and this one is that, with the release of Firefox 94, hardware acceleration is (finally!) enabled by default on Linux. Yay! However, there are a few tweaks still, so let's get on to them. Open the browser, then type about:config at the address bar. There, search for: gfx.webrender then double-click on gfx.webrender.all to set it to true. (this should NOT be needed with FF 94, but it does not hurt anything either). you can also try to force-enable the compositor (gfx.webrender.compositor.force-enabled set to true), but that glitches often enough, so be prepare to undo it. Then, search for: media.ff set to true: media.ffmpeg.vaapi.enabled, media.navigator.mediadatadecoder_vpx_enable If using X, set gfx.x11-egl.force-enabled to true. This should be enough to get most people going when using the out-of-the-box FOSS drivers. For Nvidia proprietary driver users, a low-hanging fruit that's often missing is libva-vdpau-driver. Should any questions are, please do not hesitate to reply to the list and ask. Kind regards, Alberto Abrao

1 0

Reminder: MUUG Online Meeting, Tuesday, Nov 9, 7:30pm -- Jitsi vs Big Blue Button
by Gilbert E. Detillieux 09 Nov '21

09 Nov '21

A reminder that the MUUG online meeting will be on BBB this evening... The Manitoba UNIX User Group (MUUG) will be holding its next monthly meeting online, on Tuesday, November 9th, at 7:30pm: Jitsi vs Big Blue Button: Jitsi setup on AWS - Wyatt BBB setup on OVH - Adam This month, Wyatt Zacharias and Adam Thompson will be demonstrating setting up two different videoconferencing solutions on two different hosting platforms. MUUG has been using Jitsi for its own meetings over the last year, and tried out Big Blue Button for last month's meeting. AGM Plus, this month's meeting will be the MUUG annual general meeting, which included the election of the MUUG board of directors for the 2021-2022 year (by acclamation, again this year). This will once again be an online meeting. Stay tuned to our muug.ca home page for the official URL, which will be made available about a half hour before the meeting starts. (Reload the page if you don't see the link, or if there are issues with connecting.) The group holds its meetings at 7:30pm on the second Tuesday of every month from September to June. (There are no meetings in July and August.) Meetings are open to the general public; you don't have to be a MUUG member to attend. For more information about MUUG, and its monthly meetings, check out their web server: https://muug.ca/ Help us promote this month's meeting, by putting this poster up on your workplace bulletin board or other suitable public message board, or linking to it on social media: https://muug.ca/meetings/MUUGmeeting.pdf -- Gilbert E. Detillieux E-mail: <gedetil(a)muug.ca> Manitoba UNIX User Group Web: http://muug.ca/

1 0

MUUG Online Meeting, Tuesday, Nov 9, 7:30pm -- Jitsi vs Big Blue Button
by Gilbert E. Detillieux 02 Nov '21

02 Nov '21

The Manitoba UNIX User Group (MUUG) will be holding its next monthly meeting online, on Tuesday, November 9th, at 7:30pm: Jitsi vs Big Blue Button: Jitsi setup on AWS - Wyatt BBB setup on OVH - Adam This month, Wyatt Zacharias and Adam Thompson will be demonstrating setting up two different videoconferencing solutions on two different hosting platforms. MUUG has been using Jitsi for its own meetings over the last year, and tried out Big Blue Button for last month's meeting. AGM Plus, this month's meeting will be the MUUG annual general meeting, which included the election of the MUUG board of directors for the 2021-2022 year (by acclamation, again this year). This will once again be an online meeting. Stay tuned to our muug.ca home page for the official URL, which will be made available about a half hour before the meeting starts. (Reload the page if you don't see the link, or if there are issues with connecting.) The group holds its meetings at 7:30pm on the second Tuesday of every month from September to June. (There are no meetings in July and August.) Meetings are open to the general public; you don't have to be a MUUG member to attend. For more information about MUUG, and its monthly meetings, check out their web server: https://muug.ca/ Help us promote this month's meeting, by putting this poster up on your workplace bulletin board or other suitable public message board, or linking to it on social media: https://muug.ca/meetings/MUUGmeeting.pdf -- Gilbert E. Detillieux E-mail: <gedetil(a)muug.ca> Manitoba UNIX User Group Web: http://muug.ca/

1 0

Optical media longevity warning
by Adam Thompson 28 Oct '21

28 Oct '21

Came across this, this morning: https://twitter.com/ablitter/status/1451278816924495878?t=QmhboC2T73DOhpaAg… ...so here's a periodic reminder that the centuries your optical discs were supposed to last? Let's call that *highly optimistic at best*. I know several people reading this who back up to optical media, but only one (maybe two) who plan for media longevity. Welp, there's your reminder. -Adam

2 1

Request: hardware help
by Kevin McGregor 28 Oct '21

28 Oct '21

Hi all, I have a SuperMicro A1SRI-2758F motherboard which appears to have now died. I've read that it's because of a bug in the Intel Atom C2000-series chips of a certain vintage. I've also read that there is a DIY fix involving a bit of soldering and a 220 ohm resistor. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPKFC2HBtvA. Can anyone provide the resistor? And maybe some soldering help? :-) I do have a soldering iron, but I haven't used it for ages. Kevin

3 3

Re: [RndTbl] Roundtable Digest, Vol 202, Issue 11
by vsankar＠foretell.ca 26 Oct '21

26 Oct '21

Hi, This seems to have cost data from 1975 to 1985. Hopefully it is relevant info. Vijay Monthly Labor Review - Volume 109, Issue 9 - Page 10books.google.ca › books <https://books.google.ca/books?id=2BaU-56SOfUC&pg=PA10&dq=how+much+did+mainf…> 1986 FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 10 Domestic consumption of micro , mini , and mainframe computers , " 1960–84 [ Dollars in millions ) Table 4. ... declining component costs , and other technical developments led to the introduction of the personal computer in 1975. Vijay Sankar ForeTell Technologies Limited vsankar(a)foretell.ca > On Oct 26, 2021, at 12:00 PM, roundtable-request(a)muug.ca wrote: > > Send Roundtable mailing list submissions to > roundtable(a)muug.ca > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://muug.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > roundtable-request(a)muug.ca > > You can reach the person managing the list at > roundtable-owner(a)muug.ca > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Roundtable digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. How much did one second of computer time cost in 1975? > (Brian Lowe) > 2. Re: How much did one second of computer time cost in 1975? > (Adam Thompson) > 3. Re: How much did one second of computer time cost in 1975? > (Adam Thompson) > 4. Re: How much did one second of computer time cost in 1975? > (Scott Toderash) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2021 20:56:07 -0500 > From: Brian Lowe <brian2(a)groupbcl.ca> > To: roundtable(a)muug.ca > Subject: [RndTbl] How much did one second of computer time cost in > 1975? > Message-ID: <7988573.jIZ38J7S2z(a)haremya.renyamon.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Hello all, > > Today with multi-core CPUs running at gigahertz speeds attached to gigabytes > of RAM and terabytes of disc space, we're well used to running programs that > require what would be enormous resources back when mainframes ruled the data > centre. > > My question is "how much did one second of computer time cost in 1975?" This > assumes the program in question is being run on a mainframe from IBM or any of > the other manufacturers of the day. Of course, there are a lot of factors to > consider: leasing costs, staffing, power and cooling, if the system could run > more than one program simultaneously, and how computer time was charged back > to the users. > > I'm interested to know if anyone on this list has had experience with this > sort of system accounting, and if they can recall some numbers. > > Regards, > Brian > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2021 00:17:13 -0500 > From: Adam Thompson <athompso(a)athompso.net> > To: Continuation of Round Table discussion <roundtable(a)muug.ca>, Brian > Lowe <brian2(a)groupbcl.ca>, roundtable(a)muug.ca > Subject: Re: [RndTbl] How much did one second of computer time cost in > 1975? > Message-ID: <960940F4-55CD-4317-AD32-A7323D611243(a)athompso.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > There are many people here who used the UofM mainframe back when it was updated on a chargeback system (including me, sadly, although my Dept paid the bill, not me). > Of course I didn't keep a copy of the rate sheet, so I don't remember what 1sec cost. > It wouldn't quite be the fully-loaded cost you describe, but it would be close - I don't think Computer Services was expected to turn a profit back in 1991. > -Adam > > On October 25, 2021 8:56:07 p.m. CDT, Brian Lowe <brian2(a)groupbcl.ca> wrote: >> Hello all, >> >> Today with multi-core CPUs running at gigahertz speeds attached to gigabytes >> of RAM and terabytes of disc space, we're well used to running programs that >> require what would be enormous resources back when mainframes ruled the data >> centre. >> >> My question is "how much did one second of computer time cost in 1975?" This >> assumes the program in question is being run on a mainframe from IBM or any of >> the other manufacturers of the day. Of course, there are a lot of factors to >> consider: leasing costs, staffing, power and cooling, if the system could run >> more than one program simultaneously, and how computer time was charged back >> to the users. >> >> I'm interested to know if anyone on this list has had experience with this >> sort of system accounting, and if they can recall some numbers. >> >> Regards, >> Brian >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Roundtable mailing list >> Roundtable(a)muug.ca >> https://muug.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable >

1 0

How much did one second of computer time cost in 1975?
by Brian Lowe 26 Oct '21

26 Oct '21

Hello all, Today with multi-core CPUs running at gigahertz speeds attached to gigabytes of RAM and terabytes of disc space, we're well used to running programs that require what would be enormous resources back when mainframes ruled the data centre. My question is "how much did one second of computer time cost in 1975?" This assumes the program in question is being run on a mainframe from IBM or any of the other manufacturers of the day. Of course, there are a lot of factors to consider: leasing costs, staffing, power and cooling, if the system could run more than one program simultaneously, and how computer time was charged back to the users. I'm interested to know if anyone on this list has had experience with this sort of system accounting, and if they can recall some numbers. Regards, Brian

3 3

Hardware for sale
by Daulton 24 Oct '21

24 Oct '21

Hello all, I am assisting a local business with selling unneeded gear. There are the following makes and models available, please contact me for more detail and pricing. Please note that the systems can have different specs as there are multiple available, these are for reference. ╔══════════════╦══════════════╦══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Make ║ Model ║ Specs ║ ╠══════════════╬══════════════╬══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Supermicro ║ X10DRL-LN4 ║ Intel E5-2603 v4, 32 GB memory, 4 Kingston 120 GB SSD, 4X 2TB Seagate Firecuda Compute ║ ╠══════════════╬══════════════╬══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Supermicro ║ X11SSL-F ║ Intel E5-1230 v5, 16 GB memory, x6 1 TB Seagate Compute HDD ║ ╠══════════════╬══════════════╬══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Supermicro ║ 101S-6 ║ Mini supermicro, good for fanless desktop or router. It has 4, 1 Gbit intel ethernet ports ║ ╠══════════════╬══════════════╬══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Custom built ║ Custom built ║ Mid tower, Asus A68HM-Plus, AMD A10-7850K, 16 GB (2 DIMM, 1600 mhz), 1 Kingston 120 GB SSD. 1 HDD WD 2 TB ║ ╠══════════════╬══════════════╬══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Custom built ║ Custom built ║ Mid tower case, has hot swap bays, Asus B85M-G, Intel i7-4790, 16 GB (2 DIMM, 1600 mhz), 1 HDD WD 500 GB ║ ╠══════════════╬══════════════╬══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Custom built ║ Custom built ║ Large form factor case, hot swap drives, Asus A88XM-Plus, AMD A10-7700K, 16 (4 DIMM, 1333 mhz), 6 HDD WD 2 TB ║ ╠══════════════╬══════════════╬══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Startech ║ RK2236BKF ║ Half height server rack with glass front door ║ ╠══════════════╬══════════════╬══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Microtik ║ RB1100AHx4 ║ Microtik router, has 13x Gigabit Ethernet ports ║ ╠══════════════╬══════════════╬══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ Fortinet ║ FortiFone ║ Both 370i and 470i models available. Some used, some new. ║ ╠══════════════╬══════════════╬══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ ║ D-Link ║ DGS-1100-24 ║ 24 port managed switch ║ ╚══════════════╩══════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Thanks, Daulton

1 0

Re: [RndTbl] Optical media longevity warning
by Hartmut W Sager 24 Oct '21

24 Oct '21

This topic is very important (for longevity of your data), but both the original post and the follow-up tweets aren't very informative. For starters, as the author Keith Kaisershot posted, he himself buys "cheap knockoff brand" (in addition to some Sony discs). El-cheapo deserves to lose his data. Furthermore, the following 3 points never came up: 1. CD-R/DVD-R and CD-RW/DVD-RW are lumped together, even though they are day-and-night different for longevity, and even for immediate readability. CD-RW/DVD-RW has a much lower contrast between 0's and 1's than CD-R/DVD-R has. As such, for example, music written to CD-RW/DVD-RW tends not to play in boomboxes that don't specifically mention it, whereas CD-R/DVD-R will quite often play successfully in boomboxes that don't even mention CD-R/DVD-R, let alone CD-RW/DVD-RW. 2. Most brands of CD-R/DVD-R use vegetable dyes in the data layer, with a life quoted at 2-3 years. These vegetable dyes are similar to the indo-aniline and azo-methine vegetable dyes used in classic colour slide film, colour negative film, and colour prints, all of which fade over time, and faster if exposed to heat or light. (Kodachrome was much better than the rest.) Only Ciba-Geigy made light-fast print material using pure azo dyes. 3. Verbatim DataLife CD-R/DVD-R discs are radically different, using some kind of polymer in the data layer, and quoting 100 years of data life in good storage conditions. That's what I used exclusively back then, and it piqued my interest enough to do an experiment. I taped a Verbatim DataLife CD-R filled with data onto a south-side window, no curtain, directly exposed to sunlight for about a year. To my pleasant surprise, the whole disc was re-read perfectly on my computer!! I also once dabbled with magneto-optical discs (great stuff!), but that's another story. It was pointed out that, longevity aside, you need compatible reading hardware later to read the discs. For both reasons, I re-write (copy to elsewhere) everything every 2-3 years. I no longer use CD-R/DVD-R for backup (despite #3 above) because of the inconvenience. I now use 3 different clouds to immediately back up everything I "save", and once-in-a-while (after each scolding by some conspiracy-theorist), I write everything to a USB stick (where I also observe the 2-3 year re-write rule). Oh, did I mention how deeply involved in photography I once was? :) Hartmut W Sager - Tel +1-204-339-8331 On Sat, 23 Oct 2021 at 09:58, Adam Thompson <athompso(a)athompso.net> wrote: Came across this, this morning: https://twitter.com/ablitter/status/1451278816924495878?t=QmhboC2T73DOhpaAg… ...so here's a periodic reminder that the centuries your optical discs were supposed to last? Let's call that *highly optimistic at best*. I know several people reading this who back up to optical media, but only one (maybe two) who plan for media longevity. Welp, there's your reminder. -Adam

1 0

Re: [RndTbl] User to Super-user to career change
by Hartmut W Sager 22 Oct '21

22 Oct '21

> Thanks for the responses! I don't know why but I didn't receive Adam's reply by email, I only found it because Mark and Troy seemed to be referencing something so I looked up the thread on the MUUG site. This is very likely a Gmail issue. You are openly using a Gmail address, and Adam might be using Gmail infrastructure to implement e-mail on his own domain name, just like I do. Gmail was for about a decade long the best of the "3 big boys" (Gmail, MS Mail, Yahoo), but in the last 1½ years, Gmail has caused endless trouble in their aggressive zeal to be/become number 1 in anti-spam (driven by consumer demand, at the expense of our sanity as IT professionals). I have spent the last 1½ years doing workarounds for both myself and a handful of customers and colleagues. Among many issues, Gmail has been deliberately discarding e-mails by their goofy anti-spam algorithms (both while sending and receiving) without any notification whatsoever to sender or receiver, which is almost unprecedented in the e-mail world. Some time ago, I started a MUUG RoundTable thread here about some Gmail issues, and I believe there was a good discussion. To be sure this posting gets through, I'll send it from my MS Mail infrastructure, though I also use Tucows/OpenSRS, Thunderbird, Webmail through a Roundcube derivative, etc. Hartmut W Sager - Tel +1-204-339-8331 On Wed, 20 Oct 2021 at 18:26, Chris Schick <seeschickrun(a)gmail.com> wrote: Thanks for the responses! I don't know why but I didn't receive Adam's reply by email, I only found it because Mark and Troy seemed to be referencing something so I looked up the thread on the MUUG site.

1 0