[3926] in linux-announce channel archive
Linux-Announce Digest #218
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Digestifier)
Sun Nov 3 18:13:08 2002
From: Digestifier <Linux-Announce-Request@senator-bedfellow.mit.edu>
To: Linux-Announce@senator-bedfellow.mit.edu
Reply-To: Linux-Announce@senator-bedfellow.mit.edu
Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2002 18:13:03 EST
Linux-Announce Digest #218, Volume #4 Sun, 3 Nov 2002 18:13:03 EST
Contents:
CZ Linux Website Lanuched - Support forum ("Merlin.huff")
Fcron 2.9.3 - a replacement for Vixie cron and anacron (Thibault Godouet)
[ANNOUNCE] Kannel 1.2.1 - update to stable version (Stipe Tolj)
INDIA: What is the PRC? (Frederick Noronha)
NEWS-INDIA: Global guru of code, Stallman, visits Goa this week (Frederick Noronha)
Focus on Microsoft and GNU/Linux in India... (Frederick Noronha)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 2 Nov 2002 17:10:52 CST
From: "Merlin.huff" <merlin.huff@btinternet.com>
Subject: CZ Linux Website Lanuched - Support forum
I have set up this new website "CZ Linux". My main aim is to produce a
support forum that will be useful for the Linux Newbie right the way up to
the more experienced Linux user, but more than this I am hoping it will
become a community of like minded people that share a common interest in
Linux. The board is running phpBB2 and its hosted on a Linux Server ( Red
Hat ) so all round its Linux friendly and open source.
Link is http://www.merlin-huff.org/czlinux/phpBB2/index.php
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------------------------------
From: Thibault Godouet <fcron@free.fr>
Subject: Fcron 2.9.3 - a replacement for Vixie cron and anacron
Date: Sat, 2 Nov 2002 17:10:53 CST
What is new in this release (2.9.3) ?
====================================
* security issue : fcron used not to check the fcrontabs installed
by root for a standard user. This could make an inattentive
superuser install a user job runas(root) involontary.
* Perf improvement : we now use buffers to write something to disk
(became necessary due to the use of O_SYNC).
* To avoid loss of data in case of an hardware failure or a system
crash, fcron now saves files to a temporary name, and then renames
them to their definitive filename if everything's ok.
* The PID indicated by fcrondyn is now the pid of the job itself (up
to now, it was the one of the fcron process controlling the job).
* Implemented functions kill (send a signal to a running job) and
renice (change the priority of a running job) in fcrondyn.
* Added fcron's option -q to control the lavg and serial queue
sizes.
* Added some timeouts in fcron for fcrondyn clients.
* Fcron is less restrictive concerning mailto addresses. In
particular, you can now use address like user@host.
* bug fix : in 2.9.2, fcrontab and fcron did not set correctly some
file modes.
* bug (introduced in 2.9.1) : when a job stops with an non-zero exit
status or because it has been signaled, send a mail to its owner
to inform him (in 2.9.1 and 2.9.2, the mail was sent, but
contained nothing).
* code clean : use the same scheme for all struct types, removed
some code redundancy (save to disk management).
What is fcron ?
==============
Fcron is a scheduler. It aims at replacing Vixie Cron, so it implements most
of its functionalities.
But contrary to Vixie Cron, fcron does not need your system to be up 7 days
a week, 24 hours a day : it also works well with systems which are
not running neither all the time nor regularly (contrary to anacrontab).
In other words, fcron does both the job of Vixie Cron and anacron, but does
even more and better :)) ...
To do so, fcron allows you to use the standard mode in which you tell
it to execute one command at a given date and hour and to make it run
a command according to its time of execution, which is normally the same as
system up time. For example :
Run the task 'save /home/ directory'
every 3h15 of system up time.
and, of course, in order to make it really useful, the time remaining until
next execution is saved each time the system is stopped.
You can also say :
run that command once between 2am and 5am
which will be done if the system is running at any time in this interval.
Fcron also includes a useful system of options, which can be applied
either to
every lines following the declaration or to a single line. Some of
the supported options permit to:
- run jobs one by one,
- set the max system load average value under which the job should be run,
- set a nice value for a job,
- run jobs at fcron's startup if they should have been run
during system down time,
- mail user to tell him a job has not run and why,
- a better management of the mailing of outputs ...
What is planed for next releases ?
=================================
Please go to http://fcron.free.fr/doc/todo.html
(propositions and help are welcome)
How you can help me
===================
If you'd like to help me, please contact me at :
fcron@free.fr
Where can I get it ?
===================
You can either go to the project home page at :
http://fcron.free.fr
or get it from metalab at :
ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/daemons/cron/fcron-2.9.3.src.tar.gz
(365kB)
(I've sent the file but it may take some time before it is available on
metalab)
or get it from seul.org (USA) :
ftp://ftp.seul.org/pub/fcron/fcron-2.9.3.src.tar.gz (365kB)
I hope you will enjoy it,
Thibault.
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------------------------------
From: Stipe Tolj <tolj@wapme-systems.de>
Subject: [ANNOUNCE] Kannel 1.2.1 - update to stable version
Date: Sat, 2 Nov 2002 17:11:08 CST
NEWS about Kannel: Open Source WAP and SMS Gateway version 1.2.1
This is a STABLE version. It should be usable for production systems.
Please do report problems to devel@kannel.3glab.org (the development
mailing list). The bug tracking system is currently offline.
Changes since version 1.2.0:
Compatibility breakers:
* SMPP module users should note that the 'msg-id-type' default
behaviour
has changed. The SMPP spec says that msg ids should be C strings
and
hence we treat them as such per default. If your SMSC gives msg
ids
in submit_sm and deliver_dm PDUs in different numbering basing,
then
please use the 'msg-id-type' config directive to set it
accordingly.
New features:
* SMPP priority flag is now supported.
* SMPP unbind PDU handling added.
* SMPP throttling error code support added.
* MacOS X support has been improved.
* Added 'allowed-receiver-prefix' and 'denied-receiver-prefix' for
sms-service groups. This is used to restrict access to service
requests
coming in on certain receiver numbers, i.e. shortcut numbers.
* Added directives 'http-request-retry' and 'http-queue-delay' for
HTTP
request queueing for sms-service 'get-url' and 'post-url'
services.
This way a non reachable HTTP server will not cause to drop the
request.
Instead smsbox will hold a queue and retry the HTTP request via
the
configurable settings 'http-request-retry' and 'http-queue-delay'.
* Added 'store-status' HTTP admin command to retrieve the messages
currently in the main queue.
* Added a '--with-cflags=CFLAGS' and '--with-libs=LIBS'
configuration
options. These are usefull when Kannel is linked again additional
proprietary modules.
* Improvements in the Siemens M20 GSM modem support.
* Added EMI2 specific configuration directives 'notification-pid'
and
'notification-addr'.
* Added Return Path Indicator (RPI) support for SMPP and EMI2 via
boolean
sendsms interface parameter 'rpi'
* LibSDB support for external storage has been added. libSDB is an
abstraction
library for various DB system, including MySQL, PostgreSQL,
Oracle, gdbm
and some others.
* wapbox has an own access.log facility now.
* Added the new 'smasi' SMSC type for connecting to SM/ASI protocoll
SMSC,
like the CriticalPath InVoke SMS Center.
* Added HEAD method support for HTTP client module.
* DLR support for the AT2 module has been added.
* Slight re-organization of the DLR module to make it easier in
supporting
other SMSC modules too.
* Added 'unified-prefix' configuration directive on a smsc basis to
set
number normalization rules. This may be used it SMSC connections
handle
prefix normalization differently.
* Added 'source-addr-autodetect' to smsc group for auto-detecting
source
addr in smpp module, if desired.
Bugfixes:
* Timezone issue fixed in SMPP module.
* Output of fakewap has been made more human-readable.
* Various fixes and improments in the wmlscript parsing routines.
* Fixed various other possible segmentation faulting bugs in
handling
null'ed Octstr vars.
* Fixed various mutex problems that caused errors while accessing
lists.
* Some fixes in HTTP keep-alive handling logic that causes our
client to
keep the connection up, even while the server has asked to drop
it.
* Various fixes and improvements in the PPG (push proxy gateway)
module.
* Fixed a bug in the prefix-match routine that caused to tread an
number
match not to be a prefix match.
tolj@wapme-systems.de
===================================================================
Wapme Systems AG
Vogelsanger Weg 80
40470 Düsseldorf
Tel: +49-211-74845-0
Fax: +49-211-74845-299
E-Mail: info@wapme-systems.de
Internet: http://www.wapme-systems.de
===================================================================
wapme.net - wherever you are
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------------------------------
From: Frederick Noronha <fred@bytesforall.org>
Subject: INDIA: What is the PRC?
Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2002 04:42:52 CST
Project Resource Centre was started by Trevor Warren of Mumbai. It is
meant to help students to identify and zero-in on workable GNU/Linux
projects.
To subscribe to this group, send an email to:
gnu-linux-prc-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
________________________________________________________________________
Currently, an effort is on to expand the PRC. We are working to shift it
to a Mailman-run server. What is needed for the present is (i) volunteer
mentors who are willing to guide the students (ii) students wanting to
search for interesting projects, that could be socially relevant and
useful to people in the real-world.
If you belong to either one of these categories, please get in touch with
trevorwarren@yahoo.com or subscribe to the PRC on yahoogroups (early,
before the shiftover to Mailman).
If you would like to help in taking this idea ahead in any way, send in
your suggestions to Trevor. FN
--
Frederick Noronha * Freelance Journalist * Goa * India 832.409490 / 409783
BYTESFORALL www.bytesforall.org * GNU-LINUX http://linuxinindia.pitas.com
Email fred@bytesforall.org * Mobile +9822 122436 (Goa) * Saligao Goa India
Writing with a difference... on what makes *the* difference
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------------------------------
Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2002 05:49:22 CST
From: Frederick Noronha <fred@bytesforall.org>
Subject: NEWS-INDIA: Global guru of code, Stallman, visits Goa this week
GLOBAL GURU OF CODE, STALLMAN, VISITS GOA THIS WEEK
PANJIM, Nov 3: In a surprise and unexpected development, one of the most
influential personalities worldwide in today's hacker culture, Dr Richard M.
Stallman, will pay a special visit to Goa this week as part of his
three-destination visit to India.
Stallman's visit is, in large part, tribute to Goa's active and growing
GNU/Linux movement, a three-year old voluntary network of 180+ members, that
is also involved in supporting a GNU/Linux-In-Schools initiative.
Of all Indian states, Goa also has the highest per capita number of
registered GNU/Linux users, according to the international Linux Counter.
Youngsters in Goa have been writing 'Free' code -- ranging from small
utilities to complete library management solutions that have got noticed as
far away as in distant Brazil.
Stallman (49), the controversial founder of the Free Software Foundation
(FSF), is a brilliant coder and MacArthur "genius grant" recipient who
single-handedly launched the movement that threatens to beat Microsoft by
radically changing the rules of the software game.
In a nutshell, Stallman believes that software must be free -- not in the
sense of being available for nothing -- but free to be copied, modified,
distributed, shared, and fixed.
His recent trip took him to Bangalore. After Goa (Nov 5-7) he flies on to
Delhi. On Nov 6, he speaks at the Farmagudi-based Goa College of
Engineering. In Bangalore, Stallman has spoken at IT.com, addressed the
Computer Society of India and lectured at the IIIT-B on the dangers of
software patents.
'Wired', the international IT journal, quoted Stallman saying: "I'm working
to make software free and make computers free. That's my job."
Stallman earlier worked at the Artificial Intelligence Lab at the
prestigious MIT. In the mid-'80s, Stallman resigned from MIT to prevent the
institute from laying claim to the growing GNU project.
Unlike commercial software, which is proprietary, free-software programmers
don't have to solve the same problems over and over. They keep improving on
the work that came before, like the scientific method.
Goa has three GNU/Linux user groups that meet regularly in Panjim, Margao
and Farmaguddi. It also has an Internet-based e-list that keeps everyone
networked daily.
Some of the smartest programmers in the world revere this man, and his fans
in Goa are eagerly looking forward to his visit.
His biographer Sam Williams (author of "Free as in Freedom") says: "Nobody
but Richard could have had the patience, and the stubbornness, and the will
to build something this big. There are other people writing free software,
but he's the one that made it an issue. He's the one that provided the
initial gravitation that everybody else could gather around."
Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web, has said: "Richard was the
first to take up what is now a very important battle...He was an early, lone
voice warning of how the concept of software intellectual property could
undermine, rather than support, the programmer."
Says Ashutosh Naik, a Goan studying engineering in Belgaum: "The RMS visit
is going to be a great achievement. Wish it was November 6 tomorrow."
Trilok Kumar commented: "I would like to confirm my presence at the meeting
(at Farmaguddi) to meet this great man."
In Goa too, Free Software is used in some government institutions,
engineering colleges and increasingly even on desktops. Its proponents say
it would infact enable youngsters to find productive employment for their
skills, and additionally make software both more affordable and relevant
to local needs. (ENDS)
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------------------------------
From: Frederick Noronha <fred@bytesforall.org>
Subject: Focus on Microsoft and GNU/Linux in India...
Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2002 12:50:00 CST
>From the Delhi lists... Posted by LinuxLingam <linuxlingam@bhairon.com>
Diwali is the festival of lights in India. FN
========== Forwarded message ==========
dear all,
BusinessWorld magazine India, just gave me my life's greatest Diwali gift:
a cover story, with an expressive, black-suit and bowtie clad billgates,
eyeing an aggressive-looking Tux, with the headline:
"BILL to bill:
Why India is a Critical Battleground in the War
between Microsoft and Linux."
good amount of research done by Charles Assisi and Shelley Singh. though i
wish the article could have been far more comprehensive, with more box
stories, larger editorial coverage, etc.
the story does mention indian localizing efforts, and several india-centric
initiatives.
i dunno about you guyz, but am going out to buy about a dozen copies of the
Rs 5 per copy mag, and am gonna hand-deliver to key personnel in my key
contact lists.
happy diwali to all.
May the Linux Lamp of Freedom
Burn Brightly in Your Lives This Year,
Bringing you Prosperity, Wealth,
and Lots of Happiness.
LL
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