meetings

Two Factor Authentication

Michael Tiller will give a presentation on his thoughts and experience involving two-factor authentication.  He’ll discuss a couple of different ways that two-factor authentication can be used to help reduce the risk of having your sensitive information and/or accounts compromised.  Dr. Tiller was the head of IT for Emmeskay, a Plymouth based engineering consulting company.  He’s currently the President of Xogeny, a local engineering software company.  He’s been using Linux since version .95 ;-)

OAuth

OAuth, the Open Authorization standard, provides a way for users to share their information across websites without divulging their password to those sites. Will Fuqua will discuss what OAuth is, how it works, and how you can use OAuth in your own apps to interact with popular sites such as GitHub, Google and Twitter.

And we’ll also have our normal MUG meeting features: Jobs Looking For People, People Looking for Jobs, news and events, and much much more.

Hope to see you there!

Ubuntu 12.10

The Ubuntu Michigan Loco will discuss what’s new with Ubuntu 12.10. We’ll highlight new features with the OS, and have an open discussion about what to expect with the new release. We’ll also have Ubuntu 12.10 discs to hand out at the event.

LTSP Stack Exchange

Jim McQuillan would like to get a Stack Exchange site running for LTSP, and he needs your help! Jim will discuss the basics of Stack Exchange, and highlight what the LTSP Stack Exchange site needs to do in order to graduate from the beta state.

Book swap

Bring your old and gently used books to trade and swap with other folks. Take a book or leave a book, or do both. You don’t need to bring anything to take something home. We’ll send out more information about how this will work on the Discussion mailing list.

And we’ll also have our normal MUG meeting features: Jobs Looking For People, People Looking for Jobs, news and events, and much much more.

Aludra Fuse-based Filesystem

Scott Balneaves, system administrator for Legalaid Manitoba, Canada has been working on a project to create a Linux filesystem backed by a postgresql database.  The idea is, users can store their Openoffice documents in a filesystem hierarchy, but behind the scenes, the documents are actually being written to a database.  Scott is using the FUSE (Filesystem in Userspace) feature of Linux to create a translation layer that converts the filesystem calls into sql instructions.

Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi presentation will not be happening this meeting. We will advise if and when it will be presented.

Fishbowl

We’ll be bringing back the Fishbowl. From Wikipedia: “A fishbowl conversation is a form of dialog that can be used when discussing topics within large groups. Fishbowl conversations are usually used in participatory events like Open Space Technology and Unconferences. The advantage of Fishbowl is that it allows the entire group to participate in a conversation.” Dave Satwicz will start the moderation off, but the discussion will be driven and led by you, the participants. This is a unique way to get some really engaging conversation about topics that you want to learn more about, or topics you haven’t heard yet. Please bring some ideas of what you’d like to talk about. We had a lot of fun with the discussions the last time we had a Fishbowl, so come on out to learn more.

And we’ll also have our normal MUG meeting features: Jobs Looking For People, People Looking for Jobs, news and events, and much much more.

Hope to see you there!

Juju

Ryan Kather will be discussing Juju, a next generation service deployment and orchestration framework developed by Canonical Ltd. Juju has been likened to apt-get for the cloud. With Juju, different authors are able to create service “charms” independently that work well together.

Computer Humor

Craig Maloney will be running a session discussing computer humor throughout the ages. We’ll touch on older topics like the BOFH and the Jargon File, as well as more current-day sites like XKCD and the Daily WTF.

And we’ll also have our normal MUG meeting features: Jobs Looking For People, People Looking for Jobs, news and events, and much much more.

Hope to see you there!

Impress.js

Ryan Kather will be presenting on Impress.js, a presentation framework (think Microsoft Powerpoint) but open source and based on HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. It’s based on ideas from Prezi.com (scaling/zooming to dramatic effect). Developers are able to code good-looking presentations quickly with Impress.js without having to deal with Powerpoint or OpenOffice Impress. Presentations are also fully portable as all that is needed is a modern browser for viewing.

Raspberry Pi

Remember the “good ol’ days” programming on your Atari 800 or Commodore 64 micro-computer? Those simpler computers were lots of fun, but developing on today’s machines requires a substantial investment. Raspberry Pi is an inexpensive computer tha hearkens back to the dawn of the micro-computer age. The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer board that plugs into a TV and a keyboard. This ARM-based PC can do many of the things that a desktop PC can do, like spreadsheets, word-processing, games, and High-Definition video. Brian Hill, a system administrator working for Nexcess, will discuss the Raspberry Pi platform and show us this inexpensive and interesting platform.

And we’ll also have our normal MUG meeting features: Jobs Looking For People, People Looking for Jobs, news and events, and much much more.

Hope to see you there!

Macintosh for UNIX natives: Stranger in a not-so-strange land

In April we discussed how an UNIX Native could survive with their sanity intact on a Windows machine. This month we’ll take a closer look the Macintosh OS X operating system. It’s not quite as strange as you might think; having a UNIX operating system at it’s very core, but there are notable differences. Wolf will come to talk with us about surviving on a Mac OSX system as a UNIX user. This will be an interesting and enlightening talk for anyone who is considering using a Macintosh machine, or for those who want to get the most out of the UNIX side of their OS. You won’t want to miss this!

Google Maps API

Whenever you’re out in strange territory, it’s always helpful to have a map handy. Google has an excellent maps API that is available for use. Jim McQuillan and Will Fuqua have played a bit with the Google Maps API, and will talk about their usage of the Google Maps API. If you’ve ever wanted to write an application that required mapping, you’ll definitely want to check this out!

And we’ll also have our normal MUG meeting features: Jobs Looking For People, People Looking for Jobs, news and events, and much much more.

Hope to see you there!

Making Out with Make

We’ve all run `make install` to get something installed at some point in time, but did you know you can use it for more than just installing C packages? How about providing shortcuts and tools for your own scripts? How about installing packages and config files for a new system? Rick Harding will show us the basics of Make and show you how you can put it to use today to make your daily life easier and more efficient.

CiviCRM

We’re trying something new with the mug.org website, and we need your help to test it. We’ve implemented CiviCRM to handle some of the user group managent. Craig Maloney will demonstrate some of the added functionality, and give a quick peek into what to expect in the coming months.

Fishbowl

We had a great time with this discussion participation activity. Bring you topics for discussion, and let’s talk!

And of course we’ll have some of the other great features you’ve come to enjoy at our meetings, including current events and Job/People seekers.

Hope to see you there!

Shawn Powers – LTSP

We’re excited that Shawn Powers will be coming down-state to share his experiences with LTSP with us. Shawn is the Associate Editor of Linux Journal Magazine, and the gadget review guy at Linuxjournal.com, but by day he works extensively with LTSP (which was the subject of an extensive three-part series in Linux Journal, from issues 215-217. Another interesting fact is that LTSP was created by our own Jim McQuillan). Shawn will talk about his recent experiences with LTSP, with a focus on getting technology into the hands of kids. You won’t want to miss this!

Command of the Moment

If we still have some time, we’ll jump back into our continuing series: Command of the Moment. We’ll pick some UNIX commands at random and ask folks to take 5-10 minutes to discuss them. A list of the commands we’ll be picking from is available here.

And of course we’ll have some of the other great features you’ve come to enjoy at our meetings, including current events and Job/People seekers.

Hope to see you there!

Stranger in a Strange Land (UNIX Survival under Windows)

We all know that UNIX and Linux are a great place to get things done, but some of us have to spend our darker days slaving away in the dark, dank mines of Windows machines. OK, maybe it’s not so melodramatic, but there are times when we’ve been found wanting something more UNIX-like in the Windows shell. Will Fuqua will lead the discussion about some of the tools for how to use UNIX Utils, PuTTY, Private key management, a little about Cygwin, and how to integrate git on Windows. Bring your tips and tricks for how to work with UNIX-like utilities under Windows.

Stranger in a Not-so strange land (UNIX Survival under Mac OS)

With a growing number of people using Mac OS, it’s only fitting that we also show how a Linux/Unix user can survive on Mac OS. It’s really not that hard, considering Mac OS is based on BSD UNIX. Wolf will be here showing us how to get the most out of Mac OS X. Wolf has given us several presentations in the past and they’re always insightful and entertaining.

Command of the Moment

We’re trying something new with the Command of the Month. We’ll pick some UNIX commands at random and ask folks to take 5-10 minutes to discuss them. A list of the commands we’ll be picking from is available here.

And of course we’ll have some of the other great features you’ve come to enjoy at our meetings, including current events and Job/People seekers.

Hope to see you there!

Main Presentation – Squeezebox

Our main presentation features the Logitech Squeezebox ecosystem. If you’ve ever thought about having multiple-room, multiple device playback of audio, playing local or Internet-based content, then the Logitech (formerly Slim Devices) Squeezebox platform is for you. Craig Maloney will present what the Squeezebox platform is, what it can do, and how you can set it up tonight without making an emergency stop to the computer store. This presentation will focus on the open source aspects of the Squeezebox platform, as well as discuss how you can expand the platform to meet your music listening needs. As an added bonus, Logitech has generously provided us with discount coupons good for a considerable discount on their online store. If you have ever dreamed of having multiple-room music using open-source software, you won’t want to miss this!

Elections for the Board of Directors of Mug.org

We’ll hold the elections for the board of directors at this month’s meeting.

We currently have the following nominations:

• Jim McQuillan
• Dave Satwicz
• Jim Glutting
• James Hice
• Gibson Nichols
• Craig Maloney
• Will Fuqua

Nominations are open until just before the vote starts at the meeting on the 13th.

In addition to the normal voting that will take place at the meeting, we’re also accepting votes submitted via Email.

For paid members that can’t make it to the normal meeting, you can submit your vote for the 6 people you’d like to see on the board of directors in 2012 by sending an email to: vote@mug.org

You can submit your vote anytime between now and 18:00:00 EST (That’s 6pm local time) on Tuesday, March 13th, 2012. Any votes received after 6pm on the 13th will not be counted.

Command of the Moment

We’re trying something new with the Command of the Month. We’ll pick some UNIX commands at random and ask folks to take 5-10 minutes to discuss them. A list of the commands we’ll be picking from is available here.

And of course we’ll have some of the other great features you’ve come to enjoy at our meetings, including current events and Job/People seekers.

Hope to see you at 6:30pm on Tuesday, March 13th, 2012.

We are back at the Farmington Community Library (map)
We’ll be in the large auditorium upstairs.