KWLUG - The Kitchener-Waterloo Linux User Group is a monthly meeting of GNU/Linux, Free Software, Open Source and technology enthusiasts.

Where? When? We meet in Kitchener, Ontario, usually on the first (non-holiday) Monday of the month, beginning at 7pm. (Virtual Directions) (Subscribe to monthly meeting announcements)

How much? Our meetings are free of charge and open to anybody with an interest in Linux and/or free software.

What next?

In-Person Social: Monday, December 16, 2024, 7pm

Dinner at Crabby Joe's, Downtown Kitchener

Meeting Date

We are continuing the dinner meetup tradition at Crabby Joe's in downtown Kitchener, starting at 7pm. Note that this restaurant meeting is on a Monday.

This is a supplementary informal meeting; we will still hold hybrid meetings for technical topics.

The restaurant is located at 70 King St E in Kitchener, at the corner of King and Frederick St. Here is a map

Parking is free in the Crabby Joe's parking lot with purchase. The waitstaff will scan your ticket when you leave, which will permit you to leave the parking lot for free. In addition, parking at City of Kitchener parking lots is free after 5pm. The nearest City parking lots are at 40 Ontario St S, or 5 Charles St E.

You can probably just show up, but the organizers would find it helpful if you RSVPed to dinner@kwlug.org 

KWLUG Meeting: Monday, Jan 6, 2025, 7pm

Local DNS, Cool Tools

Meeting Date

Thomas Busch will show us how to set up a local DNS server. He writes: 

Learn how to build and manage a reliable local DNS infrastructure using synchronized AdGuard Home instances. This session will cover practical deployment methods, configuration examples, and best practices for maintaining a private, secure DNS environment.

A number of KWLUG members will show off some cool tools:

  • Jeff Smith will demonstrate mkvmerge and mkvextract
  • Shravan Dwarka will demonstrate some bash scripting.
  • Tim Laurence will demonstrate nmap
  • Andrew Cant will demonstrate using Lua in Neovim

 

In-Person Social: Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 7pm

Dinner at J&B Family Restaurant, Downtown Kitchener

Meeting Date

We are continuing the dinner meetup tradition at J&B Family Restaurant in downtown Kitchener, starting at 7pm. Note that this restaurant meeting is on a Wednesday.

This is a supplementary informal meeting; we will still hold hybrid meetings for technical topics.

The restaurant is located at 79 Victoria St N in Kitchener, near the corner of Victoria and Duke Here is a map

There is parking in front of the restaurant. The nearest City parking lot is at Hall Lane.

Normally you can probably just show up, but this is our first time at J&B and they are a small place. If you plan to attend please make sure to RSVP to dinner@kwlug.org, so the organizers can make an accurate reservation

KWLUG Meeting: Monday, February 3, 2025, 7pm

Home Assistant for Weather Monitoring, Custom Live CDs

Meeting Date

Khalid Baheyeldin will follow up on his November 2024 presentation on internal climate monitoring with a presentation on using Home Assistant to monitor weather conditions outside his house, such as lightning strikes and thunderstorm distances. He will discuss Home Assistant integration with rtl_433 to decode radio transmissions,  with devices such as La Crosse and AcuRite weather stations, and with WeeWX for statistics. 

Spencer Hughes will discuss remastering Live CD distributions. He writes:

I will be discussing creating a project I wrote for creating custom Debian and RHEL-based Live CDs and going over some of the potential uses for customized live CDs.