[kwlug-disc] KWLUG - The Kitchener Waterloo Linux User Group new content notification: 2009-02-06 12:15

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Greetings mail-forum-merge,

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Recent content - 4 new posts
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1. help shape open software procurement policies
Published Forum topic by ilgiz
[ http://kwlug.org/node/637 ]

I saw a link to this request for information by chance in another
forum.
 Perhaps, it might be interesting to contribute to the government's
policies on using open source software.
"help the Government of Canada (GC) put together guidelines related to
the planning, acquisition, use and disposal of No Charge Licensed
Software (NCLS)"
"the procurement of any of the goods and services described in this RFI
will not necessarily follow this RFI"
RFI - NO CHARGE LICENSED SOFTWARE

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2. Why and How I removed unecessary steps to loggin in to Mint/Ubuntu
Published Blog entry by Raul Suarez
[ http://kwlug.org/node/638 ]

Disclaimer: The actions described here are suitable for a Home desktop.
I would not do the same to a laptop of public desktop.
I'm trying to convince my sons to use Linux instead of booting in
Windows. They really dislike having to enter the userid and password
then enter the keyring password. For now, they don't care about having
their "own" desktop or custom configurations.
After the installation Ubuntu asks for my wireless network parameters
and it saves the WPA key
In subsequent log ins the default behaviour of Ubuntu is the following:
- Ask for user ID and password
- Ask for the keyring password so the nm-applet can access the WPA key
I have no problem with those steps. The second one is anoying but I
quickly forget about it and just do it naturally. This is the part that
my sons dislike.
Note: Both of my desktop connect through wireless as I've been lazy
running hidden cables all over my house.
My first step was to remove the anoyance of the keyring password.
Once I did that I realized that it was better to have a static IP.
After all, these are desktops.
Finally I decided to set automatic log in.
Although I am using Mint in one box, Ubuntu Intrepid in another. Being
it an Ubuntu derivative all the steps apply to both.
After those steps, my sons are using Linux more frequently. Weird, but
true.
Note: Being these computers inside my home without normal access by any
stranger, I decided to use the Automatic login feature of the log in
manager. After all, everyone at home knew the userID and password and
if
a rober comes into my house a password won't stop him from taking the
computer.
In the following posts I will explain each of the steps

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3. Remove the need to enter the keyring password every time I Login to
Ubuntu / Mint
Published Blog entry by Raul Suarez
[ http://kwlug.org/node/639 ]

1. Install pam-gnome-keyring
sudo apt-get install pam-gnome-keyring
2. Delete your default keyring
rm ~/.gnome2/keyring/default.keyring
3. Modify the GDM configuration and save it
sudo nano /etc/pam.d/gdm
add  auth optional pam_gnome_keyring.so before session optional
pam_gnome_keyring.so auto_start
4. Reboot

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4. Set a static IP for WPA wireless network
Published Blog entry by Raul Suarez
[ http://kwlug.org/node/640 ]

1. Get the encrypted WPA wireless key
 wpa_passphrase <network name> "<passphrase>"
e.g.
wpa_passphrase myNetwork "This is my passphrase"
You will get something like the following:
network={
	ssid="myNetwork"
	#psk="This is my passphrase"
	psk=eca1d01a15186d5bea7548ba6b7fed6b032b3efd79791539ba8b8fffb1fdfa1c
}
Copy the text after psk=
2. Edit the interfaces configuration
sudo leafpad /etc/network/interfaces
Add the following to the file replacing
- <interface> with the proper interface, e.g. wlan0 or eth1,
- The IP addresses with the proper IP addresses for your network
- <network name> with the name of your network
- <encrypted psk key> with the key you got in the previous step
auto <interface>
iface <interface> inet static
address 192.168.1.99
gateway 192.168.1.1
dns-nameservers 192.168.1.1
netmask 255.255.255.0
wpa-driver wext
wpa-ssid blank
wpa-ap-scan 1
wpa-proto WPA
wpa-pairwise TKIP
wpa-group TKIP
wpa-key-mgmt WPA-PSK
wpa-psk <encrypted psk key>
3. Disable the Network manager.
>From the main menu select "System | preferences | Sessions" and remove
the check mark for the network manager
4. Reboot


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