Jim Plumb

(This is a reminder for next lifetime when I have to come back and do the same thing.)

So I’ve been gradually doing a Linux server install in my office. It’s Mepis 7 and for a mail transport I decided to use Postfix as it seemed to be the least complicated to set up and maintain. I also wanted something that would work well with Mailman, the open source mailing list software. Over the past month through various fits and starts I finally appeared to get Postfix running. To make things simple, Postfix is the program that communicates with other email servers and delivers and receives the mail. Other popular choices are Sendmail and Exim. I’m a relative newby when it comes to this. I use the Synaptic package manager to download and install these software packages. I also use Webmin and a great GUI system management tool. Some of the packages I installed, I did through Webmin and not Synaptic or by using the apt-get method.

I did have a problem using Webmin to install the Postfix package as it went into some kind of infinite loop upon install. I had to clean up the install and ended up installing Postfix via apt-get. Getting Postfix to work wasn’t too hard after that. Had a problem with some permissions on one user account but that’s about it.

I installed Mailman once I felt I got all the bugs worked out with postfix (i.e. I could send and receive email!). When it failed, it came down to going through the logs, googling the error messages and then hacking the configs until it worked.

Here are some of the issues I came up against trying to get Mailman to work with postfix.

1) One thing suggested after mailman is installed is to run /var/lib/mailman/bin/check_perms to make sure all permissions are correct and fixing any by running check_perms -f. I couldn’t get the symbolic link group permissions correct with this (and don’t know if it would have made a difference had I left them), but changed them by hand by using the chgrp -h command.

2) Mailman has a built-in web-based GUI but I couldn’t get it to work. The link is usually http://www.domain.com/cgi-bin/mailman/admin/ where you can start to create your mailing lists. I was getting page not found errors until I went through some mailman tutorials and I found that I hadn’t set up mailman as an Apache2 mod. Found some easy-to-understand instructions at http://www.tectonic.co.za/wordpress/?p=537 and http://wiki.kartbuilding.net/index.php/Mailman.

3) Creating a mailman list and getting the message:
Error: Unknown virtual host: domain.com

Resolved:

add_virtualhost('www.example.com','smtp.example.com')

in mm_cfg.py

If you want to change the default view in the Linux file manager konqueror check out this article:

http://www.edsupport.cc/mguhlin/archives/2005/04/entry_174.htm

I wanted to have the view in tree mode rather than the default icon view.

Here’s something interesting I found when installing SimplyMEPIS 7.0 (beta) on my home office network. The install went very well and thought everything went without a hitch until I tried to connect to the server from the other office machines and from the outside world. I’m doing this to learn how to set up a Linux web server and host it from my office, now that I have a Verizon FIOS Business plan with static IPs. So my first try is to host my own site, jimplumb.com. I had an install of Ubuntu and it worked sort of okay, but I reinstalled this mepis and I couldn’t get to the computer, through ping or anything. Google is still your good friend when it comes to debugging stuff like this and I googled “can’t ping server mepis” or something like that and a page that came up mentioned Guarddog, the firewall. I looked into guarddog and found it was divided up into local and internet settings. All the internet settings were okay, so I looked in local and alas, there it was. Nothing was allowed, no ping, no http, etc. I enabled the things I needed and badabing, all was well.

This Wordpress theme I’m using, if downloaded from the Wordpress site, uses some Germanor maybe they’re Dutch terms for navigational linking words. If you see such words on your wordpress blog as “Geen Chaos”, “Gepost” or “Doe mij nog meer Chaos” and you’d rather have those words in English, then you might like to download my updated page with English words. This replaces the index.php file found in wp-content/themes/mcfire.

I found another page with the Dutch link words, comments.php. Will have to get those fixed as well.

Assembling My Father by Anna Cypra Oliver was an interesting read. Anna’s father committed suicide when she was young. Later, as an adult in her 20s, she decided to find out who he was and in the process gained an understanding of not only her father but of herself as well. Generally, well-written and interesting.

Huh? What’s the connection you say? It seems some of the ONT frequencies match some garage door opener’s remote frequencies and people have had their doors mysteriously stop working after the Verizon FIOS guy left. Here’s one story:

WE had FiOs installed a couple weeks ago and I just *LOVE* it but on the same day that we had the install, our garage door remotes didn’t work as well opening our door. Today when I got home it wouldn’t open it at all! My husband insisted I call Verizon and I felt like such a fool calling because I just knew FiOS had nothing to do with our problem and right when I was telling the tech guy “Well you’re gonna think I’m crazy but………” and he said Ahhhhhhhhh they didn’t think it was their problem either until more and more people will current installs starting reporting the same problem. Soooooooooo, now I have to eat crow and tell my husband he was right! LOL

They are coming out tomorrow to put shield and/or padding around the ONT to stop the interference. Just thought I would post it here in case someone else thinks they’re crazy too!

Well it turns out that the tech that said the ONT needed shielding and or padding was incorrect. The problem was that in some cases the brand and model of the garage door unit is on the same frequency as the ONT and BB so once he replaced the panel everything was back to normal working conditions. The installer however did not believe us at first that the problem was be causing by Verizon and thought it was just something else and the tech that told us that was nutz! It’s not until we kept insisting and did a little test by trying to open the garage door from the remote with the ONT plugged in (which the remote did not work) and then unplugging the ONT and VOILA! The garage door opener worked fine! He was stumped and it’s not until he called the *GURU* of all Southern Calif. and found out that there indeed has been a rash of complaints on this very matter did he believe us and install a new board as reccommended by the Guru. If it were not for the test we did before his eyes and our continued insistence, I don’t think this installer would have done anything or called the guru. Sometimes it does pay to be stubborn. lol

This is an amazing story about the people in the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. It’s based on survivors tales, transcripts from rescue personnel and some careful surmisings about what happened. There were truly some heroic as well as, unfortunately, stupid decisions and actions made that morning. Heroic being some of the Port Authority workers who made selfless rescues to the stunned and injured on the upper floors. Stupid in the decision to have people RETURN to their offices. All in all, the rescue effort went as well as it could under the circumstances. The biggest problem of course was the communications system. FDNY could not communicate with NYPD vice versa. This was critical when an NYPD chopper, investigating the burning sections of one of the towers could see that it would fail. They were able to get this information to the police but not the firemen. This book is highly recommended. I believe there is a movie in progress or in the planning stages.

From dslreports.com

New Video Service Harnesses the Speed and Capacity of Broadband
With the Power of Broadcast to Offer Consumer Choice in TV

KELLER, Texas, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ — The future of television arrived today in a blaze of fiber-optic light, as Verizon unveiled Verizon FiOS TV to residents of this city 30 miles west of Dallas. Verizon will begin taking customer orders for FiOS TV today in Keller, and make it available in communities across Verizon’s footprint in the future.

“This is not cable TV. This is not satellite. This is FiOS TV,” said Bob
Ingalls, president of Verizon’s Retail Markets Group. “Customers who liked
what FiOS did for their Internet connection will love what it does for their
TV. We’ve harnessed the speed and capacity of broadband with the power of
broadcast to create a revolutionary, new entertainment experience.”
FiOS TV is designed to compete with cable and satellite and win. It is
delivered over Verizon’s fiber-to-the-premises network, which has industry-
leading quality and reliability. Fiber delivers amazingly sharp pictures and
sound, and has the capacity to transmit a wide array of high-definition
programming that is so clear and intense it seems to leap from the TV
screen.

Verizon’s network design includes backup facilities not common to traditional
cable systems, such as duplicate “head ends” where the TV service receives
national programming.

Service highlights include:

* A broad collection of all-digital programming and compelling consumer
choice - with more than 330 total channels at launch and more on the way.

* A lead offer with more than 180 digital video and music channels, for $39.95 a month.

* More than 20 high-definition channels, with extraordinary clarity and theater-quality sound.

* Nearly 600 video-on-demand titles available to customers now, with 1,800 by year-end.

* A wide range of local and special-interest channels not found on most cable and satellite systems.

* Channels grouped by genres such as entertainment, sports, news, shopping, movies and family, making it easy for audiences to find their favorite programming.

* An easy-to-use interactive programming guide that integrates HD programming, video-on-demand and the digital video recorder along with broadcast television into a seamless user experience.

Verizon has secured the necessary programming rights to launch its FiOS TV service in Keller today.

Verizon provides FiOS TV over the largest fiber-to-the-premises network in
the country, delivering the power and capacity of fiber optics directly into
people’s homes. A year ago, the company launched FiOS Internet Service in
Keller, where today about 30 percent of eligible households have purchased the
high-speed service. (More information about FiOS TV and fiber optics is
available in Verizon’s online News Center at »www.verizon.com/news.)
With today’s announcement, Verizon concludes its successful trial of FiOS
TV with employees and Keller residents. Following the service rollout in
Keller, Verizon will offer FiOS TV to additional households in Wylie, Sachse
and Westlake, Texas, later this year. Those cities negotiated video
franchises prior to the enactment of the state’s new franchise law. Verizon
will then expand FiOS TV to cities in Florida, Virginia and California, where
it has already obtained video franchises. In addition to Wylie, Sachse and
Westlake, Verizon is planning FiOS TV deployment in other Texas communities,
and it will offer the service in additional markets as it gets government
approval to do so.

“FiOS TV will connect with customers because it offers them choice, value
and simplicity,” Ingalls said. “We have a great offer today, but it will get
even better as we add programming and interactive services. Our employees and
customers helped us improve the service during trials this summer, and we’ll
continue to upgrade based on what we learn from our customers.”
FiOS TV subscribers will enjoy 100 percent digital programming, as well as
access to a large selection of video-on-demand content. Today’s cable
operators typically have to upsell customers from analog to digital-tier
packages to make more sophisticated services like video-on-demand and high-
definition programming available, if they offer those services. To simplify
customer choice, FiOS TV packages and prices will be the same everywhere, with
only the local and community channels varying by market.

FiOS TV subscribers can choose from three simple-to-understand service
offerings, each with built-in choice and value. They can then choose from
packages and premium channels with programming that meets their special
interests. Verizon offers three set-top boxes: standard definition for $3.95
per month; high definition, which includes HD channels, for $9.95 per month;
and a digital video recorder set-top box with HD channels for $12.95 per
month.

The services include:
* Basic, with access to 15-35 local broadcast, weather and community
channels, as well as video-on-demand, for $12.95 per month. The service
is digital with a set-top box. Basic is also available as an analog
service that does not require a set-top box for viewing.

* Expanded Basic, Verizon’s lead offer, delivers more than 180 video and
music channels for $39.95 a month. This tier includes access to 600 on-
demand titles now, with 1,800 by year end. This service requires a
standard-definition set-top box or a high-definition set-top box for HD
channels.

* La Conexion, a tier designed for bilingual consumers who enjoy TV
programs in English and Spanish, for $32.95 per month. The package
includes nearly 140 channels with English- and Spanish-language
programming and access to nearly 600 on-demand titles.
This service requires a standard-definition set-top box or a high-
definition set-top box for HD channels.

Consumers with a passion for sports or movies can add a 15-channel sports
package for $5.95 a month, and a movie package, with 45 channels of Starz,
Encore, Showtime and The Movie Channel, for $11.95 a month. Or, they can buy
both for $14.95 a month. Verizon also will offer 14 HBO channels and 12
Cinemax channels as premium services, with each set of channels available for
$14.95. Subscribers who want both HBO and Cinemax will pay $24.95 per month.
Programming choices for African-American, Asian, Russian and other
multicultural and ethnic audiences will be available in every market. Because
FiOS TV has so much capacity, it will also be an outlet for emerging and
independent networks to showcase their diverse programming.
FiOS TV will also offer thousands of hours of on-demand programming,
including hundreds of titles of free video-on-demand programs across topics
such as sports, news, information and education, home and leisure, family,
children’s shows and movies. Customers can order new movie releases for $3.95
each and selections from a movie library for $2.95 each.

The value of FiOS TV extends to the installation and customer support.
Specially trained Verizon technicians will install the service and acquaint
subscribers with FiOS TV features and services. Verizon is waiving the
installation fee for up to three existing TV outlets, and there is no charge
to install a needed optical network terminal at the subscriber’s home.
Charges for other installation services, such as additional outlets, may
apply. Verizon provides 24×7 technical assistance by phone from its Fiber
Solutions Centers in Dallas and other cities.

With more than $71 billion in annual revenues, Verizon Communications Inc.
(NYSE: VZ) is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services.
Verizon has a diverse work force of more than 214,000 in four business units:
Domestic Telecom provides customers based in 28 states with wireline and other
telecommunications services, including broadband. Verizon Wireless owns and
operates the nation’s most reliable wireless network, serving 47.4 million
voice and data customers across the United States. Information Services
operates directory publishing businesses and provides electronic commerce
services. International includes wireline and wireless operations and
investments, primarily in the Americas and Europe. For more information,
visit »www.verizon.com.

VERIZON’S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches
and biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and other
information are available at Verizon’s News Center on the World Wide Web at
»www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News
Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

SOURCE Verizon
Web Site: »www.verizon.com
Company News On Call: Company News On-Call:
»www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html

From Newsday:
Massapequa Park Village trustees last night unanimously approved a proposal that would make it the first municipality in New York to allow Verizon Communications to debut its cable television service.

The action now needs approval from the state Public Service Commission. Village Attorney Kevin Walsh said he expected the PSC to review the agreement’s language relating to its own jurisdiction, but not to get involved in the “pros and cons” of the service.

The mayor and trustees voted 5-0 after a public hearing that drew more than 200 people, most of whom appeared to favor the agreement. The mood and size of the audience was similar to that at a public hearing two weeks ago, with many residents welcoming the possibility of having the choice of another cable service provider.

Cablevision, the only cable TV provider on Long Island, vigorously contested the proposal, arguing the contract would give Verizon unfair advantages.

…

Last week, Verizon rolled out its service, FiOS TV, in Texas, offering rates that would generally undercut competitors there. Basic FiOS TV service was set at $12.95 a month, with expanded basic available at $39.95.

Full Article

This is a great deal. Cable TV needs a run for its money. Comcast are you listening?

Local streaming TV to get the real stories:

New Orleans: WWLTV. If that link doesn’t work, here’s another stream.

Alabama:WKRG

Live weblog from downtown New Orleans. This guy works in the DirectNIC datacenter in a New Orleans skyscraper. He says they haven’t lost power and should be able to keep online for the next three weeks. There are pictures of looting, etc.; Poydras web cam.

What cops looting? Say it ain’t so!