- Free-software-melb - lists.softwarefreedom.com.au

Reclaiming unfiltered Internet access
by Gabor Szathmari 15 Jan '17

15 Jan '17

Hello Everybody, As you may already know, certain websites in Australia are unavailable from December because of various court orders forcing ISPs to block them. As a response to this, we have built a website for the general public which shows how ISP blocking can be circumvented. The site is called 'UnblockOz' and it is available on https://unblockoz.org This website demonstrates how one can change the DNS records, choose a reliable VPN provider or download the Tor browser to evade this ISP blocking. Please let us know what you think and pull requests are welcome on https://github.com/cryptoaustralia/unblockoz Regards, Gabor Szathmari gszathmari(a)gmail.com

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Re: [free-software-melb] [free-software-melb-announce] FSM Jan 13th - LCA preview: Planning Alerts, State Contracts then The World
by Riley Baird 12 Jan '17

12 Jan '17

> How does a council scraping initiative started in the UK evolve to > influence and inform how the Victorian Government manages its information? > Planning Alerts was originally a UK service to allow people to subscribe to > be notified when there was a planning application near them regardless of > council boundaries. It's success has also been replicated (and improved) in > Australia. It seems obvious to many of us that a significant factor is that > the initial project and those that followed it were Open Source and open to > the Communities they served. How can we better demonstrate to government > the value of Open Standards and Open Data than by making it happen? On the topic of open government, I just thought that I'd like to share a website that I've made. It's open source (AGPL-3.0+), and it tracks how every MP votes on every division in the Victorian Parliament. You can access it at http://vicvote.review

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TV Antenna's (Kinda non-free Software)
by Andri Effendi 15 Dec '16

15 Dec '16

Hi Everyone, I Recently purchased a TV Antenna USB Stick online from China. Here is the link to the device I purchased: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Digital-USB-TV-FM-DAB-DVB-T-RTL2832U-R820T-… One that I could muck around with, as it has many great uses for experimenting with SDR as well as Digital Television. One thing that really sucks though, is the antenna it came with it extremely week and doesn't pick up anything other than some FM channels. So I was thinking of getting an Indoor TV antenna (that I can hook up to the USB device), but not sure which is the best and most affordable. I already have purchased the coaxial to MCX converter cable for it, as it is needed to plug in a normal TV aerial to the USB TV Antenna device. I don't want to spend any more than I have to on an indoor antenna, so $50 is kind of the limit. And if possible, I don't want to have to use an external power source for it either. Anyone on this mailing list got any suggestions? Kind Regards, -- Andri Effendi <fusionman133(a)gmx.de> GPG fingerprint: 8438 138D ECDA 05E0 591F F2B4 4721 0F03 AC24 DF73 Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed on emails sent or received unencrypted.

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Re: [free-software-melb] Free-software-melb Digest, Vol 72, Issue 3
by Michael Verrenkamp 15 Dec '16

15 Dec '16

I have tried many indoor antennas over the last decade and have never had any luck getting any signal ever since oz went all digital. Even with a signal booster, digital has too much dependence on a near perfect signal, well 80%+ successful packet delivery thanks to some neat engineering involving echo reduction and software designed to find black holes made by CSIRO in the 70's. But even 80%+ is rarely going to happen, at least with analog you could still get the resemblance of a picture with a broken signal - old technology can still win out occasionally. I have only ever had luck with the full size house antennas and even then they need to angled just right to get the best possible reliability. For that, find out where your nearest broadcast antenna is and then face the antenna towards that point, has to be within a few degrees. There are proprietary apps that can help with this but I couldn't tell you the name of them even if I wanted to. Another factor is how many trees you have in your local area, they are essentially giant pillars of water and will suck the energy down drastically. The last mile issue of economics applied to radio essentially. I figured all this out because when I moved we had no signal only to find out our antenna was in the roof and broken in half. It is not in vain but don't expect it to work, it is an exercise in frustration at the best of times. - Michael ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vice President - Free Software Australia - http://www.freesoftware.org.au/ Founder - Boycott Amazon in Australia - http://www.boycottamazonaustralia.com/ My little place online - http://www.jabjabs.net/ Reject tracking in all forms! Privacy is worth fighting for! On Thu, Dec 15, 2016, at 23:00, free-software-melb-request(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au wrote: > Send Free-software-melb mailing list submissions to > free-software-melb(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.softwarefreedom.com.au/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/free-software-… > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > free-software-melb-request(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au > > You can reach the person managing the list at > free-software-melb-owner(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Free-software-melb digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. TV Antenna's (Kinda non-free Software) (Andri Effendi) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2016 13:02:00 +0000 > From: Andri Effendi <fusionman133(a)gmx.de> > To: Libreplanet-sydney(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au, > free-software-melb(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au > Subject: [free-software-melb] TV Antenna's (Kinda non-free Software) > Message-ID: <585142CE.6060000(a)gmx.de> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Hi Everyone, > I Recently purchased a TV Antenna USB Stick online from China. > > Here is the link to the device I purchased: > https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Digital-USB-TV-FM-DAB-DVB-T-RTL2832U-R820T-… > > One that I could muck around with, as it has many great uses for > experimenting with SDR as well as Digital Television. > > One thing that really sucks though, is the antenna it came with it > extremely week and doesn't pick up anything other than some FM channels. > > So I was thinking of getting an Indoor TV antenna (that I can hook up to > the USB device), but not sure which is the best and most affordable. > > I already have purchased the coaxial to MCX converter cable for it, as > it is needed to plug in a normal TV aerial to the USB TV Antenna device. > > I don't want to spend any more than I have to on an indoor antenna, so > $50 is kind of the limit. And if possible, I don't want to have to use > an external power source for it either. > > Anyone on this mailing list got any suggestions? > > > Kind Regards, > -- > Andri Effendi <fusionman133(a)gmx.de> > GPG fingerprint: 8438 138D ECDA 05E0 591F F2B4 4721 0F03 AC24 DF73 > Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed on emails sent or received > unencrypted. > >

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Positions available: Developers, Django + Python
by Ben Finney 12 Dec '16

12 Dec '16

Howdy all, My employer [0] is seeking Python + Django developers for an expanding list of projects. You will have demonstrable experience working with: * Python 2 and 3. * Django. * Git, with collaborative workflows. There are several positions available, and we can accommodate junior and senior developers. Pointing to some of your Python + Django code and projects online will be appreciated, as will pointing to your history of working in diverse teams. Other skills that will help: * JavaScript UI frameworks. * Agile development techniques, and when they are/aren't applicable. * Reliable effort estimation, learning from actual results. We have a mixture of text editors in use, and you can expect healthy debate about which is best :-) The position is full time, on site at our Southbank office. I am one of the developers here, but you won't be applying via me. Please send your cover letter and résumé to: Matthew Gallaugher <matthew.gallaugher(a)wspdigital.com> We are seeking to fill the position with a suitable applicant ASAP. [0] WSP Digital: http://www.wspdigital.com/ -- \ “I got an answering machine for my phone. Now when someone | `\ calls me up and I'm not home, they get a recording of a busy | _o__) signal.” —Steven Wright | Ben Finney

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Free Software December Dinner
by Ben M 10 Dec '16

10 Dec '16

Hello Freedom Lovers, The year is winding up and so is Free Software Melbourne for 2016. So come along for our last meetup of the year and enjoy an evening celebrating the Free Software Successes of 2016 and ring in a new year of Open Source and Federated Systems Join us at the imperial hotel on December 15th at 7:00pm for dinner, drinks or just a snack... most tastes should be catered for (including vegetarian & GF options) and we're looking forward to seeing you all there! Menu: http://bourkestreetimperial.com/menu/downstairs/ Address: 2-8 Bourke Street Melbourne Map: https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/598056735

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expanding Europe's Linux Presentation Day to Australia
by Hauke Laging 30 Nov '16

30 Nov '16

Hello, in May 2015 Berlin's Linux user group (BeLUG) has started a new type of event which has spread quickly all over Europe: the Linux Presentation Day (LPD) 2015.1: Berlin only 2015.2: 72 cities in three countries 2016.1: 110 cities in 10 countries 2016.2: 150+ cities in 14 countries (on October, 22nd) I contact you because we intend to expand the LPD beyond Europe next year and you are obviously interested in Linux and probably in a larger propagation of Linux, too. The aim of the LPD towards the general public is to provide biannual and comprehensive information events about Linux for private users who would like to get a first impression of Linux. The aim towards the media is to make the event so big (both nationally and internationally) that the nationwide non-IT media cover it regularly. The aim towards the Linux community is that an LPD event can be so small and easy to organize (even without costs) that really everyone can try to organize an event with good chances of success. The local organizers decide on their own what their event shall be like; we just make suggestions and offer support. You can find a longer description of the concept here: http://www.linux-presentation-day.org/idea/ Are you interested in participating in the LPD somehow i.e. organize an event or help us find other organizers? Best regards, (Mr.) Hauke Laging -- http://www.linux-presentation-day.org/ International phone contact for the Linux Presentation Day: tel:+49-30-55579620 (13:00–23:00, German and English) XMPP (Chat with OTR): linux-presentation-day(a)jabber.ccc.de OTR: 91626899 1C06F2BD 75EC2441 35C696CE 38F75997

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2016 - FOSS Show and Tell wrapup
by Ben M 28 Nov '16

28 Nov '16

Hello Freedom Lovers, Earlier this month we had our "Free Software Show and Tell" session at FSM. As usual there was a bunch of really great software on show and just I wanted to put together a post wrapping up some of the highlights for "Best FOSS Software of 2016" First off the blocks we had L.D.A.P. <http://www.openldap.org/> or the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol which had helped a business integrate new (or was it old) hardware into an existing infrastructure with a mixture of Windows and Linux software I mentioned that HtTrack <https://www.httrack.com/> was my best hope for empowering government with a tool for web scraping on account of it having an Android client and the departmental restrictions on software is less strict for the time being Ben S. talked about Riot <https://riot.im/> which is a team based communications platform built on Matrix <https://matrix.org/>. Apart from all the usual benefits of a team communications platform, Riot has the added benefit of allowing connections to an old school IRC chat but with all the added benefits of persistence we have come to expect with IRC bouncers <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BNC_%28software%29> and modern web apps Ben S. also mentioned an often missed benefit of OwnCloud/NextCloud <https://nextcloud.com/> which is the ability to use it as a data store for large email attachments. Just install the ThunderBird add-on <https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/owncloud-for-filelink/> and the next time you try to email a large file Thunderbird/NextCloud will offer you the opportunity to upload the file to NextDrive and include a link in the message Michael showed us a website he's been passionately working on over the past weeks: Boycot Amazon <https://boycottamazonaustralia.com/>, take a look if you want to support local businesses and tell this conglomorate "Not here!". You could even support local growers <http://www.ceresfairfood.org.au/> by buying local too Damien <https://github.com/zamaudio?tab=repositories> demoed a new tool he's been working on to create a very specific kind of binary image. He's been developing and utilising this tool to create binary images based on templates specifying which bits should be set. The software is still in development but Damien is planning on releasing it once it's up to snuff and will be of use to others Paul also noted that SQLAlchemy <http://www.sqlalchemy.org/> had been of great use to himself and someone mentioned a friendly tutorial <http://pythoncentral.io/introductory-tutorial-python-sqlalchemy/> that was available. I'll have to take the readme at it's word when it says that it's "suite of well known persistence patterns, designed for efficient and high-performing database access, adapted into a simple and Pythonic domain language". Which I think is the long way of saying "It makes databases behave like Python" and in Pauls case this translates to shareable and reproducible results in scientific research You can also check out the Gnews presentation <http://freesoftware.org.au/static/media/uploads/gnews/gnews-2016-11-17.html> to look closer at any of the issues we discussed at the meetup or SIGN the PETITIONS! Hope I haven't missed anyone out almost as much as I hope to see you all in a couple of weeks for our December Holiday Dinner

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Free Software Law & Policy mini-conf at LCA, proposals wanted!
by Deb Nicholson 20 Nov '16

20 Nov '16

Hi, We want your talk ideas! Please consider submitting a talk to the Free Software Law and Policy mini-conf at LCA this year. https://www.linux.conf.au/schedule/presentation/11/ The call for proposals is open for a just a few more days. If you have a partly formed idea, please feel free to email me or Donna and we'll help you hash it out. Thanks! Deb

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FSM 17th Nov - Free Software Show and Tell night
by Ben M 11 Nov '16

11 Nov '16

Hi Software Freedom Lovers It's that time of the year when we look back and think about the Free Software that has improved our lives and given us all so much joy. So join us this Thursday November the 17th at Electron Workshop (31 Arden Street) <https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/2556615434#map=19/-37.80118/144.95071> for our last meetup in the usual place this year for a "Free Software Show and Tell". We'll each go round and talk for a few minutes about the one or two pieces of Free and Open Source Software that has made a big impact on us this year It can be something you've just heared about and it sparked your interest or something you've come to rely upon day in and day out If you're stuck for ideas you can always review some of the release sections of our gnews (conveniently linked below) or resort to just ranting about Stallman and Torvalds for a bit for that matter. Or maybe it was a video discussing the concepts of FLOSS that caught your attention this year At 6:30 Michael Verrenkamp will kick us off with call to action on a campaign he's supporting and then we'll get into the show and tells. When we finish those we'll celebrate the last meetup of the year with pizza for dinner and finish the night off with our usual Gnews and Discussion and aim to wrap up around 8:00 I know I picked up a few new tools last year at the show and tell and it's always a fun night, so I'm cracking to see you all there on the 17th! Event details Thursday 17th Nov, 6:30-8:00pm 31 Arden St, North Melbourne, Victoria, 3051 Map: http://osm.org/go/uG4HWyqEz?m=&node=2556615434 Travel tips by Electron Workshop: http://www.electronworkshop.com.au/map/ Running late or can't find us? Call Ben on 0419 390 496. Notable FOSS releases of the year: http://freesoftware.org.au/static/media/uploads/gnews-jan-2016.html#(6) http://freesoftware.org.au/static/media/uploads/gnews-mar-2016.html#(6) http://freesoftware.org.au/static/media/uploads/gnews-apr-2016.html#(6) http://freesoftware.org.au/static/media/uploads/gnews-may-2016.html#(10) http://freesoftware.org.au/static/media/uploads/gnews-2016-07-21.html#(8) http://freesoftware.org.au/static/media/uploads/gnews-2016-10-20.html#(6)

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