BillingsLUG

**Please note new meeting time and location this month (see below)**

This month Dan Denson will take the lead showing us many possibilities and great features of the MikroTik line of routers (http://mikrotik.com).

He will use an RB1200 serving as "the Internet"/ISP with one port serving DHCP, one for static IP, and another PPPoE so we can illustrate each connectivity type that is common. Then he will create VPN tunnels with PPTP and SSTP, as well as IPSec transport mode with IPIP and GRE tunnels. For routing, he will show both OSPF dynamic routing as well as plain old static routes.

For the LUG meeting this month Donnie would like to give us a tour of his building at 2215 6th Ave. There is potential for this location to serve as the primary location for a local maker group. So for our regularly-scheduled meeting time we will tour the location and discuss our options and ideas for getting a maker space going in Billings!

This is a great chance for anyone interested in a local place to work on technology projects to come out and share their ideas and needs. Ultimately we believe that the right location and core group of people could serve as a sort of incubator for new business and technology in Billings.

Please note we are starting an hour earlier this time.

Meeting Thursday, 4/18, 6 PM at:
Pizza Place, 2215 6th Ave North, Billings

http://lannocc.org/blug

No topic defined yet. Possible topics include:

* Steam for Linux client
* Plex Media Server
* B.A.T.M.A.N. wireless meshing

Topic: Linux audio - Explore the landscape of open-source Linux audio software. From MIDI to multi-track audio mastering, to real-time effects, come see open-source audio production in action and hear the music of Linux!

A few of the programs we'd like to look at are: Ardour, Audacity, Hydrogen, RoseGarden, and TiMidity++. We will also explore the Jack audio subsystem and try out different hardware such as a USB MIDI keyboard and DJ controller.

Meeting location:
Lannocc Technologies
1440 Grand Ave
Billings

http://lannocc.org/blug

On the LUG night this month (Thu 12/20) we will do a bit of embedded show and tell. A few of us have Raspberry Pi's and Andrew N. of Rocky will show what he's doing with an Arduino clone temperature sensor he's putting together for around $6. I also saw an article a few days ago on using the Pi as an FM transmitter using just software to have the clock oscillate a GPIO pin. I'd like to try it out as the only extra hardware needed is a wire to attach to the pin as an antenna.

This month Dan D. will bring a Ubiquity airCam IP camera. We will have a look at their airVision NVR Server package which is their web-based UI that runs on Linux as well as see how it works with ZoneMinder, etc. And Shawn will try out a first-time installation of Chromium OS, a Linux-based operating system designed by Google to work exclusively with web applications.

More info:

• http://www.ubnt.com/airvision
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome_OS

Join the BillingsLUG as we demonstrate features and compare the differences between two common Linux distributions and why the Open Source model is so beneficial to computer users and developers alike.

Debian GNU/Linux began in 1993 as an alternative to the buggy Softlanding Linux System of that time. It is known for relatively strict adherence to the philosophies of Unix and free software and focuses on stability and security.

Ubuntu is one of many distributions based upon Debian and is the most popular Linux distribution on desktop/laptop personal computers. Beginning as a fork of Debian in 2004, Ubuntu is known to provide a more "user-friendly" operating system and offers additional cutting-edge software not found in stable Debian. Ubuntu is an excellent example of how the open source model facilitates the legal adoption and changes of existing software to fit new requirements.

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This month we would like to welcome you to show up early for a free viewing of Revolution OS on the projector before the meeting, beginning at 6:15 PM. Revolution OS is a 2001 documentary film that traces the twenty-year history of GNU, Linux, open source, and the free software movement.

Refreshments will be available.

Meeting venue:
Lannocc Technologies, 1440 Grand Ave, Billings
(directly behind China Express)

Raspberry PiJoin us this month for a demonstration of the amazing Raspberry Pi! This small board computer runs on USB power and loads from an SD card. It provides composite and HDMI (high definition) video output, audio, and USB ports. The $35 model includes 256MB RAM and a 100Mbit ethernet port. See the Raspberry Pi site for more information on the hardware.

We will be showing what it's like to run different Linux distros on this hardware and will demonstrate it running one or more retro game system emulators (NES, Master System, etc.).

Refreshments will be provided.

Meeting Thursday, September 20, 7PM, at:
Lannocc Technologies
1440 Grand Ave
Billings
(directly behind China Express)

See you there!

Some of us will be available Thursday, Oct. 20th at Yellowstone Systems for our monthly LUG meeting. There is lots to work on here at the shop but the initial focus will be setting up replication in OpenLDAP. We have one remote LDAP server handling authentication for our subnet and would like it replicated locally. It looks fairly straightforward but I have not personally done it yet so there may be a little trial and error involved.

This might not take the full time slot and additional topic ideas are of course welcomed!

We will meet at 7 PM at:

Yellowstone Systems
1327 Central Ave
Billings

http://lannocc.com/blug

Topic: SQL Primer

The meeting will include an SQL primer in a live SQL environment. Intended as a conceptual introduction to lead into PHP + SQL such as Crosslight and/or a *AMP stack.