I was wondering if you could do a series of articles on system logs, network logs, etc. What I am thinking about is an article on what issues are important, and what entries in logs can be ignored.
Carlo Silipo
| LM |
Thanks for the suggestion. We will keep your idea in mind for future issues. You may not see a continuous series from a single author, but we will continue to follow the important topic of Linux logfiles.
By the way, as our new website takes shape (http://www.linux-magazine.com), we hope to make it easier for you to search and browse for specific articles in your area of interest. The search box turns up several previous articles on logfiles. You can also browse for articles using the navigation menu. Click on the Administration link for a series of subtopics related to system administration.
The answer to a letter on laptop wireless issues says there are not enough drivers in this area. In my experience, I have successfully installed the wireless driver from Linuxant (http://www.linuxant.com/driverloader/) in my Thinkpad G40 laptop, as well as the driver for the Netgear usbstick-WG111. I am now using the system with SUSE and Mandrake. Installation is with a browser.
After a trial period, the company delivers a keycode for permanent use and provides updates for a low price.
Peter Al
| LM |
Thank you for mentioning this option. Note that Linuxant is a company - not a community project - but given the dimensions of the wireless driver problem, this could be a reasonable alternative for some users.
I recently wrote to the Australian Taxation Commissioner highlighting the need to embrace software for other platforms, but I received no reply. This page on the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) web page highlights the situation. The software only supports Windows, and now it doesn't even work correctly with Windows Vista:
http://www.ato.gov.au/onlineservices/content.asp?doc=/content/36220.htm
Interestingly, the ATO presently offers no support for lodging an electronic taxation return in Linux and only limited support for Mac:
http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/73931.htm
As an Australian citizen living in a remote country, I am frustrated by the ATO's inability to support Linux or Mac. I must now complete a paper return for the last financial year.
Chris Daly
| LM |
It is bad enough when a private corporation locks itself into dependence on a single proprietary software technology. For a whole national government to do so is even worse.
Thanks for pointing out this problem. We wish we could say this is the only example, but as you probably know, this situation is all too familiar. At least we can take heart in this notice posted on one of the pages at the ATO website:
We are redeveloping e-tax to make it compatible with any computer system that has Internet access. We will test this with a small group of users in 2008, aiming to make it available more broadly in future years - pending the success of the trials.
Hopefully next year tax collectors around the world will embrace payments from Linux users with the same enthusiasm they show to the Windows payees.