[plug] LOCAL: PERTH, W.AUSTRALIA: PC Unix fixfest/installfest

[Leon Brooks]

THE MEETING

On Monday the 27th of July, 1998 at 6:30PM, the Perth Linux Users' Group
will hold a meeting at the University Computer Club (UCC) on Hackett
Drive, Nedlands at the University of Western Australia. ALL welcome!
Voice enquiries (including navigation on the day) can be made on
0411-655-020.

The purpose of the meeting will be problem-solving, so bring your
problems and problem-children along. Also bring distribution CDs of your
favourite OS and/or hard-disk images and network cards in case you or
someone else wants help installing it.

ABOUT PLUG AND THE UCC

PLUG is Linux based, but welcomes users of other Unix derivatives.
Several UCC members are interested in other Unices generally and FreeBSD
in particular. I (PLUG's lpd) also use BSDi and FreeBSD at work. We
would be glad to unify *BSD users and either interoperate with them or
help them start their own group or groups. As Linus says, the only
practical difference is in the name. (-:

If there are any *BSD groups in Perth already, please contact us!

PLUG meets twice every month, on the second Tuesday at 7:30PM in the
Digital (now Compaq) offices in Havelock Street near Welligton Street
and the West Perth railway station, for a formal presentation, coffee
and biscuits provided, and the fourth monday (this meeting), pring a few
dollars to participate in the UCC's burgeoning snack-food economy.

PLUG has a mailing list, which is the most reliable way of interacting
with other PLUG members. Join it from PLUG's web-page at
http://plug.linux.org.au or if you only have news/email access, R)eply
to this message for instructions.

The UCC runs Linux on many of its machines, but also runs VMS, MacOS,
FreeBSD, and many other operating systems (maybe Solaris, VAX Unix,
Windows, I must ask one day). It has many oddities and antiquities like
a NeXT, working VT-220 terminals (for MUDs and Chat), a genuine XT
motherboard with an actual 8088 (not even 8088-1) CPU and ST-412
full-height 5MB HDD, and an on-line Coke machine (with Jolt and other
things in it).

The UCC's home page is at http://www.ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au

ABOUT LINUX

Linux is a free and open but uncertified Unix implementation. Like most
other PC Unices, it is extremely stable, runs on almost anything and can
be made very secure. For more information about Linux, visit the
homepage at http://www.linux.org or the "watering hole" at
http://slashdot.org . For latest software releases, visit
http://freshmeat.net (who also have a mailing list).

About a year ago, several industry participants estimated the Linux
user-base at "about 5 to 10 million," and growing at a staggering rate.
There have been many recent articles about Linux as a mainstream OS, and
many good supportive omens from computer industry giants like Corel and
IBM.

LINUX FOR WINDOWS USERS

If you work with Windows, Linux (and most PC Unices) can ease
administration difficulties by (1) not crashing (2) providing Windows
services (3) providing firewalling, routing and similar network services
(4) giving you about double the bang for your buck for any given
hardware situation. To see some comparisons between Windows NT and Unix,
visit http://www.kirch.net/unix-nt.html which is updated regularly
(expect to see the Yorktown there soon!).

Many PLUG members offer the expertise to assist NT-based sites in
improving their security and reducing the load on their NT servers.

HOW TO GET TO THE MEETING