[Durham] Newbie looking for help

Mon Mar 3 10:14:13 UTC 2014

Dear Mark,

Many thanks!  You know, I spent *hours* looking for exactly this
information about the Canon Pixma on Google yesterday without success...
I'll try interfacing it tonight and will report back to the list if I
manage.

Hopefully, as I get into Linux (Xubuntu is merely a start point - I used to
program in 6800 hex machine code 30 years ago and I'd love to get back into
some advanced programming again) I'll be able to get my head around all
these things, even if it's a bit slower on the draw these days than it was
then.

I also want to work on a couple of projects which require me to be able to
use the screen and mouse.  It is *SO* difficult to find a way into
understanding how to interface in any sophisticated way with the video
drivers!

Regards

David Walland

On 2 March 2014 22:14, mark <mark at aktivix.org> wrote:

> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA256
>
> Hi David
>
> On 02/03/14 13:26, David Walland wrote:
> > I'm just transferring my XP machines to Xubuntu (*steep* learning
> > curve) and would be glad of help.
>
> Good choice! I'll give you some pointers to get you started.
>
> > a) I'm a lover of RPN calculators and usually have Free42 on
> > everything. I'm still trying to work out how to put this onto my
> > Xubuntu machines. Please spell it out, as I'm really new to Linux
> > and haven't even learnt where things go when they're downloaded
> > yet!!!
>
> Where things go when they're downloaded depends on how what software
> you're using to download them; for example, if you're using the wget
> command at the terminal, they'll land in your current working
> directory; if you're using a browser like firefox with default
> settings, you'll probably be downloading to /home/your_username/Downloads/
>
> For the purpose of downloading & installing software however, you need
> to get your head around the concept of package management. Different
> linux distributions do this differently, but xubuntu inherits it's
> package management system from Debian, another distro from which
> ubuntu is derived. A package is a bunch of files together with their
> destination paths, information about software dependencies and
> conflicts (which should be painlessly resolved by your package
> management software - you hope...), checksums and some pre- and
> post-install scripts.
>
> In your situation, you could open a terminal emulator and type "sudo
> apt-get update" which refreshes the list of packages your system knows
> about, which are all signed by ubuntu (i.e. highly unlikely to contain
> malware). You may have to confirm your password. Then when it's
> finished working, type "apt-cache search rpn" which will tell you what
> packages contain the phrase "rpn". To get more info on any of them,
> you type "apt-cache show [packagename] | less". These packages are
> fairly sure to work with your system; when you've mastered this you
> can try finding packages from other sources. They end with ".deb" but
> before you try to install any, find out how to verify them.
>
> Say you decide to install "grpn", you'll need to type "sudo apt-get
> install grpn" which will locate, download, cryptographically verify
> and install the "grpn" package. You can then launch grpn from the
> command line or XFCE menu (XFCE is the desktop environment that comes
> with xubuntu) probably under 'applications - accessories'.
>
> > b) We have a Canon Pixma MG3100 3 in one scanner/printer/etc linked
> > via our WiFi which I cannot find out how to address from the
> > Xubuntu machines.  I imagine I need exactly the right drivers but
> > can't find them.  I understand there is something called CUPS which
> > may help but diudn't even understand the explanation of this let
> > alone how to use it/set it up.  **HELP!!!**
>
> I'd recommend configuring your printer to have a static IP on your
> LAN, configure your router not to allocate that IP when giving out
> DHCP leases, then use the xubuntu GUI tool to add your printer -
> knowing the IP address and model number is usually enough, although
> I've never used that model myself so YMMV. If you get stuck, try a
> search engine of your choice to find if other people have specific
> experience to share. I tried and found
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2059522
>
> Good luck,
> Mark
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
> Version: GnuPG v1.4.10 (GNU/Linux)
> Comment: Using GnuPG with Icedove - http://www.enigmail.net/
>
> iQIcBAEBCAAGBQJTE60jAAoJECivkG/nESo7pscP/RAUOVi7fepq6AEwOGWAJpJM
> +ttjB7Pt8rz60/U8QtWaivzbFs2Jy6Q7I61sLIOyVMjQBb6x2phNSzaqVWrXaKB9
> 4NpfZyN3NAmd33JIh/ZvdRMU6KemNPr6dG3ckz1GITiRT5OVLr3PjMFT/Qxg6C/7
> HtNlsFPTQFeISyLrCscSaIqmdUGRXj66iPtaoA243ABTlqF7rygVqwY/eM9tI3mf
> 54MvIwsEPuqdVzcaK1laUS6IYwvGWwxEo6IWI0wY3v3ni2W6Jgm6Ad6cVRd4jvkN
> +GUMkwS6Jjpv6rp0QNuknCx8Dy82g7IQeuLkBEAw4YBoAHhvTnrY/qOUCgRiY6/P
> XGIh/qdqeHbopR1xarF4fKwE2f4nwF+g+Wlu4nGwcNvLjjCSYZCTIofh/aIlhRlY
> qQbcYypPg6pyMlETEq4UuF5xtJr57MpB9ABXh8oMFSLRWI/BpYQeEZ8m03M/Ex4E
> CM0vbVi0nDUoizzdEXF6FO/uOaluVSqgeJgOFLwO27lKIbBtXgvGP9CyLCJmwiW0
> eH2d9tjfSnYUd7VzE3UuEsHeCShoNsMVUU63ZTiSwC4eEo4GWFBrz9zksXOa5VfK
> MckOeTKFaOTZsR6MOKgWWVYoTuwrymDduzm+yBfPyQhZOYnnizRQvaLBXgW523D6
> 7G1y2D99B2z3Fr8VvWGw
> =+HFn
> -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
>
> _______________________________________________
> Durham mailing list   -   Durham at mailman.lug.org.uk
> https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/durham
> http://www.nelug.org.uk/
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.lug.org.uk/pipermail/durham/attachments/20140303/7dee6f57/attachment.html>