You can still dial your ISP with Linux -- Here's one way to do it with Slacko Puppy 5.7 linux, a dialup modem and an HP C6280 colorsmart printer with a Dell OptiPlex 745

A friend's job offered free dialup internet, but the former working computer had died.

If you are in some similar situation and need to get online for the lowest possible expense it can be done.  Here's one way.

Checking around we gathered up the following:

Dell OpiPlex 745, more details below, but it was the ultra-small form factor on the stand with the flat screen monitor.

External 56K USB phone modem made by Zoom -- from Amazon.com for about $31.00.  It is model 3095-00-03G.  Modem ID 0803:3095.  Apparently the chip is by Conexant.  I can't find a date on the documentation with the modem but the box says it will work with Windows including Windows 7 released in 2009, Macintosh and Linux computers with kernel 2.6.19, (released about 2007) and above.  Those releases put it back a few years. Online manual has a copyright of 2007 - http://www.zoomtel.com/documentation/dial_up/3095F_UserGuide_Eng.pdf

To get the modem going simply click on the Connect icon on the Puppy desktop and choose the Dialup Icon.  Go through the detect sequence and then put in your ISP phone number, user ID, and password.  The modem didn't make any sounds.  It would have been helpful it it did, but a report of progress making the call and completing the connection is given on the screen.

HP Deskjet Printer -- specifically an HP C6280 Colorsmart printer/scanner. Manual at
http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01150745.pdf

Familiar with Ubuntu so we tried to work with that at first.  We could not get Ubuntu to work with the modem no matter what we tried.  Searching the web I learned that Puppy Linux was still pretty good at supporting external dialup modems.

We tried an HP Laserjet 1100 with a parallel interface but we could not get Puppy to detect that printer. It does not have a USB port on the printer, but then again it was built in June, 2000.

We could also install and print with the HP Colorsmart printer.  The successful printer also has a scanner, but it was not detected by the XSANE scanner problem.  A workaround for that was found.  The scanner has a feature, "Scan to memory chip."  If you scan to a memory chip you can use the printers USB connection to collect the file from the chip and copy it to the computer and work with it from there.

Using Slacko Puppy 5.7 we were able to get the modem to work and complete the dialup connections. Slacko Puppy uses long-term-supported Linux kernels 3.4.82 for non-PAE distro, which is what we used.

http://slacko.01micko.com/index.html

The default Slacko Puppy desktop with the Quick Setup dialogue box open is shown below.

More on the Dell Optiplex 745 - manual at
ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_optiplex_desktop/optiplex-745_user%27s%20guide_en-us.pdf
         Chipset                 FSB Speed                          Ram Spd                         Notes
                      Processor                          Slots                  Chassis                                          USB ports

745

Intel 965 Express

Intel Core 2 Duo

533/800/1066 MHz

DDR2, 4

DDR2 667

USFF, ie Ultra Small Form Factor

USFF Does not support 2GB/800 memory units. A 2GB/800 memory unit will slow down to 667. USFF only has 2 DIMM slots and maximum 4GB memory. Does not support 45 nm processors Bios in MT correctly identifies and runs Xeon X3220

USB 2.0 x 8

Dell OptiPlex 745 shipped  2007-08-03

with the following components

GM153 1 PROCESSOR, E6300, 1.86, 2M,  CORE DUO-CONROE, LONSDALE/LAVACA

PN424 2 DUAL IN-LINE MEMORY MODULE, 1G, 667M,  128X64, 8, 240, 2RX8

NR694 1 HARD DRIVE, 80G, S2, 7.2K, 3.5, WD-UNIC

Taxes on the farmer feeds us all

Farmers and farmworkers are the way food is provided to us in the US.

The children of migrant farmworkers have a tough row to hoe.  The migrant education programs help to improve their lot.  At SUNY New Paltz, NY the program linked below is helping migrant farmworker families.  Follow the link below to learn more.

http://mid-hudson.org/

Mid-Hudson Migrant Education Tutorial & Support Services

Drupal 6 to 7 - clear errors by dropping Upload DB table

another guy figured this out -- I am just afraid to lose the solution -- so I copying it here --

I kept getting the error below when trying to run the update.php
grrrr!

Update #7061

Failed: PDOException: SQLSTATE[23000]: Integrity constraint violation: 1062 Duplicate entry

the following worked -- from
http://user25.com/drupal/upgrade6-7-DB-schema-update-error-failed-7061-solution

Drupal 6 to 7 Upload/File module Database Schema update error - Solution

The following updates returned messages
system module
Update #7061
Failed: DatabaseSchemaObjectExistsException: Table system_update_7061 already exists. in DatabaseSchema->createTable() (line 629 of /---/includes/database/schema.inc).

Changes in Drupal 7
I notice that the Drupal core upload module has been removed from the latest version of Drupal (7). There is therefor a script in the system.install (also run during Database Schema updates /update.php) that is intended to take the data in the 'upload' database table and load it into the database table for the new file CCK field (that is the new way of handling file uploads in Drupal - in addition to using third-party solutions such as IMCE and the CKEditor WYSWYG commercial version of the editor).

DB Schema Update error
During the final stages of upgrading from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7 on this website - idonny.com there were 11 updates that could not clear from the update log resulting in the error message at the beginning of this entry. As usual, I checked on the Internet and Drupal-org in particular for what others have experienced and reported on this issue. One document (http://drupal.org/node/966210) came close to describing and identifying the problem. The document on Drupal.org refers to the existence of non-unique database entries (or just different by case) and the possibility that the row in question (file names/path) is of a type that is case-aware/sensitive. Being that I do not have too many uploads (apart from portfolio images that I am anyway rebuilding as part of a refresh of the portfolio section, and login public keys), I resolved to trunctate the database table "upload" so as to eliminate all upload entries and thus by-pass/solve the problem of the rows with identical values. That did however not solve the problem (To be safe, I created a new tables with the same schema and copied the data to it to avoid progressively damaging the database structure).


Solution
The approach that worked for me was to DROP the upload table.
I looked in the includes/database/schema.inc file on the line mentioned #629 and found that there was just an abstract function definition for throwing the error that we see on the screen.

* @throws DatabaseSchemaObjectExistsException
* If the specified table already exists.
*/
public function createTable($name, $table) {
if ($this->tableExists($name)) {
throw new DatabaseSchemaObjectExistsException(t('Table %name already exists.', array('%name' => $name)));
}
$statements = $this->createTableSql($name, $table);
foreach ($statements as $statement) {
$this->connection->query($statement);
}
}

So I decided to find if there are other DB tables and code instances that are explicitly referring to the required schema that is either unmodifiable of conflicting. I see that the file at /---/modules/system/system.install has a code sequence that is referencing the DB schema update #7061 and is also consistent with the fact that if the DB table exists, thent he error should be thrown

/**
* Migrate upload.module data to the newly created file field.
*/
function system_update_7061(&$sandbox) {
if (!db_table_exists('upload')) {
return;
}

So I dropped the DB table [DROP upload;] in mysql and was able to successfully update the core DB schema

problems "cloning" a Drupal site

Had a site that I wanted to have 3 iterations of -- to use as multiple sandboxes --

I had them in subdomains -- and copied the database -- but the copied sites didn't look like the original --

I could not find any reason for the discrepancy and in truth I don't even now know what was causing the problem -- but I did find a way to get the three sites back into step...

Found a solution to my problems --

I logged in as admin to the Drupal sites --

then I ran

update.php -- nothing was shown to have updated --

after update I ran

cron.php

and voila

or is it eureka??

either way -- the sites look like they should ---

why -- I don't know ---

so there it is --- now -- when I compare the 3 sites --- varying in name something like the sites below --

ALL IS WELL

http://rslts.example.com

http://rslts3.example.com

http://rslts152.example.com

Getting those neat drop down menus to work in Drupal 6 Acquia Marina theme

I had some trouble figuring this out -- nothing new about that -- but I got it to work -- which is always a good feeling..

Don't Get Fracked

There's "natural gas" locked in Devonian shale formations deep below the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale have commercially viable amounts of gas but extraction has to be done using a new extraction method called "fracking" or hydraulic fracturing. Clean water is taken and combined with sand and a number of chemicals known and unknown to fracture the shale and keep the cracks open to allow the gas to migrate to the well bore and come to the surface.

Keep in mind that other things come back to the surface besides the sought after and valuable natural gas. Brine laden with a number of undesirable metals such as barium and perhaps radioactive chemicals are brought up. Currently there is no safe place to dispose of this water that comes back. For this procedure there is not a problem because a 2005 act excluded hydraulic fracturing from having to meet the standards set by

The Clean Water Act - passed by Congress while Nixon was in office

The Clean Air Act - passed by Congress while Nixon was in office

The Clean Drinking Water Act

These laws were major advances in protecting the environment we all share.

Why tolerate natural gas extraction if the process had to be excluded from these important acts?

Read more at

http://advocates-for-Morris.blogspot.com

Phone number searching tips

I tried putting in phone numbers as

800-555-1212

and as

800.555.1212

but when I went to search for them they would not show up...

I tried

800x555x1212

and

800m555m1212

both worked

my preference if for the

800m555m1212

If you are using a "smart phone" with just a phone keypad m is easier than x because if you press 1 time on 6 you get m

to get x you have to press 9 twice.