Installing Linux 1

For as long as I can remember, Explorer on our PC inexplicably crashes or fails to refresh when I delete files (I have to hit F5 to see whether the file has really been deleted), but the computer has been in too much use or I haven't had the time to reinstall...

...until now.

Being an incorrigible techie, I am going to try out Linux.

The biggest hurdle is going to be making sure that it is wife-friendly.

I've decided on Ubuntu as it seems to be popular and not aimed at propellor-heads.

My wife needs to be able to type and read documents in Polish, English, German and Italian - this is relatively easy to set up in WindowsXP and MS Office.

She also needs access to the excellent iFinger dictionaries that we have bought. I suspect that this will be a major stumbling-block.

Since I am not brave enough to just over-write the home PC, I have a spare P3 that is going to be the guinea pig...

UDP Flood to Host

I've looked at the earlier posts and they're way too negative.
The world is too negative already without my help.

Anyhow, I keep getting this error on my 3Com wireless router:
2007.08.29 20:58:33 **UDP Flood to Host** 192.168.a.b, 1024->> 192.168.c.d, 1000 (from ATM Outbound)

The first address is my Dreambox. I do not recognise the second address - it's not on the same network.

Who or what is the dreambox trying to contact ?

To Be Continued...

...Continued:

The problem is in /var/tuxbox/config/newcs.xml
under <debug>
I need to remove udp from <output>console,tcp,udp</output>
as the host is set to: <udp_host>192.168.0.100</udp_host>

- Problem solved !

First Post

OK, here goes - my first post. I guess that I should introduce myself and what I aim to accomplish. My name is Ed, and I am interested in techie bits around the home.

For my first few posts, I think I'll be focusing on VOIP and Satellite TV. I have a Dreambox DM500 satellite receiver which is a cute little linux box linked to a cheap Maplin LAN Disk to act as a PVR. At some point I would like to have another go at setting up a MythTV box to do the whole PVR thing, but I ran into problems and out of time when I was looking into this last year.

On the VOIP side, our phone is plugged into a Grandstream HandyTone 488 - this means we can make cheap international calls without needing to switch the PC on or mess about with proprietory systems.

I used to have the HandyTone 486 - this was a slightly simpler unit which had a far better pass-through when needing to use the landline. I may just have been unlucky with this box though. Either way, they have reduced our phone bill dramatically (my brother-in-law has the 486), and my wife can happily natter on for hours without us needing a second mortgage to pay off BT.

The (dis ?)advantage of the HandyTone is that it's not tied to a specific provider, you can just sign up with a company and alter the settings on the box to reflect this.