Location

Siouxland Libraries Ronning Branch near 49th and Southeastern at 6:30pm

Agenda

The room will open at 6pm for setup.

A few business items:

  • Program ideas for upcoming meetings
  • Scouting a permanent meeting location
  • Places that may be willing to display meeting posters?
  • Other business items the group wants to discuss.

Presentations on:

  • Security testing / Firewall testing
  • Hulu on Linux Demo

Conclude with an open discussion period.

The library closes at 9pm

Minutes

Prepared by Glenn

The meeting started with advice to a Microsoft Windows user who was attending after her machine had been infected by a Windows virus for the second time.

She was encouraged to try a Linux live CD on her machine, as a way of trying Linux without committing to an installation. The group was enthusiastic about Linux, but advised her that it may not be a solution for her if she is interested in running proprietary-only software, such as iTunes.

Program Topics

The group expressed interest in Alex’s offer to present a program on high-availability tools and/or network monitoring tools. Glenn will contact Alex about the program.

The group also showed an interest in VoIP on Linux.

Meeting Places

Glenn reported that the Ronning Branch meeting room may not be an ideal place for the SLUG to meet regularly: The library reserves the right to preempt the SLUG meetings if the space is needed for a library-sponsored event or group.

The SLUG discussed other meeting venues, including restaurants with meeting rooms and a private conference room. Jerry and Glenn will explore these options and report at the March meeting.

Publicity

The group offered a list of places where meeting posters and SLUG brochures could be placed. Glenn will incorporate at least some of the locations in future publicity efforts.

Security Testing

Jerry gave an extensive tour of the Linux-based Untangle Firewall, and led discussion about firewalls and security settings.

The group had a sometimes-spirited discussion about GRC’s ShieldsUP website and the significance of its pass/fail ratings.

The meeting time ran out before Rob could give his Hulu on Linux demo.

Eleven people attended the meeting. One mailing list member stopped in before the meeting, but had to leave due to a scheduling conflict.

March Meeting

The SLUG will meet again at 6:30pm on Thursday, Mar. 18, at the Siouxland Libraries - Oak View Branch in northeast Sioux Falls. The meeting room will open at 6pm The Oak View Branch is located at 3700 E. Third St., near the intersection of Third Street and North Bahnson Avenue.

March’s topic – Linux From Scratch demonstration

Anyone interested in presenting a short (5- to 10-minute) talk and demonstration in March should contact Glenn.

We plan to have free Linux live CDs for anyone interested in trying a new distribution or in trying Linux for the first time.

Future topics

VoIP, high-availability tools, video streaming, vendor presentations, general help session.