181 lines
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181 lines
8.8 KiB
HTML
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
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<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<title>Clueless at the Prompt Issue 17</title>
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<BODY BGCOLOR="#EEE1CC" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#0020F0"
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ALINK="#FF0000">
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<H4>
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"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
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</H4>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--===================================================================-->
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<center>
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<H2>CLUELESS at the Prompt: A Column for New Users</H2>
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<H4>By Mike List,
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<a href="mailto:troll@net-link.net">troll@net-link.net</a>
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</center>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<center><IMG ALIGN=MIDDLE SRC = "../gx/list/gnub.jpg" ></center>
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<p>
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<h4>Welcome to installment 4 of Clueless at the Prompt:
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a new column for new users.</h4>
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<hr>
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<p><h4> Connecting to a Second ISP...or Third, or</h4>
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I recently got e-mail from a guy who wanted to know how to connect to a
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second ISP.His e-mail address apparently wasn't valid, and it got bounced
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back several times. Just as well, since I didn't have the answer at that
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point. Well, I got this idea, and I tried it and it works.Here's the deal:
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First,
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<pre> cp /usr/sbin/ppp-on to /usr/sbin/ppp-on.anysuffix
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</pre><p>
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Then open the file you just created with a text editor, and change any
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information that applies to the secondary ISP, eg. dialup, the IP number
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of the ISP, username and password. write the file(save it) and try your
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new executable, ppp-on.anysuffix. Just a quick pointer, you could call
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your new script any name you want as long as there's no other file with
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the same name in your path,preferably no other file with the same name at
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all
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<hr>
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<h4> Dealing With a Dynamic IP</h4>
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<p>
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These days most Internet Service Providers assign you a Dynamic IP when
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you logon to their network, due to the cost of assigning every customer
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a static IP. At present there are only so many IP addresses available
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and, apparently each one costs to register. Consequently ISPs buy a pool
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of IP addresses within a range and assign an available one at login. For
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most uses, such an arrangement is no problem, assuming that most
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internet usage consists of interaction between the ISP's computer and
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the local one. For some purposes, however such as allowing telnet or ftp
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to your computer the dynamic scheme is less than ideal. Here's
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a relatively painless way to get your current IP, so you can run with
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the big dogs. Open an xterm, or rxvt and type:
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<pre> ifconfig</pre><p>
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which will bring up some info in two blocks. You'll want to note the
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bottom block, which will have a line that specifies your inet address
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expressed numerically. It will be in a xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx format, which
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corresponds to the standard IP address, in fact that's what it is.
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you ca write this number down or just highlight this IP address(to paste
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it)and type:
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<pre>nslookup the.num.ber.</pre><p>
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the number being your inet address from the last step.
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It may take a couple of minutes, but you will get a two line messagethat
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looks like:<pre>Name: your Fully Qualified Domain Name
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Address: IPa.ddr.ess.!!! </pre><p>
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we may talk about FQDN some more another time, but for the purpose at
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hand, just type:
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<pre>hostname Name</pre><p>
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where Name is the first line from the above step. That's it, except that
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you must repeat this procedure every time you connect to your ISP. You
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might be able to write a script to automate this procedure, but in the
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meantime which as my friend Al used to say "is a groovy time", you can
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use this knowledge to run remote X apps(just a minute,I'm coming to that)
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allow your friends or inet associates to telnet to your computer, or ftp
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files from a telnetted site(this too, momentarily).What you need to know
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is that the next time youreboot, you may get a message saying that your
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computer name is "bad". This isn't a comment on your lack of originality
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or taste, and you should basically ignore it.
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<hr>
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<h4>Using your Domain Name</h4>
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If you have a shell account at a computer located at a university or
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school near you, this will amaze you. Oh yeah not, by way of a plug, but
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there is a semi commercial telnet box called linuxware.com(you will have
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to look up the URL yourself semi- plug, you might say, I'm a subscriber)
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What am I talking about? Using X to run apps from the remote computer on
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your screen. You can actually run a program that isn't installed on your
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computer, in X with the remote computer supplying the program. I think
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it embodies the essence of networking, with permissions set right, you
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can co-author a document, play a multi-user game (MUD)use a
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talkprogram, like ytalk, or do office or school work from your home
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computer.Here's what you need to do. First, you need to know and have
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your FQDN listed by typing:
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<pre>hostname</pre><p>
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as detailed above. If you have a static IP address, you can skip this
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step.What needs to be done next is to type:
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<pre>xhost + the.telnet.box</pre><p>
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When you hit enter you will see a message like, "the.telnet.box has been
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added to the control list". You will probably have to restart your window
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manager, your mileage may, as they say, vary. Now when you start a
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telnet session, you can enter the name of an X application and in a
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moment, the application window will apear on your screen, even if you
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don't have it installed on your computer. Do your work, play your game,
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and marvel at the ramifications of this capability.
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<p> You can also invite friends and coworkers over to your computer to
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do some work, socialize or learn something, in the following manner.
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Obtain your FQDN, or IP address, as detailed above. E-mail it to them or
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call them on the phone to let them know where you are today(Not where
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you want to go today, that's another "OS"). they can then:
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<pre> telnet FQDN or ftp IPa.ddr.ess.!!!</pre><p>
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and all of a sudden they're in your den, or office or wherever you keep
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your computer. For more sophisticated methods of getting your address,
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read the "Dynamic IP hacks-HOWTO.
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<h4>Just a Reminder: Read the whole Linux Gazette</h4>
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<p>This esteemed tabloid is just full of novice- to intermediate level
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tips and tricks.The Answer Guy, Two Cent Tips, and The Weekend Mechanic
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in particular, are good sources of the kinds of things that will make you
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a demi-guru in no time at all.
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<hr>
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<h4>Formatting Floppy Disks in Linux</h4>
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<p>In DOS and Windows,formatting a floppy disk is a one shot affair
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which formats, erases data, and creates a file system on the floppy.
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In linux however, you have to format and create the filesystem in
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separate steps. At first glance, this seems backward, after all, isn't
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linux a more sophisticated OS? Why do things in two steps that the others
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do in one? The reason is that linux can read several filesystems so that
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data can be moved from one OS to the other. By mounting the floppy drive
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as MSDOS, VFAT, or other filesystem type the data can be read from the
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mount point in a manner that linux can make use of.
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<hr>
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<h4>Other Stuff I've Collected/Found out Since Last Time</h4>
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<p>have trouble with the
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<pre> find </pre><p>command?Try leaving your computer on overnight, and
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the next day use the <pre>locate /filename |less</pre><p>command instead.
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Locate is a database that is gathered during idle times on your computer
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Actually locate reads a database that is updated by a command in your
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system files, but if you give it time to breathe, usually overnight, it
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can locate any file on your hard drive(s). You can also try
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<pre> whereis filename </pre><p>
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and you will get a location for the named file.
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<hr>
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Next Time- Let me know what you would like to see in here and I'll
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try to
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oblige just e-mail <a href="mailto:troll@net-link.net">troll@net-link.net</a>
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me and ask, otherwise I'll just write about what gave me trouble and
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how I got past it.</p>
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<p> TTYL, Mike List </p>
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<!--===================================================================-->
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<center><H4>Previous "Clueless at the Prompt" Columns</H4></center>
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<P>
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<A HREF="../issue14/clueless.html">Clueless at the Prompt #1 - February 1997</A><br>
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<A HREF="../issue15/clueless.html">Clueless at the Prompt #2 - March 1997</A><br>
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<A HREF="../issue16/clueless.html">Clueless at the Prompt #3 - April 1997</A>
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<center><H5>Copyright © 1997, Mike List <BR>
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Published in Issue 17 of the Linux Gazette, May 1997</H5></center>
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