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759 lines
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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>Linux Gazette MailBag Issue #26</title>
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</HEAD>
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<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#A000A0"
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ALINK="#FF0000">
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<!--endcut ============================================================-->
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<H4>"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"</H4>
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<HR>
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<center>
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<table width="100%" cellpadding=7><tr><td>
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<H2><a NAME="mail"><IMG SRC="../gx/mailbox.gif" ALIGN=MIDDLE ALT=" ">
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The Mailbag!</a> </H2>
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Write the Gazette at <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com"> gazette@ssc.com</A>
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</td><td>
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<H3>Contents:</H3>
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<ul>
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<li><a HREF="./lg_mail26.html#help">Help Wanted -- Article Ideas</a>
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<li><a HREF="./lg_mail26.html#gen">General Mail</a>
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</ul>
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</td></tr></table>
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</center>
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<a name="help"></a>
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<p><hr><p>
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<!-- =================================================================== -->
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<center><H3> Help Wanted -- Article Ideas </H3></center>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Sun, 01 Feb 1998 21:43:23 -0800<BR>
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From: Bradley Akey, <A HREF="mailto:bakey@slip.net">bakey@slip.net</A><BR>
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Subject: <B>Creative Labs SB-16 & Sony CDU76E-S</B>
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<P>
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I am attempting to install RedHAt Linux ver 4.2 from a Sony
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CDU-76E-S CD-ROm connected to a Sound Blaster 16 via an IDE interface
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at base io 0x1E8, IRQ 15. Waht is the correct boot parameter to get this
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CD-ROM to function properley
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Tue, 3 Feb 1998 08:25:32 -0500 (EST)<BR>
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From: Michael Stutz, <A HREF="mailto:stutz@dsl.org">stutz@dsl.org</A><BR>
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Subject: <B>Help Wanted: recording audio data</B>
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<P>
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Is there any way to read and save the data that is currently being played by
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the soundcard, regardless of the sound source?
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<P>
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(There is a program in alpha which does this called paudio, at
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<A HREF="http://web.syr.edu/~jdimpson/proj/">
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http://web.syr.edu/~jdimpson/proj/</A>. It creates a readable /proc/audio --
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but I haven't yet gotten it to work with the OSS-compatible driver produced
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by the Linux Ultrasound Project which I use.)
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<P>
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Michael Stutz
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Mon, 09 Feb 1998 14:18:49 -0500<BR>
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From: Todd Blake, <A HREF="mailto:tbb@enterprise.aacc.cc.md.us">
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tbb@enterprise.aacc.cc.md.us</A> <BR>
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Subject: <B>Help Wanted</B>
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<P>
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I like most people am the only person to use my linux system at home.
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What I'd like to do is when my system is done booting to have me
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automatically login as my main user account(not as root though) on one
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virtual console(the first) and leave all other consoles and virtual
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consoles alone, so that someone telnetting in will get a login prompt
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like normal, just that I won't. I'd still like the other vc's have
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login's for others to login and other reasons. I've tried just putting
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/bin/sh in /etc/inittab and that didn't work, and I'm stumped. Does
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anyone have any ideas on this?
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<P>
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Todd Blake
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Mon, 09 Feb 1998 17:47:08 -0600<BR>
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From: peter smith, <A HREF="mailto:psmith@computek.net">
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psmith@computek.net</A><BR>
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Subject: <B>Problems with Linux through Wingate Socks</B>
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<P>
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I'm having a few problems accessing the internet through Wingate
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v2.0 on my Windows95 machine using my Linux Redhat 4.2 installation.
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I've had this SOCKS server set-up for quite some time on my internet
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dial-out machine and have previously had no problems accessing the
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internet through this server via my second machine's installation of
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Windows95 or even WindowsNT. The problem is directly related to DNS
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lookups. If I access a domain-name from my Linux machine that seems to
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get redirected, I will receive an error that the DNS address does not
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exist. For instance, if I attempt to open the web page
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http://www.kernel.org (which gets redirected to http://linux.kernel.org)
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my browser (Netscape v4.04 for Linux 2.0* i386 rpm) reports a DNS
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error. However if I instead attempt to open the redirected web page
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http://linux.kernel.org my browser will open it ok, without error. I'm
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baffled by this behavior and have tried a number of different things! I
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can provide more detailed information if needed. Thanks in advance to
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any who try to help! ;)
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<P>
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I love Linux Gazette and have a great time browsing all the cool
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suggestions and tips! Keep up the ideas and info!
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<P>
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PeterS
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Mon, 09 Feb 1998 19:04:42 -0500<BR>
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From: Melmac88, <A HREF="mailto:smegan@erols.com">smegan@erols.com</A><BR>
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Subject: Shadow passwords
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<P>
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Can someone do a clear explanation on how to set up a shadow
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password file, and exactly how it works? I've seen this
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recommended for security purposes in many books and
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articles, but there never seems to be an explanation on how
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to do this.
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Wed, 09 Dec 1998 04:38:06 -0900<BR>
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From: David Lev, <A
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HREF="mailto:dlev@polarnet.com">dlev@polarnet.com</A><BR>
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Subject: <B>my dual pentium</B>
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<P>
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My name is David Lev, I have a problem with my
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second CPU.
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<P>
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I am currently using a Caldera OpenLinux Standard
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with Kernel (2.0.29-2).
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After I install the system I try to enable the 2
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CPU and my computer FREEZE or I loss my DeskTop
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and it takes for ever to do one process.
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but with one CPU the computer work fine no
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problems at all.
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I ask for your help.
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If you can help me also on how to enable 2 modems
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and run them as one.
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<P>
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My computer content:
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<PRE>
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ATX Dual Motherboard - GA-586DX with SCSI on board
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Adaptec 7880
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CPU - 2x 233MMX Pentium
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128M RAM EDO
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2x 3.1G HDD - W.D - IDE
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2x 8X CD-ROM - IDE
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2x 56K Modem
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ESS Sound card
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</PRE>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Sat, 14 Feb 1998 15:00:34 EST<BR>
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From: Andreas M. Weiner, <A HREF="mailto:HGuAWeiner@aol.com">
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HGuAWeiner@aol.com</A> <BR>
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Subject: <B>Linux and AMD K6 Processor - any Problems?</B>
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<P>
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This is my hardware configuration.
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Support answered that there would be problems with using the K6 with Linux; for
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instance a crash.
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<P>
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What dou you know about this problem ?<BR>
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Could you send me a some informations to solve this problem ?<BR>
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Are there Kernel patches available ?<BR>
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<P>
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I'm looking forward of getting the answers from you
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<P>
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Andreas M. Weiner
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Sun, 15 Feb 1998 10:26:36 -0800<BR>
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From: David, <A HREF="mailto:elvii@writeme.com">elvii@writeme.com</A><BR>
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Subject: <B>X without a Mouse?</B>
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<P>
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Been searching around the net and ldp, and can't seem to find anything
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on this one. Trying to be able to use X WITHOUT a mouse. Yes, I know,
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it works bets with a mouse, but I'd like to be able to get at least
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limited x funcationality without it. Any help is greatly appreciated,
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and being waited. Also, is there any was to do mouse emulation without
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a mouse? I found a program that translated ps/2 to a standard serial
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mouse, for before x supported ps/2, i assume... anyone know if a
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program has been written to allow the keypad to do mouse, ie, translate
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keypad input to /dev/mouse? Thanks for your time, hoping some kind
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linux guru's out there can help. :)
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<P>
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David
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 21:59:04 -0700<BR>
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From: Todd Jamison, <A HREF="mailto:jamisont@littoneos.com">
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jamisont@littoneos.com</A><BR>
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Subject: <B>Help with Sound Card</B>
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<P>
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I currently am running RedHat 5.0 on a Pentium 150 W/48 MB Ram. I =
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cannot get my ESS ES1868 plug and play sound card to work. I am very =
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new to linux and am still learning. If anyone can help me i would =
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really appreciate it.
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<P>
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Todd
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 16:41:49 -0600<BR>
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From: John Gorman, <A HREF="mailto:John.H.Gorman@MCI.Com">
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John.H.Gorman@MCI.Com</A><BR>
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Subject: <B>HP4 & font</B>
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<P>
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I just installed a HP LaserJet 4L on RedHat 4.2 Intel and when I
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print postscript (from emacs, etc), it prints at about a size 24
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font. How to I set my font where I want it.
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<P>
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Thanks
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<P>
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John Gorman
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 08:46:12 +0100<BR>
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From: Jeroen Bulters, <A HREF="mailto:jbulters@scoutnet.nl">
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jbulters@scoutnet.nl</A> <BR>
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Subject: <B>Changing XDM windows</B>
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<P>
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Can I change the XDM login window/screen?
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I have a cool house logo so i want to use it in my own Home Network. And at
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my school they want to know to so. Is it possible.
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If yes, how? If no, WHY NOT.
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<P>
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Jeroen Bulters, The netherlands
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 01:36:30 +0000<BR>
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From: Mackenzie St. Louis, <A HREF="mailto:mstlouis@tiac.net">
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mstlouis@tiac.net</A> <BR>
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Subject: <B>New Motherboards</B>
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<P>
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A lot of motherboards have been coming out lately with built in
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graphics and sound. Any plans to cover them. I just bought a
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TX-Pro-II board with graphics and sound. However I think I will be
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returning it since I can't get the sound to work. It has a SoundPro
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chip. Can not also get XFree 3.3.1 to run properly. It will only come
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in 8 bit 320x200, even though the graphic chip is supposed to be AGP.
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If you could point out where I can get some info. I would gladly write
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an article for the Gazette in case any else comes across this same
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problem. Please email me with any info or questions.
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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<a name="gen"></a>
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Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 16:28:09 -0800<BR>
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From: chewey nougat, <A HREF="mailto:daiger@usc.edu">
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daiger@usc.edu</A> <BR>
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Subject: <B>HELP-Installing Linux on a FAT32 Drive</B>
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<P>
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I'm interested in installing linux on a machine I built recently, but =
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when I installed Win95(b), I idiotically opted to format the drive using =
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FAT32, which in a 95-only environment is great, but linux can't read it =
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for greek.
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<P>
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I've looked around for utilities to effectively un-FAT32 the drive, =
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which I will then partition with Partition Magic to use the freespace as =
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a native ext2 partition, etc., but am having little luck. Reformating is =
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a disheartening prospect I would rather not face, but am fully prepared =
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to do so if I don't find any help here.
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<P>
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much thanks,<BR>
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nate daiger
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 13:47:06 -0500<BR>
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From: Brian O. Bush, <A HREF="mailto:bbush@xtdl.com">
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bbush@xtdl.com</A><BR>
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Subject: <B>question on motor control</B>
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<P>
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Does anyone know how to interface and control two motors from a Linux box?
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I am looking for a simple solution (in circuit at least).
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<P>
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Thanks,<BR>
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Brian
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Fri, 27 Feb 98 14:16:13 -0500<BR>
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From: Bill R. Williams, <A HREF="mailto:brw@ETSU.Edu">
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brw@ETSU.Edu</A><BR>
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Subject: <B>Wanting HELP!</B>
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<P>
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First off: I can *not* believe I am the only one bitten by this.
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<P>
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In the process of getting a System installed I upgraded from the
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original CD-ROM install of (Intel) RedHat 4.2 to the new RedHat 5.0
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CD-ROM. One of the significant items on this system is the mars-nwe
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Netware emulator.
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<P>
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Under the RedHat 4.2 with mars-nwe 0.98pl8-1 the mars package ran fine,
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but logged copious errors about there being "too many connections --
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increase the number in config.h". But it ran, and I *liked* the way it
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happily did Netware duties! (Especially the printer part.)
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<P>
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The *new* RedHat 5.0 with mars-nwe 0.99pl2-1 offered some very desirable
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abilities, not the least of which is the move of some items (such as
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number of connections) to the run-time config file (/etc/nwserv.conf
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under RedHat, probably nw.ini on other distributions.) Now the bad
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news...
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<P>
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Of lesser, but still irritating, importance is the fact that the mars
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package won't shutdown without some hard kills. This may be related to
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the really important problem which is:
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<P>
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This new package spawns out nwconn processes with an empty parenthesis
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as the last token instead of the USERID ('nwconn ... ()') until all
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connection slots are eaten, and then, of course, will not recognize any
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new attempts. Any users already logged into the nwserv(ice) are Ok.
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<P>
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Since I am neither a Netware guru nor a mars guru I can only hazard a
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guess, but since the nwconn(s) are children of the ncpserv daemon I
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suspect that ncpserv is the source of the troubles.
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<P>
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I have tried every combination of parameter twiddling in the run-time
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config file that can think of, but to no avail.
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<P>
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One thing I have noticed, the 2.0.32 linux kernel /usr/src/linux/.config
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no longer has the 'CONFIG_IPX_INTERN' setting (should be unset according
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to mars-nwe docs) which existed in 2.0.27. This may or may not have
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anything to do with the problem. Checking the kernel sources, it
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appears that the RedHat rpm of the 2.0.32 kernel has the mars patches
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incorporated into the source.
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<P>
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Anyone who has solved this problem, please share the secret.
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<P>
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BTW: I attempted resolution through the RedHat Support system as a
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registered RedHat customer, and if anybody wants a good laugh I'll be
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happy to share the "circle of correspondence" from RedHat support. I
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did learn from the attempt that no *human* at RedHat actually ever sees
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the E-Mail to the support team or 'Bugs' team. (The "auto answer"
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mechanism will get right back to you, though, and tell you not to expect
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an answer.)
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<P>
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As I said, I can *not* believe I am the only one bitten by this, because
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I've looked on the news groups and seen several posts with "Mars and
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RedHat 5.0" in the Subject fields. These were all on the French
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os.linux.... lists, and unfortunately I do not read French!
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<P>
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Sorry for the rambling on...<BR>
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Bill R. Williams
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 13:03:24 +0100 (CET)<BR>
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From: Manfred Lemke, <A HREF="mailto:lema0019@FH-Karlsruhe.DE">
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lema0019@FH-Karlsruhe.DE</A> <BR>
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Subject: <B>Support for IBM Ethernet card?</B>
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<P>
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I'm frantically searching for some kind of support for IBM's
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LAN Adapter/A for Ethernet. Does any of you know of a driver
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in the Linux Kernel that works?
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<P>
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Best regards and thanks in advance,
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<P>
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Manfred Lemke
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<!-- =================================================================== -->
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<center><H3> General Mail </H3></center>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 00:09:33 +0100 (MET)<BR>
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From: Radoslav Dejanovic, <A HREF="mailto:rdejanov@public.srce.hr">
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rdejanov@public.srce.</A><BR>
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Subject: <B>Linux Journalists International</B>
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<P>
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Linux Journalists International is an effort to make a meeting point
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for journalists who use Linux or simply write about it. It is also a place
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where other journalists and other people can take a look what is going on
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with Linux and media that supports it. There will be info pages about
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magazines/media and journalists who use Linux and/or write about Linux &
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related software.
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<P>
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I am editor in one croatian computer magazine (http://www.pcchip.hr) and
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this is my effort to give the Linux community something that lacks:
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popularity in media and a chance to boost media coverage of Linux.
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The homepage is at http://www.purger.com/~rado/lji.html - please take a
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look at it. LJ and LG are the strongest "Linux inside" media :), so your
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support in this project is essential.
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<P>
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Rado
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--====================================================================-->
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<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
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Date: Wed, 4 Feb 1998 10:02:08 -0500 (EST)<BR>
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From: Paul Lussier, <A HREF="mailto:plussier@LanCity.COM">
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plussier@LanCity.COM</A> <BR>
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Subject: <B>Retraction Re: Linux and routing</B>
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<p>
|
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It was just called to my attention that this came across a little to
|
|
strongly and I'd like to clarify what I had previously written.
|
|
<p>
|
|
On Tue, 6 Jan 1998, I wrote:
|
|
<blockquote> <I>
|
|
Some words of caution. DO NOT HAVE YOUR LAN CONNECTED AT THE TIME OF
|
|
THE CABLE MODEM INSTALLATION!!!! [Comapany names removed],
|
|
and most of the other cable companies (we deal with them all here)
|
|
will refuse to connect a LAN to their broadband network. Simply
|
|
remove your hub or coax cable from view, and let them do what they
|
|
need to do, then connect everything else up after they leave.
|
|
</I> </blockquote>
|
|
<p>
|
|
This was probably a little of an overstatement. I know only of 1 company
|
|
that has this as a policy, but have heard of people having problems with
|
|
some of the others. I have even recently been informed of one company
|
|
that is *quite* Linux friendly and will "encourage the use of Linux as
|
|
firewall/routers" as well as "allow and assist individuals & companies to
|
|
setup there own Web servers, either at their permises or ours. We offer
|
|
web hosting and will assist in registering a domain name". So, I
|
|
obviously made an improper, blanket statement which does not represent the
|
|
attitudes or policies of all companies.
|
|
<blockquote> <I>
|
|
Some other interesting tidbits of information about cable modems and
|
|
cable companies:<BR>
|
|
1. Do not expect support for running a LAN over the cable modem
|
|
from the cable company. They don't want you to do it, they
|
|
won't help you do it.<BR>
|
|
2. Do not expect to put up a web server to be accessed by from
|
|
the internet. You are a client, not a server. This
|
|
technology,though fully capable of performing in this
|
|
manner, is not being deployed for use this way.
|
|
</I> </blockquote> <P>
|
|
Again, this is a blanket statement that *does not* apply to all cable
|
|
companies. There is a good reason for those companies who do hold this
|
|
policy, and perhaps I should have gone into more detail. When you get a
|
|
cable modem from a cable company, *typically* you are agreeing to lease
|
|
the equipment from them under similar agreement as you rent the TV set top
|
|
box for cable television reception. The agreement typically states that
|
|
you are not allowed to run the cable to any other TV for which you do not
|
|
rent a box. The same goes for the cable modems. They are agreeing to
|
|
lease you 1 modem for 1 computer. Setting up a firewall/proxy server to
|
|
enable other systems access is exactly like placing a diplexor on you TV
|
|
set, and running the cable to another television. That is a violation of
|
|
the agreement, and is illegal, immoral, and unethical; it's stealing. And
|
|
again, I re-iterate, this is not true for *all* companies. Check with
|
|
your cable company, they should be happy to explain their policies to you.
|
|
<p>
|
|
I don't really think you *should* expect to be able to do either of these
|
|
though, unless the cable company has provisions in place. You are
|
|
agreeing to connect one computer to their network as a client. Anything
|
|
more, you should expect to pay more, as they are providing you with
|
|
increased capabilities. Just like the phone company charges more per
|
|
added service (*69, caller ID, etc) so should the cable companies.
|
|
Personally, I think that average rate of US$40-$50 a month for the
|
|
equivalent of a T1 to my house is an awesome deal. If I want more
|
|
capability, I should expect and be willing to pay more.
|
|
<blockquote> <I>
|
|
Cable companies WILL shut you down for running a server of
|
|
anykind on your end of the network, and it can be *forever* :(
|
|
</I> </blockquote> <P>
|
|
Again, I spoke without clarification. Obviously it depends upon the
|
|
policies of your local cable company. I know of 2 or 3 instances where
|
|
this has been the case. By stating the above, I was trying to warn of the
|
|
possible consequences of violating the contract with the cable company.
|
|
If the cable company specifies in the contract what you are allowed to do
|
|
and what you are not allowed to do, you should expect to deal
|
|
with the consequences of violating the agreement.
|
|
<blockquote> <I>
|
|
Spammers love cable/broadband networks. There have been
|
|
several cases where a broadband network customer has been
|
|
used by spammers and were subsequently shutdown for life by
|
|
the cable company. What happens is the person decides to
|
|
connect their private LAN to the cable modem but sets the
|
|
firewall up incorrectly. Spammers search cable/broadband
|
|
networks for proxy servers/firewalls (Usually Win95/NT) that
|
|
allow incoming connections and then use that system to spam
|
|
the entire cable/broadband network making the spam appear as
|
|
if you sent it.
|
|
</I> </blockquote> <P>
|
|
Spammers love any insecure system or network. Broadband Technology
|
|
though, for the first time has allowed people more extensive and
|
|
closer contact with other people on the internet. When you dial into an
|
|
ISP with a normal modem, it's a little more difficult for devious minded
|
|
people to take advantage of other users. But with cable modems, you now
|
|
have hundreds and/or thousands of people all on the same private network,
|
|
all with similars IP addresses, many of whom, now leave their systems
|
|
connected for much longer periods of time. This makes it much easier for
|
|
crackers, and other mischievous people, to take advantage of anyone who
|
|
isn't running a properly secured system.
|
|
<blockquote> <I>
|
|
Usually you will be given 1 warning by the
|
|
cable company, but there have been cases where none was
|
|
given and the customer was completely shut down.
|
|
</I> </blockquote>
|
|
I have heard of this happening on several occasions, where usually the
|
|
person was running an improperly configured firewall, and spammers used
|
|
their system to launch e-mail to thousands of people connected to cable
|
|
companies' private broadband networks. If I'm paying $40 or $50 a month
|
|
for this service, I, as a paying customer do not want to receive
|
|
solicitous e-mail (spam) from some one else, especially if they are on the
|
|
same broadband network as I. I would complain to my cable company about
|
|
it and expect them to do something. It was these exact circumstances that
|
|
has led to several people having their cable modems permanently removed.
|
|
<blockquote><I>
|
|
Current modems are capable of transmitting at 10Mbs in both
|
|
directions, but are usually deployed throttled back to a
|
|
trasmit speed of 300Kbs and a recieve speed of 1.5Mbs. You
|
|
want more bandwidth, they'll be happy to charge you more
|
|
money :)
|
|
</I> </blockquote> <P>
|
|
Personally, I think this is very fair. The cable companies are providing
|
|
us with a service. We, as consumers, have to pay for this service. Just
|
|
like my electric bill, if I use a lot of electric service, I pay a lot of
|
|
money; or like the telephone company, if I have more features or want a
|
|
T1, I pay more money than if I only had a normal telephone line. It's
|
|
the same with cable modem technology, the capability is there for 10Mbps
|
|
bandwidth in both directions. The technology is also there to regulate
|
|
that flow. I expect the cable companies to use that technology. If I
|
|
want LAN speeds to my house, I should expect to have to pay for it.
|
|
<p>
|
|
Again, I want to apologize for not clarifying my previous statements a
|
|
little more. Please check with your local cable company before you do
|
|
anything like connecting your private LAN to theirs. There are as many
|
|
different policies as there are cable companies, so make sure to
|
|
explicitly ask if what you want to do is permitted. This is a great
|
|
technology and has tremendous benefits. Playing by the rules that the
|
|
cable company has put in place will only help the technology spread. By
|
|
violating the rules, you run the risk of losing access to it, as well as
|
|
making it more difficult for the cable comapanies to contiue selling this
|
|
service. Like any other market driven product, if there's no money in it,
|
|
or it costs too much to implement, it will fall by the wayside, and no one
|
|
benefits. By not folling the rules, we as customers can make it cost
|
|
prohibitive for implementation, and conversely, by following the rules, we
|
|
create more market demand, which in turn, continues pushing the technology
|
|
forward, and everyone benefits.
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
#include <std_disclaimer.h>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
I don't pretend to know all the policies of all the cable companies. I
|
|
don't assume to speak for any of the,, nor do I tell them how to operate.
|
|
My opinions are my own, and no one else's. Dammit Jim, I am a Unix
|
|
sysadmin, not a sales rep :)
|
|
<p>
|
|
Please feel free to send me questions, comments, criticisms, etc.
|
|
<p>
|
|
Paul
|
|
|
|
<P> <HR> <P>
|
|
<!--====================================================================-->
|
|
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
|
|
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 15:01:30 -0500<BR>
|
|
From: Jack Chaney, <A HREF="mailto:JAC14@chrysler.com">
|
|
JAC14@chrysler.com</A><BR>
|
|
Subject: <B>New Direction</B>
|
|
<p>
|
|
I heard on the radio last night, an announcement that IBM has just
|
|
successfully masked, produced and tested their newest piece of
|
|
silicon. The processor is based on the PowerPC design and is reported
|
|
to run at 1000MHz. Knowing what I know about the PowerPC and its
|
|
various flavours, I think it would do to examine the idea of porting
|
|
Linux in a native coded version to this processor platform. The
|
|
pricing of this chip with a heavy duty operating environment could give
|
|
the Alpha a real run for its money.
|
|
<p>
|
|
The PowerPC (for those who don't know) is a RISC based processor with
|
|
three major operation blocks, each capable of independent operation.
|
|
This enables the instruction flow to become parallelized so as many as
|
|
three instructions can be done simultaneously, and because it is a RISC
|
|
processor the instructions have been optimised so most occur in only
|
|
one or two cycles. The other element of the design is to have an
|
|
extremely large cache memory on-board the processor to reduce fetch
|
|
time for instructions. To give an idea of the improvement in speed
|
|
realised by this method, a PowerPC emulates the Intel part by keeping
|
|
an interpreter block in the cache memory of the chip and interprets the
|
|
Intel object code at comparable speeds of the Intel parts. The lure of
|
|
creating a native Linux for this processor has crossed my mind on a
|
|
number of occasions prior to the IBM announcement, and now I hope with
|
|
encouragement this can move from fantasy to fact.
|
|
<p>
|
|
Jack Chaney
|
|
|
|
<P> <HR> <P>
|
|
<!--====================================================================-->
|
|
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
|
|
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 08:50:00 -0500 <BR>
|
|
From: Hampton, Mike, <A HREF="mailto:hamptom1@INDY.NAVY.MIL">
|
|
hamptom1@INDY.NAVY.MIL</A> <BR>
|
|
Subject: <B>Picking a nit</B>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Maybe I should have called the subject of this "pet peeve" or something
|
|
like that. What I am writing about is a simple grammatical error that I
|
|
have seen many people make, but one that shouldn't appear in the Gazette
|
|
or any published effort and that is the incorrect use of "it's" when the
|
|
author should have used "its." An example is in the following sentence
|
|
from a recent issue:
|
|
<p>
|
|
"This was necessary in order for a *nix version to behave to
|
|
applications like it's counterparts so applications could run
|
|
everywhere."
|
|
<p>
|
|
If you take the "it's" and expand it, the sentence would read:
|
|
<p>
|
|
"This was necessary in order for a *nix version to behave to
|
|
applications like it is counterparts so applications could run
|
|
everywhere."
|
|
<p>
|
|
The sentence no longer makes sense. Authors should remember that "it's"
|
|
is a contraction of "it is." If they want a possessive of "it," they
|
|
should use "its." I have also seen instances of authors using the
|
|
apostrophe-s when they intended to form a plural but made a possesive
|
|
instead (for example, using menu's, a possesive, instead of menus, the
|
|
proper plural form). Like I said before, these are very simple and
|
|
common errors, but ones which I feel can hurt the author's credibility.
|
|
<p>
|
|
Before anybody gets too defensive, let me say that as an employee of a
|
|
major defense contractor, I have made the above error and have had it
|
|
pointed out to me. Maybe that's why it stands out so much when I see it
|
|
now.
|
|
<p>
|
|
Now I'll put down my pen and let others point out my errors.
|
|
<p>
|
|
Mike Hampton
|
|
|
|
<P> <HR> <P>
|
|
<!--====================================================================-->
|
|
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
|
|
Date: Fri, 06 Feb 1998 08:12:09 -0600<BR>
|
|
From: Tyree Gwyn, <A HREF="mailto:bounti@myriad.net">
|
|
bounti@myriad.net</A> <BR>
|
|
Subject: <B>love your site!!</B>
|
|
<p>
|
|
i very much enjoy the information found on LG!! even though i am posting
|
|
from a windows machine, i use linux(redhat 5.0) the majority of the
|
|
time. i just happen to be at work, at this time.
|
|
<p>
|
|
anyway, being a newbie to this whole linux scheme, i have used your
|
|
site, dejanews, oreilly books, and many howto's to get my system up to
|
|
my specs. linux is very exciting, and has alot of promise. please keep
|
|
up the good work.
|
|
<p>
|
|
Tyree
|
|
|
|
<P> <HR> <P>
|
|
<!--====================================================================-->
|
|
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
|
|
Date: Sun, 08 Feb 98 17:34:41 -0500<BR>
|
|
From: Leon C. Isaacson, <A HREF="mailto:lci2@global.co.za">
|
|
lci2@global.co.za</A> <BR>
|
|
Subject: <B>Incomplete Book Reviews</B>
|
|
<p>
|
|
In Linux Gazette 25, the review of "A Practical Guide to Linux" , by Mark
|
|
Sobell, fails to supply the publishers name, publication date, and price. I
|
|
enjoyed the review, but surely this information should be included as a
|
|
matter of course. Given your reviewers laudatory comments, how or where can
|
|
the rest of us hope to acquire this book?
|
|
<p>
|
|
Leon
|
|
<blockquote> <I>
|
|
(I agree. He should have included that information. Here's what I know:
|
|
<BR>
|
|
Publisher: Addison Wesley Longman, info@awl.com, http://www.awl.com/<BR>
|
|
Price: $38.00 US<BR>
|
|
ISBN: 0-201-89549-B<BR>
|
|
-- Editor)</I> </blockquote>
|
|
|
|
<P> <HR> <P>
|
|
<!--====================================================================-->
|
|
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
|
|
Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 18:59:53 -0500<BR>
|
|
From: Timothy D. Gray, <A
|
|
HREF="mailto:timgray@lambdanet.com">timgray@lambdanet.com </A>
|
|
Subject: <B>Getting Linux to the public...</B>
|
|
<P>
|
|
Has anyone noticed that when your friends see your neat-o Linux system
|
|
with the nice 17 inch monitor, high quality video card, and fast
|
|
computer that when they say, "Wow! that is nice, and you can do almost
|
|
anything on that!" you cringe with the fact that they are going to want
|
|
you to put it on their system? now mind you, I dont cringe on sharing
|
|
the best O/S on the planet, In fact I want everyone to use Linux. It's
|
|
just that almost all X windows software is written for 1024 X 768 or
|
|
higher resolution video screens and that 99% of those wanting to use
|
|
Linux and X windows only have a 14" monitor that can barely get past
|
|
640X480 at 256 colors. I tried several times to get friends into Linux
|
|
and X but to no avail because the software developed for X is for those
|
|
that have Gobs of money for good video boards and humoungous monitors.
|
|
It's not a limitation of Linux or X, it that the software that is
|
|
developed for these platforms are by professionals or professional users
|
|
that can afford that new 21 inch monitor at the computer store. We as a
|
|
group might want to see software scaled back to the 640X480 crowd.. then
|
|
Linux would take the world by storm.. Until then It's going to be
|
|
limited to us pioneers and Scientists...
|
|
<P>
|
|
Tim Gray
|
|
|
|
<P> <HR> <P>
|
|
<!--====================================================================-->
|
|
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
|
|
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 1998 15:42:09 +0000<BR>
|
|
From: Jaime E. Villate,<A
|
|
HREF="mailto:villate@fe.up.pt">villate@fe.up.pt</A><BR>
|
|
Subject: <B>uptime record</B>
|
|
<P>
|
|
In Issue 25 (February 98) Sean Horan wrote about a Linux
|
|
system that ran continously for 274 days. Here is a quote
|
|
from Bruce Perens (president of Debian, works at Pixar) that
|
|
I took from http://www.debian.org
|
|
<blockquote>
|
|
"I thought three months without a reboot was a big deal.
|
|
When I mentioned it to our developers, one of them showed
|
|
me details about his system. It was up for 458 days, and was
|
|
halted to move it to another floor. The network and disk
|
|
device drivers had handled tens of millions of interrupts in
|
|
that time."
|
|
</blockquote>
|
|
It would be interesting to know what the record is for other
|
|
operating systems older than Linux.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Jaime Villate, University of Porto, Portugal<BR>
|
|
http://www.fe.up.pt/~villate/
|
|
|
|
<P> <hr> <P>
|
|
<!--================================================================-->
|
|
<center>Published in <i>Linux Gazette</i> Issue 26, March 1998</center>
|
|
<!--====================================================================-->
|
|
<P> <hr> <P>
|
|
<A HREF="./index.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/indexnew.gif" ALT="[ TABLE OF
|
|
CONTENTS ]"></A>
|
|
<A HREF="../index.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/homenew.gif" ALT="[ FRONT
|
|
PAGE ]"></A>
|
|
<A HREF="./lg_tips26.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/fwd.gif" ALT=" Next "></A>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<h5>This page written and maintained by the Editor of <I>Linux Gazette</I>,
|
|
<A HREF="mailto: gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A><BR>
|
|
Copyright © 1998 Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc. </H5>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<!--startcut ==========================================================-->
|
|
</body> </html>
|
|
<!--endcut ============================================================-->
|