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<H2><a NAME="mail"><IMG SRC="../gx/mailbox.gif" ALIGN=MIDDLE ALT=" ">
The Mailbag!</a> </H2>
Write the Gazette at <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A>
</td><td>
<H3>Contents:</H3>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="#help">Help Wanted -- Article Ideas</a>
<li><a HREF="#gaz">General Mail</a>
<li><a HREF="#gaz">Gazette Matters</a>
</ul>
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</center>
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<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="maroon">HELP WANTED --
Article Ideas</font></H3></center>
<P>
<P> Send tech-support questions, answers and article ideas to The Answer Gang
&lt;<A HREF="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com">linux-questions-only@ssc.com</A>&gt;. Other mail (including
questions or comments about the <EM>Gazette</EM> itself) should go to
&lt;<A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A>&gt;. All material
sent to either of these addresses will be considered for publication in the
next issue. <EM>Please send answers to the original querent too, so that s/he
can get the answer without waiting for the next issue.</EM>
<P> Unanswered questions might appear here. Questions with
answers--or answers only--appear in The Answer Gang, 2-Cent Tips, or here,
depending on their content. There is no guarantee that questions will
<em>ever</em> be answered, especially if not related to Linux.
<P> <STRONG>Before asking a question, please check the
<A HREF=../faq/index.html><I>Linux Gazette</I> FAQ</A> to see if it has been
answered there.</STRONG>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<!-- BEGIN HELP WANTED -->
<UL>
<!-- index_text begins -->
<li><A HREF="#wanted/1"
><strong>Firewall access...</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#wanted/2"
><strong>Mandrake Linux and Cable modems</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#wanted/3"
><strong>Trying to build a crash course for myself...</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#wanted/4"
><strong>reading tapes from another operating system</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#wanted/5"
><strong>Memory mystery</strong></a>
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</UL>
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<P> <A NAME="wanted/1"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Firewall access...</FONT></H3>
Thu, 11 Jan 2001 11:35:01 +1300
<BR>Gavin Lowe<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (glowe from csi.co.nz)</a>
<!-- sig -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi all,
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I have a webserver on our internal LAN that I would like to make accessible
to the Internet. I have setup a firewall (RH6.2) using ipchains to allow
Internet access from my LAN through an ADSL connection.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
The firewall has two NIC's, one for the external (Internet) connection and
one for the internal (LAN) connection. The adsl modem/router is setup to
NAT the static IP of the router to the IP of the internal server.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
i.e.
</STRONG></P>
<pre><strong>--&gt;static IP [ADSL modem/router] 1.2.3.4 ----&gt; 1.2.3.5 [ Firewall ]
10.11.12.13 ---&gt; LAN ( webserver=10.11.12.20)
NAT static IP:443 -&gt; 10.11.12.20:443
</strong></pre>
<P><STRONG>
I know attempts to access the internal server via the static IP are getting
to my firewall and being accepted by the input rule, but I don't know what
I need to do from there on in to get the request to the LAN ?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
On the firewall if I issue the following:
</STRONG></P>
<pre><strong>ipchains -C input -p tcp -i eth1 -s &lt;internet address&gt; 443 -d 10.11.12.20 443
</strong></pre>
<P><STRONG>
it is accepted.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
If I issue the following:
</STRONG></P>
<pre><strong>ipchains -C forward -p tcp -i eth1 -s &lt;internet address&gt; 443 -d 10.11.12.20 443
</strong></pre>
<P><STRONG>
it is accepted.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
If I issue the following:
</STRONG></P>
<pre><strong>ipchains -C output -p tcp -i eth1 -s &lt;internet address&gt; 443 -d 10.11.12.20 443
</strong></pre>
<P><STRONG>
it is accepted.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Do I need to bridge the two NIC's on the firewall ?
Do I just put in some routing entries ?
DO I have to do anything more to the forward and/or output rule to get the
packets through ?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
As you've probably concluded by now I new to ipchains, although I have read
many of firewall/ipchains/bridge HOWTOs, so any help would be gratefully
accepted
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Gavin.
</STRONG></P>
<P>
This is a tiny sample <TT>-</TT> a number of other home/SOHO packet filtering and
defensive firewall questions are in the queue to be answered. But it would
be really nice to see an article for ipchains... or especially, the new
netfilters, since they are a bit different... which is aimed for readers
who are not already network administrators. <TT>--</TT> Heather.
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="wanted/2"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Mandrake Linux and Cable modems</FONT></H3>
Sun, 31 Dec 2000 19:49:03 -0000
<BR>Ian Garvie<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (ig011a0002 from blueyonder.co.uk)</a>
<!-- sig -->
<P><STRONG>
I am running a home peer to peer net work of 3 PS's running Win98 and
internet sharing to access the internet through my cable modem (Telewest
Blueyonder). On the PC that acts as the gateway to the internet, I have two
removable drives, one runs win98 (obviously...lol) and the other is running
Mandrake 7.1. What I would like to do is to Dump Win98 from the gateway PC
and go over to Linux completely, while the other two PC's will continue to
run win98. Now what I want to be able to do is have a similar set-up to my
win98 network, where the three PC's all have access the internet.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Have you a complete numpties' guide to doing this, bearing in mind that I
have little or no Linux experience. i.e. the definitive guide to getting
cable modems to run under Mandrake 7.1.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Many thanks
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Ian Garvie
</STRONG></P>
<P>
There is a quiet little utility called Masqdialer which is supposed to be for
exactly this purpose. However, I've never used it, though I've been tempted
to give masqmailer a try ... that's a mailer that might be good for people
on dialups, because it's smart about whether you're online, and via what ISP.
</P>
<P>
An article on either of these, or the general case of a sometimes-disconnected
setup, would be a good read for newbies and old hands alike.
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="wanted/3"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Trying to build a crash course for myself...</FONT></H3>
Sat, 27 Jan 2001 20:06:50 -0600
<BR>Matt Cherwin<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (cherwinmr16 from uwwvax.uww.edu)</a>
<!-- sig -->
<P><STRONG>
Hi there. As you probably gathered from the subject header, I'm a fairly new
Linux user--I used it for a few months a while back with a RH 6.0 install,
but ended up back in MSFT land when I had trouble replacing my NIC. In any
event, I just installed Mandrake 7.2, and I've been doing pretty well getting
the system to do everything I need/want it to do over the last several days.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
HOWEVER: I'm using it almost exclusively inside X/<A HREF="http://www.kde.org/">KDE</A>, and I'm well aware
that I'm really not learning anything about how to properly
setup/use/maintain a Linux system. So I've been browsing about the web, IRC
channels, newsgroups, etc., and reading pretty much any documentation that's
aimed at new users. The problem is that just reading everything doesn't teach
one all that much when it comes to actually trying to use the system.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
What all this buildup is leading to is: what would you recommend as practical
projects to undertake as learning exercises for a fairly new user? At the
risk of sounding immodest, I'm quite comfortable and conversant with
computers and computing in general, hardware setup, programming, etc.--but
only in a MSFT world. I'm not terrifically afraid of breaking my
system--everything is well backed-up, and I've been working with Windows
products for long enough that the prospect of reformat/reinstall isn't even
vaguely daunting. I just don't know what it is I should be <TT>-trying-</TT> to do
such that succeeding in the endeavor would involve gaining understanding of
the system.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Sincerely,
Matt "sorry for the SPAM" Cherwin
</STRONG></P>
<P>
Better answers than "read back issues of the Gazette" will be published, if
you copy them to <A HREF="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"
>linux-questions-only@ssc.com</A>.
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="wanted/4"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">reading tapes from another operating system</FONT></H3>
1 Jan 01 22:36:56 CST
<BR>Layton Davis<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (laytond from usa.net)</a>
<!-- sig -->
<P><STRONG>
Thanks for taking time to answer questions.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
I have some tapes (1/4" cartrage <TT>-</TT> 120MB format) that I would like to make
copies of. Now, I know that they were made on an AS/400, But as I see it; data
is data <TT>-</TT> if I can figure out what format it is in.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
The hardware is an AMD-K6/II 500 with an Adaptec AIC-7850 narrow SCSI
controler connected to the PCI bus. There are 3 devices connected to this SCSI
controler. 1 TANDBERG SLR1 150MB tape drive (device ID 6 <TT>/dev/st1</TT>). 1 TANDBERG
SLR2 525MB tape drive (device ID 0 <TT>/dev/st0</TT>) and 1 philips CDD 2600 (device ID
4 <TT>/dev/scd0</TT>) which is at the end of the cable with the termination jumper
installed.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
The software is a heavily modified RedHat 5.0. The kernel version is 2.2.15
(with the needed network utility updates) gcc(egcs)2.95. With all the updates
I figured that the old mt command probably didn't support the current IOCTLS
on the st driver <TT>-</TT> so I deleted it and got the source code for mt-st v. 0.6
(the old one was 0.4)
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
At this point I can create tapes under linux and read them back reliably.
however, This is all working with default settings.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Now for the interesting part. when I try to read a tape created on my as/400
(the same drive that is now in my linux machine as st0) I get the complaint
st0: Incorrect block size.
the mt status command shows Tape Block Size = 512, Density code 0x11(525 tape)
Begining of tape and Write Protect.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
If I try to change the block size <TT>-</TT> I first do a rewind(as per the tandberg
manual) then I do a setblk 32768 (does the same thing with setblk 512) and the
response is:
st0: Error with sense data: [valid=0] Info fld=0x0, Current st09:00 sense key
Illegal request
aditional sense indicates End-of-partition/medium detected.
When I follow the procedure on the tape I made under linux and use a block
size of 512 everything works fine. What am I missing?
PS although IBM provides no documentation their tape file listing program
seems to indicate that the block size might be 32768 bytes.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Layton
</STRONG></P>
<P>
We have a lot of good people, but not so many with AIX experience. If any
of you with experience in an IBM/Linux heterogenous environment ... or who
know about what tapes are <EM>really</EM> saying when they do this... have some
good hints for Layton, send them to <A HREF="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"
>linux-questions-only@ssc.com</A>.
</P>
<P><STRONG>
PS. A big thank-you to the answer guy for some of his answers a year or two
ago that have gotten me this far. Especially on the SCSI termination which I
should have remembered from my macintosh days (only 10 years ago).
</STRONG></P>
<P>
You're welcome, of course!
</P>
<P><STRONG>
PPS. I hope USA.net sends a plain text version of this since I am not at work
where I have an e-mail account that will let me specify what I want to send.
</STRONG></P>
<P>
It came through fine.
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="wanted/5"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Memory mystery</FONT></H3>
Fri, 05 Jan 2001 13:05:24 -0600
<BR>Jan Jakubik<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (jakub008 from umn.edu)</a>
<!-- sig -->
<P><STRONG>
setup:
mainboard PC Chips M807, kernel 2.2.15 (Mandrake 7.1), memory 2 stick of
128MB PC100
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
If I put insert only one memory stick BIOS finds correctly 128MB but
Linux only 64MB. After addition append = "mem=128M" to lilo.conf Linux
finds 64MB again. If I insert 2 memory sticks BIOS finds correctly 128MB
but Linux only 15MB! After addition of append= "mem=256M" to lilo.conf
Linux finds 64MB. Any suggetion? BTW Win98 see always correct RAM size.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks Jan Jakubik
</STRONG></P>
<P>
Someone with a good memory
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle"> can slip us a tip in the right direction
by mailing <A HREF="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"
>linux-questions-only@ssc.com</A>.
</P>
<!-- sig -->
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<a name="mailbag"></a>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="maroon">GENERAL MAIL</font></H3></center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<!-- BEGIN GENERAL MAIL -->
<UL>
<!-- index_text begins -->
<li><A HREF="#mailbag/1"
><strong>The cardboard box.</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#mailbag/2"
><strong>Happy New Year !!! - huh ?</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#mailbag/3"
><strong>Hi</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#mailbag/4"
><strong>RE: "What's a smoothwall?" from issue 61 TAG</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#mailbag/5"
><strong>e-mail thread on 'su not working' in gazette</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#mailbag/6"
><strong>Monitor goes blank</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#mailbag/7"
><strong>Will Windows or Linux be "The Road Not Taken"?</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#mailbag/8"
><strong>1000 thanks!</strong></a>
<!-- index_text ends -->
</UL>
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<P> <A NAME="mailbag/1"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">The cardboard box.</FONT></H3>
Sat, 27 Jan 2001 08:40:58 -0600
<BR>Nathan & Dolyn Walther<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (jwalther from prairie.lakes.com)</a>
<!-- sig -->
<P>
on 29 mar 2000 the question was asked who invented the cardboard box.
The answer is Robert Gair.
I found this information at
<A HREF="http://www.europen.be/basics/understand/und6_types.html"
>http://www.europen.be/basics/understand/und6_types.html</A>
</P>
<P>
I am doing research for a School speech on the inventer of the cardboard
box. (this is no joke)
Your website is great and I will visit often. I am glad I found you.
</P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM>
[Heather] You're doubly lucky as well; one of the Gang decided to
answer it, and it was sufficiently amusing that we published it even
though it's off topic. If you end up with any questions about
a free computer operating system whose mascot is a cute penguin,
don't hesitate to ask.
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
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<P> <A NAME="mailbag/2"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Happy New Year !!! - huh ?</FONT></H3>
Fri, 26 Jan 2001 12:32:06 +0100
<BR>Wilf<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (wbr from free.fr)</a>
<P>
Heya Heather,
</P>
<P>
better late than ...
</P>
<P>
Happy New Year and all best wishes to you and all of Linux Gazette !
</P>
<P>
Yours linuxely,
</P>
<P>
Wilf (French/English =&gt; German translations)
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="mailbag/3"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Hi</FONT></H3>
Wed, 24 Jan 2001 14:20:45 -0800
<BR><EM>anonymous</EM><a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"></a>
<!-- sig -->
<P>
On Wed, Jan 24, 2001 at 10:47:23AM <TT>-0700</TT>, Spicer wrote:
</P>
<P><STRONG><BLOCKQuote>
I just ran across a link to one of your messages and was wondering... do I
just ask you a question?
</BLOCKQuote></STRONG></P>
<P>
If it's related to Linux technical support, yes. There are about ten
people in The Answer Gang, and if any of us feel qualified to respond,
we'll e-mail you back. Then, the question and answers will be considered
for publication in the next issue of Linux Gazette. The submission
address is <A HREF="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"
>linux-questions-only@ssc.com</A>.
</P>
<P>
We'd appreciate it if you'd peruse a few back issues of Linux Gazette
first to see if your question has already been answered. (The LG
<A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/search.html"
>search engine</A>
is useful for this.)
</P>
<P>
Also, if you have any Linux tips that might be helpful for other readers,
please send them in too. Both beginner and advanced tips are appreciated,
because we have a wide variety of readers.
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="mailbag/4"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">RE: "What's a smoothwall?" from issue 61 TAG</FONT></H3>
Tue, 02 Jan 2001 22:33:09 -0500
<BR>Brian Coyle<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (brianc from magicnet.net)</a>
<!-- sig -->
<P>
RE: <A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue61/lg_answer61.html#tag/36"
>http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue61/lg_answer61.html#tag/36</A>
</P>
<P>
Mike Orr asked "What's a smoothwall?"
</P>
<P>
Smoothwall is a browser administered, Linux-based, open-source, ppp
firewall and router appliance. It's targeted at older 386 and 486
systems gathering dust in a closet.
</P>
<P>
See <A HREF="http://sourceforge.net/projects/smoothwall"
>http://sourceforge.net/projects/smoothwall</A>
<TT>-or-</TT> <A HREF="http://www.smoothwall.org"
>http://www.smoothwall.org</A>
</P>
<P>
The sourceforge page has links to the mailing lists and forums
where Jim Watkins' original question about diald on the smoothwall
has been discussed and answered many times...
</P>
<P>
BTW- Smoothwall would make a great subject for an upcoming
Linux Journal article!
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</P>
<P>
"Take a look at one's desktop config. That'll give you an idea where
they are with Linux." <TT>-</TT> an unidentified O'Reilly author @ ALS 2000.
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="mailbag/5"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">e-mail thread on 'su not working' in gazette</FONT></H3>
Mon, 15 Jan 2001 22:53:57 +0100 (CET)
<BR>Etienne Posthumus<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (ep from epoz.org)</a>
<!-- sig -->
<P>
Way back in time the editor wrote:
"Regarding the e-mails: they're still worth printing because they may help
somebody else."
from: <A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue47/lg_mail47.html"
>http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue47/lg_mail47.html</A>
</P>
<P>
And by jove, they did. Thanks a bunch, it has lifted a weight from my
shoulders, I had the same problem.
</P>
<P>
Glad the archives ares still up.
</P>
<P>
Regards
</P>
<P>
Etienne Posthumus
</P>
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<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Monitor goes blank</FONT></H3>
Wed, 03 Jan 2001 15:56:04 +0200
<BR>Marius Andreiana<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (mandreiana from rdsnet.ro)</a>
<!-- sig -->
<P>
Thanks for your help!
</P>
<P>
--
Marius Andreiana
</P>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 6 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="mailbag/7"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Will Windows or Linux be "The Road Not Taken"?</FONT></H3>
Sun, 28 Jan 2001 00:33:33 -0500
<BR>Terrell Phillips<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (terphs from bellsouth.net)</a>
<!-- sig -->
<P>
The Answer Gang,
</P>
<P>
Hello! My name is Terrell Phillips and as a "newbie", I've been learning
Linux via KeyStone Learning Systems video training series.
</P>
<P>
I sincerely hope that my ongoing Linux training will not have been in vain
as I can find no postings for any entry-level workstation jobs here in
Atlanta for newbies. Even if I were to have attained my RHCE, the only
Linux jobs I've seen posted on the Internet require a working UNIX
background foremost.
</P>
<P>
Attending my local Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts user group meetings, it seems
that advanced users attending the meetings are not thrilled at the prospect
of helping newbies acquire initial work experience, but rather give every
impression that somehow Linux will blossom someday into the corporate world.
Apple Computer made the same mistakes early on by marketing their OS to new
users and user groups as the best choice for getting work done efficiently.
Later, Apple began boasting that their platform was the best and most rapid
developer for cross-platform apps. But there was just one little problem.
Apple didn't want anyone especially new users to know upfront. No
instructor-led training programs for software development were/are in place,
nor did Apple partners care to offer the same. And you could count the
non-graphics jobs using Apple Computers on one finger.
</P>
<P>
The point is, that unless the entire Linux community decides to truly help
their own, "newbies" will retreat back to using Microsoft for careers. A
mature forest of Linux trees lacking little new tree saplings growing all
around them won't be a forest for long.
</P>
<P>
It is a very smart move on the part of the various Windows user groups to
see to it that their "newbies" find entry work quickly.
</P>
<P>
Tonight, I have set my Linux notes printed off various websites along with
my training videos aside in favor of learning Visual Basic, MS Access 2000
and SQL. With some training and initiative on my part, I can find
entry-level work in a Windows world.
</P>
<P>
I wish I had better news.
</P>
<P>
Sincerely,
</P>
<P>
Terrell Phillips
</P>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 7 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="mailbag/8"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">1000 thanks!</FONT></H3>
Sun, 21 Jan 2001 07:04:41 -0800 (PST)
<BR>Uwe Dippel<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (udippel from yahoo.com)</a>
<!-- sig -->
<P>
Dear answerguy,
</P>
<P>
I am incredibly happy that I could save one of my Linux-installs with
the help of an answer you gave to one of those people before (retrieved
with a search-engine) on lost root-passwords!!
All the other stuff that I had found before didn't make it ('linux
single' always ended at the login-prompt!) and the rest said 'new
install'.
Now I have the task to find out, who had tempered with the machine
across the network (Internet), because I have been using this password
for ages, I'm a sysadministrator and have clearly never had too many
drinks since I had logged on successfully the last time! <TT>-</TT> The machine
is a server behind closed doors ...!!
</P>
<P>
Have a drink on me!
</P>
<P>
Uwe
</P>
<!-- sig -->
<!-- end 8 -->
<a name="gaz"></a>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="maroon">GAZETTE MATTERS</font></H3></center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<!-- BEGIN GAZETTE MATTERS -->
<UL>
<!-- index_text begins -->
<li><A HREF="#gaz/1"
><strong>The Gazette</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#gaz/2"
><strong>[hamren@sdu.se: "ls -lRat" does not work on FTP server]</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#gaz/3"
><strong>Spammers harvesting Email addresses.</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#gaz/4"
><strong>article - game presentation</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#gaz/5"
><strong>LG</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#gaz/6"
><strong>Security articles</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#gaz/7"
><strong>Linux On Your Desktop @ Linux Gazette</strong></a>
<li><A HREF="#gaz/8"
><strong>Linux Gazette Logo</strong></a>
<!-- index_text ends -->
</UL>
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="gaz/1"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">The Gazette</FONT></H3>
Fri, 01 Dec 2000 09:37:19 -0800
<BR>John Labovitz<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (johnl from meer.net)</a>
<P>
the gazette looks very nice <TT>--</TT> sort of a moderated discussion, i guess.
like a civilized slashdot, or an old letters to the editor section of a
magazine.
</P>
<P><CODE>
john
</CODE></P>
<!-- end 1 -->
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<P> <A NAME="gaz/2"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">[hamren@sdu.se: "ls -lRat" does not work on FTP server]</FONT></H3>
Mon, 4 Dec 2000 08:56:08 -0800
<BR>gazette<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (gazette from ssc.com)</a>
<P><STRONG>
We seem to have received notes from more than one site about ftp
being strange...
</STRONG></P>
<P>
Ferg (gferg from sgi.com)
</P>
<P>
Hi -
</P>
<P>
I maintain the <A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/">LDP</A> mirror(s) of the LG, and the last
couple of times I've run our 'mirror'based update
script, I received a number of errors, such as:
</P>
<blockquote><pre> Too many files to delete, not actually deleting (3626 &gt; 3278)
Too many directories to delete, not actually deleting (398 &gt; 358)
</pre></blockquote>
<P>
I'm pretty sure I know how to correct that in the mirror
config file. More troublesome are these (from my last run):
</P>
<blockquote><pre> Failure on 'RETR pub/lg/www_root/.glimpse-eye.jpg' command
Failed to get pub/lg/www_root/.glimpse-eye.jpg: 550
'pub/lg/www_root/.glimpse-eye.jpg': No such file or directory
Failed to get file 550 'pub/lg/www_root/.glimpse-eye.jpg': No such
file or directory
Failure on 'RETR pub/lg/www_root/404.html' command
Failed to get pub/lg/www_root/404.html: 550
'pub/lg/www_root/404.html':
No such file or directory
</pre></blockquote>
<P>
There are an enormous number of those errors.
</P>
<P>
Did anything change on the host site? Was there some massive
restructuring done to have caused this?
</P>
<P>
Here are my configuration parms:
</P>
<blockquote><pre> package=LG
site=ftp.ssc.com
comment=Linux Gazette
remote_dir=/pub/lg/www_root
local_dir=/public/html/LDP/LDP/LG
</pre></blockquote>
<P>
I hope you can help. Thanks in advance.
</P>
<P>
best regardsm
--
Greg Ferguson
</P>
<!-- end 2 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="gaz/3"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Spammers harvesting Email addresses.</FONT></H3>
Tue, 5 Dec 2000 14:45:53 -0800
<BR>Ira Abramov<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (nospam-lgmirror-20000426 from ira.scso.com)</a>
<P><STRONG>
[Ira Abramov is one of LG's mirrors.]
I have been getting spam to an address I gave you as a contact for an LG
mirror I was running, yet it was posted to a webpage without my
approval, and I have been getting a lot of Spam through it lately.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
please remove nospam-lgmirror-20000426 at.the.site ira.scso.com from the mirrors
page at <A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/mirrors.html"
>http://www.linuxgazette.com/mirrors.html</A>, as well as from your
lists. the correct contact from now on is
webmaster-nospam-lgmirror-20001205 at.the.site linux.org.il and they won't
appreciate spam either. I sugest you somehow cloak the mail addresses on
that page, remove the mailto: links or use some other mechanisms, but do
not leave the current situation broken like this.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#006633"><EM>
[Heather] I actually tweaked the above so neither would turn into a hotlink.
Normally they would.
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P>
I have removed the link as you requested. Change visible at 5pm (UTC-0800).
</P>
<P>
In general, it's our policy to publish the contact addresses of the mirrors
because (1) we need the information and this is where we store it, and (2)
readers need to be able to contact a mirror if there's a problem using
it--that's why it's called a <EM>contact</EM> address. As for spam, I get it
too--30% of the messages to <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com"
>gazette@ssc.com</A> are spam.
</P>
<P><STRONG>
[Ira]
ok, possible ideas. instead of a mailto: link, put the address plain,
maybe even add a space before and after the @ sign. that way one can
still cut and paste it for an individual contact but not harvest it
automaticly with a robot... there are ways.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
for the more advanced ways there are simply CGIs. see the following
address (which spammers aren't smart enough to handle)
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
<A HREF="http://scso.com/cgi-bin/m"
>http://scso.com/cgi-bin/m</A><A HREF="mailto:gazettenospam@dhtssc.com"
>gazettenospam@dhtssc.com</A>
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
the CGI that does this little magic looks like this:
</STRONG></P>
<pre><strong>&gt; cat /home/httpd/cgi-bin/m
#!/usr/bin/perl
$address=substr($ENV{'PATH_INFO'},1);
$address=~ s/nospam\@dht/\@/g;
print "Location: mailto:$address\n\n";
exit(0);
</strong></pre>
<P><STRONG>
4 lines of perl, and spammers never harvest those addresses (tested!)
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
where there's a will, there's a way... I love ssc for it's great
donation to the community, I just ask that you don't repay the kind
people mirroring you by exposing them to spam...
</STRONG></P>
<P>
[Mike]
The trouble is, that requires a CGI script, so it won't run on the mirrors,
and it certainly won't work on the CD-ROM version.
</P>
<P>
Is it time to make all e-mail addresses non-clickable? Your Editor is
undecided.
</P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#006633"><EM>
[Heather]
You don't want to make it easier for spammers (who use scripts and have
delusions of time on their hands) to get ahold of you than the people
who would have a legitimate reason to reach you. I suppose we could
have various mirrorNN.LocnCode kinds of addresses at SSC, where we
could attempt to pre-filter a bit. (are you getting worse than 30 % spam?)
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#006633"><EM>
That way you as mirror admin get
some possible defense, at least your actual address isn't exposed until
you reply, there is the backup that SSC learns about mirror problems
sometimes, and some people might actually feel we made it easier to
reach <EM>somebody</EM> in case of errors.
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM>
[Don Marti]
Hiding email addresses from spammers is letting spammers define the
terms of our conversation. I'm against it and don't participate in any
list that does this form of "cowardice by proxy" for me.
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#006633"><EM>
[Dan Wilder]
Though in less absolute terms than Don, I'll add my voice to those
not favoring cowardice by proxy.
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#006633"><EM>
Let 'em try and spam me. I'll either <TT>/dev/null</TT> their mail, or
hunt 'em down with a rusty bottle opener!
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<!-- end 3 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="gaz/4"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">article - game presentation</FONT></H3>
Wed, 06 Dec 2000 21:27:02 -0500
<BR>marius<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (marius from webdevgroup.com)</a>
<P><STRONG>
It was all D&amp;D back then, and Traveller.
</STRONG></P>
<P>
Never heard of these... I've started on ZX spectrum, with Dizzy being my
favourite(s)
</P>
<P><STRONG>
NEVER HEARD OF?? I gotta publish this. The generational difference
between games. Do you mind if I publish this letter?
</STRONG></P>
<P>
If you publish that I never heard of D&amp;D and Traveller ? no, I don't
mind.
Maybe you write about these too. (are they still available ?)
</P>
<P><STRONG>
I don't do gaming, so I don't know. Cc'ing a gaming friend.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Ogre, this guy is one of my correspondents for the Linux Gazette ezine.
He's too young to have heard of Dungeons &amp; Dragons and Traveller, the
only role-playing games I ever had the least bit involvement with. Do
they still exist or are they long gone?
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#006633"><EM>
[Heather] There are an avid batch of Traveller players in my area
although I don't game with them, and D&amp;D recently released a new edition.
Not only are they available, but you can find traveller players on IRC,
a lot of support software for D&amp;D gamemasters... uh, well for some other
platform anyway. My traveller playing friend is famous for Penguin
Artillery.
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<!-- end 4 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="gaz/5"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">LG</FONT></H3>
Tue, 19 Dec 2000 11:22:22 +1100
<BR>BanDiDo<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (bandido from drinkordie.com)</a>
<P>
After dropping you a mail about issue 60, I thought I was pen a few
lines on my venture in Linux and just why LG has made the transition
so painless.
</P>
<P>
It is redundant of me to mention just how fantastic LG is? I can hear
you all muttering now
about stating the bleeding obvious. For me, the most curious thing is
to note the range of
interest, from the rank Linux newbie to input from individuals who
are quite clearly among
some of the knowledgeable to be found, and all receive the same warm
response (unless they
happen to be some poor Windoze momo with a Winmodem
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</P>
<P>
Anyway, I thought I would share my recent <EM>real</EM> plunge into Linux
and perhaps lend some cheer
to all the neophytes out their coming to terms with Windoze
withdrawal and faced with the murky
morass of Linux. I should mention I am not new to computers, I have
used a plethora of Uncle
Bill's offerings, and in all fairness, I am possibly the only person
in the world to never had
had any problems at all, I can count my 'Blue Screens of Death' on
one hand. Suffice to say, I
have no problems with MS, as a bit of a closet gamer, it serves it
purpose.
</P>
<P>
Linux on the other hand, was always something that I presumed was not
for me, I had once
upon a time installed some ancient <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A>, and a mouldy <A HREF="http://www.slackware.org/">Slackware</A>,
both of which suffered a
format quite promptly. It just all seemed too complicated and of
limited appeal to where I was
at the time. I tend to spend a lot of time on the Net now, so about 2
weeks ago I decided to
have another look. I need to make it very clear, the sum total of my
Linux knowledge prior to
biting the bullet and trying it again, was the ability to type 'ls
<TT>-</TT> <TT>-la</TT>, uptime, rm and a few
other sundry commands that everyone anywhere normally picks up over
the years, in other words
it was all virgin territory. With that in mind, thus begins my
journey.
</P>
<P>
A friend of mine mailed me Mandrake 7.2 (along with Storm, <A HREF="http://linux.corel.com/">Corel</A>,
Slackware 7.0, Redhat 6.0
and a bunch of other distros. I had once installed a prehistoric
Mandrake, so my victim was
preordained. My system is fairly standard, a PIII 850, 192mb ram,
Voodoo 3 3000, SB Live,
Adaptec 2940 + 2944, network card etc. I chose custom install, and
prepared myself for what I
was sure would be many hours of getting things to actually work
post-install. To say I was
impressed was an understatement, Mandrake install was easier and
clearer than anything Bill
Gates ever threw at me, and HW detection? every thing was 100% up and
running without any
intervention on my part. I am a console sort of person, and X is just
something I will use
when I am forced to, but once I booted up, a quick startx a boy was I
shocked, X 4.0 and <A HREF="http://www.kde.org/">KDE</A>2
all running with full 3d acceleration. I fired up Tux Racer as I was
checking things out, and
it bodes well, Linux has come a long way since I toyed with it. I
have a feeling either MS
will be forced to meet Linux head on one of these days, MS Linux
maybe? Since from what I see,
once the Linux community manages to implement anything akin to
DirectX and thus gain wide
support from the gaming industry, the Redmond Wunderkind will be on a
fast track to oblivion
if they don't have some contingency plans.
</P>
<P>
Ooops back to nub of it all. Ok so X was working, so I quickly exited
the session, to get as
far away from Netscape as I could. Like most people 'new' to Linux, I
was a little overwhelmed
at the sheer vastness of it all, and headed as fast as I could for
the most speedy route to
begin the learning process. Thank god for man pages, info pages,
HOWTOs and the like, I was
soon starting to feel like this was one mountain I could conquer.
</P>
<P>
Next up PPP, or was it? No, silly me used fdisk to partition
initially and I made Linux one
single partition didn't I. tsk tsk, well I wanted to learn more,
so.... REINSTALL, this time
with Mandrake's own tool, which in a word is awesome for the newer
users, result:
</P>
<blockquote><pre>Filesystem 1k-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/hda5 489992 55987 408705 12% /
/dev/hda8 241116 1481 227187 1% /boot
/dev/hda10 2514172 150644 2235816 6% /home
/dev/hda1 7158976 5588472 1570504 78% /mnt/win_c
/dev/hdb1 6285144 1685608 4599536 27% /mnt/win_c2
/dev/hde1 8233232 12 8233220 0% /mnt/win_c3
/dev/hdg1 2498940 12 2498928 0% /mnt/win_c4
/dev/hdh1 2498936 418500 2080436 17% /mnt/win_c5
/dev/hda7 241116 170 228498 0% /tmp
/dev/hda11 7937796 3655320 3879248 49% /usr
/dev/hda9 489992 65081 399611 14% /var
/proc/bus/usb 489992 489992 0 100% /proc/bus/usb
</pre></blockquote>
<P>
I am happy with that (the Win drives are games + multiple backups),
so then on to PPP, unlike
many who have sad tales to tell, my small local ISP has a handy dandy
tar.gz file to set
things up, unpack, run, few quetions like pass, modem and such, type
<TT>./ppp-on</TT> and viola! Nice
some ISP's give a damn about their users... fantastic.
</P>
<P>
After a day or two, I had devoured every HOTWO, I made life easier
for myself too with:
</P>
<blockquote><pre>alias ht='cd /usr/share/doc/HOWTO/HTML/en;lynx index.html'
</pre></blockquote>
<P>
My little superhighway to fast help and my 1st ever alias, oh did I
mention Netscape sucks and
Lynx is sublime
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</P>
<P>
Now I was wanting some access to Linux information, time to search
the Web. I suppose I was
lucky within a minute of two, I came across the Linux documentation
Project and thus Linux
Gazette. After perusing the online issue, I knew where it need to be,
so FTP Mirror here we
come and some time later all 60 issues on my HDD.
</P>
<P>
Ever since for the last week or so, I have been wading through the
plethora of tips (Isn't
Heather just the living end eh?
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle"> I have managed to come to terms
with Linux file structure,
I have personalised bash and my environment to my liking, I have
edited most of my .rc files,
for example custom hdparm parameters, along with removing things like
telnet and ensuring ssh
is up and running. Almost everything I have learnt, is due to Linux
Gazette, it never ceases
to amaze me how much their is to learn. Only a few days ago, a friend
of mine who has been
using Linux for four years came over, to help me with a wine.conf
issue, and I ended up
teaching him a few things and minor commands he had never used nor
knew existed. It just goes
to show how extensive Linux is.
</P>
<P>
I suppose the point of my taking the time to pen a few words, is to
reassure those new to
Linux that much of the rubbish that gets bandied about that Linux is
"hard" is in practice
misguided. Certainly some distros are not as user friendly as say
Mandrake or Red Hat to
install, and presume a certain working knowledge, but any Linux once
up and running, provided
you are have a passion for computers and an enquiring mind is most
certainly not rocket
science, in other words, if you are content to click a mouse, and
care nothing for what might
live beneath the hood, then perhaps you deserve nothing more than
Windoze.
</P>
<P>
I fit the profile of a normal advanced Windoze user, I can edit
registry crap, trouble shoot
.dll problems and all that jazz, but I certainly cannot write one
line of code, thus I am sure
that many newer LG readers wil relate to my experiences as a new
Linux user. Sure I have had
to stop and run for a man page at times, and been totally stumped at
times, for example
getting Wine to work (which I use for one prog only) made me tear my
hair out, on the other
hand VMware was painless. At the end of the day, it is only by
overcoming problems that you
learn, and the sudden "ZAP" of revelation once you master some
problem makes it all
worthwhile, Linux certainly lights my fire, a tinkerers delight, and
I am sure that in the
future, when I look back on my 7 years of Windoze, and compare it to
the years of Linux to
come (or whatever LInux becomes) I will wonder why I never made the
change sooner. One thing I
know for certain, I will never be tempted to buy a Winmodem
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</P>
<!-- end 5 -->
<!-- .~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~.~~. -->
<P> <A NAME="gaz/6"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Security articles</FONT></H3>
Thu, 28 Dec 2000 09:54:31 -0800
<BR><EM>anonymous</EM><a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"></a>
<P>
[A guest commentary from our News Bytes editor. I asked him to
summarize the controversy on <A HREF="http://www.slashdot.org/">Slashdot</A> regarding SSH/SSL vulnerabilities,
and to assess whether we need an article on it. <TT>-Mike]</TT>
</P>
<P>
Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2000 16:55:56 +0000
Subject: Re: Late News Bytes additions
From: Michael Conry <A HREF="mailto:michael.conry@softhome.net"
>michael.conry@softhome.net</A>
</P>
<P>
Hi Mike,
please find attached the ( <A HREF="../issue61/lg_bytes61.html"
>../issue61/lg_bytes61.html</A> )
news bytes 61 file.
I did go through the SSH issues, and summarised them briefly. I kind of
skirted around the SSL because it seemed less clear cut, and very much an
issue of implementation and protecting users from themselves. Most
discussion in the links focussed on SSH in any case.
</P>
<P>
I would recommend, not an article on Holes in SSH, but rather an article on
security in general. Lots of contradictory messages on Slashdot indicate
that people still don't really understand what is going on or how exactly to
administer a public key system.
</P>
<P>
The issues are not new, but are inherent in public key systems.
pgp,gnupg is the same (how can i be sure the key i think is yours is really
yours?). The biggest issue is probably users (lusers) ignoring warning
messages.
</P>
<P>
The new dsniff software is probably worth commenting on also. I included a
link in my short discussion, but have not studied it. What could be very
interesting would be for an article to highlight how to use tools like this
to strengthen your system/network by scrutinising it and probing it. Focus
tends to be on how these tools allow malicious people to break other
people's systems.
</P>
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<P> <A NAME="gaz/7"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Linux On Your Desktop @ Linux Gazette</FONT></H3>
Sat, 6 Jan 2001 20:17:58 +0200 (IST)
<BR>Yotam Medini<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (ymedini from actcom.co.il)</a>
<P><STRONG>
"Linux On Your Desktop" is an important article.
But Linux-Gazette should `edit out' several English mistakes.
Syntax and Spelling. This does not help Linux
get a professional image.
</STRONG></P>
<P>
[Mike]
Linux Gazette is not a professional publication--it's a volunteer
publication. We do not have the resources to proofread and reword
every article. That would take 10-20 hours per issue. Would you
like to volunteer to proofread a few articles each issue? If you're
willing, it would certainly be welcome.
</P>
<!-- end 7 -->
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<P> <A NAME="gaz/8"><HR WIDTH="75%" ALIGN="center"></A> <P>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
<FONT COLOR="navy">Linux Gazette Logo</FONT></H3>
Sat, 20 Jan 2001 01:40:44 -0500
<BR>Richard Storey<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"> (richards from primerafinancialgroup.com)</a>
<P><STRONG>
It would be so nice if I could come to your index.html page and not have to
load a 40k logo. Wouldn't an 8k do nicely?
<IMG SRC="../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":-)"
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
</STRONG></P>
<P>
[Mike]
We'll consider this for the next version of the Gazette, but most
requests have been asking for more graphics, not less. 8 K would get us
a logo that's just a bit bigger than the sponsorship logos are now.
Since our graphic designer put a lot of time into getting the shape and
color of the logo just right, I don't want to ask him to somehow manage
to keep the same look while squeezing the file down to a fifth of its
size. It is a jpg, which is the most efficient graphics format there
is.
</P>
<P>
In any case, doesn't it just load once in your browser and then the
cached version is used thereafter?
</P>
<P>
Thanks for your feedback.
</P>
<P><STRONG>
[Richard Storey]
Not knocking the great design of the logo, but aside from slow loading
it creates its motif doesn't match that of the rest of the site. As far
as graphics go, look at Yahoo. They've managed to keep their site just
ahead of text level, which I use most of the time anyway. There's a lot
to be said for a site which is designed cleanly, neatly, for fast load
times, but is rich because of its content rather than *eye-candy*.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM>
[Heather]
You're quite welcome to visit us in lynx, the world's fastest browser,
since it wastes no time whatsoever on eyecandy ... unless you absolutely
insist on working at it. My normal surfing mode is lynx-ssl with zgv
wired into my MIME support, so I can see an occasional photo if I feel
like it.
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG><FONT COLOR="#000066"><EM>
We make a serious effort to be lynx clean around here anyway, since that's
how we produce the text version of the download.
</EM></FONT></STRONG></P>
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