-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
September 23, 2003 04:30 pm, Merlin Zener wrote:
>
> Hi Charlie.
> I emailed you offlist to apologize but it bounced; I hope you don't mind
> me taking this opportunity to do it publicly.
> [for those that missed it, or came in late, I sent a rather hasty reply
> to one of Charlie's answers - I wasn't pi**ed off as I wrote it, but on
> re-reading it in the archives I could easily see how it could have been
> taken that way.]
> So, sorry once again Charlie.
Nothing to apologize for, and thank you for the consideration for. I expect
people to yell at me occasionally and since I'm divorced I don't have a live
in yell source. <g>
I just don't know why it bounced. I don't have anybody other than the "mad
Russian" (no user named newbie) filtered to bounce. Interesting.
>
> In my case, I've had Mandrake on this machine for a while [and I
> wouldn't have been able to get it installed without this list] but I
> haven't actually tried to do anything with it until recently. I got
> connected using Linux [again, with help from this list] a few weeks
> back, but when I really think about the actual amount of "contact time"
> in front of the computer I think it would really only total about 30
> hours tops. So maybe I'm impatient and possibly have unrealistic
> expectations. Typical newbie?
I do remember the thread, I think we both need to start using more smiley
faces. Sorry about that. I did apologize for causing you grief though,
remember?
> Maybe it all comes down to expectations.
>
> The newbie just expects the basics to be the same and is caught out when
> they're not. Kind of like moving to a different country [as I've done
> several times] - it's not the things you get told about that catch you
> out - it's the little things you don't expect that get you. [F1 doesn't
> mean "help", for example].
It's also things that most of us that have been around for a while don't even
think about. Like using Ctrl+Alt+F7 to return to the desktop from the F1 (or
2, 3, 4, 5, 6) screen. I apologize again. I forgot to include that in the
reply that cost you the download.
> Maybe the helpful answerers expect things too.
> Someone suggested [I'm sorry, I don't know who - Evolution is acting up
> again: emails open up with blank windows - but that's a topic for
> another thread] that I try "locate", but when I do, all I get is
> "command not found". And "man locate" gets me "No manual entry for
> locate". All I'm saying is, clearly the answerer in that case expected I
> would have "locate" installed already...
$locate
Secure Locate 2.7 - Released January 24, 2003
Copyright (c) 1999, 2000, 2001 Kevin Lindsay & Netnation Communications Inc. &
James A. Woods <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
search usage: locate [-qi] [-d <path>] [--database=<path>] <search
string>...
locate [-r <regexp>] [--regexp=<regexp>]
database usage: locate [-qv] [-o <file>] [--output=<file>]
locate [-e <dir1,dir2,...>] [-f <fs_type1,...> ] [-l <level>]
[-c] <[-U <path>] [-u]>
general usage: locate [-Vh] [--version] [--help]
Options:
-u - Create slocate database starting at path /.
-U <dir> - Create slocate database starting at path <dir>.
-c - Parse original GNU Locate's '/etc/updatedb.conf'
when using the -u or -U options. If 'updatedb' is
symbolically linked to the 'locate' binary, the
original configuration file will automatically be
used.
-e <dir1,dir2,...> - Exclude directories from the slocate database when
using the -u or -U options.
-f <fs_type1,...> - Exclude file system types from the slocate database
when using the -u or -U options. (ie. NFS, etc).
-l <level> - Security level.
0 turns security checks off. This will make
searchs faster.
1 turns security checks on. This is the default.
-q - Quiet mode. Error messages are suppressed.
-n <num> - Limit the amount of results shown to <num>.
-i - Does a case insensitive search.
-r <regexp>
--regexp=<regexp> - Search the database using a basic POSIX regular
expression.
-o <file>
--output=<file> - Specifies the database to create.
-d <path>
--database=<path> - Specfies the path of databases to search in.
-h
--help - Display this help.
-v
--verbose - Verbose mode. Display files when creating database.
-V
--version - Display version.
Author: Kevin Lindsay
Bugs: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
FTP: ftp://ftp.geekreview.org/slocate/
ftp://ftp.mkintraweb.com/pub/linux/slocate/
HTTP: http://www.geekreview.org/slocate/
> And like whoever suggested the RUTE pdf - I got several "page not found"
> results before I finally found somewhere I successfully downloaded it
> from. At 660 pages it's going to take me quite a while to get through,
> and in the meantime what do I do about problems that I encounter day by
> day? I've just begun reading it, and really, I think it will take months
> to get through. Especially if I follow the advice in the introduction:
> "Any system reference will require you to read it at least three times
> before you get a reasonable picture of what to do"...
> For me, for now, at least, it's just the same as me trying to read
> anything more complicated than a menu board in Thai - first I've got to
> figure out the characters, then work out what the individual words mean,
> and only then try to work out the meaning of the sentence. I'd venture
> to point out that most windoze users have never heard of "grep" or
> "urpmi" or "invoke" or that there's a difference between "l" and "|".
> I've just scanned quickly through the first couple of chapters and it
> seems to jump immediately into the command line stuff, like password
> management and wildcards and expressions and so on. I don't know how
> often the typical user would ever have to bother with such things,
> unless he/she is a programmer already.
>
Rute is on the disks and has been since at least 7.1. I install it for
everyone I help make the switch. I also tell them they'll have to read it
from start to finish at least twice before they're able to do much more than
say "D'Uh?" when they think about it. :-)
> All I'm saying is, from the newbie's perspective, a lot of this stuff is
> hard work. And to truly understand it will take a LOT of time
> investment, which is something not everyone can afford. I wonder, is
> there a more basic guide available which would cover the real basics -
> in plain English - the essential things you need to know about what's
> different?
>
I helped a neighbour install Mandrake on her machine for the first time
tonight. All I can say is that she's in love with penguins now. I fully
expect a lot of phone calls, but I'm used to that.
Anne and a few others are building the community TWiki for people to use as a
reference. It will likely be always a work in progress but there are a lot of
solid gold hints, tips, and suggestions there. It's a start:
http://twiki.mdklinuxfaq.org
This is one of the pages they've built so far.
http://mandrake.vmlinuz.ca/bin/view/Main/NewbieFriendly
Thanks go to Vincent Danen of mandrakesecure for setting it up for us in the
first place. Don't forget to thank Anne and quite a few others for all of
their hard work on it.
>
> Thanks to all those who give freely of their time and expertise on this
> list, and also, sorry once again to Charlie...
>
> :)
> Merlin Zener
> Piano, Synthesizer
> Thailand.
I'll accept the apology if you'll accept mine, then we'll call it even and
start over. OK? (-:
Regards;
Charlie
- --
Edmonton,AB,Canada User 244963 at http://counter.li.org
Cooker on kernel 2.4.22-10mdk
20:40:42 up 3 days, 10:00, 1 user, load average: 0.19, 0.16, 0.22
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups --
alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat.
-- Alex Levine
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.2.3 (GNU/Linux)
iD8DBQE/cQmgG11CaRuZZSIRAk9RAJ9ZndZ7aOyJzPe625cMW1o/u7R51QCfeO9i
sXffJpdKd4xoZ2D7mpZp5bI=
=GCDD
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft?
Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
