Linux-Misc Digest #709, Volume #18 Thu, 21 Jan 99 03:13:11 EST
Contents:
Re: Redhat 5.2 ld problems (Jesse Jensen)
Re: Floppy drive problem (Gary Momarison)
Re: Linux keyboard? (For emacs use) (Frank da Cruz)
Re: Newbie with WindowMaker problem ("Mark Murray")
Re: Consumer Poll Says Microsoft Is Good For Consumers (William Wueppelmann)
Re: 2038 and Linux (Bloody Viking)
Re: [Famous Finn] ("David Snyders")
Re: Possible kernel bug? (Raymond Doetjes)
Re: mkdir fails: too many links (Brian Rankin)
Re: Linux to Win95 Null-Modem Connection (Phil Brutsche)
Re: get your money back for Windows preinstalled (Jeremy Crabtree)
Re: squid on linux connnecting to NT cache (Gary Momarison)
Re: Put Linux on existing D parition? (Nate Collins)
Re: Are there any good shareware/GNU animation Packages? (Gary Momarison)
Re: StarOffice and Microsoft Office (mlw)
Re: mkdir fails: too many links (Alexander Viro)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Jesse Jensen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Redhat 5.2 ld problems
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 16:53:03 GMT
None. That was it. Thanks, guys and girls.
jesse
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> In comp.os.linux.misc Jesse Jensen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > So, I tried installing egcs and making gcc point to it. ld does the
> > same thing. I tried reinstalling ld, but I can't find the binary
> > version and I can't compile it without a working version of ld.
>
> > These are the programs I'm trying to install:
> > wu-ftpd-2.4.2-beta-18-vr12
> > binutils-2.9.1.0.19a
> > fileutils-3.16
> > xferstats
>
> What versions of glibc and glibc-devel are you using ?
------------------------------
From: Gary Momarison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Floppy drive problem
Date: 19 Jan 1999 09:38:53 -0800
John Garrison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> I have copied an MPG and JPG file onto a DOS formatted floppy. I can
> view the JPG file, but not the MPG file. I cannot copy either one back
> to the hard drive because it says "Input/Output Error" I have set the
> permissions mounted the drive correctly,etc. Does anybody know what
> could cause this and how to fix it?
I suggest you try to duplicate what you did to that floppy using
second and third floppies. If they both work, you probably had
a bad floppy. They're not uncommon. If both fail, you probably
have bad hardware or have found a bug in the driver or kernel.
Test by copying big files back and forth and "diff"ing.
You might not want to do any of this, because if you find a
software bug, it is your "duty" to carefully report it and
"encourage" someone to fix it in a reasonable amount of time.
--
Look for Linux info at http://www.dejanews.com/home_ps.shtml and in
Gary's Encyclopedia at http://www.aa.net/~swear/pedia/index.html
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Frank da Cruz)
Crossposted-To:
comp.os.linux.hardware,comp.unix.questions,comp.unix.misc,comp.emacs,comp.editors
Subject: Re: Linux keyboard? (For emacs use)
Date: 20 Jan 1999 16:58:40 GMT
In article <36a55eea.0@calwebnnrp>, Ilya <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
: In comp.editors David A. Rogers <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
: > On Tue, 19 Jan 1999 06:27:00 GMT, Joseph H Allen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
: > speaketh saying:
: > >In article <36a42292.0@calwebnnrp>, Ilya <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
: > >>I am interested in a "soft-touch" keyboard for a Linux workstation that
: > >>has one Control key on the home row - by the "A" key or "Caps lock" key,
: > >>instead of 2 Control keys on the bottom like on Windows keyboards. I
: > >>would like to hear someone recommend a keyboard with these
: > >>specifications.
: > >
: > >Remap the caps-lock key into the Ctrl key. Take a look at 'loadmap' and
: > >/usr/lib/kbd/keytables/emacs.map
:
: > As well as modmap for X11.
:
: I truly appreciate your suggestions, but I'd rather get a real workstation
: keyboard like the ones that Sun, HP, DEC and the rest of them sell, and not
: mess with re-mapping.
:
Remapping the keyboard is perfectly viable in Linux, but what if you have
a PC on which you need to boot lots of operating systems, and don't have the
time or inclination to learn how to remap the keyboard in each and every one?
(Or you want to leave these systems in their vanilla configuration for some
reason.)
There actually are keyboards on the market that still have the keys in the
right place for those of us (like EMACS users) who still use the Ctrl and Esc
keys a lot. Here's one:
http://www.pfuca.com/products/hhkb/
It also has a Meta key (it says "Alt" but it works like Meta). The placement
of backslash, tilde, and Delete are a bit unfamiliar to PC keyboard users,
but other than that, the layout is great. Also, it's not quite as long as
a canoe paddle, so saves you some desktop.
- Frank
P.S. It does not even *have* a Caps Lock key.
------------------------------
From: "Mark Murray" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Newbie with WindowMaker problem
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 11:37:51 -0500
Oded Arbel wrote in message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
>........ but it's autoloading, I can't get to
>it's settings, and I can't find any config file where it says what to
>load on the dock - How do I remove unwanted dockable apps from my dock
>??
>Oded
Some dock apps, when running give you only a small area to bring up their
menu. I have had some success with the top, left corner - try right
clicking there first, then all over the icon and maybe the menu will appear.
If this doesn't work, try xkill - its probably on the WindowMaker root menu
under 'utilities' this will give you a different looking cursor. Click on
the dock app with it and it should kill it. After it's stopped running you
should be able to just drag it off into the nether-regions like any other
icon.
Hope this helps!
Mark Murray
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (William Wueppelmann)
Subject: Re: Consumer Poll Says Microsoft Is Good For Consumers
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 16:15:15 GMT
Quoth [EMAIL PROTECTED] this past 14 Jan 1999 22:06:17 GMT:
>
>I'll admit, I do not like Microsoft or its software, but it's not
>"vastly inferior", though it does depend on what criteria one uses
>to measure superiority and inferiority. Linux is the most stable OS
>I know of out there, running with the other Unixes that run on other
>machines; NT runs second, and Windows 95/98 a poor third -- however,
>functionality may tell a slightly different story; in this case,
>Windows 95/98 comes in first, Windows NT second, and Linux third -- this
>in large part because of the large amount of free/shareware available
>for the Win32 platform. Linux admittedly has its own free/shareware, but
>it's not quite so easy, even with Unix shareware/freeware behind it.
>(Actually, this might be debatable. How does one measure the amount
>of software available on a platform?)
The functionality of an OS has little to do with the software that has been
written for it. That's more a function of the popularity of the OS (which
feeds itself by promoting commercial development for that OS). If you compare
an application running under Linux and the same application running under
Windows, generally speaking, you can squeeze more functionality out of the
Linux version, because the operating system supports more features than
Windows (e.g. piplining, forking of processes, reditection, job control --
things that Windows implements in a much more rudimentary way.) Programs like
sed, awk and grep are much more useful in their native Unix environment than
they are in a Windows environment, while at the same time, programs that were
originally implemented under Windows (such as Word Perfect) suffer no
disadvantages in their Linux implementations, and in all likelihood can
benefit from OS in ways that they cannot under Windows.
As to the quality of the application software, however, here is an interesting
question: for the average user who already knows how to use Word Perfect 5.1
for DOS, is there any significant productivity benefit to be derived from
learning and using one of the latest word processing packages (Word 97, Word
Perfect 8, AmiPro whatever?), or do these packages really make the job no
easier or, worse, more difficult than their 10 year old ancestors? IMHO, the
older software, once learned, would provide all of the functionality needed
or wanted by most people. Some people have even speculated that WYSIWIG word
processors have played a role in lowering the quality of peoples' writing, the
assertion being that people spend a great deal of time picking fonts and
colours and margins and inserting pretty pictures, and not enough time working
on the content of their document (I would tend to agree with this, and argue
that programs like Front Page have done the same for the Web, while butchering
HTML as a usable structural markup language as well).
>If one uses "useability", things could get real interesting, as
>it more or less depends on the user's training. I would surmise,
>though, that a user experienced in Unix would have little trouble
>with Linux proper, a user experienced in Windows NT might
>have some trouble, and a user experienced in Windows 95/98 will
>probably have quite a bit, as Win95/98 doesn't know what a "file owner"
>is nor does it have any reasonable multiuser support.
In general, a user will find it easiest to use a system he or she already
knows how to use. Also, Unix and Windows are different enough in the way they
work that there is a definite limit in the amount of knowledge which is
portable from one to the other. In terms of usability, though, Unix would
seem to win hands down over Windows -- it is far, far easier to accomplish
most complex tasks in Unix than it is in WIndows.
If instead of ``usability'' one talks about ``ease of learning,'' one runs
into a thorny issue that isn't easy to resolve. I know of no instances in
which the relative ease with which various operating systems can be learned
has been tested, and such a test would be very difficult to construct, as it
would require determining exactly what body of knowledge is to be acquired,
and whether things that one OS can't do should be included in the ``learning
package'' of another OS (e.g. is it fair to say that Unix is harder than
Windows because job control is complicated, when Windows has no job control at
all -- you can only run one application in any given console).
All in all, though, the ease of learning question is relatively unimportant,
since you only have to learn an OS once, but you have to use it daily, so ease
of use is a more important issue for anyone who uses a computer on anything
other than a casual basis.
--
William
================================================
Want to get a job? | Want to get the job done?
Learn Windows. | Learn Unix.
================================================
------------------------------
From: Bloody Viking <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.advocacy
Subject: Re: 2038 and Linux
Date: 21 Jan 1999 06:31:11 GMT
In comp.os.linux.advocacy mlw <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
: Bloody Viking wrote:
:> That's what they thought when they first started up the old mainframes and
:> coded the apps in COBOL. This is how we got into this whole Y2K mess in
:> the first place. And becuse 32 bit UNIX boxes are still around, there will
:> likely be a Y2K+38 bug.
: These are two different problems. The Y2K problem is about the way dates
: are stored in persistent files. The 2038 bug is the way dates are
: represented inside the OS. I don't know any application that stores
: dates as seconds since 1970.
In some ways, that will make remediation tricky. Only open source UNIXes
will get fixed. Yep, that's Linux and *BSD! There's the time_t issue, but
what about dates of files on the filesystem?
: The above routine will fail once in 2038 (on a 32 bit platform). Other
: than that, I can not see any real problem with the 2038 bug, because no
: one will be using 32 bit computers in 40 years.
See my original comment above! Maybe you're right. But maybe not. The
COBOL coders in 1970 figured we'd all upgrade by Y2K too, and look where
we are. And just think of Y10K....
--
CAUTION: Email Spam Killer in use. Leave this line in your reply! 152680
T-minus 344 Days, 23 Hours, and 27 Minutes until Y2K and counting.
3434298 bytes of spam mail deleted. http://www.wwa.com/~nospam/
------------------------------
From: "David Snyders" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: alt.linux,alt.os.linux,comp.os.linux,comp.os.linux.setup
Subject: Re: [Famous Finn]
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 06:27:00 GMT
C Lamb wrote in message <77i4vc$djb$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
>and it is the only country to successfully invade Russia and win.
I thought that the Finns merely kicked Russia out of Finland. My
understanding
is that they stopped pushing the Russian line back when they reached the
traditional
Finn/Russian border (a river, I think). Russians respect Finns because they
didn't try
to take advantage of them when they had the opportunity. A lesson to be
learned here.
[ I am not a history buff, so take with the appropriate NaCl grains.]
"Runnin' LINUX ain't like dustin' crops, boy!" - H. Solo
------------------------------
From: Raymond Doetjes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Possible kernel bug?
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 17:41:33 +0100
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
==============8F5191CB68744D3F9F0B800A
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
It is a commonly known fact that the hacker kernels have leaks and bugs in
them.
Stick with the standard kernels when it is mission critical.
Raymond
Bryan H Kim wrote:
> I have a dual Pentium II system that boots into kernel 2.0.34 and
> 2.1.131, with Debian 2.0. I run a commercial scientific software that
> runs for weeks on end. I normally kde window manager. When I launch two
> single threaded jobs under 2.1.131, initially they go well, showing 99%
> CPU usage for each job. When I log out and log back in, I get either 72%
> CPU for both jobs, or 99% for one and 50% for the other. Most of the
> remaining CPU power is used up by kwm and x server. The system response
> is also extremely slow. When I do the exact same thing in 2.0.34, I
> always get 99% CPU usage for both jobs and excellent system response;
> kwm and x server use very small amounts of CPU as they should. Did
> anyone have this problem before? Is there a fix for 2.1.131?
==============8F5191CB68744D3F9F0B800A
Content-Type: text/x-vcard; charset=us-ascii; name="vcard.vcf"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Description: Card for Raymond Doetjes
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="vcard.vcf"
begin: vcard
fn: Raymond Doetjes
n: Doetjes;Raymond
org: SYNAPSES IT
adr: Overijsselhaven 47;;;Nieuwegein;Utrecht;3433 PH;The Netherlands
email;internet: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
title: programmeur VAB
tel;work: 030 6066411
tel;fax: 030 6067871
x-mozilla-cpt: ;0
x-mozilla-html: FALSE
version: 2.1
end: vcard
==============8F5191CB68744D3F9F0B800A==
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 09:54:20 -0800
From: Brian Rankin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: mkdir fails: too many links
The inefficiencies are well known and the application is being rewritten for
mysql.
I'm not seeking a design alternative, I'm seeking answers to some specific
questions: what does the "too many links" error indicate? Is there a known limit
to the number of directories that can exist at one level? Can that limit be
changed; if so, what's the procedure/parameter? If that number can be increased
we'll have some breathing space.
"James E. Quick" wrote:
> Please take a step back and rethink your question, thus your problem.
>
> Since directories which directly contain very large numbers of links
> are less efficient, why are you trying to do it in the first place?
>
> You are banging your head aginst the wall trying to do something
> that is gauranteed to be an inefficient solution to your problem
> (no matter what your problem is).
>
> Perhaps it would be best to post an explaination of what you
> are trying to design from a functional standpoint. You will
> either think of a better way as you are trying to explain it
> to others, or get more useful feedback from others for a better
> design.
>
> It's been my experience that most things are quite simple to
> implement. If they are not, the flaw usually lies in the design
> or the definition of the problem. I intend no disrespect
> when I say "What is difficult is usually wrong".
> --
> ___ ___ | James E. Quick [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> / / / | Quick & Associates NeXTMail O.K.
> \_/ (_\/ | If only the HMO would cover my allergy to gravity.
> ) |
------------------------------
From: Phil Brutsche <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Linux to Win95 Null-Modem Connection
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 10:41:07 -0600
On Wed, 20 Jan 1999, it was written:
[snip]
> Null modem? Yuck. Could be done, sure. Look up the pppd info about running
> pppd
> as a server on a serial port. Then look up the firewall, IP Masquerade, and
> Network Address Translation (= ip masq) info. Connect to the net with Linux.
> Establish a "dial-up" connection from win95 to the linux pppd machine. Set
> up IP
> forwarding & masquerading. Voila.
But how do you tell Windows to use the null modem? I was trying to do
this myself, and the only "network adapters" Windows could use was either
an actual modem or a network card. I ended up getting a pair of ethernet
cards to go between my Linux box and my parent's Win95 system.
======================================================================
Phil Brutsche [EMAIL PROTECTED] | [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Microsoft: "Where do you want to to today?"
Linux: "Where do you want to go tomorrow?"
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Jeremy Crabtree)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.advocacy,alt.os.linux
Subject: Re: get your money back for Windows preinstalled
Date: 19 Jan 1999 17:44:01 GMT
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Johan Kullstam allegedly wrote:
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] (brian moore) writes:
>
>> On Mon, 18 Jan 1999 16:52:27 -0800,
>> Arthur <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> > One thing intrigues me ... If you read the link, Toshiba refused
>> > to issue a refund according to terms of the EULA. It's seems to
>> > me (although of course IANAL), that refusing to follow the
>> > terms of the agreement (on Toshiba's part) would be breach of
>> > contract (between the buyer and Toshiba). Since I'm sure
>> > the EULA includes lots of things like forbidding reverse
>> > engineering and copying, if they breach the agreement, are
>> > you then free to do all of those nasty things?
>>
>> Yes and no.
>>
>> Consider the case of Microsoft providing no license agreement. You
>> would have no right to make a copy (at all, not even for backup
>> purposes). You could, though, reverse engineer it all you wanted.
>> (Since that is not normally forbidden by copyright law, though that
>> seems to be changing thanks to idiots in Congress.)
>
>ianal.
Neither am I.
> the license agreement does not enable you to do things with
>the software, it *restricts* your rights (by threatening to use
>government force against you).
>
>this is much like `90 day warranties' which *reduce* the warranty you
>would have had.
>
>1) default warranty is one year in most states.
All states, it ws a Federal consumer rights act passed sometime in the
past 3 decades or so. (The name of which, I will post as soon as I can
get it again)
>2) minimun warranty allowed by law is 90 days.
>
>thus the `90 day warranties' is actually a `-275 day warranty'. the
>company hypes the 90 day warranty as if it were a good thing since
More correctly, they are invalid. Manufacturers are required to support
their products for at /least/ one full year.
>1) explicitly denying a warranty wouldn't be a strong selling point.
>2) they are on the hook for providing 90 days in any event.
>
>therefore, offering a 90 day warranty might seem magnanimous, but it
>is merely putting the best possible face on giving you the least
>possible.
It's simply not valid, so one does not need to worry about it.
>incidentally, making backups is a legal right established by the
>courts. license or no, backups are ok.
>
>> A 'License' lists what you may do that is normally forbidden without a
>> license. (True for a drivers license as well as a software license:
>> think of the meaning of 'permission' for license.)
>
>not true. the word license seems to imply that it gives you
>permissions and rights but in reality it can take away rights that you
>would normally have enjoyed.
Read this:
http://www.microtimes.com/157/shrinkwrap.html
--
"Being myself a remarkably stupid fellow, I have had to unteach myself
the difficulties, and now beg to present to my fellow fools the parts
that are not hard" --Silvanus P. Thompson, from "Calculus Made Easy."
------------------------------
From: Gary Momarison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: squid on linux connnecting to NT cache
Date: 20 Jan 1999 09:14:58 -0800
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Gary LaPointe) writes:
[snip]
> Any suggestions?
You could post your networking question on comp.os.linux.networking
------------------------------
From: Nate Collins <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Put Linux on existing D parition?
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 11:07:40 -0500
I recently used FIPS, which came with RH 5.2. It's a non-destructive
repartioner. You have to defrag your drive and make sure there are no
files stored at the end of the drive.
I set aside a 1GB partition on my one and only 6 GB disk.
Charles Packer wrote:
>
> I bought a used Compaq Deskpro that already has the hard drive
> partitioned to a C and D logical drives. Am I going to be able
> to put Linux on the existing D parition without disturbing
> Windows 95 or anything else on the C drive?
>
> The last time I put Linux on a PC was in '95, and I had to
> repartition the whole drive and reformat it. Surely Linux
> has become more user-friendly in the intervening years...
>
> --
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> http://www.clark.net/pub/whatnews/whatnews.html
------------------------------
From: Gary Momarison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Are there any good shareware/GNU animation Packages?
Date: 19 Jan 1999 08:48:35 -0800
"Michael" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> I want to learn about animation but I can't afford Alias Wavefront!
>
> Does anyone know if there is a shareware or better yet freeware package
> that might compete with Alias? Features if not speed.
>
> I realize that I am asking allot but in the Linux world you never know!
Blender? There's a couple links for it in
http://www.aa.net/~swear/pedia/graphics.html
--
Look for Linux info at http://www.dejanews.com/home_ps.shtml and in
Gary's Encyclopedia at http://www.aa.net/~swear/pedia/index.html
------------------------------
From: mlw <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.sys.sun.apps
Subject: Re: StarOffice and Microsoft Office
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 17:13:51 +0000
Timothy J. Lee wrote:
>
> StarOffice looks attractive as an "office" suite that runs on
> Linux, Solaris, and Microsoft OSes, claims to be able to use
> Microsoft Office documents, and is less expensive than Microsoft
> Office. (http://www.stardivision.com)
>
> For a group of users used to using Microsoft Office (and passing
> around Microsoft documents due to existing licenses of Microsoft
> Office), what kind of issues, if any, could there be for:
>
> a. Some users use StarOffice while others use Microsoft Office
> (i.e. file formats and the like -- are they totally compatible,
> or are there some things that don't work so well?).
> b. Users used to Microsoft Office using StarOffice for the first
> time -- will they have significant problems?
I have been Applix, and am quite happy with it. I'm curious why did you
choose Star Office?
--
Mohawk Software
Windows 95, Windows NT, UNIX, Linux. Applications, drivers, support.
Visit the Mohawk Software website: www.mohawksoft.com
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Alexander Viro)
Subject: Re: mkdir fails: too many links
Date: 20 Jan 1999 13:05:25 -0500
In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
Brian Rankin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>The inefficiencies are well known and the application is being rewritten for
>mysql.
>
>I'm not seeking a design alternative, I'm seeking answers to some specific
>questions: what does the "too many links" error indicate? Is there a known limit
>to the number of directories that can exist at one level? Can that limit be
>changed; if so, what's the procedure/parameter? If that number can be increased
>we'll have some breathing space.
Sorry, nope. There is a limit. 32000 is a bit arbitrary, but 65535 is *hard*
limit here. And yes, 32000 is in the kernel (include/linux/ext2_fs.h)
--
"You're one of those condescending Unix computer users!"
"Here's a nickel, kid. Get yourself a better computer" - Dilbert.
------------------------------
** FOR YOUR REFERENCE **
The service address, to which questions about the list itself and requests
to be added to or deleted from it should be directed, is:
Internet: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
You can send mail to the entire list (and comp.os.linux.misc) via:
Internet: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Linux may be obtained via one of these FTP sites:
ftp.funet.fi pub/Linux
tsx-11.mit.edu pub/linux
sunsite.unc.edu pub/Linux
End of Linux-Misc Digest
******************************
