Subject: Linux-Misc Digest #593
From: Digestifier <Linux-Misc-Request@senator-bedfellow.MIT.EDU>
To: Linux-Misc@senator-bedfellow.MIT.EDU
Reply-To: Linux-Misc@senator-bedfellow.MIT.EDU
Date:     Thu, 27 Jan 94 14:26:16 EST

Linux-Misc Digest #593, Volume #1                Thu, 27 Jan 94 14:26:16 EST

Contents:
  [q] about AX25 and Net2Debugged (Donald Jeff Dionne)
  Re: Advice on multi-serial cards wanted... (Byron A Jeff)
  Re: Linux as X-Terminal? No! (Kelly Murray)
  Re: Linux as X-Terminal? No! (Amancio Hasty Jr)
  Re: MSDOS Better than Linux (Chris Royle)
  Re: HELP!  Added DAT drive to system and can't access (Stephen R. Savitzky)
  Re: Linux as X-Terminal? No! (Larry Pyeatt)
  Re: desktop capability under Linux (Allan Adler)
  Re: How much disk for Slackware 1.1.1 (Scott Derrick)
  Re: Advice on multi-serial cards wanted... (Mark Morley)
  SB16 SCSI-2 and Linux ????????? (Jaime A. Jofre)
  Re: Advice on multi-serial cards wanted... ("Eric Jeschke")
  Re: [help!?] problem: Adaptec 1742 /Maxtor SCSI, more info... (brianhinkle on BIX)
  Re: Linux as X-Terminal? No! (Mark A. Davis)
  Hilfe zu JTeX ?! (O_DABRUNZ@AMTRASH.comlink.de)
  Re: Advice on multi-serial cards wanted... (Carl Boernecke)
  Re: Most stable filesystem? (Rob Janssen)
  Re: NEC CDR-25 (Ken Firestone)
  Re: How much disk for Slackware 1.1.1 (Jay Maynard)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: jeff@ee.ryerson.ca (Donald Jeff Dionne)
Subject: [q] about AX25 and Net2Debugged
Date: 24 Jan 1994 17:32:20 GMT


I just cannot figure out what I'm doing wrong with this AX25 stuff...

I've got it compiled into the 99pl14t kernel, and that seems ok.  (BTW
if you use the pcsnd patch, you will have to change the major number of
one of them.  The cheese sound patch is your best bet, remember to
make change the appropriate stuff in /dev, the AX25 stuff I think you 
should leave alone...)  

Anyhow, the listen program from the package ax25user.tgz works great,
so I think that I patched the stuff into the kernel right.  'Had to 
move some header files around.  But when I try anything that is supposto
transmit, when the thing tries to bind the outgoing socket with the 
destination call sign, it reports 

bind: Cannot assign requested adderss

Perhaps this has something to do with the ARP table?  Any insite that 
anyone can give would be apprecated.  I posted to c.o.l.h about this, 
and no one there replied, so here I go again!

73!!! de JEFF / VE3DJF

Internet Jeff@ee.Ryerson.Ca
AMPRnet  VE3DJF@bbs.VE3RPI.ampr.org
AX25     VE3DJF@VE3RPI.#SCON.ON.CAN.NOAM

Linus is a code poet, Bill Gates is a bean counter...

------------------------------

From: byron@cc.gatech.edu (Byron A Jeff)
Subject: Re: Advice on multi-serial cards wanted...
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 17:36:39 GMT

In article <2hvp5h$b4f@icicle.winternet.mpls.mn.us>,
Michael Horwath <drechsau@winternet.mpls.mn.us> wrote:
>Mark and Mark (Bentley knows me :):
>
>If you are going to go above about 8 ports, try out a termserver.  I just
>got one for StarNet (the winternet.... address uses one) is just great.
>
>Remove the IRQ load off of your machine, with that many lines, I would
>rather have interrupts created for the ether than for upteen serial ports.
>
>Yes, I know, the interrupts are fast and services regulary, but with the
>ANNEX Micro XL I have, I can have it send packets based on how many 
>characters received or a timeout, which ever comes first, and can run
>all 16 ports at 57600 without adding the load of 16 serial ports on the
>machine itself.

OK Mike,

How much does it cost?

I can put together a 386/40 (or mabe even 486DLC/40 or IBM 486SLC2/66),
8 Megs of memory,2 STB 4ports (with 16550s), floppy, case + PS and Enet
card for about $660. 

How much is an annex?

BAJ
---
Another random extraction from the mental bit stream of...
Byron A. Jeff - PhD student operating in parallel!
Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332   Internet: byron@cc.gatech.edu

------------------------------

From: kem@prl.ufl.edu (Kelly Murray)
Crossposted-To: comp.windows.x.i386unix
Subject: Re: Linux as X-Terminal? No!
Date: 24 Jan 1994 18:32:28 GMT

In article <hastyCK4Dq5.Hqs@netcom.com>, hasty@netcom.com (Amancio Hasty Jr) writes:
|> >
|> >Not to my knowledge- but rest assured that Xterminal speeds will most likely
|> >increase also (its not an industry in a vacuum).  Personally, I think that
|> >100k xstones is about all that is needed in most circomstances- it is very
|> >much more comfortable than the < 10k xstone performance of typical ET4000
|> >cards (a factor of 10) ; but I'm not sure that a factor of ten more
|> >(1,000,000) would be that much more noticable (perhaps a human perception
|> >thing).
|> Would not be surprised to see a special ASIC to handle the X protocols
|> to generate 1,000,000k xstones (Please don't ask me about this because this
|> all I know)
|> 
|> As far as I am concerned the et4000 is obsolete;nevertheless, I understand
|> your point. The current 2D technology in the leading graphic card's
|> technology such as the Viper, Matrox MGA, #9 S3 928 based cards are
|> perhaps more than adequate performance wise. However, once we
|> entered animation, 3D graphics, Video, or Virtual Reality I don't see a 
|> place for X terminals.

(just couldn't let this go by without comment  :-)

X terminals will make just as much sense in the future as they do now.
As we move towards multi-media, it may make /more/ sense to use X-terminals,
since you have all this extra hardware you need to buy, and you'll want 
to share it to be cost effective.  How do you do this?  
For the last 20 years, communication costs have been high, computation
costs have been low.  10mb/sec ethernet, and 20 MIPS cpus.  
But fiber-optics are going to dramatically turn this completely around.
Communication will become cheap and fast.  
Sending audio and video to an Xterminal will not be a problem.
Generating 3D and video, digitizing, and storing it will be a problem,
and that can be done by a shared resource.

This is all in the future.  You must realize that ASCII terminals and interfaces
are /still/ used by many thousands of people.


-- Kelly Murray  (kem@prl.ufl.edu) 
University of Florida Parallel Research Lab  :: 96-node KSR1, 64-node nCUBE
Send mail to ncx@netcom.com for deals on Actix S3 Video cards:
ISA Actix GE32 1mb: $129, GE32+2mb: $179, Ultra+2mbVram: $299
=========================================================================

------------------------------

Crossposted-To: comp.windows.x.i386unix
From: hasty@netcom.com (Amancio Hasty Jr)
Subject: Re: Linux as X-Terminal? No!
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 18:55:28 GMT

In article <1994Jan24.131959.434@taylor.wyvern.com> mark@taylor.wyvern.com (Mark A. Davis) writes:
>hasty@netcom.com (Amancio Hasty Jr) writes:
>
>>>
>>>Not to my knowledge- but rest assured that Xterminal speeds will most likely
>>>increase also (its not an industry in a vacuum).  Personally, I think that
>>>100k xstones is about all that is needed in most circomstances- it is very
>>>much more comfortable than the < 10k xstone performance of typical ET4000
>>>cards (a factor of 10) ; but I'm not sure that a factor of ten more
>>>(1,000,000) would be that much more noticable (perhaps a human perception
>>>thing).
>
>>Would not be surprised to see a special ASIC to handle the X protocols
>>to generate 1,000,000k xstones (Please don't ask me about this because this
>>all I know)
>
>Wow
>
>>As far as I am concerned the et4000 is obsolete;nevertheless, I understand
>>your point. The current 2D technology in the leading graphic card's
>>technology such as the Viper, Matrox MGA, #9 S3 928 based cards are
>>perhaps more than adequate performance wise. However, once we
>>entered animation, 3D graphics, Video, or Virtual Reality I don't see a 
>>place for X terminals.
>
>Why?  That might be a silly thing to say- I have herd of PEX terminals....
>who knows what the future holds!  Perhaps extensions to X will make remote
>and distributed 3-D/video/etc graphics doable. 

I doubt that PEX will take off in the 3D arena, if PEX does take off
it will require lots of floating point power and hardware assist
and will place the X terminal almost in the same class as a workstation.


>>My current pet projects are sound and a Virtual Reality system and
>>I will deliver :-)
>
>What kind of virtual reality?

Well,  about VR got nothing say about it right now...

        Cheers,
        Amancio

-- 
FREE unix, gcc, tcp/ip, X, open-look, interviews, tcl/tk, MIME, midi, sound
at  freebsd.cdrom.com:/pub/FreeBSD
Amancio Hasty,  Consultant |
Home: (415) 495-3046       |  
e-mail hasty@netcom.com    |  ftp-site depository of all my work:    
ahasty@cisco.com           |  sunvis.rtpnc.epa.gov:/pub/386bsd/X

------------------------------

From: Chris Royle <car1002@cus.cam.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: MSDOS Better than Linux
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 19:14:43 GMT

Julian D Glover (univ0020@black.ox.ac.uk) wrote:
> In terms of real world work you lusers should realise that MS-DOS and
> MS-Windows is far better than some half assed Unix toy, get a life and
> pay for your software like everyone else you spongers.

Fraid not sucker... I get *twice* the performance out of my machine under
Linux than I do from DOS, together with which I have get far better 
integration with the major facilities here at our considerably more upmarket
university than yours is. 

I suggest you present a more reasonable and reasoned argument before you
lash out like that, and then perhaps people might actually take some notice
of you.

DOS is good for some things, Linux better for others. Each to his own --
you're out of line, and you know it.

Chris.


--
Chris Royle               "In the sex war, insensitivity is the weapon of the
Managing Director          male, vindictiveness of the female". C. Connoly (?)
Objectronix Limited        c@royle.org              (Internet)
Leeds, UK 0850 668151      car1002@uk.ac.cam.cus (JANET)

------------------------------

From: steve@crc.ricoh.COM (Stephen R. Savitzky)
Subject: Re: HELP!  Added DAT drive to system and can't access
Date: 24 Jan 1994 18:14:39 GMT

You didn't post the exact text of the error message you're getting,
but it's possible that the problem is not that it can't find the
device, but that it can't write.  I seem to remember that tar's error
messages aren't exactly informative.  Check to make sure that

  /dev/rmt0 is readable and writable by you
  There is a tape in the drive
  The tape is not write protected.
  You have waited long enough for the tape to load (about 30 seconds
  on my HP drive)

Also try doing "mt rewind", which will at least give you a different
set of error messages.

--
\ --Steve Savitzky--  \    343 Leigh Ave   \ Cyberspace is an alternate
 \ steve@crc.ricoh.COM \ San Jose, CA 95128 \  universe where magic works.
  \ w: 415-496-5710     \   h:408-294-6492   \       Free Cyberia!
   \_________________________________________________________________________

------------------------------

Crossposted-To: comp.windows.x.i386unix
From: pyeatt@CS.ColoState.EDU (Larry Pyeatt)
Subject: Re: Linux as X-Terminal? No!
Date: 24 Jan 94 17:36:05 GMT


In article <hastyCK4Dq5.Hqs@netcom.com>, hasty@netcom.com (Amancio Hasty Jr) writes:
|> Would not be surprised to see a special ASIC to handle the X protocols
|> to generate 1,000,000k xstones (Please don't ask me about this because this
|> all I know)
|> 
|> As far as I am concerned the et4000 is obsolete;nevertheless, I understand
|> your point. 

I don't think I'll even ask what you think about my et3000.  It was really
pretty good when I bought it 6 or 7 years ago.  I suppose it is time to
upgrade.  What is a good accelerated VLB card to give me at least
1280x1024x256?  Then I will have to replace my monitor.  My current 30Mhz
bandwidth can barely handle 720x540.  Pretty sad.

-- 
Larry D. Pyeatt                   All standard disclaimers apply.
pyeatt@cs.colostate.edu           Void where prohibited.

------------------------------

From: ara@zurich.ai.mit.edu (Allan Adler)
Crossposted-To: comp.text.desktop
Subject: Re: desktop capability under Linux
Date: 24 Jan 94 14:25:41


Both possibilities present useful options, although I tend to favor
solutions that use plain TeX. However, there are additional prssibilities:
inclusion of digital images produced by optical scanners, for example.
To use a digital scanner with linux one must have a way of getting
linux to talk to the optical scanner. Does one? 

Allan Adler
ara@altdorf.ai.mit.edu

------------------------------

From: scot@as215-ws-20.ucsc.edu (Scott Derrick)
Subject: Re: How much disk for Slackware 1.1.1
Date: 24 Jan 1994 20:01:01 GMT
Reply-To: scot@cats.ucsc.edu


   Rick Slater <slater@nrlssc.navy.mil> wrote:
   >A minimal installation would probably consist of only the three A disks
   >and the four AP disks.  That would occupy fewer than 20 megabytes of
   >disk.  If you left the AP disks out, you would need around 10 megs of
   >space, but you couldn't do much with what you had. -- Rick

   Actually, you can do better than that, if you're careful about what you 
   install. I installed pieces of the A, AP, N, and Y packages on my system, and 
   have quite a usable system in 15 meg (+about 9 meg of swap partition). The key 
   is leaving off some notorious disk hogs...like, for example, Ghostscript.


By usable, do you mean you have an editor, wordproccesor, programming
tools, standard unix tools, printing capability, X-windows?  Or do you
mean that you have an operating system?


--
===============================================
Scott Derrick              | Yahoo Productions
scot@cats.ucsc.edu         |
(408) 335-7373             | "Make it so!"
===============================================   

------------------------------

From: morley@suncad.camosun.bc.ca (Mark Morley)
Subject: Re: Advice on multi-serial cards wanted...
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 18:11:13 GMT

Michael Horwath (drechsau@winternet.mpls.mn.us) wrote:

: If you are going to go above about 8 ports, try out a termserver.  I just
: got one for StarNet (the winternet.... address uses one) is just great.

Yes, good idea.  We're currently looking for good (inexpensive) TS's. 
People should be aware of the tradeoff though (as I understand it):

   TS's telnet you into the host in question, correct?  This means that a
   telnetd is invoked for each connection, meaning more RAM is used via
   this method than with serial cards.  The load on the host is less though.

Is this accurate?

: Yes, I know, the interrupts are fast and services regulary, but with the
: ANNEX Micro XL I have, I can have it send packets based on how many 
: characters received or a timeout, which ever comes first, and can run
: all 16 ports at 57600 without adding the load of 16 serial ports on the
: machine itself.

Have any more info on the ANEX?  Cost, ports, features...  I only need
TCP/IP (Decnet and others NOT required at all).  Reverse telnet might be
nice down the road...  rthe ability to set inactivity timeouts, define
menus, etc. are nice but not necessary.

One more question on TS's... what about file transfer problems?  If a TS
is set to auto-telnet into a host machine, can it be set to do it in 8 bit
mode?  Our users must be able to up/download files with Zmodem without any
"tricks" like having to first manually put the line in binary mode.  (I'm
a newbie with TS's so please be patient :-)

Mark

------------------------------

Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.help,comp.os.linux.development
From: jjofre@etsd.ml.com (Jaime A. Jofre)
Subject: SB16 SCSI-2 and Linux ?????????
Reply-To: jjofre@etsd.ml.com
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 19:45:20 GMT

Hi,
  Is the Sounblaster 16 SCSI2 interface supported by any of the Linux
SCSI drivers?  The tech support guy at Creative Labs said that the card
uses an Adaptec 1610 chip.  Any hints?  Thanks in advanced,

Jaime



------------------------------

From: "Eric Jeschke" <jeschke@cs.indiana.edu>
Subject: Re: Advice on multi-serial cards wanted...
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 13:48:41 -0500

byron@cc.gatech.edu (Byron A Jeff) writes:
:I can put together a 386/40 (or mabe even 486DLC/40 or IBM 486SLC2/66),
:8 Megs of memory,2 STB 4ports (with 16550s), floppy, case + PS and Enet
:card for about $660. 

Excuse me, but could you elaborate on how to do this for a 486 for $660?
Considering the cheapest 486 systems are hovering around $1000 mail-order
I'm just curious as to where you can scrounge the pieces for this kind
of system for $660.  The mail-order places are operating on pretty thin
margins as it is.

-- 
Eric Jeschke                      |          Indiana University
jeschke@cs.indiana.edu            |     Computer Science Department
eric%marmot@moose.cs.indiana.edu  |

------------------------------

From: brianhinkle@BIX.com (brianhinkle on BIX)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.help,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: [help!?] problem: Adaptec 1742 /Maxtor SCSI, more info...
Date: 24 Jan 94 03:54:32 GMT


Re: Maxtor and Adaptec 1742
If the motherboard uses the Opti HiNT chipset (super ISA) then you'll
need to use a hex editor on the Adaptec's Eisa CFG file. I have not
done this myself, but I know you need to change "Level Triggered" 
interrrupts to "Edge triggered" interrupts and Share=yes to Share=no.
Take care. 

------------------------------

Crossposted-To: comp.windows.x.i386unix
From: mark@taylor.wyvern.com (Mark A. Davis)
Subject: Re: Linux as X-Terminal? No!
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 19:58:42 GMT

kem@prl.ufl.edu (Kelly Murray) writes:

>This is all in the future.  You must realize that ASCII terminals and interfaces
>are /still/ used by many thousands of people.

You could probably bump that up to millions :)
-- 
  /--------------------------------------------------------------------------\
  | Mark A. Davis    | Lake Taylor Hospital | Norfolk, VA (804)-461-5001x431 |
  | Sys.Administrator|  Computer Services   | mark@taylor.wyvern.com   .uucp |
  \--------------------------------------------------------------------------/

------------------------------

From: O_DABRUNZ@AMTRASH.comlink.de
Subject: Hilfe zu JTeX ?!
Date: Sun, 23 Jan 1994 18:28:00 +0100

Hello Everybody!

As I am trying to produce Japanese Text Output in acceptable quality,
I came across JTeX (Version 1.6). But although I can read a little
japanese, I failed in understanding the README files. Thus I need help
by someone who did the installation before, or who has, by chance, an
english installation documentation. Even some hints would mean a great
help to me. If you have any idea that could help me, please let me know !

Thanks a lot, Olaf.
--
--
USENET: o_dabrunz@amtrash.comlink.de
Z-Netz: O_DABRUNZ@AMTRASH.ZER
## CrossPoint v2.1 ##

------------------------------

From: carlb@inex.com (Carl Boernecke)
Subject: Re: Advice on multi-serial cards wanted...
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 21:26:42 GMT

byron@cc.gatech.edu (Byron A Jeff) writes:
>In article <2hvp5h$b4f@icicle.winternet.mpls.mn.us>,
>Michael Horwath <drechsau@winternet.mpls.mn.us> wrote:
>>Mark and Mark (Bentley knows me :):
>>
>>If you are going to go above about 8 ports, try out a termserver.  I just
>>got one for StarNet (the winternet.... address uses one) is just great.
>>
>>Remove the IRQ load off of your machine, with that many lines, I would
>>rather have interrupts created for the ether than for upteen serial ports.
>>
>>Yes, I know, the interrupts are fast and services regulary, but with the
>>ANNEX Micro XL I have, I can have it send packets based on how many 
>>characters received or a timeout, which ever comes first, and can run
>>all 16 ports at 57600 without adding the load of 16 serial ports on the
>>machine itself.

>OK Mike,

>How much does it cost?

Too much.

>I can put together a 386/40 (or mabe even 486DLC/40 or IBM 486SLC2/66),
>8 Megs of memory,2 STB 4ports (with 16550s), floppy, case + PS and Enet
>card for about $660. 

Ah, someone that follows the same path as me -- I have two 386
machines that are Linux-based 'terminal servers' on my ethernet,
which are configured just like your estimate; almost.

>How much is an annex?

That's not the point.  Rather, what folks don't understand is
that you'll save a lot of CPU time on your main machine if you
unload the ports to another, and route them through your ether-
net.  Perhaps I should scribble-up a text on Linux Boxes as
Terminal Servers.  Heck, I have enough practice with them.  :)

-- 
-- Carl Boernecke (carlb@inex.com [MIME-ready])
   "Remember to drive carefully.  90% of all people are caused by
   accidents."

------------------------------

From: rob@pe1chl.ampr.org (Rob Janssen)
Subject: Re: Most stable filesystem?
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 1994 23:09:31 GMT
Reply-To: pe1chl@rabo.nl

In <1994Jan24.161536@cs.man.ac.uk> chardi@cs.man.ac.uk (Ian Chard) writes:

>Hi,

>I've been using ext2 for a while now, and I've had two filesystem crashes
>(which might have been something to do with a fault in my version of shutdown).

I have been using ext2 since it went into the standard kernel, and I still
have to see my first filesystem crash...   Maybe this has something to do
with the fact that I always have a recent tape backup at hand?  could this
influence file system stability?

Rob
-- 
=========================================================================
| Rob Janssen                | AMPRnet:   rob@pe1chl.ampr.org           |
| e-mail: pe1chl@rabo.nl     | AX.25 BBS: PE1CHL@PI8UTR.#UTR.NLD.EU     |
=========================================================================

------------------------------

From: kenf@clark.net (Ken Firestone)
Subject: Re: NEC CDR-25
Date: 25 Jan 1994 03:29:54 GMT

Brandon S. Allbery (bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org) wrote:
: In article <2i0676$mk3@werple.apana.org.au>, ernie@werple.apana.org.au (Ernie Elu) says:
: +---------------
: | Does any one know if an NEC CDR-25 which is their low speed external SCSI 
: | CD ROM drive will work with Linux ? I have the opportunity to pick one up
: | cheap, but there is no point if it doesn't work with Linux.
: +---------------

: I got read errors trying to mount a CDROM on one.  Moreover, you'd want a
: separate SCSI interface for it if you ever want SCSI hard drives, because it
: locks the bus while it's reading... which takes a LOOOONG time...

: ++Brandon
: -- 
: Brandon S. Allbery       kf8nh@kf8nh.ampr.org          bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org
: "MSDOS didn't get as bad as it is overnight -- it took over ten years
: of careful development."  ---dmeggins@aix1.uottawa.ca

I have been using the NEC CDR 25 with Linux ever since I got Linux. Other 
than being a tad slow, it is just fine.  The problem is not with the 
drive, but with the SCSI controller.  The one that comes with it from Nec 
is useless.  Use it with a real SCSI controller, like the Adaptec 1542b. 
The trick is to disable the parity check on the controller(I think that 
was it) as the NEC cdr25 doesn't support it. 

BTW (brag,brag) I got mine from a local CompUSA with the useless 
controller, a cable for the useless controller, software for ms-dos, and 
a nice 8 bit soundcard that also works with Linux for $100. The useless 
controller will probably wind up in my wife's computer, as it never runs 
a real os.

--

============================================================================
Ken Firestone, N3JBU     | If you look at things right, its best not to know 
kenf@clark.net           | who you really are. Because anything that happens 
                         | to anybody who doesn't know who he really is 
                         | actually happens to somebody else. So it makes no 
                         | difference at all. -- Nelson Algren.  
============================================================================

------------------------------

From: jmaynard@nyx10.cs.du.edu (Jay Maynard)
Subject: Re: How much disk for Slackware 1.1.1
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 02:21:10 GMT

In article <SCOT.94Jan24120102@as215-ws-20.ucsc.edu>,
Scott Derrick <scot@cats.ucsc.edu> wrote:
>By usable, do you mean you have an editor,

Yes, but not EMACS (oink!).

> wordproccesor,

I wasn't aware that there _was_ a wordprocessor. (TeX (oink!) doesn't count; 
it's a textual programming language.)

> programming tools,

No, and that's the major omission from your list. I'm going to load GCC 
(oink!) out there, but I don't expect to have a lot of room left.

> standard unix tools,

Yes.

> printing capability,

I think it's in there; if not, it's not too big.

> X-windows?

Oink. I've been using Unixen for years, and only got to a system with X in the 
past month or so.

>  Or do you mean that you have an operating system?

I guess that depends on what you mean by "just an OS." You didn't ask about 
networking (most of which I installed, but I left out pine (oink!)), or games 
(admittedly non-essential; I could scrape them off and save a meg and a half 
or so).

I got Linux to serve as a network communications tool and basic Unix user box. 
It does that just fine for me. It could serve as a programmer's system at the 
cost of a few more megabytes. Unix-class systems can be lean and mean; most of 
the reason it's lost that reputation is that programmers who design software 
to run on systems other people pay for have forgotten how to write tight, fast 
code. Linux itself, and a fair number of the utilities that go with it, are 
happy exceptions.
--
Jay Maynard, EMT-P, K5ZC, PP-ASEL | Never ascribe to malice that which can
jmaynard@oac.hsc.uth.tmc.edu      | adequately be explained by stupidity.
        "A good flame is fuel to warm the soul." -- Karl Denninger

------------------------------


** 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: Linux-Misc-Request@NEWS-DIGESTS.MIT.EDU

You can send mail to the entire list (and comp.os.linux.misc) via:

    Internet: Linux-Misc@NEWS-DIGESTS.MIT.EDU

Linux may be obtained via one of these FTP sites:
    nic.funet.fi				pub/OS/Linux
    tsx-11.mit.edu				pub/linux
    sunsite.unc.edu				pub/Linux

End of Linux-Misc Digest
******************************
