Subject: Linux-Misc Digest #188
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:     Mon, 30 May 94 01:13:06 EDT

Linux-Misc Digest #188, Volume #2                Mon, 30 May 94 01:13:06 EDT

Contents:
  Re: A replacement for File Compare (CMP) (Robert Sanders)
  Re: Fatal Linux Networking problem - help !! (Brendan Murray)
  reset *doesn't* work, emacs does (Berk Walker)
  Re: who wants POV for Linux ??? (las@light-house.uucp)
  Re: Looking for Linux BBS Software (Soeren M Soerries)
  Use of apple SCSI drives possible? (Tim Bandy)
  Best notebook for Linux? (Bich-Cau Le)
  DRAM in #9GXE L11 / font cache (Bob Kupiec)
  Re: Linux for the masses? (WordProcessing again) (Byron A Jeff)
  Re: Use of apple SCSI drives possible? (Tim Smith)
  Re: Term 116 at sunsite.unc.edu (Michael O'Reilly)
  Re: Best notebook for Linux? (Barry Yip kam-wa)
  This SLIP ought to work! (Steve McMahon)

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

From: gt8134b@prism.gatech.edu (Robert Sanders)
Subject: Re: A replacement for File Compare (CMP)
Date: 29 May 1994 17:33:55 -0400

anon0b24@nyx10.cs.du.edu (Doom Guard) writes:

>Tho Linux beats DOS in almost everything, the FC that comes with DOS
>blows Linux's CMP away... Anyone have a good replacement so I don't have
>to keeep on renaming fools and booting DOS to compare files? Plainly
>I want CMP to continue comparing after the first difference, and to
>also show the area around the difference. This is so I can tell the
>difference between successive versions of C files. Thanks.

Um, you're using the wrong tool.  If you want to see the differences
between files, use 'diff'.  I use "diff -c" for what are called
context diffs; another popular format (unified diff) can be generated
by "diff -u".  

A nice interface to diff is the 'ediff' mode included with GNU Emacs
19.24.

-- 
 _g,  '96 --->>>>>>>>>>   gt8134b@prism.gatech.edu  <<<<<<<<<---  CompSci  ,g_
W@@@W__        |-\      ^        | disclaimer:  <---> "Bow before ZOD!" __W@@@W
W@@@@**~~~'  ro|-<ert s/_\ nders |   who am I???  ^  from Superman  '~~~**@@@@W
`*MV' hi,ocie! |-/ad! /   \ss!!  | ooga ooga!!    |    II (cool)!         `VW*'

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

From: brendan@news.otago.ac.nz (Brendan Murray)
Subject: Re: Fatal Linux Networking problem - help !!
Date: Sun, 29 May 1994 21:21:14 GMT

Larry Doolittle (doolitt@cebaf4.cebaf.gov) wrote:
> In article <1994May24.104517.7033@uk.ac.swan.pyr>, iiitac@uk.ac.swan.pyr
> (Alan Cox) writes:
> > In article <james-230594172726@139.80.104.44>
> james@physics.otago.ac.nz (James Brundell) writes:
> > >This was the response from our University Computer Services Centre System
> > >Manager after our department successfully connected a linux box to our
> > >local network (and hence the world) !!
> > >Any comments or suggestions ?
> > >
> > >>He's welcome to connect it to the net IF:
> > >>        1. An appropriately authorised person holds the 'root' password. 
> > Sounds sensible - responsibility is important.
> > >>        2. He doesn't unless he's 1 , which he won't be unless he
> spends $900
> > >>                to learn sysadmin from me
> > This is suspicious. Do the university have a formal policy that allows admins
> > to forcibly charge $900 - I'd really urgently talk to some student 
> > representatives. I suspect (and hope) he is well outside university
> rules here
> > and heading into the realm of extortion


Coincidentally theres a course offered by the Computing Services Centre
of the University of Otago on 'Unix Systems Administration' which (
coincidentally again ) I have to teach. OU runs under a systems of full
cost recovery so EVERYTHING gets charged for so, yes, it'll cost him the
course fee for a 5 day course. Thats about 1/2 the commercial cost BTW -
and the course/s are heavily oversubscribed. 

The course is one means of becoming 'qualified' to run multi-user on
campus. Demonstrated expertise is another, and other training is yet
another.

> There is another answer to all of this - if you are willing to
> live with reduced functionality while you learn-by-doing,
> turn off inetd!  You can still telnet/ftp/X/mail *OUT*, but
> there are no holes coming *IN*.  ObCourse, you cannot recieve
> mail or check your files from remote machine, but that is a
> small price to pay for being able to sleep at night (instead
> of monitoring comp.unix.security 24hrs/day).

> You should also make sure rpc.portmapper is off.


and he'll then be in direct breach of uni policy and rules for
connection to the campus net, so he will then be subject to university
regs and discipline.



The matter is simple:
        1. there are rules, set by the Uni, through the computing 
           services centre.
        2. he broke them

Result:
        I sent a request through the department in which he is a student
        to ensure that he complied with the rules and sent a list of
        criteria by which he could comply with the rules. The department
        responded immediately and with good grace. 


Whether the rules are stupid, or whether we have things set up
differently from the rest of the universe, or whatever, you are welcome
to discuss to your heart's content. The chap with the 'difficulty' is
subject to the conditions at OU and he's welcome to work through his
department to get the rules changed. 



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

From: berk@kaiwan.com (Berk Walker)
Subject: reset *doesn't* work, emacs does
Date: 29 May 1994 15:20:54 -0700


screen/prompt fixes.. as an answer

-- 
Berk Walker - Member: Bill Nelson Fan Club        internet: berk@kaiwan.com
13 Years, Tech. Support - 10 Years Tech. Support Management - AVAILABLE NOW
Offset Lithography, Computers, Electronics, Mechanics 818.766.8993 (voice)
                        OSHA/CALOSHA COMPLIANCE

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

Crossposted-To: comp.graphics.raytracing
From: las@light-house.uucp
Subject: Re: who wants POV for Linux ???
Date: Sun, 29 May 1994 17:40:25 GMT
Reply-To: whome!light-house!las@planix.com

Alexandre Rousseau (alexr@willow.login.qc.ca) wrote:
: In article <1994May26.191816.3317@light-house.uucp> las@light-house.uucp writes:
: > 
: > POV has been available for Linux since POV 1.0 and there are many
: > "unofficial versions"  floating around, one of them uses the Linux
: > SVGALIB.
: > 
: > A supported version would be a good idea, although I'd think that
: > many people would not go for X. 
: > 
: > Regards,
: > 
: > Laszlo

: Why not for X ?


X is fine. But there always was an Xpov in the standard distribution of POV,
so there is no point in making another Xpov specifically for Linux. 


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

Crossposted-To: alt.bbs,alt.bbs.unixbbs,comp.bbs.misc
From: soeren@beansidhe.westfalen.de (Soeren M Soerries)
Subject: Re: Looking for Linux BBS Software
Date: Sun, 29 May 1994 17:52:21 GMT

blarg@blarg1.blarg.com (Blarg!) writes:

>I'm interested since I'm currently working on setting up a Unix BBS under
>Linux, and am currently hacking the sh*t out of ix/Mbox in order to get
>it to work with a FQDN instead of UUCP, and adding in RIP graphics 
>capabilities.  I'm working with v1.6 PL10j7.....


ix/Mbox is version 2.1, sub-release 2.2 is due to be out in

   comp.sources.misc

in the next couple of days... (or weeks ?)


  Soeren


#-------------------------------------
I'm trying to find out if there is an ftp-site that has the current
ix/MBox release.  In case there isn't, mail requests for the source
to my address.  I will then build a packet of the newest sources and
all patches I can get, and mail it to you all who are interested.
I guess it will be 400 to 500 K ... =)

Allow me some time (a week or two) to wait for all requests to arrive
(for some ppl, mail will take days to arrive, other ppl will have to
wait for days to see this article in the first place) and to get as
many patches as possible in it...

-- 
Soeren M Soerries,  Muenster  ooo.  ooooo ,oo.  oo oo,ooo. *  ooo.  oo oo ooooo
soeren@beansidhe.ms.sub.org  d8oob d8oo  d8odP dP8dP 8oo. op dP db d8odP d8oo
vox 0251-51378, data-56822  d8ooP'd8ooo dP dP dP 8P booP'dP d8ooP dP dP d8ooo

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

From: timn8r@piranha.micro.umn.edu (Tim Bandy)
Subject: Use of apple SCSI drives possible?
Date: Sun, 29 May 1994 22:52:46 GMT

Hello all,
        I was wondering if anyone knew if it was possible to use an apple
SCSI hard drive with the apple ROMs on a pc without getting new ROMs.  I had
heard that this might make it very difficult.  I don't want to read the info
off of the mac filesystem, just do a low-level format on the disk.  Is this
possible?
Thanks

--
Tim Bandy (timn8r@mermaid.micro.umn.edu)
University of Minnesota
Look out for the obvious; it may sneak up behind you.

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

From: leb@cs.ucdavis.edu (Bich-Cau Le)
Subject: Best notebook for Linux?
Date: Sun, 29 May 1994 23:51:10 GMT

I would like to buy a notebook computer for the sole purpose
of running Linux. I checked the compatibility list and only
found one or two models from 93.

I scanned the different newsgroups and noticed that the two
major problems people run into when trying to install Linux
on a notebook are:

1. fdisk does not recognize the hard disk. (e.g, with Thinkpads)
2. problems running X windows.

Any recommendations?

B.C Le
UC Davis
people 

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

Crossposted-To: comp.windows.x.i386unix
From: kupiec@tigger.jvnc.net (Bob Kupiec)
Subject: DRAM in #9GXE L11 / font cache
Date: Mon, 30 May 1994 00:35:32 GMT

I'm wondering how I can upgrade my #9GXE Level 11 card to accept more
memory.  I notice two free DRAM sockets on the board.  What kind of
chips does it take (type & speed) ?  I tried calling #9 and they said
there is an upgrade kit available for $150 or so.  Does anyone have
this kit?  What do they give you?

The reason behind this is that I'd like to have a (hopefully)
1600x1280 virtual screen.  The 2Mb currently in the card will only do
1280x1024 before running out of memory for a reasonable font cache.

FYI- I'm running Linux 1.0 w/ XFree 2.1.1.

Thanks for you help.
-- 
Bob Kupiec               Email: kupiec@jvnc.net        JvNC (GES, Inc.)
Network Operations       Ham: N3MML                   3 Independence Way
Phone: 609-897-7319      Fax: 609-897-7310            Princeton, NJ 08540

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

From: byron@cc.gatech.edu (Byron A Jeff)
Subject: Re: Linux for the masses? (WordProcessing again)
Date: 29 May 1994 20:37:48 -0400

In article <1994May28.080358.19377@softwks.osgo.ks.he.schule.de>,
Klaus Fueller <klausf@softwks.osgo.ks.he.schule.de> wrote:
>In all this thread I don't see an argument to use Andrew's ez as a
>word-processor.  It seems to me very complete, easyly configurable.  Why
>don't build a word processor on top of it.

1) Because it only runs on X. There is a real need for a text mode system.
   Not everyone has the resources to run X. My students will be major
   users of a WP like this. They work from VT-320 terminals. They can't
   run EZ. EZ can't be run over telnet remotely either. And face it
   unless you're on Ethernet, running X apps remotely is a slow proposition.

2) Because it requires a minimum of 4.5 Meg of Andrew to run.

3) Because it's sometimes not intuitive. I pulled it up yesterday so that
   I can argue from experience about ez. I liked the setup (easy), the
   help (comprehensive), and the interface (easy to use). However I tried
   to set a font on a line of text. After 15 minutes or playing, reading the
   help, fiddling with the mouse and menus, I could not do it.

4) EZ doesn't have precise text layout control. While it does make it
   easy to use, some folks have complained here that tight layout control
   is a must.

5) And a somewhat subtle point. Linux really needs a WordProcessing Product
   that it associated with it. There is no native WP tool for Linux. Everything
   else (EZ and WordPerfect for example) is borrowed. We need a tool that
   is identified with Linux and can do simple to moderate WP tasks. EZ
   can't fit that bill.

So I can say in all honesty that EZ doesn't fill all the needs.

>
>I am asking this because I am about configuring Linux "workstations" for
>schools in Germany.  I plan to use Andrew as a free textprocessing-system.  
>What stands against?

Nothing right now. And Ez can't do it all. That's why we're having this
discussion.

Later,

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

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

From: tzs@u.washington.edu (Tim Smith)
Subject: Re: Use of apple SCSI drives possible?
Date: 30 May 1994 01:44:12 GMT

Tim Bandy <timn8r@piranha.micro.umn.edu> wrote:
>       I was wondering if anyone knew if it was possible to use an apple
>SCSI hard drive with the apple ROMs on a pc without getting new ROMs.  I had

It should work fine.  The only differences I've seen between Apple disks
and other disks are:

        1. Some older Apple disks may not have returned a check condition
        on the first command after a SCSI bus reset (the original Mac Plus
        ROMs could not handle check conditions).

        2. Some of the INQUIRY and/or MODE SENSE data is changed so that
        Apple's SCSI installation software can make sure you are really
        using an Apple drive.

--Tim Smith

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

Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.announce
From: michael@iinet.com.au (Michael O'Reilly)
Subject: Re: Term 116 at sunsite.unc.edu
Reply-To: michael@iinet.com.au (Michael O'Reilly)
Date: Mon, 30 May 1994 01:58:44 GMT

Clarification:

I wrote term. Term 116 was released by bcr@pyhsics.purdue.edu
on my request. I have been snowed under, and have had next to no time
to work on term. (actually, make that NO time). My mailbox
overfloweth, and I'm that far backlogged it ain't funny. Thus, when
Bill got in touch about his share patches, I said "ah hah! Someone who
knows the internal of term AND has time!". Thus I asked him to take
care of the next few releases. 

: It is also believed to be true that Mr. Oreilly proclaimed that Term 1.1.13
: was going to be the final release of Term and that all subsequent 
: releaases are flukes.

See above. 113 was meant to be final cos I was running out of time.

: If this is indeed true, then the version numbers 
: are fare game.

Hmm. I don't know about this! see below.

: In fact, seeing as Term 1.1.16 fixes nearly a dozen minor 
: annoyances in addition to adding two new functions to the client library,
: I'd recommend that everyone get a copy for themselves -- it was very well 
: received on #linux.

: The guy who did 1.1.16 does not seem to have come forward wanting to take 
: over development or anything like that. 

Well, I'll dob him in. :). Having a central person to co-ordinate
releases is much better than ad hoc releases. On the flip side, have
the co-ordinator having the time to make releases.... 

So, I'll dob bill to co-ordinate release. Mail him patches.

: ... I'm sure many people have tried mailing Mr. Oreilly 
: bug fixes (in vain for he doesn't respond to e-mail) for various
: things. 

Yup. Apologies about this. The volume of mail, and the incredibly
small about of spare time I have means that any mail that isn't
personal or of major important gets filed.

Hope this clears things up,
        Michael.
-- 
Michael O'Reilly @ iiNet Technologies, Internet Service providers.
Voice (09) 307 1183, Fax (09) 307 8414. Email michael@iinet.com.au
GCS d? p--(+) c++ l+++ u+ e+ m+ s+++/--- !n h-- f(?) g+ w t-- y+ 
--
Mail submissions for comp.os.linux.announce to: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu
Be sure to include Keywords: and a short description of your software.

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

From: g609296@win.or.jp (Barry Yip kam-wa)
Subject: Re: Best notebook for Linux?
Date: 30 May 94 01:24:52 GMT

Bich-Cau Le (leb@cs.ucdavis.edu) wrote:
>I would like to buy a notebook computer for the sole purpose
>of running Linux. I checked the compatibility list and only
>found one or two models from 93.

>I scanned the different newsgroups and noticed that the two
>major problems people run into when trying to install Linux
>on a notebook are:

>1. fdisk does not recognize the hard disk. (e.g, with Thinkpads)
>2. problems running X windows.

I would like to buy a sub-note and install Linux on it. One concern is
the video chip used is Cirrcus 62?? and the AT bus expansion connetor.
Are these supported by Linux? Particulary I would like to buy an
expansion SCSI adapter using the AT bus connector, it uses an Adaptec
6230 (perhaps?).  The SCSI-howto said this chip is not completely
supported.

I would much appreciate if any one has similar experience post it here
so that we can share the information.

--
Barry Yip
g609296@win.or.jp

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

From: steve.mcmahon@lambada.oit.unc.edu (Steve McMahon)
Subject: This SLIP ought to work!
Date: 30 May 94 04:00:51 GMT

I'm trying to setup up a SLIP link between two computers connected by
a NULL-modem cable. I made sure to compile the kernel with SLIP
support. I had installed the latest Slackware on both machines, and
added this new kernel (1.1.6). I also read the networking HOWTO
several times and the manual pages of the relevant programs.

As per the HOWTO, I first tried slattach. I fired up slattach on both
ends, both with the following command line:

  slattach -s 19200 -p cslip /dev/ttyS0

Contrary to what's in the HOWTO, this command never returns -- on both
ends. So I decided to try dip.

Next, I setup the two machines as follows:

Machine A was called a.my.com, with address 127.0.0.1, i.e. /etc/hosts
has

  127.0.0.1   localhost
  127.0.0.1   a.my.com

and /etc/rc.d/rc.inet2 has

  /sbin/ifconfig lo 127.0.0.1
  /sbin/route add -net 127.0.0.0

Additionally, I hanged a getty of its end of the comm port by adding
to /etc/inittab the following (it was already there, I just
uncommented it):

  s1:45:respawn:/sbin/agetty 19200 ttyS0

Machine B was called b.my.com, with address 126.0.0.1. It's /etc/hosts
and /etc/rd.d/rc.inte2 were adjusted to include the lines:

  126.0.0.1   localhost
  126.0.0.1   b.my.com
  127.0.0.1   a.my.com

and

  /sbin/ifconfig lo 126.0.0.1
  /sbin/route add -net 126.0.0.0

respectively.

I tested that loopback works fine, using telnet and ping.

Then, on machine A, I added the following to /etc/diphosts:

root::126.0.0.1:SLIP ACCOUNT:SLIP,296

Now I started on machine B. Here is what I did (as per the manual):

b:~> dip -t
DIP> port /dev/ttyS0
DIP> speed 19200
DIP> get $remote a.my.com (i.e. 127.0.0.1)
DIP> get $local  b.my.com (i.e. 126.0.0.1)
DIP> get $mts 296
DIP> term

a login: root (logged in to a as root)
a:~> dip -iv

DTP: name=root home=/tmp
     host=a.my.com IP=127.0.0.1
     prot=SLIP MTU=296

Hostname: "126.0.0.1" [126.0.0.1]
Comments: "SLIP ACCOUNT"
Protocol: "SLIP" (1)
IP MTU  : 296

Your IP address is 126.0.0.1. Server address is 127.0.0.1 Starting SLIP

DIP: tty_notlocal cannot TIOCSCTTY: Bad file number
DIP: tty: set_state: Bad file number
DIP: tty_notlocal cannot clr CLOCAL: Bad file number

a:~>

I this point it is clear dip on machine A has died. I don't know what
the meaning of the above error messages are, or what causes them. I
attaempted to continue anyways:

(escaped to dip on machine B by typeing ^])

DIP> mode SLIP

Dip then went into the background, and I was was dropped to the shell
in machine B:

b:~> ping a.my.com
PING a.my.com (127.0.0.1): 56 data bytes

then it hung there, pressing ^C produced:

--- a.my.com ping statistics ---
50 packets transmitted, 0 packets received, 100% packet loss

Clearly the connetced is not established. What am I doing wrong? I
thought I did everything `by the book', but it doesn't work. Any
insight into this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

-Steve


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


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