Subject: Linux-Misc Digest #323
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, 27 Jun 94 19:13:17 EDT

Linux-Misc Digest #323, Volume #2                Mon, 27 Jun 94 19:13:17 EDT

Contents:
  Re: Do drivers exist for these PCI cards? (Helmut Geyer)
  Re: slipstuff.tgz -- Scripts for SLIPping up (John Lellis)
  Re: Two IDE drives (Piotr Kapiszewski)
  Re: Mine did blow up! (Re: Will my Computer Blow Up?) (C. McNiel)
  Can't Get B: Floppy to work but A: OK. (Alan Rovner)
  Re: Linux better than OS/2 for net surfing (Bao Chau Ha)
  Re: Do drivers exist for these PCI cards? (Martin Oldfield)
  Re: SLIP sessions HANGING (Zbigniew Wieckowski)
  Re: FORTRAN on Linux (K J MacDonald)
  FORTRAN on Linux (The Graphical Gnome)
  Re: X resources (was Re: Why cannot xterm use -bg option in .xinitrc ?) (Anthony J. Stuckey)
  Re: Linux better than OS/2 for net surfing (Bill Poitras)

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

From: geyer@polyhymnia.iwr.uni-heidelberg.de (Helmut Geyer)
Subject: Re: Do drivers exist for these PCI cards?
Date: 27 Jun 1994 14:34:55 GMT

Richard Hipp (drh@world.std.com) wrote:
:>Two quick hardware compatibility questions:

[SCSI question munched]

:>  *  Will XF86_S3 work with the #9GXE64 cards for the PCI bus?
:>     If not, are there other XFree servers that will work with
:>     the #9GXE64?

The GXE64 will be supported in the next XFree86 release but this is a time 
off yet (sorry, no guess when it'll be ready). The hack Amancio posted 
(that Drew referred to) will not work on most cards based on the
Vision 864 or 964, definetly no with the GXE64. You'll have to use the
Mono or VGA16 server that provides resolutions up to 800x600 with bad
refresh and slow graphics.
On the other hand these cards will be the first 64bit cards that are 
supported and have a very good performance/price quotient.
The PCI bus is no the problem, the chipset is. If a bus system is working
right, the driver will not see the bus (but for configureing a linear frame
buffer)
        
        Helmut


--
==============================================================================
Helmut Geyer                                Helmut.Geyer@iwr.uni-heidelberg.de

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

From: lellis@dmccorp.com (John Lellis)
Subject: Re: slipstuff.tgz -- Scripts for SLIPping up
Date: 27 Jun 1994 14:42:40 GMT

Christian Holtje (choltje@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu) wrote:
: NOTE: This works for dynamic and static slip!

: This package created originally for my self, but I didn't really refine it
: till after several friends wanted it. So here it is. I'm not terribly good
: at writing documentation or even writing these scripts, so improvements are
: welcome.

: The programs are all linked to one script: slip. Therefore you only have to
: change the variables in slip and all the scripts will work correctly.

: I also included dip (and it's man page) and a copy of route. This is
: 'cause I have found that some dip's and routes don't works together. I have
: heard that the author of dip is going to make a copy of dip with awsome
: scripting abilities, in which case this package will become obsolete, but
: meanwhile....:)

: Things that I might do, if I have time:
:       * autoconfigure script
:       * better docs

: Send comments, suggestions, bugs and flames to:
:       Christian Holtje <docwhat@uiuc.edu>

Unfortunately, the slip script is not included in this package, only symbolic
links to it.

: This is the .LSM file, just for your reference:
: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Begin2
: Title        = Quick and Dirty Slip Setup Stuff
: Version      = 1.00
: Desc1        = This is a package with a script for slipping up with one command
: Desc2        = works for both static and dynamic slip connections. Very usefull
: Desc3        = as a tutorial (at least). Includes binaries for dip and route.
: Desc4        = Includes man pages.
: Author       = Christian Holtje
: AuthorEmail  = docwhat@uiuc.edu
: Maintainer   = Christian Holtje
: MaintEmail   = docwhat@uiuc.edu
: Site1        = sunsite.unc.edu
: Path1        = /pub/Linux/system/Network/serial
: File1        = slipstuff.tgz
: FileSize1    = 20475
: Required1    = net-32.tgz stuff or at least working net code.
: Required2    = linux kernel 1.0.0 or newer ( I think)
: CopyPolicy1  = Public Domain
: Keywords     = slip dip route 
: Comment1     = This isn't the best scripts in the world, but they are at
: Comment2     = least educational.
: RelFiles1    = dip
: RelFIles2    = route
: Entered      = 26JUN94
: EnteredBy    = Christian Holtje
: CheckedEmail = docwhat@uiuc.edu
: End

: -- 
:     ---     ---     ---   -      -  -  -   ---  -----  docwhat@uiuc.edu
:    +   -  +    -  +      +      +  -  +  -   +   -    CS major at Illinois
:   *   +  *    +  *      *  +   *  +*+*  +*+*+   *    --- finger me at ---
:  ****     ***     ***   **  **   *  *  *   *   *    choltje@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu


: --
: Mail submissions for comp.os.linux.announce to: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu
: PLEASE remember Keywords: and a short description of the software.

--

John Lellis (lellis@dmccorp.com)

--
... Our continuing mission: To seek out knowledge of C, to explore
strange UNIX commands, and to boldly code where no one has man page 4.




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

Crossposted-To: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage
From: kapis-p@cs.Buffalo.EDU (Piotr Kapiszewski)
Subject: Re: Two IDE drives
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 18:28:11 GMT

jmantel@ins.infonet.net wrote:
: In article <2udd4aINNdud@mickey.eng.gulfaero.com>, bmccarth@gulfaero.com (Bill McCarthy) writes:
: >Hiya:
: >
: >I have kind of a cross subject post, so please forgive the dual posting.
: >I was able to hook up two IDE segates as master and slave: st 3243a master 
: >with linux; st3144a slave with dos/windows. when I boot into linux, the boot
: >log records hda1 - the st3243a and hdb1 - the 3144a, but I can't access or

[stuff erased]

I remember reading at some point that the only way to start DOS was to have
it boot from the first partition of the first harddisk in your system.

In your scenario assuming the above is true you should have the DOS/Win 
filesystem on the master and DOS in the first partition of that master.
When you install LILO it will let you boot both since it doesnt care where
linux resides.

I have two IDE drives and I have DOS stuff on the first one and Linux stuff
on the second one.  Everything works just fine.

-Kapi
-- 
Kapi, State University of New York at Buffalo, Department of Computer Science
INTERNET: kapis-p@cs.buffalo.edu  |  BITNET: kapis-p%cs.buffalo.edu@ubvm.bitnet
http://www.cedar.buffalo.edu/~kapis-p/Home.html  |   Key available via finger.

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

From: cmcniel@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu (C. McNiel)
Subject: Re: Mine did blow up! (Re: Will my Computer Blow Up?)
Date: 27 Jun 1994 09:46:53 -0500

gpurdy@fox.nstn.ns.ca (Mark Metson) writes:

>Friends suggested I should have made a tee-shirt picture of the i/o card that
>was in this box, after running linux; with the slogan "the Power of Linux!".

>The largest, central chip of the multi-i/o card litterally 'blew out'. It
>looked like after-earthquake or something, plus burns on the pins on one side.
>Looked like the insides just couldnt fit inside anymore and blew the top of
>the chip open. In only about one month of running Linux!

Wow !! What a dramitic failure.  I've heard of chips going bad but never like
what you have described.  My question is are you blaiming this catastrophic 
hardware failure on the fact that you were running linux or are you just 
describing you linux boxes hardware failure?  Either way it is unfortunate for
you that this has happened however, linux is powerful, and I have heard of 
people who have used incorrect clock freq.'s with X and fried a monitor but, I
would find it hard to believe that linux would so dramatically blast a 
multi-purpose board.  (But, who knows ???). My point is if you are blaming
linux don't be too hasty.

Craig

>This was a do-everything card - IDE, floppy, 2 serial, 1 parallel, and a games
>port. It had sat in the machine a year or two with only a boot-from-floppy
>very very occasionally, the machine acting as a dumb-terminal with no HD.
>Then one day, we stick in another 4 meg of RAM to bring it to 5 meg, toss in
>an 80-meg and a 230-meg IDE, hook to the Internet and do three FTP downloads
>at once while reading news posting mail and transferring stuff at 19200 baud
>over a serial line to another machine, hour after hour.. Heh heh poor thing,
>just about time for the warranty to expire - but so spectacularly?

>The after-effects: even with two brand new such cards now in here, and a brand
>new floppy drive, it wont read floppies. (The 3.5" that was in it at the time
>of the blowup hasnt worked since; but the new drive will work on another
>machine just fine. We have tried different cards, different cables, different
>drive, different cable from the power-supply; what else could be preventing
>floppy use?)

>Hey, linux is POWERFUL ;-)

>Blessed Be. -MarkM-

>--
>Mark Metson              How many mystics does it take to bring Peace on Earth?
>gpurdy@fox.nstn.ns.ca    Only one - but each one has to do it for themself.....
>===============================================================================
>This posting is 'software for wetware' placed under version 2 of the GNU public
>license. intent being: IF YOU DISTRIBUTE IT YOU CANNOT RESTRICT REDISTRIBUTION!
>(This is a GNU-ware .signature: please re-use and re-cycle!)
>===============================================================================

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

From: alanr@lacamas.pen.tek.com (Alan Rovner)
Subject: Can't Get B: Floppy to work but A: OK.
Date: 27 Jun 1994 02:29:23 GMT

Hi folks, can anyone help get my B: floppy working?  Or is it /dev/fd1?
I've been a DOS user too long :-).  I can properly mount and access my
/dev/fd0 drive just fine, no problems.  My /dev/fd1 gives me these error
messages:

floppy I/O error
dev 0201, sector 0
floppy I/O error
dev 0201, sector 0
MSDOS bread failed
mount: wrong fs type, /dev/fd1 already mounted, /mnt busy or other error

My setup is:
        * Running Yggdrasil Summer '94 kernel
        * /dev/fd0 is a Teac 1.2 MB unit
        * /dev/fd1 is a Teac 1.44 MB unit
        * Also attached in the floppy cable is a Irwin Accutrak 250 Tape.

I tried disconnecting the tape drive, and that made no difference.  One
thing that interesting (if it matters) is /dev/fd0 shows up with a June 17
date, while /dev/fd1 shows up with a July 21, 1993 date?  Don't know what
that's all about.

As usual, I appreciate any suggestions and would like to get this thing 
fixed soon.  Thanks for your help.

Al Rovner
alanr@lacamas.pen.tek.com

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

Crossposted-To: comp.os.os2.advocacy
From: habaoch@eng.auburn.edu (Bao Chau Ha)
Subject: Re: Linux better than OS/2 for net surfing
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 15:05:28 GMT

In article <1994Jun27.103234.7770@usage.csd.unsw.OZ.AU> u2105546@aix00.csd.unsw.OZ.AU (Richard Laxton) writes:
>[a long argument on OS/2 vs. Linux deleted]
>Just thought I would throw my comments into the fray...
>
>I have been using OS/2 since 2.0 came out and have been very happy with it.
>It crashes *very* rarely on my machine, runs very quickly and is very good
>as a development platform. 
>
>I have also been using UNIX for years and Linux for about 4 months, and I must
>say that I am very impressed with its stability and speed. However, despite
>everything, there are things that I miss from Linux. First and foremost is
>the Workplace Shell. This kicks the arse of any similar product that I have
>ever seen. It is powerful, easy to use, and in my experience quite stable.
>
X-windows?  The default fvwm in Slackware distribution is a good
one, comparable to the WPS.  You can start up xdm so you don't
have to deal with CLI.

>Another things that I miss is multi-threading. The threaded model of 
>programming fits a lot of programs very well, programs that otherwise would
>require a fair amount of effort to get running well. (My thesis is one of them
>worse luck :-( )

pthread? 

bao

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

From: mjo@mrao.cam.ac.uk (Martin Oldfield)
Subject: Re: Do drivers exist for these PCI cards?
Date: 27 Jun 1994 15:07:56 GMT

>>>>> "Helmut" == Helmut Geyer <geyer@polyhymnia.iwr.uni-heidelberg.de> writes:
In article <2umo2f$5g9@sun0.urz.uni-heidelberg.de> geyer@polyhymnia.iwr.uni-heidelberg.de (Helmut Geyer) writes:

[ snip ]

    Helmut> ready). The hack Amancio posted (that Drew referred to)
    Helmut> will not work on most cards based on the Vision 864 or
    Helmut> 964, definetly no with the GXE64. You'll have to use the
    Helmut> Mono or VGA16 server that provides resolutions up to
    Helmut> 800x600 with bad refresh and slow graphics.  On the other
    Helmut> hand these cards will be the first 64bit cards that are
    Helmut> supported and have a very good performance/price quotient.

Does that mean that the Cirrus Logic 5434 isn't supported either ?
Certainly the documentation that comes with the Orchid Kelvin 64
claims that it's a 64 bit card.

Cheers,
--

Martin Oldfield, MRAO, Cavendish Labs, CAMBRIDGE, CB3 0HE
Work:  0223 337365 Fax: 0223 354599 Home: 0223 67940
Don't even remember what her lips felt like on mine. - Dylan

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

From: wieckows@deca.cs.umn.edu (Zbigniew Wieckowski)
Subject: Re: SLIP sessions HANGING
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 20:18:26 GMT

In article <2uanrp$6o9@sundog.tiac.net> bill@bhhome.ci.net (Bill Heiser) writes:
>I am running [trying to run] essentially a full-time SLIP connection to
>my Internet Service Provider (ISP) using a Microcom FAST 28.8 modem.  The
>modem at the other end is a Microcom ES 28.8.  I have recently started having
>troubles with the SLIP session HANGING.  The carrier doesn't drop, but
>individual sessions using the SLIP session hang.  Most susceptible seems
>to be INBOUND TELNET.  I'll be in the middle of typing something or receiving
>a screen of text, and it will just stop, "never" to continue. 

I have also thought that it hangs "never" to continue. However I have noticed
that if I leave it alone for c.a. 10 minutes then the connection comes back.
I am running 0.99.14p #35 kernel.

Bishak


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

From: kenny@festival.ed.ac.uk (K J MacDonald)
Subject: Re: FORTRAN on Linux
Reply-To: K.MacDonald@ed.ac.uk
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 18:21:30 GMT

The Graphical Gnome (rdb@ktibv.uucp) wrote:
: Hallo,

: I managed to interest our R&D group in Linux as development platform.
: The problem is, they are using old software written in FORTRAN.

: My question is:

: Is there a FORTRAN compiler for LINUX.

Short answer "No", longer answer, "Get the f2c package from your
favourite Linux ftp site." This does a remarkably good job of F77 code,
but isn't completely fool proof. It comes with a handy f77 shell script
that transparently converts to C and compiles, removing the C at the
end. This is the FSF recommended course of action until the GNU F77
compiler is ready (no estimated time of arrival yet).

Good luck...  Kenny.

-- 
================================================================
Kenneth MacDonald, Department of Geology & Geophysics,
The University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JW
Tel: +44 (0) 31 650 5917 Email: K.MacDonald@ed.ac.uk

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

From: rdb@ktibv.uucp (The Graphical Gnome)
Subject: FORTRAN on Linux
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 14:25:41 GMT

Hallo,

I managed to interest our R&D group in Linux as development platform.
The problem is, they are using old software written in FORTRAN.

My question is:

Is there a FORTRAN compiler for LINUX.

I prefer a GNU compiler, but iif not available everything handing F77
and F90x will be ok.

The Graphical Gnome (rdb@ktibv.nl)

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

From: stuckey@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu (Anthony J. Stuckey)
Crossposted-To: comp.windows.x.i386unix,comp.os.linux.help
Subject: Re: X resources (was Re: Why cannot xterm use -bg option in .xinitrc ?)
Date: 27 Jun 1994 19:57:19 GMT

barr@pop.psu.edu (David Barr) writes:
>In article <2umkma$c7l@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu>,
>Anthony J. Stuckey <stuckey@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu> wrote:
>[setting colors via command line, then someone says to just use X resources. ]
>>      I have certainly never seen any user's guide which will, even vaguely,
>>tell you what resources each program listens to, what possible values there
>>are, and/or what to do about setting/changing them.

>First you read the (gasp) man page to xterm.

        I have.
        Notice that *I* wasn't solely concerned with Xterm -- my query,
different from the original one, is how to do this for any random X program.
Xarchie, XWordPerfect, XGlobalNuclearDeathSimulation, etc.

>Gosh, there's resources listed in there!  It tells what each resource
>does, and what values you can set it to.

        No, it doesn't -- it tells the default value.  From this you can
usually make a good guess, but it's not all of what needs to be known.  And
the fact that the Xterm man page is a good one doesn't mean that everyone
is nearly so forthcoming.

>In the "See Also", there's a reference to X(1).  Read X(1)

        I have.

>Under X(1), under the RESOURCES section it tells you what resources
>are and their syntax and (another gasp) how to set them.
>RTFM.

        No, it doesn't.
        Knowing the form of the name doesn't tell you the name.  There are
exactly three resources listed on that man page.  I quote:

X_manpage>     background (class Background)
X_manpage>             This resource specifies the color  to  use  for  the
X_manpage>             window background.
X_manpage>     borderWidth (class BorderWidth)
X_manpage>             This resource specifies the width in pixels  of  the
X_manpage>             window border.
X_manpage>     borderColor (class BorderColor)
X_manpage>             This resource specifies the color  to  use  for  the
X_manpage>             window border.
X_manpage>
X_manpage>     Most applications using the X Toolkit Intrinsics  also  have
X_manpage>     the  resource  foreground (class Foreground), specifying the
X_manpage>     color to use for text and graphics within the window.

        And it goes on to show examples:

X_manpage>             XTerm*reverseWrap:  on
X_manpage>             XTerm*curses:  on

        But it doesn't tell you how to find out these names.
        The only mention made is of XRDB.  There are other man pages referenced,
including Xprop and Xwininfo, which appear to have some relevance to this
all.  But there doesn't appear to be any single, coherent, usable,
cohesive, advertised, or intended application for showing and changing all
of your current/common settings.

>>      You can configure anything in X, but it takes 7-600 page books, 4
>>years+ of a University Education, and 18K man-hours in a dark room to
>>figure out where.
>Funny, it's all explained in one 21 page X(1) manual.

        Then you and I have quite different ideas of explained.
        I don't claim to be a guru, but I am not an entirely clueless newbie
either.
--
Anthony J. Stuckey              stuckey@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu
"And if you frisbee-throw a universe where does it go?" -- Steve Blunt.
GCS/S -d+@ p c(++) l u+ e+(-) m+(*) s+++/-- !n h(*) f+ g+ w+ t+@ r y?
KiboNumber == 1

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

Crossposted-To: comp.os.os2.advocacy
Subject: Re: Linux better than OS/2 for net surfing
From: bill@msi.com (Bill Poitras)
Date: 27 Jun 94 10:53:52 EST
Reply-To: bill@msi.com

Colin Dunn (dunnc@ucsub.Colorado.EDU) wrote:
: I think device drivers should have to be beta-tested like anything else.
: If IBM feels otherwise, it's time to drop OS/2.

IBM doesn't write the majority of its device drivers.  I think that IBM 
should probably work a little closer with as many hardware manufacturers 
as it can to certify all of their device drivers, or at least find 
problems.

: I have always wondered about the talk about "OS/2 demanding more of the
: hardware" than Windows 3.1. After all, Windows also "multitasks" (though
: it uses an inferior algorithm to do so). Windows also hits on video cards,
: sound cards, etc. And on my system, which I hand-picked out of decent
: components, I still get a lot more crashes in OS/2 than in Windows 3.1.
: I wish this weren't so; I would prefer OS/2's multitasking any day.

I would say that most of your crashes are poorly debugged device drivers.  
However, OS/2 isn't without bugs.  That is why they release service packs 
and bug fixes.

I usually don't see crashes (I occasionally see a few).  Most of them 
involve running DOS programs.  And I more often get a hung console, than 
a crashed system.  So I usually can let any file transfers complete 
before I hit C-A-D, which syncs my file systems and reboots.

: >What crash protection ? We all know it's a bad joke. In theory, OS/2 can
: >eliminate lots of crashes. Problem is when a PM app crashes it can bring 
: >down the system.

But it doesn't always.  In fact for me that's rarely the case.

: Not to mention DOS/Windows applications that bring down the entire system.
: I saw one OS/2 system in which running the DOS version of Telix would
: cause the whole system to lock up tight -- so tight it required a hardware
: reset. Then, of course, OS/2's Workplace Shell and .INI files got screwed
: up, and the system got less and less stable every day.

Because OS/2 trys to keep itself as compatible as possible with DOS, 
even to the device driver level, it allows badly behaved DOS programs to 
crash the system.  NT doesn't have this problem because it makes itself 
less compatible with DOS.

: I wish someone would write a good, small, fast, stable multitasking OS
: with broad-based device driver support. This kind of OS would destroy
: OS/2, Windows 3.1, Chicago, NT, etc. I have always wondered why the new
: OSs for PCs are so bloated, slow, and crash-prone. Maybe the best solution
: is not to try to support old applications in some emulation mode (such as
: the OS/2 DOS box or Windows 3.1 DOS sessions) and simply provide a mechanism
: for users to boot whichever OS they need to use their applications.

Everybody who say that the current OSes suck, and that Linux or something 
else should be supreme forget that for a product to be a success, it has 
to sell.  That means that the product can't change every two weeks, has 
to supported by a large sales and marketting force, as well as a 
technical support organization.  It has to conform to certain industry 
standards to interoperate with with other systems.

If all the IBM Boca Raton site did was turn out patches for OS/2 every 
two weeks or so, and didn't have any obligation to its multibillion 
dollar company, or its application vendors, then it probably would be 
a product the Linux users would find to be decent.
--
+-------------------+----------------------------+------------------------+
| Bill Poitras      | Molecular Simulations Inc. | Tel (617)229-9800      |
| bill@msi.com      | Burlington, MA 01803-5297  | FAX (617)229-9899      |
+-------------------+----------------------------+------------------------+
|FTP Mail           |mail ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com | Offers:ftp via email   |
|                   |Subject:<CR>help<CR>quit    |                        |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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


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