Subject: Linux-Misc Digest #325
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:     Tue, 28 Jun 94 01:13:06 EDT

Linux-Misc Digest #325, Volume #2                Tue, 28 Jun 94 01:13:06 EDT

Contents:
  Re: Looking for GNU-SQL (GSQL) for Onyx (Brandon S. Allbery)
  Re: DOOM For X? (Lawrence Foard)
  Re: Infomagic (Gerry Snyder)
  Re: VP/ix for Linux? (James B. MacLean)
  Re: Watching a user on an tty? (Tim Smith)
  Re: Linux better than OS/2 for net surfing (Colin Dunn)
  Re: How to split large tar file to fit on floppy (Vinod G Kulkarni)
  Re: DOOM For X? (Brandon S. Allbery)
  Re: commercial software available (Chris Bitmead)
  Install woes (Thomas  Fletcher)
  Diamond Speedstar 24 V5.0, XFree Xconfig file? (Filip R W Karlemo)
  Re: DOOM For X? (Jerome Kaidor)
  Re: Linux better than OS/2 for net surfing (R S Rodgers)
  Re: Only 7000 Linux boxes, Re: Multiport Bored ... (Tim Smith)

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

From: bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org (Brandon S. Allbery)
Subject: Re: Looking for GNU-SQL (GSQL) for Onyx
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 21:28:49 GMT

In article <2uetll$k83@quartz.ucs.ualberta.ca>, rhh@tachy.uah.ualberta.ca (Roy Hann) says:
+---------------
| bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org (Brandon S. Allbery) writes:
| : I think part of it is also the supposedly "English-like" nature of the
| : language (which mysteriously vanishes when you go to write real-world queries
| : that require all sorts of garbage to work around SQL braindamage :-)
| 
| I always wondered about that.  Would you hire people who claim to be
| able to analyse and automate complex bet-your-business systems who
| also claim not to be able to grasp the limited complexity of, say,
| QUEL--so they have to have the crutch of an "English-like" language?  
+------------->8

What sold it was the idea that it was sufficiently "English-like" that
management types with no programming skills could (in theory) formulate their
own queries.  Needless to say, it doesn't work in practice... even with fancy
GUI front-ends.

++Brandon
-- 
Brandon S. Allbery         kf8nh@kf8nh.ampr.org          bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org
Friends don't let friends load Windows NT.              Linux iBCS2 emulation

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

From: entropy@world.std.com (Lawrence Foard)
Subject: Re: DOOM For X?
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 1994 00:07:38 GMT

In article <1994Jun27.205645.258@dali.cti-software.nl>,
Pim Zandbergen <pim@dali.cti-software.nl> wrote:
>The latest news is that Id Software is cooperating
>with Microsoft to have a Windows version of DOOM
>ready for Chicago. Chicago supposedly has a special
>games API.
>
>Some speculation: perhaps part of the Id-Microsoft
>deal was *not* to release a Linux version ?

I wonder, but wouldn't this be a cause for anti-trust action?
-- 
====== Call the skeptic hotline 1=900=666=5555 talk to your own personal . 
\    / skeptic 24 hours/day.     Just say no to victimless crimes.      . .
 \  / High quality Linux application development available.            . . .
  \/ Violence is a lousy substitute for sex and drugs.                . . . .

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

From: Gerald.C.Snyder@jpl.nasa.gov (Gerry Snyder)
Subject: Re: Infomagic
Date: 24 Jun 1994 22:19:33 GMT

In article <1994Jun24.180854.7424@stsci.edu>, saken@stsci.edu (Jon Saken) says:
>
>
>Sorry if this an FAQ question, but I can't find one for this group.
>I'm interested in installing Linux on a 486.  Could someone post or
>e-mail the address and phone number for Infomagic, and any other
>company selling Linux packages?  Thanks.
>
>jon saken

info@infomagic.com

Infomagic is in a "hold mode" right now, waiting for the new
delivery of Slackware (1.2), and they expect to be shipping
around July 7 or 11.

roman@btr.btr.com  or roman@transameritech.com


Gerry Snyder, not affiliated with either, and not speaking for 
my employer

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

From: jmaclean@fox.nstn.ns.ca (James B. MacLean)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.help
Subject: Re: VP/ix for Linux?
Date: 27 Jun 1994 21:29:12 -0300

In article <DMW.94Jun27101434@prism1.prism1.com> dmw@prism1.prism1.com (David Wright) writes:
>From: dmw@prism1.prism1.com (David Wright)
>Subject: Re: VP/ix for Linux?
>Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 14:14:34 GMT

>>>>>> "JBM" == James B MacLean <jmaclean@fox.nstn.ns.ca> writes:

>  JBM> Since I have never used anything other than DOSEMU :-(, what are these 
>  JBM> features that DOSEMU should put on it's wanted list?

>        Other than the DPMI I wouldn't say it is any one feature, but rather
>the level of "polish" on the package. There ARE things that I don't think
>that DOSEMU can do that VP/IX does, however:

Great, the kinda feedback that one learns form :-)

>        1) Ability to grab & release floppy disks "on the fly".

Well, if you mean you can switch floppies as in real DOS, sure, it's been 
there since Robert :-). 

>        2) Ability to grab & release serial ports "on the fly".

Thanks to Markkk, we are that close to not stealing COM ports until they are 
first used, in time this could be made so.

>        3) No problems with multiple people on the same machine running the
>           emulator at the same time. (Is this a problem with DOSEMU? I never
>           used it except on my own machine)

Mutliple DOSEMU's certainly can be run, the only problem is their vast uses 
of memory(resources)

>        4) Pop-up window for managing all of the above.

This would be a big PLUS to be added to DOSEMU, and aggreed this would be a 
bonous feature to have for all those things that the emulator is taken down 
for, or just to adjust stats o nthe fly :-) It has been discussed for the 
upcoming client/server version.

>        5) Ability to use DOS device drivers for custom hardware directly.

Good one. Not yet. Some day though :-) One big obstacle at this point for 
many drivers is DMA access.

>        I haven't looked at it recently (does the current version of DOSEMU
>run with the 1.0 kernel? I don't want to touch the 1.1.x versions), but does
>DOSEMU provide a way for the DOS session to release the printer output it has
>queued up without exiting the emulator?

I personally enjoyed reading this feedback. I agree 150% that polish needs 
to be put on DOSEMU to even come near anything commercially available. 
DOSEMU seems to be heading in the right direction, just in need of a good 
deal more work :-(. DOSEMU0.52 will run with 1.0.9 plus the included kernel 
patch. I have heard and seen that it's not patching cleanly for some which 
is  odd as it's what I use daily at work.

>                                                        Dave

Thanks Dave, we're taking notes :-)

>--
>  ____________________________________________________________________________
> |        /\ /          | Prism Computer Applications        |  David Wright  |
> |      -/--\--         | 14650 Detroit Ave, Suite LL40      | dmw@Prism1.COM |
> |      /____\          | Lakewood, OH 44107  USA            |  216-228-1400  |

LAter,
JES
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
James B. MacLean                    jmaclean@fox.nstn.ns.ca
Department of Education
Nova Scotia, Canada (902) 424-8438

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

From: tzs@u.washington.edu (Tim Smith)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.admin
Subject: Re: Watching a user on an tty?
Date: 27 Jun 1994 03:43:55 GMT

Holger Muenx <muenx@speedy.informatik.uni-dortmund.de> wrote:
>  In order to examine problems happening to my users who dial in via a serial
>port I would like to spy on a tty, ie. see what a user types there.
>
>  Is there any solution to this problem?

How about hooking one of your modems to two serial ports at once?  Run
getty or whatever the Linux equivalent is on one, and leave the other
open (but protected so that only root can access it).  Have the user
you want to spy on log in through that modem, and then you can watch
via the second port using whatever serial port watching software you
like (cu, cat, pcomm, etc.).  You should even be able to help the
user out by typing things for them.

Check with a hardware person first, of course, to make sure that this
can't harm the serial ports or the modem.

--Tim Smith

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

Crossposted-To: comp.os.os2.advocacy
From: dunnc@ucsub.Colorado.EDU (Colin Dunn)
Subject: Re: Linux better than OS/2 for net surfing
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 16:04:44 GMT

bill@msi.com (Bill Poitras) writes:

>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.

Definitely. Even equipment from major hardware manufacturers has bad
OS/2 driver support; the Adaptec 1522 drivers completely crash my
system. And the 1522 is supposed to be a mature product...

>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.

But what about when the service pack adds a fatal bug, making my system
unusable? The service pack's Adaptec 1522 driver ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT
WORK. It crashes my system with a TRAP 0008 during boot-up. This is more
than just a "bug"; it is an operating system that does not work.

It is true that reverting to the old device driver (with OS/2 2.10)
fixes the TRAP 0008, but my system is still too unstable, especially
since OS/2 is supposed to protect memory better than DOS.

It turns out DOS is also unstable on my system many times. Loading
device drivers high can send my system down in flames when I load
a DOS-based game (Stunts).

>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.

Telix is one of the best-behaved DOS programs I have used. It NEVER
crashes my system when I am running DOS. It doesn't use any special
device drivers, though it does expect to access the serial port directly.
IBM's virtualization of the serial port in OS/2 DOS sessions seems to
be unstable; serial port accesses should not lock the whole system
tight. At worst, clashes over the serial port should cause corruption
of data going across COM1: and/or COM2:.

>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.

Or at least, if OS/2 changes every two weeks, it isn't a deep architectural
change that breaks existing device drivers...

As for Linux, its constant evolution and lack of easy availability/technical
support are two things that have kept me away from it. But due to OS/2's
shortcomings, I am more and more tempted to try it...






Colin Dunn
dunnc@ucsu.colorado.edu


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

From: vinod@cse.iitb.ernet.in (Vinod G Kulkarni)
Subject: Re: How to split large tar file to fit on floppy
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 17:14:14 GMT

Ziniu "Michael" Wei (ziniuwei@acsu.buffalo.edu) wrote:
: P Fennema HV018 x4174 (pfennem@hzsbe04.ns-nl.att.com) wrote:
: > Hello,

: > I know this sounds silly, but what is an efficient method to split
: > a large (gzipped) tar file into pieces which fit on a 1.44 MB floppy?
: > I know the concatenating is easy with 'cat', but splitting is a little
: > harder. I can do it with split, but this works with line numbers and 
: > I'd like to split exactly at the 1.44Mbyte limit of the floppy.

: > Please excuse me if this is not the appropiate newsgroup.

: > Regards,

: The GNU tar in Linux has an option -L to let you specify the tape length
: (floppy size in your case).  It'll prompt you to change tape/floppy
: when every other specified length has been written.

To be precise, use this command:
           tar -cvM -L1200 -f /dev/fd0 filename.tar
where /dev/fd0 is 1.2 MB drive. (-L1440 for 1.44 MB drive.)
BTW, is there a (free!) version of tar on MSDOG which can read the floppies 
tarred this way?

-Vinod.
-- 
--Vinod.G.Kulkarni.              ,---------------------------------------
Research scholar,                |"People often find it easier to be result
Dept. of CSE, IIT Bombay,        | of  the  past than the cause of the -
INDIA.  (vinod@cse.iitb.ernet.in)|___________________________- future.___

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

From: bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org (Brandon S. Allbery)
Subject: Re: DOOM For X?
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 1994 00:29:40 GMT

In article <1994Jun27.205645.258@dali.cti-software.nl>, pim@dali.cti-software.nl (Pim Zandbergen) says:
+---------------
| slouken@cs.ucdavis.edu (Sam Oscar Lantinga) writes:
| >     When is DOOM for X coming out?  Will it come out
| >with the advent of DOOM 1.4?
| 
| Some speculation: perhaps part of the Id-Microsoft
| deal was *not* to release a Linux version ?
+------------->8

Nope.  DOOM for X was a one-man show, and the one man in question is too busy
to finish it.  Maybe if a LOT of DOOMers got on Id --- preferably in a way
directly measurable as lost money, such as specifically ordering a Linux/X
version of DOOM from them --- they'd find someone to finish the port.

++Brandon
-- 
Brandon S. Allbery         kf8nh@kf8nh.ampr.org          bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org
Friends don't let friends load Windows NT.              Linux iBCS2 emulation

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

From: chrisb@cssc-syd.tansu.com.au (Chris Bitmead)
Subject: Re: commercial software available
Date: 28 Jun 1994 09:57:45 +1000

seb@i102pc1.vu-wien.ac.at (Sebastian W. Bunka) writes:

>Jens Krauss (Steinfath) (krauss@stanley) wrote:
>: Marco Schramp (schr@si.tn.tudelft.nl) wrote:
>: : Hi everybody,

>: : I'd like to know if there's any commercial software
>: : available. I'm particulary interested in wordprocessing,
>: : accounting and database management, CAD, spreadsheets,
>: : etc...
>: Yes there is cormercial Software,

>: 1. Poet, a oodbms
>: 2. Mint, an interface builder
>: 3. a CAD system (shareware, i forgott the name)
>       ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ ^ ^
>You mean SISCAD-P (available at sunsite & mirrors); It's some kind
>of professional 2-D CAD from a German company (all texts in german!)
>But it's not shareware; if you use it in buisiness you'll have to buy
>it (Its also available (buyable) for *other* UN*XES.

Isn't that the definition of shareware? You get it for free, and if you
decide to keep it and use it you are supposed to pay for it?





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

Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.help
From: tfletche@uglz.UVic.CA (Thomas  Fletcher)
Subject: Install woes
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 94 16:23:58 GMT

Allright folks,

  Got up this morn, all ready and raring to go to put Linux 
Slackware 1.2.0 (I beleive those are the right #'s) and I set
about the install.  I have a 486dx with 4 megs of RAM and a 
204 meg HD partitioned into 3 drives C,D,E. I want to install
only a basic Linux system right now so I am want to only use
my E partition which has approx 70 megs of space on it.  Plenty
of room for just a bare bones system right now (or so I am told).

  I threw in the bare boot disk and that loaded just fine, told
me the right information and all, the I put in color144 the root
disk.  It gave me the "slackware login:" prompt and I entered in 
root ... then it prompted for a password.  I don't have the right
info so it did this 3/4 times and then gave a timeout message and
went back to the same initial prompt.  Now I enter in root and I
get the root prompt (#) however when I try and run fdisk I get
the message "Can't allocate any more memory."

  Can any one help out a frustrated beginner.  I have read all the
information that I could but now I need some practical advice. I
want to run Linux!

  Postings or mail is great ... our mail server is down and I would
like to get going on this ASAP if you have any ideas mail might
be best if our news server is flakey (I might not even get this off 
today! GRRR)

  Thanks
     Thomas



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

From: fkarlemo@gamma.hut.fi (Filip R W Karlemo)
Subject: Diamond Speedstar 24 V5.0, XFree Xconfig file?
Date: 27 Jun 1994 19:22:34 GMT


I did'nt find a solution for this one, is there anyone who has?
SpeedStar 24 V5.0, 1024 b. (monitor, see end of article).
The best would be to get 1024x768 with 72 Hz.

I got the following solution working for some time, and every now
and then (odd days???) it don't work, strange. 

this is picked from a sample file (Xconfig.4):
=======================================
From: dlj0@Lehigh.EDU (David L. Johnson)

Here you are.  As said before; I have a Diamond Speedstar+ vers 5.0, 1
meg ram
on the card, and an AOC 14'' NI monitor.  I run 1024x768 w/ 256 colors.

I set the third clock with ``freq'', using the frequencies indicated.  x
is aliased to call freq before xinit, and ``nox'' calls up a reasonable
text mode
after leaving X.

alias x='freq 66997 2 ; xinit'
alias nox='freq 41999 2'

vga256
  Virtual 1024 768
  ViewPort      0 0
  Modes           "1024x768"
  Clocks 25 27 60 65 25 27 60 65

ModeDB

 "1024x768"  60    1024 1048 1248 1328  768  776  786  806
===========================================


My computer:

     486/33/16Mb RAM / ISA-bus
     SpeedSTAR 24 (bios vers. v5.0 (04/11/92)), memory: 1024, translation ROM present
     17" moitor Salora Multigraph 447B
          Video bandwidth     110 MHz
          Synchronization     Separate TTL, pos/neg
                         Composite TTL, pos/neg
                         Composiet, on green, 0,3. Vpp neg
          Scanning freq. H: 30 to 64 kHz
                         V: 48 to 100 Hz
          Some pixel formats: 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024
          fully VGA and IBM 8514/A compatible

thanks,

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

From: jkaidor@synoptics.com (Jerome Kaidor)
Subject: Re: DOOM For X?
Reply-To: jkaidor@synoptics.com
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 1994 00:50:01 GMT

In article 258@dali.cti-software.nl, pim@dali.cti-software.nl (Pim Zandbergen) writes:
>slouken@cs.ucdavis.edu (Sam Oscar Lantinga) writes:
>
>
>>      When is DOOM for X coming out?  Will it come out
>>with the advent of DOOM 1.4?
>
>There was some speculation of a Linux version of DOOM
>to be released "Real Soon Now", a couple of months ago.
      [...]
>The latest news is that Id Software is cooperating
>with Microsoft to have a Windows version of DOOM
>ready for Chicago. Chicago supposedly has a special
>games API.
>
>Some speculation: perhaps part of the Id-Microsoft
>deal was *not* to release a Linux version ?

 **** More likely the folks at ID are scrambling desperately to 
keep up with the umpteen hot projects that DOOM's smash
success has generated.  The Linux port was a home project
of one of the programmers there.  I bet he has no time whatsoever
for home projects anymore.

                                - Jerry Kaidor



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

From: rsrodger@wam.umd.edu (R S Rodgers)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.os2.advocacy
Subject: Re: Linux better than OS/2 for net surfing
Date: 27 Jun 1994 20:04:52 GMT

In article <2un119$6tl@aurora.engr.latech.edu>,
Alex Ramos <ramos@engr.latech.edu> wrote:
>Colin Dunn (dunnc@ucsub.Colorado.EDU), quoted out of context, wrote:
>> As for Linux, its constant evolution and lack of easy availability/technical
>> support are two things that have kept me away from it. But due to OS/2's
>> shortcomings, I am more and more tempted to try it...
>
>Lack of easy availability?? Try sunsite.unc.edu or tsx-11.mit.edu or....

It's a pain to ftp & download an entire Linux distribution.  I just did it
with Slackware this weekend and I wasn't a happy camper.  The least that 
Linux sites could do is to include a copy of the distribution in a bunch
of ready-made zip or tar files (preferably the former since most potential
Linux users aren't currently using unix) to make the getting part of the 
process easy. 

Sunsite goes half-way -- you can ftp the disk directories tarred by getting
<directory>.tar.Z -- but this is a pain because it doesn't work with mget.

I'd say that Linux lacks easy availability.  What someone should do is 
publish The Linux Quarterly magazine and include a cdrom with all the
current distributions.  Get this on the shelves at CompUSA and then Linux
will have easy availability.

>Technical support? Okay... you just finished complaining that some drivers
>don't work on OS/2... how soon do you think IBM will fix them? What a joke...

I agree, but the issue isn't massive bugs (e.g., IBM's 1522 SCSI drivers
which do not work _at all_ in the latest release, even with name-brand
Adaptec hardware) of that sort, but rather technical support issues that
are time critical ("The server just went down and we can't get it back up.").

>And, the "constant evolution" is there only as an option. I'm still using
>Linux 1.0.8 ("anciently old"). 

Yep.  It would be nice if upgrading was easier, too, for that matter.

Robert


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

From: tzs@u.washington.edu (Tim Smith)
Subject: Re: Only 7000 Linux boxes, Re: Multiport Bored ...
Date: 27 Jun 1994 04:00:57 GMT

Wayne Schlitt <wayne@cse.unl.edu> wrote:
>While I agree with large parts of your posting, I think that this
>number is too low.  My bet is that you are off by a factor of 5-20+,
>that is, there are at least 250,000 Linux systems out there, possibly
>a million or more.

Someone should take a poll.  Pick something whose numbers we can find
out, and then ask people if they have a Linux system, and if they have
that other thing.  From the relative number of hits, we can estimate
the number of Linux systems.

I suggest using magazines for the comparison.  By picking several different
magazines that appeal to different segments of the population, we can
account for biases in the sampling.

If there are a million Linux systems, then you should get about the same
number of yes answers on the "do you have a Linux system?" question as
you do for the "do you buy this magazine?" question for the following
magazines:

        Rolling Stone           (about 1.2 million)
        Car and Driver          (about a million)
        Jet                     (about 950k)
        Popular Photography     (about 900k)
        Business Week           (about 900k)
        Consumer Digest         (about 870k)
        Omni                    (about 830k)
        Weekly World News       (about 800k)

--Tim Smith

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


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