Subject: Linux-Misc Digest #356
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:     Sat, 2 Jul 94 12:13:07 EDT

Linux-Misc Digest #356, Volume #2                 Sat, 2 Jul 94 12:13:07 EDT

Contents:
  Re: VP/ix for Linux? (Rob Janssen)
  Re: VP/ix for Linux? (Rob Janssen)
  Re: How to set runlevels? (Rob Janssen)
  How do I  end a dip/ SLIP session (Ian M. Robertson)
  Re: Where can I get the POSIX standard? (Eric V. Bruno)
  Linux on a Compaq Concerto anyone? (Edwin Wisse)
  Re: CD Recorder Driver? (Stefan Markgraf)
  Consumer standards (OS/2 vs. Linux discussed) (Chun Hsu)
  Re: Did Xconfig fry my monitor? (Posting for a friend) (Mike Black)
  Re: Modem speed vs transfer rate (Martin Jangowski)
  Re: CD Recorder Driver? (Randy Chapman)
  Re: Again: Serial bidirectional file transfer. (Tom Webster)
  Re: What would you buy for a dream linux system? (Don Garrett)

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

Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.help
From: rob@pe1chl.ampr.org (Rob Janssen)
Subject: Re: VP/ix for Linux?
Reply-To: pe1chl@rabo.nl
Date: Sat, 2 Jul 1994 10:52:04 GMT

In <jmaclean.169.000F0773@fox.nstn.ns.ca> jmaclean@fox.nstn.ns.ca (James B. MacLean) writes:

>In article <Cs3J7n.57B@pe1chl.ampr.org> rob@pe1chl.ampr.org (Rob Janssen) writes:
>>From: rob@pe1chl.ampr.org (Rob Janssen)
>>Subject: Re: VP/ix for Linux?
>>Date: Tue, 28 Jun 1994 07:23:46 GMT

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

>>You would need to control the DMA controller in a similar way as is done
>>for virtual COM ports.

>Any DOCs on this around? Do you think we could do it Rob? I thought it would 
>be much more difficult from the get go.

It is not simple...  the accesses to the DMA controller are easily
trapped just like the COM port accesses, but the problem is to have the
DMA operating when it crosses 4K boundaries.  DMA works on physical
memory, and as there is no one-to-one mapping of the addressing space
within DOSEMU you cannot transfer directly to/from there.
The solution would be to have a 64K buffer somewhere in low memory
where the DMA is first done, and then a move to the desired location
in the DOS memory.  (of course it is not very efficient to do this)

Problems with DMA are not unique to DOSEMU.  Some drivers want DMA-capable
buffers >4K as well, and several people have made proposals and even
actual code to allocate suitable buffers.
I don't know if any of them is currently in the kernel.  There is a
new floppy driver in the works that also adds some DMA-specific services
to the kernel, but is is delayed all the time.  I have seen that in the
meantime other people have started hacking the floppy driver, so that effort
may even have been abandoned...

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

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

From: rob@pe1chl.ampr.org (Rob Janssen)
Subject: Re: VP/ix for Linux?
Reply-To: pe1chl@rabo.nl
Date: Sat, 2 Jul 1994 10:56:27 GMT

In <1994Jul01.184536.24576@taylor.infi.net> mark@taylor.infi.net (Mark A. Davis) writes:

>>  - How hard would it be to add such virtual-386 capabilities to DOSEMU?

>This is probably a major problem with DOSEMU?  Merge almost literally
>(but intelligently) slices of time from the CPU to the MS-"DOS" processes.
>I am sure this is one reason the performance and compatibility of Merge is
>so good (with a single Merge process).

Dosemu is using VM-86 mode.  To run programs in there that use the full
386 capabilities requires a lot of trap handling, not to mention the
emulation of a complete MMU.

Slashing DOSEMU with the capabilities of MERGE is quite cheap, Mark!
We all know that MERGE is made by a commercial company and sold for
big bucks.  DOSEMU is a hobby project done by volunteers.  When you don't
want to join them, please stop battering them all the time.

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

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

Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.help,comp.os.linux.admin
From: rob@pe1chl.ampr.org (Rob Janssen)
Subject: Re: How to set runlevels?
Reply-To: pe1chl@rabo.nl
Date: Sat, 2 Jul 1994 11:00:15 GMT

In <2v1soo$igp@agate.berkeley.edu> maxims@ucsee.EECS.Berkeley.EDU (Maxim Spivak) writes:

>In article <2v1llj$eu3@jake.esu.edu>,
>CyberDrunk <wendigo@mars.lib.iup.edu> wrote:
>>
>>I get this problem only when I do an 'su' in an xterm window.  Ohter than that,
>>setting runlevel to 6 in Slackware has not been bad.
>>
>>wendigo@mars.lib.iup.edu 

>How do I set runlevels? I tried to find some docs for it but couldn't 
>find any. (The init man page was a bit confusing...) Distributions: 
>Slackware & Yggdrasil.

Use: telinit <runlevel>
e.g.: telinit 6

(when telinit does not exist, just use "init")
Rob
-- 
=========================================================================
| Rob Janssen                | AMPRnet:   rob@pe1chl.ampr.org           |
| e-mail: pe1chl@rabo.nl     | AX.25 BBS: PE1CHL@PI8UTR.#UTR.NLD.EU     |
=========================================================================

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

From: imr@muppet.bt.co.uk (Ian M. Robertson)
Subject: How do I  end a dip/ SLIP session
Date: 1 Jul 1994 08:04:43 GMT
Reply-To: imr@muppet.bt.co.uk

Hi,

This may be obvious but i cant find it - I run a SLIP connection using dip. How do
I hang up the connection ?? . I ve tried killing the dip process but the line remains
active, I ve tried starting another dip like it says in some FAQ but the second dip
bombs out when it tries to set the port !. So far my ony success has been to remove the phone 
cable !!. 

There must be a better way as I cant persuade the the cron daemon to do that :-)

( kernal 1.1.20  and the uri dip )

Ta in advance
Ian

=====================================================================================
        imr@planet.bt.co.uk
        ian@ajna.demon.co.uk
=====================================================================================




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

From: eribruno@netcom.com (Eric V. Bruno)
Subject: Re: Where can I get the POSIX standard?
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 1994 07:06:26 GMT

Henry Ware (hware@bronze.coil.com) wrote:
: Are the POSIX 1003.x standards available for ftp or are they proprietary?  

: Do we have a free and open system conforming to a proprietary standard?  
: Or did I just not look hard enough?

: Thanks in advance,
: Henry


: -- 
: That does it!  I'm putting me back in my kill file!

I don't know about on the net but you can contact IEEE at the following
address and they should be able to help you.  Also note IEEE holds
the copyrights on 1003.1-1988 and 1003.1-1990.

Publication Sales
IEEE Service Center
P.O Box 1331
445 Hoes Lane
Piscataway, New Jersey  08854-1331
(201)981-0060, (800)678-IEEE

Also the following book is a good reference.
POSIX's Programmer's Guide by Donald Lewine,
O'Reilly & Associates  ISBN 0-937175-73-0

Hope this helps.

===============================================================
|Eric Bruno, Santa Clara, CA       | All opinions are my own. |
|eribruno@netcom.com               |                          |
|CompuServe ID - 71540,36001       |                          |
===============================================================


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

Crossposted-To: comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.pen
From: edwin@dutlru.tudelft.nl (Edwin Wisse)
Subject: Linux on a Compaq Concerto anyone?
Date: Sat, 2 Jul 1994 10:56:52 GMT

There has been a price reduction on Compaq Concertos here recently and I am
considering buying one. I would like to know whether anyone has Linux
working on his Concerto since that's what I want to install on it. I have
some questions:

1. Does X-windows work on the Concerto. Must you install the monochrome
server or does vga16 work as well. Is memory expansion to 8 Mb necessary or
does it also run on 4?
2. PCMCIA slots, are these useable under Linux?
3. Can I trow away the pen or can it somehow replace the mouse?

Thanks in advance, I'll summarize the replies.
-- 
Edwin.Wisse@lr.tudelft.nl
Down with gravity!

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

Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux,comp.os.linux.development
From: stefan@pippi.tu-bs.de (Stefan Markgraf)
Subject: Re: CD Recorder Driver?
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 1994 07:57:43 GMT

>I have heard a rumour that there is a Phillips CD-R (recordable CD) driver
>for Linux.  Does anyone know anything about this driver?  Anyone actually
>been able to use the CD-R with linux?
Do you really believe you can convert a CD-ROM into a writable CD?
I think there was a warning that this driver is a virus 
which destroys the harddisk.

Okidoki,
        Stefan.
                         \\|//
                         (^ ^)
======================ooO=(_)=Ooo=======================================
sig: Stefan              {   }          stefan@geophys.nat.tu-bs.de
     Markgraf            {   }          Phone: +49 531 391 5231
                         {   }
=========================U===U==========================================
                        /| | |\
                       ooO   Ooo


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

From: hsuc@msu.edu (Chun Hsu)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.os2.advocacy
Subject: Consumer standards (OS/2 vs. Linux discussed)
Date: 1 Jul 1994 08:19:37 GMT
Reply-To: hsuc@egr.msu.edu

Leo L Turetsky (professor+@CMU.EDU) wrote:
> Fine no flame war... But you are missing the true point behind my post.
> Linux is free and you can't complain to anyone about something not
> working. You can give the author a bug report or fix it yourself, but by
> no means should you complain because the software doesn't compile on
> your machine. I didn't have to upgrade anyhting to get XMosaic to work,
> for example, but I can't get bash to work properly. I'm not complaining
> at all... actually I'm quite pleased that I have been able to solve most
> of these problems myself.

> -Leo

The more I read these posts, the more I think the argument lies
in differences in "consumer standards".  Several Linux advocates
have noted that free patches should be sent for OS/2 since you
pay for it.  Since Linux is free, there is no reason to expect
this.

First of all, let me point out that no OS is even close to
being bug free.  Many OS/2 users have stated that OS/2
is extremely stable for them.  Others get Trap errors every
few hours.  Likewise, there are differing opinions on Linux.
I myself get occasion lockups from either tin or Openlook.

So, given that there are bugs in every operating system as well
as application software, who should pay for the patches that
are necessary?  I have never received a patch for free from
any software or hardware vendor.  It's doubtful that I am
the only one.  So why set different standards for IBM and
OS/2?  If and when it becomes the norm in the software industry
to send free fixes, I will demand the same for OS/2.  When
you consider how low OS/2 is priced, it doesn't seem
reasonable at all to expect IBM to send 20+ disks to each user.
For my $70 investment in OS/2 2.1, I expect technical support
for free.  I also expect that IBM will make patches available
and not try to profit from them.  I have been satisfied on
both cases.

Of course there is the argument that the software is too
buggy in the first place.  Somone earlier stated that OS/2
is "broken" and should never have been released.  Fine, vote
with your pocketbooks and "return" it.  If the product is
that bad, it will die a horrible death in the markeplace. 
Obviously, many user have already voted on OS/2, and the
results are pretty good. 

--
===========================================================================
 Chun Hsu                                     E-mail: hsuc@egr.msu.edu   
 Masters of Science
 Electrical Engineering                       Michigan State University
===========================================================================

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

Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.help,comp.windows.x.i386unix
From: mike@rayleigh.aftac.gov (Mike Black)
Subject: Re: Did Xconfig fry my monitor? (Posting for a friend)
Date: Sat, 2 Jul 1994 12:08:20 GMT

In article <2ut5cn$eip@Tut.MsState.Edu> gnh1@Violin.CC.MsState.Edu (George N. Henderson) writes:
>
>Hello.
>
>
>My Gateway 2000 15" monitor also got the problem with a left-right shimmering after I started using Linux, I rather doubt Linux caused it, but anyway. 
>
>I took it to a shop, they said it sounded like a capacitor was going out in it, and gave me an expected life on it of 1 week.
>
>It actually lasted 15 more minutes, so now I need a new monitor.  0-(
>
>Anyone who knows more about this than me want to comment?  The Gateway 2000 CrystalScan 15 is a relabeled Mag LX15.
>

I had two friends with Gateway 2000's and the Crystal Scan monitors.
One lost two monitors (which Gateway replaces), the other lost 4!.  They
both put fans on the monitors and have had no problems since (you
coulda' cooked an egg on them puppies).

So, I'd gripe at Gateway first (they're a pretty good company) and then
stay away from Crystal Scans after that.
-- 
mike@rayleigh.aftac.gov

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

Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.admin
From: maja@birdland.rhein-neckar.de (Martin Jangowski)
Subject: Re: Modem speed vs transfer rate
Date: Sat, 2 Jul 1994 10:22:48 GMT

Ron Watkins (ron@argus.lpl.Arizona.EDU) wrote:
: I have a question regarding the transfer speed over the SLIP connection.
: Currently, I have a 2400 buad modem which gives me transfer rates of approx
: 200 chars per second. I was looking at a 14400 modem which indicated that under
: compression, the data rate was 56Kbaud. When I compute the ratio of 2400 to
: 56Kbaud, I find that the rate is 24 times faster than I now experience. This
: factor, when applied to the 200 chars per second rate which I get now, yeilds
: a 4.8 K chars/sec transfer rate. Yet I keep hearing that all you can expect is
: somewhere around 1.1 to 1.6 K chars/sec. Can someone explain why?

this is the transfer rate for packed data. With unpacked data the V42bis 
alorithm yields up to 3-5 kB/s.


Martin

--
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Martin Jangowski              E-Mail: maja@birdland.rhein-neckar.de |
| Voice: +49 621/53 95 06               Martin Jangowski @ LU         |
| Snail Mail: Koenigsbacher Str. 16     67067 Ludwigshafen Germany    |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+

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

From: chapmra@u.washington.edu (Randy Chapman)
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux,comp.os.linux.development
Subject: Re: CD Recorder Driver?
Date: 1 Jul 1994 15:57:40 GMT

In article <STEFAN.94Jul1095743@pippi.tu-bs.de>,
Stefan Markgraf <stefan@pippi.tu-bs.de> wrote:
>>I have heard a rumour that there is a Phillips CD-R (recordable CD) driver
>>for Linux.  Does anyone know anything about this driver?  Anyone actually
>>been able to use the CD-R with linux?
>Do you really believe you can convert a CD-ROM into a writable CD?
>I think there was a warning that this driver is a virus 
>which destroys the harddisk.

Actually, that was a DOS based program for Chinon drives that offered to 
convert a normal CD-ROM drive into a CD-R drive.

However, Philips (and others) make _real_ CD-R drives; they normally 
attach via SCSI and are rather EXPENSIVE... ($3k if you're lucky)  As for 
a Linux driver, I've seen queries but never any definite answers :(

Randy




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

From: webster@kaiwan.com (Tom Webster)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.admin
Subject: Re: Again: Serial bidirectional file transfer.
Date: 1 Jul 1994 08:59:49 -0700

Wolf Paul (wnp@rcvie.co.at) wrote:
: In article <2up6q3$sv7@fbi-news.informatik.uni-dortmund.de>, muenx@speedy.informatik.uni-dortmund.de (Holger Muenx) writes:
: |>   Unfortunately, there is no implementation of HS/Link for Linux or other
: |> Unices. So I am looking for another birectional file transfer protocol
: |> available as source code which runs on Linux, MS-DOS and other platforms.

: I am not sure what you mean by "bidirectional" file transfer protocol.
: If I am on a DOS machine with a Zmodem option, and connect to a UNIX or LINUX
: box with rz/sz available, I can both upload and download (= both directions)
: using Zmodem.

I think that what Holger is looking for is something like the venerable
Bi-modem (from the MS DOG world).  These protocols are called
bi-directional because they use both the XMIT and RECV channels at
the same time to upload and download at the same time.

In a "normal" (X,Y,Z modem) transfer the traffic looks something
like this:

+--------+                                            +--------+
| System |-->| Data Packet            |-->-->-->-->-->| System |
|        |                                            |        |
|   1    |<-----------<------------<-----| ACK |<-----|   2    |
+--------+                                            +--------+

Under a bi-directional protocol, the traffic looks more like:

+--------+                                            +--------+
| System |-->| Data Packet            |-->| ACK |---->| System |
|        |                                            |        |
|   1    |<---| ACK |<--| Data Packet            |<---|   2    |
+--------+                                            +--------+

Bi-modem went so far as to wedge keystrokes in, to allow the
users to chat while transferring files.  Thru-put was very good
as I recall.  This system requires a full duplux scheme, meaning
that PEP modems like the Telebit Trail-Blazer would really suck 
in PEP mode.

Hope this help clear the issue up, but I don't know of a version
for Unix either.

Tom
--
+--------------------------------+------------------------------+
| Tom Webster                    | "Funny, I've never seen it   |
| webster@kaiwan.com (home)      | do THAT before...."          |
| webster@ssdgwy.mdc.com  (work) | - Any user support person    |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------+
| finger -l webster@kaiwan.com to get my PGP Public Key.        |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

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

From: dgarrett@orbit.cs.engr.latech.edu (Don Garrett)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.admin,comp.os.linux.help
Subject: Re: What would you buy for a dream linux system?
Date: 30 Jun 94 21:29:38 GMT

Elmer Joandi (elmer@Sneezy.net.ut.ee) wrote:

: I have , for a long time, hold opinion, that 2 smaller (10ms) IDEs
: are faster than one big (say 9 ms) under unix as server. Am I right
: ?  I have problaly to make Linux server out of things we have - I
: suppose 2 210 MBMB 13ms runs faster than one 420 12ms.

  According to rumor, IDE controllers can't issue more than one disk
request at a time, so multiple accesses can't be interleaved, so there
is no speed up from having multiple drives.
  
  You would, however, get a speed up if the disks were SCSI, or if you
had more than one IDE controller (somehow).

--
Don Garrett                                                   Louisiana Tech
dgarrett@engr.latech.edu                                      University
                  http://info.latech.edu/~dgarrett/

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


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