Subject: Linux-Misc Digest #581
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:     Wed, 10 Aug 94 00:13:07 EDT

Linux-Misc Digest #581, Volume #2                Wed, 10 Aug 94 00:13:07 EDT

Contents:
  PHIGS for Linux? (Michael Vinson)
  Re: T-Shirt Image Files now in /pub/Linux/Incoming (Matt Welsh)
  Re: MCA SCSI Adapters for Linux? (jesusr@vnet.ibm.com)
  xfig on slackware 2.0.0 (Josef Dalcolmo)
  Newbie question (Todd A Wallace)
  Re: Linux book(s) (David Wynn)
  Re: mounting Sony CDU33a/PAS16: Cannot read superblock (Danny M Lee)
  Re: WABI vs. SoftWindows? (Dan Pop)
  Re: Linux T-Shirt images uploaded to Sunsite (Craig S. Maloney)
  parentage ? (James Thompson)
  Re: SCSI/IDE???? (Tim Cutts)
  Re: ET4000/w32i? How well supported? (Ken Latta)
  POP Mail client for X? (Bruce Mittleman)
  starting X automatically on installing linux distribution (Sujat Jamil)
  Myth on Linux (Aldy Hernandez)
  Ignore passwords on console? (Alex Ramos)

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

From: mjv@myhost.subdomain.domain (Michael Vinson)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.help
Subject: PHIGS for Linux?
Date: 9 Aug 1994 22:26:40 GMT
Reply-To: mjv@cutter.ship.edu

Is there an implementation of the PHIGS graphics standard available
for Linux? Does this question make any sense? (I've only heard about
PHIGS, never used it).

Thanks,
Michael Vinson

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

From: mdw@cs.cornell.edu (Matt Welsh)
Subject: Re: T-Shirt Image Files now in /pub/Linux/Incoming
Date: Tue, 9 Aug 1994 17:16:37 GMT

In article <3285l4$2pl@hebron.connected.com> fawcett@connected.com (John W. Fawcett) writes:
>Following suggestions, I have placed the images into the directory
>/pub/Linux/Incoming at Sunsite.unc.edu.  The file name is
>ray_traces.tar.gz.  There is a lsm file there as well (actually, it is also
>in the archive along with the IAFA-PACKAGE and README files.

John's Linux T-shirt designs are now available on the Linux Home Page
via the WWW. The URL is
        http://sunsite.unc.edu/mdw/tshirts/tshirts.html


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

Crossposted-To: comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware,de.comp.os.linux
From: jesusr@vnet.ibm.com
Subject: Re: MCA SCSI Adapters for Linux?
Date: Tue, 9 Aug 1994 16:20:57 GMT
Reply-To: jesusr@vnet.ibm.com

In <327nnj$ma1@news-feed-1.PeachNet.EDU> wmiller@vyonous.kennesaw.edu (Wade T. Miller) writes:
>Klaus Kudielka (kkudielk@cacofonix.nt.tuwien.ac.at) wrote:
>: Hello,
>
>: I'm trying to set up a IBM PS/2 Model 95 for Linux. The most important part
>: I need is a Microchannel SCSI Adapter which is fully compatible with any
>: ISA/EISA Adapter supported by Linux.
>
>: The Linux SCSI-HOWTO says:
>
>: >Drivers in the distribution kernel :
>: >
>: >Adaptec 152x, Adaptec 154x (including clones from Bustek and DTC 329x 
>: >boards), Adaptec 174x, Future Domain 850, 885, 950, and other boards 
>: >in that series (but not the 880 board unless you make the appropriate 
>: >patch), Future Domain 16x0 with TMC-1800 or TMC-18C50 chip, PAS16 
>: >SCSI ports, Seagate ST0x, Trantor T128 boards, Ultrastor 14F, 24F, and 34F, 
>: >and Western Digital 7000. 
>
>: I have already found two adapters which MIGHT be compatible, but I am not
>: sure:
>
>: 1) Adaptec AHA-1640. Is it 100% compatible to the AHA-1540? Does anybody
>:    use it with Linux? 
>
>: 2) Future Domain MCS-600. It has the TMC-1800 chip. Is it 100% compatible
>:    with the Future Domain 16x0? Does anybody use it with Linux?
>
>: If both adapters work with Linux: which is the better (i.e. faster) one?
>: Does anybody know other alternatives?
>
>: Thanks in advance
>: Klaus
>
>: --
>: Dipl.-Ing. Klaus Kudielka
>
>It is doubtful that either MCA controller will work with linux now or
>ever.  MCA is a proprietary bus architecture and IBM is not giving out
>the specs without a non-disclosure agreement.  Hence the source for the 
>driver cannot be released without violating that agreement.  Invest in a 
>more compatible motherboard.

WRONG!  The problem has nothing to do with MCA.  The problem is exactly what
Klaus said, he either needs a new SCSI adapter or write a driver for the IBM
SCSI adapter.  I had Linux boot on my 57SLC2 (MCA machine) and it found my
diskette drives, my SB PRO Micro Channel Version, but it failed on the SCSI
probe.  So I assume it's just a SCSI driver problem.  I've been trying
to gather the information to write the SCSI driver but can't find the TIME
to do it.

So I think blaming MCA is no longer a valid excuse.

>
>Wade - just my opinion.
>

Jesus
pr@umiacs.umd.edu
jesusr@vnet.ibm.com

Disclaimer:  The views expressed in this post are my own and do not represent
        my employer.

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

From: josefd@albert.ssl.berkeley.edu (Josef Dalcolmo)
Subject: xfig on slackware 2.0.0
Date: 9 Aug 1994 17:40:28 GMT

I installed slackware 2.0.0 on my 33MHz 486 VLB machine (8Mb RAM, 15+Mb swap
partition, ext2fs, linux 1.0.9)

Most things work just fine, but xfig rattles the hard disk for about 10
minutes when launched, and the just quits (after drawing part of it's
workbench on the screen).

I wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience, or got it to work.

- Josef


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

From: twallace@mason1.gmu.edu (Todd A Wallace)
Subject: Newbie question
Date: 9 Aug 1994 17:27:33 GMT

Here is a real newbie (to linux) question: What is the difference
between the NetBSD-FreeBSD-386BSD group of OSs and Linux?

================================================================
|    Todd Wallace               |  "A pessimist is surprised   |
|    twallace@mason1.gmu.edu    |   as often as an optimist,   |
|-------------------------------|   but always pleasantly."    |
| Expatriate Midwesterner (tm)  |            - Robert Heinlein |
================================================================

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

From: nomad@fx.net (David Wynn)
Subject: Re: Linux book(s)
Date: 9 Aug 1994 22:37:41 GMT

David Wynn (nomad@fx.net) wrote:

: ..just a newsworthy note from a bookstore employee:

: there are at least 2 books due out on Linux in October.. I was doing a 
: search and came across them.. I can get the specs if anyone is interested 
: & wants to mail me.. from what I recall they sounded promising!


Got some more info today.. 
Here's the scoop: 

1.  _Linux from PC to Workstation_
    by T. Uhl
    pub. by Springer-Verlag NY, Inc. 1-800-777-4643
    -the pub. date I was given by Books in Print is 10/01/94 and I tried 
     calling Springer to confirm, but didn't get back with them before 
     they closed.  I will try again tommorrow.
    ISBN 0387580778
    $39.95

2.  _Linux Network Administrator's Guide_
    by Olaf Kirch
    pub. by O'Reilly & Assoc. 1-800-338-6887
    -I called O'Reilly and they were unable to confirm the date I have of 
     09/01/94. They suggested I try back in a couple of weeks to get an 
     official press date. 
    ISBN 1565920872
    $29.95

David Wynn
nomad@fx.net


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

From: dml@ciao.cc.columbia.edu (Danny M Lee)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.help
Subject: Re: mounting Sony CDU33a/PAS16: Cannot read superblock
Date: 10 Aug 1994 00:35:30 GMT

i too have a sony cdu33a with a pas-16 card.  my problem comes even
before the superblock problem.  i can't seem to get it mounted at all.
the install program complains about being unable to mount the cd-rom
drive after i specified my source media and distribution info.  i'm
installing from infomagic's latest cd set.  what could possibly be
the problem?  i'm using the cdu31a boot disk, which should be ok
with the cdu33a.  any ideas would be most appreciated.  thanks in
advance.

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

Crossposted-To: comp.sys.hp,comp.sys.hp.apps,comp.sys.sun.apps,comp.windows.x,comp.windows.x.apps,comp.unix.unixware
From: danpop@cernapo.cern.ch (Dan Pop)
Subject: Re: WABI vs. SoftWindows?
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 00:19:35 GMT

In <Cu6r7v.7vA@epimbe.com> vlcek@epimbe.com (James Vlcek) writes:

>In article <320ris$g7n@kubds1.kub.nl> paai@kub.nl (J.J. Paijmans) writes:
>>What it all
>>seems to boil down to is that you (=Jim) think that Linux isn't going
>>to make it because it is "...yet another Unix flavor..." But if Linux is
>>yet another UF, then why is not UnixWare?
>
>UnixWare, being based upon SVR4.2, is at least the direct descendant
>of the original UNIX.

Let me remind you that the original Unix was written in assembler,
on a PDP-7 (an 18 bit machine).
>
>But you are incorrect in assuming that I think that Linux will not
>"make it" because it is yet another UNIX flavor.  While we need
>another UNIX flavor about as much as the Sahara needs drought and
>sand, Linux is not going to hold the line against the Microsoft
>onslaught for other reasons - which I have listed in other postings in
>this thread.

How many Linux users have switched to Microsoft?
How many Microsoft users have switched to Linux?

Anyway, the idea that Linux is threatened by Microsoft was a good joke.
>
>Cripes, all these Linuxers think everything should be given to them.
>I've gotten several emails already, demanding that I buy copies of
>UnixWare for Linuxers.  "If you think it's so great, why don't you buy
>me a copy?"  That response didn't do much to change my basic
>perception that the Linuxoids don't have a very sound understanding of
>the free market system.

This remark works very well the other way 'round, too. You seem to not
have a very sound understanding of the free software system. Many others
have said that it won't work and nobody would want to use it, and yet,
gcc has less bugs than many commercial compilers and can be found on
almost every Unix box and Emacs is one of the most popular editors.
Not to mention that some people prefer to use X11 instead of a character
based interface or a proprietary windowing system :-)
>
>>So if I have to bet my shirt, I will bet on enthousiasm & creativity and
>>not on commercialism like you seem to do.
>
>There are people of equal enthusiasm and creativity providing
>competitive products on Microsoft OS platforms.  Enthusiasm and
>creativity are not enough; one needs a market advantage as well.  I
>contend that Linux will never provide this advantage.
 
Having a market is more often than not a barrier in the way of
progress. You can't introduce new features which will break existing
code because this will make customers unhappy and you might lose them.
Without customers, everything can move much faster. Every couple of
months DOSEMU has to be modified to run on the new kernels. After every
change, it is even faster and has more features. And everybody is happy.
>
>What Linux _does_ provide, on the other hand, is an easy route for
>interested users to become introduced to UNIX.  I received one email
>from a guy in high school who has installed Linux on a 386SX/16 with
>four meg or memory, and who is now experiencing the sheer fun on
>learning what UNIX can do for him.  This is where Linux can't be beat,
>and I think/hope that UnixWare can benefit if Novell comes to view
>Linux as a doorway to UnixWare.

Novell might see it this way, but I'm affraid that the Linux users 
won't :-)
>
>But when one starts considering platforms upon which to base a
>commercial product, Linux simply falls far short.  The lack of Windows
>support alone is a killer - Windows programs can be _extremely_ useful
>as front-ends to UNIX apps on a platform which can support them.  I've
>been admonished by many Linuxoids "they've only just started working
>on WINE - give them time!"  What the hell - I'm going to tell my
>customers that?  Get real!

Your customers are completely irrelevant to Linux and its future.
Although the day when they'll start demanding Linux is closer than you
might think.

What is preventing you from ignoring Linux, since you're convinced that
it has no future, except as doorway to UnixWare and only if it won't be
completely destroyed by Microsoft?  :-)

Dan
--
Dan Pop 
CERN, CN Division
Email: danpop@cernapo.cern.ch
Mail:  CERN - PPE, Bat. 31 R-004, CH-1211 Geneve 23, Switzerland

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

From: craig@enterprise (Craig S. Maloney)
Subject: Re: Linux T-Shirt images uploaded to Sunsite
Date: 9 Aug 1994 18:09:28 GMT

On 8 Aug 1994 21:13:50 -0700 John W. Fawcett (fawcett@connected.com) wrote the following...
:>Someone asked that I make my set of images available for download.  I have
:>just put the package together and sent it to Sunsite.  It now sits in the
:>upload directory.

Thanks! (I was the somebody who asked)

Craig


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

From: jolt47@netcom.com (James Thompson)
Subject: parentage ?
Date: Tue, 9 Aug 1994 17:35:58 GMT


hey,

   I've had a little experience with HP-UX admin. I uhh .. thought
HPUX was AT&T srV flavored.  Well... I installed Slackware on my PC
and it isn't like HPUX.  The spooling commands are diff the pathnames
are diff and a bunch of other stuff is different.  I've seen the words
POSIX and sysV associated with Linux.  ( hey look here comes a question)
how can someone differentiate btwn => BSD, AT&T, srV (aren't those last 2
the same), POSIX, and  L i n u x ?.... more specifically :
                    
                 what flavor is Linux  ?????????
                                                  -tanks !
******************************************************************************
* jolt47@netcom.com a MPEix Operator running Linux on a Dos machine connected*
* a SunOS inet service in a BigBlue VMS world.... -James                     *
******************************************************************************


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

From: tjrc1@cus.cam.ac.uk (Tim Cutts)
Subject: Re: SCSI/IDE????
Date: 9 Aug 1994 18:24:14 GMT

gbrownin@sun1.iusb.indiana.edu (G. Browning) writes:


>I need some help with some drive theory..

>I want to install a 1 gig scsi drive with a few 80 meg scsi
>drives and one IDE 160 meg drive.  I talked it over with one
>of our technicians and he says that the IDE drive must be the
>boot drive as the AMI BIOS notices it first and then the scsi
>bios is read.  

>Now, LILO places itself in the master boot record..   if I want
>the gig SCSI drive to contain my LINUX, will LILO place itself
>in the MBR of the IDE to point to the SCSI?  (i.e. I want the
>operating system on the gig drive and use the IDE drive as
>/tmp).  

I don't think so.  You'd be better off with a tiny root partition on
the IDE, and then mount virually everything (/home, /usr, /tmp) from
SCSI.

>told that it DOES support 6 SCSI devices but only 2 drives..
>if this is the case, then will I need 3 SCSI cards to support
>my 1 gig SCSI, 240 meg SCSI, and the three 80 meg SCSI's 
>I have?  Is there not a way to chain 6 SCSI drive internally?
>Are not SCSI drives considered to be SCSI devices?  

Pass.

Hope this helps a bit.

Tim.
-- 
===============================================================================
194, Vinery Rd, Cambridge, CB1 3DS, UK (+44) 223 572622
http://mole.bio.cam.ac.uk/~tjrc1/
===============================================================================

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

From: Ken Latta <klatta@pkdla5.syntex.com>
Subject: Re: ET4000/w32i? How well supported?
Date: Tue, 09 Aug 94 11:06:17 PDT


In article <Cu9u71.8qJ@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca>, <calemon@sunee.uwaterloo.ca> 
writes:
> are the extra goodies and speed of the W32i supported?  Are there any
> quirks about the VGA Wonder Mach32 that I should know?  Does it work OK
> with the Mach32 Xfree? (I've used this too but it was on a genuine ATI
> Graphics Ultra Pro 2MB).  
> 
>       I'm basically looking for stories (good or bad) about either card
> and the current versions of Linux.
> -- 
>  Craig Lemon  VE3XCL (Advanced Class)  | Electrical Engineering
>  calemon@sunee.uwaterloo.ca (school)   | University of Waterloo
>  clemon@lemsys.UUCP (home)             | Ontario, CANADA
>  ve3xcl@ve3euk.#swon.on.can.na  ve3xcl@at.ve3uow.ampr.org (Packet)

I have been running Glenn Lai's W32i X server under Linux v1.0.8 for about 
a week now.  It works fine with my Genoa Phantom w32i VLB card.  The server 
is still experimental and does not yet include support for controlling 
video memory interleave.  Fortunately, my card seems to default to 
interleave enabled, based on a comparison of x11perf -copywinwin500 
results.  It has only locked up once, when trying to terminate an x11perf 
run.  I have found at least one operation that actually goes a little 
slower than the generic SVGA server.  Most operations are 2-8 times faster. 
I'm using a 65Mhz dot clock and driving it with a 386DX-40.  I consider it 
responsive enough to be pleasant to use.  I expect it would benefit from a 
faster CPU.  That's my experience.

Ken Latta

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

From: Bam@netaxs.com (Bruce Mittleman)
Subject: POP Mail client for X?
Date: Tue, 9 Aug 1994 22:11:32

 I am looking for a POP mail client for my Linux X system.
Something like "PC Eudora" for MS Windows is what I'm looking for.

 Anybody know of such a program????

    Bruce

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
| Bam@netaxs.com                   |  I'm only interested in two things.   |
| Y2046@hrpi16.dnet.hcc.com        | ...See if you can guess what they are.|
| Chat: 192.204.4.129              |                    F. Zappa           |
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

From: sujat@shasta.ee.umn.edu (Sujat Jamil)
Subject: starting X automatically on installing linux distribution
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 02:26:31 GMT

I'm sure this must have been discussed before, but nevertheless.....


I was following the thread on Soft Windows vs. WABI which basically
digressed to ease of use of "Unix"  (which a lot of people took to
mean having a character based non-GUI interface) vs. "user-friendly"
GUI based Windows, WNT, OS/2 etc.  A lot of the discussion was
centered around the presence of GUI based help on these "friendly"
systems vs. lack of it on Unix (again assuming character based
non-GUI).  Some pointed out that with the "friendly" OSs you get a GUI
environment right on installation to which somebody replied that with
Unixware you also get X right on installation.  I know the same is
true for commercial workstation Unix/X combinations (such as SGI IRIX
or HP-UX). 

I was wondering why the same isn't or can't be done for the popular
Linux distribution e.g. Slackware.  I.e. when you install, you may be
prompted on whether you'd like to install X Windows, and if so, it
would go ahead and install X, configure it, and start it up with the
lowest common denominator assumption (i.e. plain SVGA or even just
VGA).  It could also have an option of asking you for your monitor and
video card type, as well as preferred resolutions, root window color,
etc. etc. where you could tune the configuration to your liking, 
just as you can with Windows etc.

In fact, if you like it could set up "automatically" using xdm or some
startx based script so you'd never have to see the plain character
based UI at all.

Although I agree with those who say that Unix is more sophisticated
than simple "user/friendly" Windows or MacOS systems and thus has a
steeper learning curve, it's also true that much of the nicety of *nix
is in its internal structure and resource management (e.g. preemptive
multitasking, multiuser, network friendly etc.) all of which could be
abstracted for the average user.  If NeXTStep, HP-VUE, Sun, SGI 
etc. environments can abstract the complexities for the average user,
why can't we in the Linux based environment?  Of course, the power
user would be still able to use the character based Unix utilites.  

It's quite silly to see the so-called friendly Windows/OS/2/Mac etc
advocates compare the "friendly" GUI of these environments to
character-based Unix shells.  Probably the only way to convince these
advocates, if that is ever possible, is to actually provide similar
GUI based environment for Linux.  I wish I knew enough about Unix and
X programming to start working on this, but I'm still on the learning
curve :)

Well, I'd like know what other Linuxers think!

Sujat









--
*******************************************************************************
Sujat Jamil                                             Electrical Engineering
Graduate Research Assistant                             University of Minnesota
******************************sujat@shasta.ee.umn.edu**************************

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

From: aldy@sauron.cc.andrews.edu (Aldy Hernandez)
Subject: Myth on Linux
Date: 10 Aug 1994 02:32:50 GMT
Reply-To: aldy@andrews.edu

Has anyone got Myth (the multiuser hack like game) working on Linux.
I've compiled it, but running it gives an error file with many
"SERVER_IDLE received" messages.

Any help appreciated.
Please respond via email.

Aldy
aldy@andrews.edu

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

From: ramos@engr.latech.edu (Alex Ramos)
Subject: Ignore passwords on console?
Date: 10 Aug 1994 02:07:03 GMT


Is there any 'easy' way (i.e. changing some config file in /etc)
to make all console logins passwordless?

Thanks

--
Alex Ramos (ramos@engr.latech.edu) * http://info.latech.edu/~ramos/
Louisiana Tech University, BSEE/Sr * These opinions are probably mine

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


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