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Contents: |
Answers to these questions should be sent directly to the e-mail address of the inquirer with or without a copy to gazette@ssc.com. Answers that are copied to LG will be printed in the next issue in the Tips column.
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 10:47:38 +0100 (MET)
From: Jan-Hendrik Terstegge,
jh.terstegge@gmx.net
Subject: Korn Shell FAQ
I'm looking for a good Korn Shell FAQ, because I dislike reading the Manpages. Does anyone know a good Internet Address of a FAQ?
Thanks in advance
--
Jan-Hendrik
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1999 15:13:18 -0500
From: "Jim Coleman",
jecoleman@upsala.org
Subject: Windows program replacements
I'm making the move from Windows to Linux and am in the process of tracking down Linux programs to replace anything in Windows that I feel I cannot do without. It's a short but stubborn list. Presently, I'm trying to locate a Linux Family Tree program (I'm using Family Tree Maker in Windows) and also need a Linux program that can import the contents of several Cardfile databases.
I've heard of and have downloaded the Unix based LifeLines program but have not yet tried it. Though it comes highly recommended, even the author admits that it's somewhat dated. I was hoping a more recent program was available. Not necessarily freeware, by the way.
Suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks,
Best Regards,
--
Jim Coleman
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 14:45:12 -0800
From: "Michel A. Lim",
support@whl-international.com
Subject: RH5.2 and Intel EtherExpress Pro/10+ ISA NIC
I am a Linux newbie, with some computer experience, trying to install my intel etherexpress pro/10+ isa card on my new Linux box (Macmillan RH 5.2, kernel 2.0.36-0.7). I have read several newsgroup postings regarding this network card, but I could really use a step-by-step guide.
The card did work when the OS was win98. Linux is now the only OS on this computer. The Linux install was successful except that it did not recognize my network card. I disabled the plug and play function of the card using the intel configuration software (softset2), and then tried re-installing Linux and passing the IRQ and I/O settings (7 and 320-32Fh respectively) but that also did not work. I then tried to add the following lines to /etc/conf.modules:
alias eth0 eepro options eth0 io=320-32Fh irq=7this was also unsucessful. Furthermore, pnpdump returns "board not found," and even AFTER reading the HOWTO for isapnptools, I have no idea what to add to add to my isapnp.conf file.
Any help would be very appreciated, just please be detailed as I am not a guru by any stretch of the imagination.
thank you.
--
michel a. lim
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 1999 18:30:50 -0200
From: "Eliane Aureliana de Sousa",
lili@martins.com.br
Subject: We do not relay...
Could you help me? I have Red Hat Linux installed and I have sendmail and a pop server running but when I try to send and receive mail via Netscape what I receive is this mensage: We do not relay..... and there is neve any msg in my mail box.
I've read as many how-to as I could, but I couldn't find nothing about my problem. Send mail is already running, I need to know how to set the permissions to let my users send and receive mail.
Thanks, Eliane Aureliana de Sousa Uberlandia - Brazil
Date: Mon, 08 Feb 1999 16:28:52 +0100
From: Kristoffer Andersson,
e7koffe@etek.chalmers.se
Subject: Help wanted -- article ideas
I'm having a sort of luxorius problem. In the building where I live we have a 24-7 ethernet connection two the Internet - so long every thing is fine - the problem is that this connection goes through a masquerading-server and as a result it is almost impossible to connect to your computer from a computer outside my building.
To go around this limitation I have set up a small script that uses ssh to forward a few ports (21, 22 and 80) to a computer outside the building. This is fine as long as you and your friends now to wich computer the ports have been forwarded to.
A more fancy solution would be to use ssh to tunnel ppp! The problem is that I dont now of an ISP that would let me to use PPP over the Internet instead of over their modem-pools.
--
Kristoffer Andersson
Date: Mon, 08 Feb 1999 10:35:02 -0200
From: Silvia,
silvia@waytecnet.com.br
Subject: DOS Emulations
How does the DOS emulation through the serial ports works?
What is the default terminal emulation?
How can we change this?
We need to use 25 lines 80 columns and the key combinations ALT+F1,
ALT+F2, ..., ETC.
Regards
--
Silvia
Date: Mon, 08 Feb 1999 04:52:35 +0100
From: JVA,
vargaj@intrak.tuke.sk
Subject: Sound card with radio on it
I am intending to install Red Hat 5.0 to myP 166: PC and my question is that I have a ISA sound card (SF16-FMI) with radio on it, it's 100% SB compatible,and has a IDE connection on it and it's not PnP will it be able to work and in particular the radio please help I enjoy listening to radio.
--
Jva
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 15:42:19 -0800
From: Jay Xia, xia@xlnt.com
Subject: MS words to Postscript conversion
From time to time, people e-mail me documents in Microsoft Words format. Do you know where I can find an utility to convert the MS Words documents into Postscript format so that I can view/print them in Linux?
Thanks.
--
jay
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 01:32:18 +0100
From: bonis, bonis@tin.it
Subject: problema
ciao, mi chiamo cris ho red hat 5.0 e devo collegarmi a internet... con netscape communicator.. ..non ci riesco :)..sono abbonato a tin...e ho un modem esterno da 33.6 ...ho provato di tutto..ma non riesco propio :) aiuto :) grazie. ps. ho installato Linux Red Hat da 3 giorni :)..e mai prima.. :)
--
bonis
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 20:58:10 +0530
From: "Mukul Jain", jainmukul@usa.net
Subject: Configuring Linux as mail server
I want to configure Linux as my off-line mail server. What all I want is that I want it to aceept my mail and when I dial to my ISP it just sends the collected mail and then recieves the mail from my domain. and distributes according to Linux user accounts.
I've done the following setting in sendmail.cw; I've added my domain entry.
In sendmail.cf I've changed the DS to my ISP server DSgg.vsnl.net.in
and at DM added my domain also changed OHoldExpensive=True
Well and then changed settings for the mailers expensiver
Now still I get an Error 'We do not relay mail'
HELP!
--
Mukul
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 11:06:49 +0100 (Ora solare Europa occidentale)
From: Bruno Falconi,
bruno@ifctr.mi.cnr.it
Subject: primo approccio
finalmente ho trovato un link interessante per chi vuole inoltrarsi in Linux.
Ho cercato di installare Linux (Red Hat 5.2) sul mio pc che gia gira con windows 98. ho tre dischi (10gb, 2gb e 1.5gb). ho incontrato mille difficolta' e alla fine non sono riuscito ad installarlo, non solo, ma ho perso anche Windows 98. Ho ripristinato poi i dischi ed windows, ma prima di riprovarci gradirei qualche dritta per fare una cosa seria.
grazie
--
Bruno Falconi
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 12:35:03 -0500
From: "Jeff Moore", champnet@iisc.net
Subject: Converting to Linux
Was told that I can do lot more with this Linux, where it be with 286 or 386 so on, and to be able develop the full capabilities a Service provider to community, schools, business, residential. Would consider this task is a must see how it can be done. O f course now one would have to have a great deal old hardware, software all ready and surely this person would no just go out and buy old equipment with this intent in mind. Instead work with students with a great of old equipment that we are upgrading- Using what we have an looking for conversions that would act like they up-to-date? any suggestion ?
--
Jeff Moore
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 01:05:56 +0800 (SGT)
From: "Jayasuthan ......",
suthan@eplx01.fairchildsemi.com
Subject: Clear Up Corrupted Files
I having problem with my filesystem lately. I believe it caused by Linux Kernel 2.2.0 with hdparm -m8 option on my hard disk. Lucky its not very serius. But now the problem is cleaning up those file which corrupted. I do have file in /lost+found folder and thats not an issue but files like this :-
br-Sr-S--- 1 25449 28015 99, 105 Nov 26 2031 System.map br-srwS-wT 1 29813 23328 9, 10 Jan 19 2026 System.old drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 1024 Feb 15 23:07 beta/ drwxr-xr-x 2 root bin 2048 May 8 1994 bin/Look at System.map and System.old file. This file can't just "rm -rf" away. I don't want to format my hard disk well it will be very hard for me. I do have good backup. I want to learn Linux file system and understand it.
Please help me out here.
Thank You,
--
Jayasuthan
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 13:20:29 +0200
From: "yossi",
yossi@sivan-north.co.il
Subject: Linux & Win95/98/NT clients
Well, I am system administrator in colleage (about 200 machines). Mostly they're running Win95/98 and some of them running NT4.0 Workstation. We don't use yet Linux as a server ( but I use it a lot for java-development). We use NT4.0. So my question is : I'd like to install Linux as a file-server & keep on him images of hard-disks from classrooms(i.e every classroom has own "master" with all the programmes installed on it). So if something goes wrong with one (or more) of a computers in the classroom I'd like to keep this "masters" on Linux server & connect to them somehow from this computer and take the "image" off to my win95/98/nt client. Somehow - I mean I have to have a boot-diskette that does the work. The second point is that I'm not sure in possibility that in-the-same-time I can use the "image" on Linux with multiple connections... Sometimes the "image" has to be requested by 20-25 clients(in the same time).=20 If somebody can help me it's really great coz' this way I can install first-Linux-server in our network ( I really like this OS.... but it doesn't depend on me :) ) Any information will be appreciated. Thanx.
--
Daniel Mester
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 18:23:55 -0700 (MST)
From: "Dale M. Snider",
dsnider@nmia.com
Subject: Re: Trap float divide-by-zero and NaN
Can someone tell me how to turn on a gcc compile option to trap a divide by zero and NaN with type float or double. I can get the divide-by-zero trap with type int. Is this a trap that can be done on the kernal level? The signal SIGFPED only works on integers?? I am using Red Hat 5.2 installation.
Trap on divide by zero: a=1., b=0., a/b=Inf
Trap on overflow: a=3.4e38, b=3.4e38, a*b=Inf
Trap on NaN: sqrt(-1)
I have included a small test code to illustrate the problem (question)..
To build sample code:
cc -g tst.c -lm -o tst
Test code:
The Mailbag!
#include <stdio.h>
#include <math.h>
main() {
float a,b,c,d;
int ia,ib,ic;
int i;
a=1.; b=0.;
c=a/b;
d=(float)sqrt((double)-a);
printf("Float: a=%f b=%f a/b=%f d=sqrt(-a)=%f\n",a,b,c,d);
ia=1; ib=0;
ic=ia/ib;
printf("Integer: ia=%d ib=%d ia/ib=%d\n",ia,ib,ic);
}
Results:
Float: a=1.000000 b=0.000000 a/b=Inf d=sqrt(-a)=NaN Floating point exception (core dumped)Note that the integer divide by zero is trapped but reported as " Floating point exception"??
Cheers
--
Dale
Date: Mon, 01 Feb 1999 03:39:39 +0200
From: Jussi Kallioniemi,
jukal@teraflops.com
Subject: business plan
Just a quick question (worth printing to next issue?)
Is there any (good) GNU licensed programs to help the creation of businessplans?
--
Jussi Kallioniemi
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 23:50:54 -0800
From: "Snow Wolf",
snowwolf@sprynet.com
Subject: Letter to the Editor ...
On the same day that I received my Linux Journal, I got a PC Connection periodical. It's a standard PC mail-order catalog, but it seems to assume that people are running Windows. Are there similar catalogs that cater to people running Linux/Unix. Like have non-PnP modems, cards that include drivers for other OSes besides Windows, etc., etc.
--
Charles Wheeler
Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 11:36:25 PST
From: "Jaap Wolters", woltersj@hotmail.com
Subject: problem
Ik heb geprobeert jullie programma "LINUX" te downloaden, maar ik krijg geen toegang. hoe zou het toch kunnen? Op de t.v werd verteld dat het programma beter is dan Windows 98, Minder fouten en minder vastlopers. Is het programma windows compatible zodat ik mijn oude windows spellen kan doorspelen. Ik heb ZEER veel belang bij dit programma, maar aangezien me het niet lukt om het te downloaden zou ik graag uw advies willen.
Met vriendelijke groeten
--
J.Wolters
Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 12:21:53 -0500
From: "Nick Wilkens",
NWilkens@holnam.com
Subject: Making a Red Hat 5.2 CD
Hi, I downloaded the Red Hat/RPMS Red Hat/base directories from sunsite, along with the proper image files, etc... I also burn them to a CD in this same way under the Red Hat directory, is this proper? because when i try to do a CD install, it says invalid media no Red Hat tree found or something to that effect. Any suggestions?
--
Nick
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 17:28:54 PST
From: helicon123@hotmail.com
Subject: Installation Question
Since Linux was mostly used by x86, do you think it's OK if I install it on PII-300MHz computer?
--
helicon123
Date: Mon, 01 Feb 1999 15:18:23 +0000
From: Austin,
austinp@headland.co.uk
Subject: Help wanted: Fax gateway
I'm toying with the idea of setting up a FAX gateway on a Linux machine. The machine is currently on a LAN, and has no modem, so I'll be wanting to stick a 56Kbps in there. I'm just after pointers, personal experience, web pages, and general advice on this, because I have no idea where to start :)
So far, I've discovered Hylafax. Is this what I should be using? Are there alternatives?
How do you go about installing a modem? What models are recommended?
Thanks for any help.
Date: Mon, 01 Feb 1999 16:03:26 +0000
From: Keith,
kwhudson@ticnet.com
Subject: Not Linux
three oaths:
1 of marriage
1 of truth
1 of leadership
1st one Rendered invalid by actions
2nd one destroyed by testimony
3rd one ?
lets not be lazy..lets not take a just get it over attitude...lets tell the Pop Press that we want news, not day to day hogwash...
People are made to tire of a subject, because the press forces every conceivable amount of data real or not about a subject down to us. This is known. This is planned.
No one has lost face. This is not a party issue. Let it continue. We need a answer. We need the Law. Whatever the outcome will be.
--
Keith
Date: Mon, 01 Feb 1999 18:24:34 +0100
From: Roger Irwin, irwin@trucco.it
Subject: Closed software promotion
Launching into issue 37, I go straight to Software Announcements. And the first item is "New circuit design software", which goes on to describe itself as a spice front-end.
Well, I design electronic circuits, and immediately hit the link. What I found was that the spice front-end was a plug-in for the 'visio' package. No mention was made of Linux, but the announcement said it would work on any version of Visio. So, I would need the Linux version of visio.
So then I followed the link to Visio, and looked to see 'platform requirements'. It said this:
"We've thought long and hard about what you'll need from a business diagram program. That's why we've designed our software to work on most desktops. Chances are, the computer you already use will be fine for running Visio Standard."
Great, another program designed to run on as many platforms as possible? Not quite, it will run on W95, W98 & Windows NT4.0. Period. Another company who thinks the only OS that should be run on a desktop is Windows, and Linux Gazette is helping to promote this.
Well done, keep up the good work...............
Bill will be so proud of you.
--
Roger
(Sorry to let that one slip by me. I tend to assume if they send the announcement to me, it works for Linux. And of course, I knew SPICE works for Linux. Wish I had time to chase every announcement down, but I don't. Anyway I removed it after getting a couple of letters telling me. --Editor)
Date: Tue, 02 Feb 1999 10:24:33 -0800
From: jeff godden, jgodden@panlabs.com
Subject: under software announcements, SpiceLink is not a Linux product
As usual, Linux Gazette remains one of my favorite sources of net-gleaned Linux information. Thank you!
Under software announcements of issue #37 there is a link to SpiceLink which i was very thrilled about to see such a graphical support for spice under Linux. But alas, even through it's linked from Linux Gazette this software cannot run under Linux. From the president of the SpiceLink following an inquiry:
You're right about SpiceLink; it's for Visio and therefore Windows.(maybe when they get near 100% of the Windows market they'll think about Linux). Perhaps a note might be added that one better have WINE running and even then it's uncertain...?
Many thanks!
--
jeff
(Always appreciate hearing when I lapse so I can get it corrected. Thanks for doing it in such a nice way. That announcement has been removed. -- Editor)
Date: Tue, 02 Feb 1999 12:54:29 -0500
From: Darren, PCTech1018@netscape.net
Subject: RE: What is a 'high crime'
A "High crime" is not necessarily what could be called a 'heinous' act. A 'High crime' is simply a 'crime' committed by a 'High' official (such as a senator, federal judge, or president.) Because of their unique positions, what would not be considered crimes for us, may be considered crimes for 'High' officials, hence the term 'common criminal' versus 'high criminal'. For instance, accepting bribes would, for private citizens outside of public office, not be considered a crime (immoral perhaps, but not criminal.) For high officials, bribery is most definitely a 'high' crime.
Some people feel that the questions that the president did not truthfully answer should not have been asked and were not relevant to governing. After all, even some of the framers of the constitution were known to have had 'improper relations'. But these same people seem to forget that we did not have laws relating to sexual harassment/discrimination back then. Also, the judgment by the courts pertaining directly to those 'irrelevant' questions was that the questions were relevant and proper at the time they were asked.
As to using the principle of 'acts related to governing', it would seem that these same people feel that R. Nixon should have been impeached - even though his alleged acts and deceptions had nothing to do with 'governing'. Using the Nixon precedent, W. Clinton should be held accountable for lies and deception even if they had little bearing on the act of 'governing'.
So then, we are left to ask, were the lies and deception in the courts by the president acceptable? I guess we all need to answer that for ourselves. If it is appropriate for the president to not tell the whole truth on those matters that the court has decided he should answer for and go unpunished for lying, then we should stop enforcing sexual discrimination cases altogether. Women should just accept their place as 2nd class citizens and let the rest of us get on with the job of making a living. Just think, if he had 'pleaded the fifth', we wouldn't be having this wonderful education on the constitutional process.
This may not be the populist view, but the moral high ground usually isn't. Witness the popularity of Howard Stern and Larry Flynt. I am not perfect. When I get caught breaking 'minor' laws, I should fully expect some sort of punishment. But just because I am not perfect, does that mean I should give up any expectation of holding myself and others to standards of common decency?
--
Darren
Date: Wed, 03 Feb 1999 14:27:08 -0800
From: James Guilford,
guilfoja@oplin.lib.oh.us
Subject: Thanks!
I've been experimenting with Linux (Red Hat flavor) but needed to remove it from a machine to install {gad} Windows. LILO wouldn't go away.
I found the answer on your Web site. Thanks for saving me a lot of trouble!
--
James Guilford
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 14:08:43 -0600
From: "John W. Burgoon",
jwb@indiana.com
Subject: J. W. Pennington's article about Doubt
I read Pennington's article with considerable interest and look forward to more. As a web developer (trained in Physics and Chemistry) I have to point out the word that the hard sciences use in place of Mr. Pennington's "doubt": we call that "skepticism". Not cynicism, which many folks use as a way to protect their ego. (Failure is more common than success, so cynics just predict failure all the time to get their winning %age).
Skepticism is a firm belief in empirical or deductive fact coupled with a firm disbelief in personal perception. The good engineer is a skeptic; he wants to know some empirical fact before he allows himself to believe his perceptions. He tests the girder design before it goes into a bridge, and even then he over builds that bridge by a factor of 2 or 3 just in case the wind blows, or any army drives across with tanks, or an earthquake hits. And when it fails anyway, he shows up and figures out why.
Linux benefits from skepticism since we don't say "Ha, this is perfect" but rather we say, "weeellll, this works but so far we haven't looked at x/y/z".
Kudos to the good author for pointing out a fine generality in which Linux developers can take pride. Healthy old-fashioned skepticism kicks ass.
John W. Burgoon
(Mr. Pennington will return with part 2 next month. --Editor)
Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 04:37:32 -0800
From: Igor Markov,
imarkov@CS.UCLA.EDU
Subject: Re: The Beauty of Doubt
It seems, you are really talking about *critical thinking*. *Doubt* is often caused by critical thinking, but shouldn't be explicitly cultivated, in my opinion. Many colleges offer classes on critical thinking, and the topic is not that new. It is true, of course, that commercial software developers are not as free to think critically about their work as FSC folks, hence the advantage of FSC.
Regarding the other three terms: *cooperation* seems too weak, free software developers *collaborate*."Cooperation" is what Microsoft does when it gets sued for a breach of contract ;-)
*Non-control (read: Freedom)* is vague. You probably mean *independent thinking* and, separately, *freedom to allocate personal resources*. For example, I may be interested in kernel hacking, just because I like the subject (not because I am paid for this) and may have new ideas, but not time/skill to implement them. Someone else, who has a month of vacation may pick them up and produce something useful.
"Rebellion"... how about "enthusiasm" or, better, "improvement drive". I would actually agree that many developers may be driven by a rebellion, but not the ones who are responsible for most innovation. "Rebellion" does not go well with incremental development models somehow.
Finally, the lack and, OTOH, the ease of several aspects of management is critical to the FSC as much as the above issues. This may need to be discussed as well.
well... so much for a non-native speaker. I guess, you will correct me if I messed up connotaions/meanings etc.
--
Igor
Date: Sun, 07 Feb 1999 21:17:27 +0000
From: Kevin Atkinson, kevinatk@home.com
Subject: Did you know about Aspell?
I saw you article titled "ispell: Spelling Checker" in the Linux Gazette and was wondering if you knew of the existence of Aspell.
From the manual:
1.1.1.1 Features that only Aspell has
Granted that when your article was first published Aspell didn't exist.
More information can be found at http://metalab.unc.edu/kevina/aspell/.
--
Kevin Atkinson
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 15:17:36 -0600
From: "Gray, Robert C",
Robert.Gray@feist.com
Subject: Not Linux
No offense meant, but
Three states list perjury as a "High crime or misdemeanor" in their state constitution they are California, Texas, and Alabama. Three others call perjury an infamous crime (same as "High crime..." ?) they are West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Three others list perjury as an offense serious enough for removal from office they are Wyoming, Missouri, and Colorado.
All these states also list conviction of perjury as reason to preclude someone from ever holding public office.
In all 50 states perjury is a crime!
--
Robert Gray
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 17:43:22 -0300
From: Gustavo Larriera, gux@cs.com.uy
Subject: Corrected version of my article NTloader+Linux
I would be pleased if this letter goes to the Mail Bag section.
I wish to thank the feedback I received for my article "Booting Linux with the NT Loader" (LG January 1999). Some readers pointed out my misinformation about the MBR-changed-means-NT-wiped-out affair :-) I've corrected the article, the revised version can be found at my home page [http://w3.cs.com.uy/u/gux/ntloadli2.htm].
Have a lot of fun,
--
Gustavo Larriera
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Contents: |
April 1999 Linux Journal
The April issue of Linux Journal will be hitting the newsstands March 12. This issue focuses on Network Computing with a review of Corel's Netwinder and articles on FlowNET a high-performance network solution, Network administration using AWK tools, and an interview with John Ousterhout, creator of Tcl/TK. Linux Journal now has articles that appear "Strictly On-Line". Check out the Table of Contents at http://www.linuxjournal.com/issue60/index.html for articles in this issue as well as links to the on-line articles. To subscribe to Linux Journal, go to http://www.linuxjournal.com/ljsubsorder.html.
Debian Logo Contest
Date: Wed, 03 Feb 1999 20:38:26 -0500
Debian Project,
http://www.debian.org/
The Debian project is in the process of looking for a new logo. Currently Debian has a semi-official logo, which can be seen at http://www.debian.org/logos/debianlogo-2.jpg. As a majority of Debian developers are not happy with the current logo, we are searching for a new logo to replace the current one using a GIMP logo contest. Submission information and other details are available at http://contest.gimp.org/.
Debian would like to have two logos: one logo with a very liberal license that everyone is free to use (for example on webpages, shirts, etc.), and a more official logo with a restricted license which can only be used on official Debian items (like CD's produced from the official ISO-images). Please note both license are not finished yet.
The winning logo will be decided on by the Debian developers. Since there are a lot of active developers it may take as long as 3-4 weeks after the end of the contest to decide who the winner is.
For more information:
press@debian.org
Invitation to Join Freedom of Choice Project
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 05:20:52 -0500
The Freedom of Choice Project is a co-operative effort between IACT and
James Capone, an IACT member as well as devoted user of Linux, who created
the entire project at his own Linux website. In the project's first week,
over 5000 people had participated in the Freedom of Choice consumer poll.
With help from IACT, James Capone now is expanding the poll to reach users
of _all_ platforms.
As you know, all computer users certainly are affected by an ongoing problem in the computer market: Microsoft still maintains an exclusive distributorship with PC makers such as Compaq, Dell, Gateway etc.. Those companies pre-install or "bundle" MSFT software on the majority of new PCs we buy. Once the MSFT software is pre-installed, we may decide to delete it and then fight to get a refund, but that approach still won't get to the root of the problem.
The Freedom of Choice project is our grass-roots, long-term solution. By using the Internet as it was designed-- to bring together small groups like ours into a larger, stronger and unique network-- we're going to defend the fundamental right of consumers everywhere to choose any and all software that is installed on the new computers they buy.
We want to give users of all platforms the chance to _send a direct message_ to the PC makers, to demand that the companies fully respect every consumer's right to choose.
For more information:
James Capone, linuxos@iname.com
The Freedom of Choice Poll,
http://www.angelfire.com/biz2/Linux/company.html
Diane Gartner dgwhiz@earthling.net
IACT's Freedom of Choice page:
http://pages.cthome.net/iact/iact-tell.html
LinuxArchives.com
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 17:12:14 -0800
LinuxArchives.com has been launched at
www.linuxarchives.com.
It is a software archive dedicated strictly to Linux software. The site is
organized into specific categories, and also features a search engine
that makes finding programs fast and easy. Most of the software is
submitted directly by the manufacturers and it updated frequently.
The site should be a valuable resource for Linux
users, and Aceweb Internet will be working to ensure that it
grows at a pace that is in step with the ever changing needs of the Linux
community.
For more information:
Tony Ferrara, tonyf@aceweb.net
Debian based CUTE 2000 Server exhibited
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 10:08:29 -0500
CUTE 2000, an all-in-one Linux based server was exhibited at the NET & COM
'99 show. It is based on Debian GNU/Linux, and includes software for
functions such as DNS, WWW, SMTP, FTP, SAMBA, NETATALK, DHCP and others.
For more information:
http://www.NikkeiBP.AsiaBizTech.com/Database/1999_Feb/08/Mor.02.gwif.html
Debian, http.//www.debian.org/
GLUE: Groups of Linux Users Everywhere
GLUE has added a number of new benefits in recent months to attract new groups, and is working hard to give our current member groups an excellent level of service. New benefits include: special subscription rate to the TPJ and LJ for registered GLUE LUG members, a set of the LJ archive CD-ROMs, Red Hat Linux, and TCL Blast. GLUE also continues to very graciously sponsored by Caldera Systems, with their Open Linux distribution, and Enhanced Software Technologies, with their BRU Backup and Restore Utilities. I'm working with Linux user groups to find out what other ways GLUE can contribute, from web resources, to inviting other vendors to particpate. The glue-list@ssc.com mailing list is available for discussion among LUGs.
Linux Users can find a user group with our Group Locator pages, or post to find or form one of their own. These listings pages are updated and confirmed frequently, and are very comprehensive. Listing are free to all groups, not just those registered for GLUE membership.
GLUE is a project of SSC Inc, publishers of Linux Journal. GLUE was implemented to provide a world-wide member group for Linux User Groups. GLUE member groups receive a subscription, materials for promoting and developing their group, a way of advertising their group in a global setting, list-serv and Linux Group location services, and discounts and samples from SSC and Linux Journal. Other vendors also offer special benefits or discounts to GLUE's member groups. Any LUG can have a free listing in the Linux Group location section, and Linux users can post to the site to find and form new groups in their area.
For more information:
http://www.ssc.com/glue/
Clarica Grove, glue@ssc.com
Linux Hardware Solutions to support Debian Project
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 12:51:21 -0500
Linux Hardware Solutions, Inc. a premier supplier of Linux systems and
service announce support for the Debian Project of Software in the Public
Interest, Inc.
The support comes in the form of a Linux Hardware Solution PS350RR-100 RAID rackmount server with 256 MB RAM attached to a dedicated colocation connection at Mindspring Enterprises' data center in Atlanta, Georgia to act as the new ftp.debian.org server.
For more information:
Linux Hardware Solutions, Inc.,
http://www.linux-hw.com/
Debian GNU/Linux, http://www.debian.org/
Subject: Dan Quayle or Linus Torvalds for President
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 14:52:40 -0700
Even If you sat out the 60s, missed the March On Washington, or the Windows
Refund Protest, you can still voice your vote for freedom--specifically,
the freedom to use the Open Source computer operating system, Linux.
As noted in this morning's Wall Street Journal, a young company called
Linuxcare is holding a just-for-fun election for the new Leader of the
Free World! Who would you choose: Bill Bradley, George Bush, Jr., Bill Gates,
Al Gore, Dan Quayle, or Linus Torvalds? You can cast your vote at
http://www.linuxcare.com, until "Super Tuesday," March 2, which also
happens to be the opening day of LinuxWorld--the world's largest
gathering of Linux users
(http://www.linuxworldexpo.com/).
The results will be published in the Wall Street Journal on March 2, the day Linuxcare goes live.
Let the people decide -- in the democratic spirit that permeates
Open Source --Get Out The Vote (GOTV) for the leader of the FREE WORLD.
Linuxcare announced on March 2 that Linus
had won with 73% of the vote. No other candidate received more than 9%.
Linux Links
Open Source MS Windoze 9x Petition: http://www.linuxresources.com/linuxreview/petition.html
Brain Power, Jobs for Smart People: http://www.bpower.com/
LinuxODBC:
http://www.codebydesign.com/LinuxODBC
UNIX newbie site: http://www.dicamp.univ.trieste.it/du96/unix/TOC.html
New Linux logos: http://www-mddsp.enel.ucalgary.ca/People/adilger/logo/
Compaq web page: http://www.unix.digital.com/linux/
The Linux Merchandsising FAQ for Germany: http://www.reichmann.de/alex/lmf/index.html
Microsoft & new lawsuits: http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/filters/bursts/0,3422,2213093,00.html
Vedova Linux, a new Linux distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux: http://www.vedovanet.bbk.org/linux/vedova
CRN spot survey: http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?CRN19990118S0023 http://www.linuxresources.com/linuxreview/petition.html
Ramblings on Apple and Linux: http://www.osopinion.com/Opinions/EdMcKenna/EdMcKenna2.html
IBM and Redhat: Red Hat Press Release
Xpresso Ltd Needs Programmers
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 10:28:00 -0500
I have a small company named Xpresso Ltd. This will hopefully produce a new
simple software system aimed at users of Windows.
The idea is to sell the Linux OS with the installation and set-up
completely
automatic. It will use one or more choices of graphical user shells (KDE as
first
default choice).
The latest Linux Kernel 2.0.xx will be used (and built specifically for
each
installation - with maths module if processor is without etc). The System
will
analyse the hardware and construct or select the correct X Windows drivers
and
install correct files ( /fstab etc). by examining the existing DOS/Windows
OS files
or running MSD.EXE or similar.
I have very little finance and am hoping to find programmers who will help
me on
a percentage basis. I shall be selling the product world-wide and hope
millions of
units will be sold. Can you possibly help me with details of any sources of
programmers for this work please? The main aims are simple, safe (stable)
and
visually attractive graphics. The user will do nothing except click GO.
Star Office
and other quality free programs (only the best) will be included. But only
the best.
To enable all Windows users to switch to Xpresso LINUX. A safe dual boot on
start up will enable the migration from Windows to Linux to proceed slowly,
at
each person's pace. Can you help please? I can e-mail a four page outline
of my
further plans for Linux if you are interested.
For more information:
Stephen Jackson, Xpresso Ltd,
xpresso@compuserve.com
Vedova Linux
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 20:19:29 +0100
New Linux Distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux
http://www.vedovanet.bbk.org/linux/vedova/
For more information:
Emanuele Vedova, vedova@mail.omnitel.it
Vedova Computing, Como, Italy
Linux for Coldfire
Friday, 28th February 1999
Greg Ungerer from Moreton Bay today announced the porting of the popular
Linux operating system to the Motorola Coldfire family of processors.
Source code for this Linux/Coldfire project is now available freely on
the net at:
http://www.moretonbay.com/coldfire/linux-coldfire.html
The Linux/Coldfire project is a port of a recent Linux kernel and, as with all ports of Linux, this is free software under the GNU Public License. The code is based on the recent stable linux kernel version 2.0.33 and it includes the uC-linux patches applied. The libc, libm and user applications also come from the uC-linux work.
What's a ColdFire?
ColdFire is the newest family of microprocessors from Motorola. First
released in 1994, ColdFire embodies a revolutionary variable-length RISC
architecture that is designed to meet the requirements of the embedded
consumer market.
http://www.mot.com/SPS/HPESD/prod/coldfire/cf_roadmap.html
For more information:
Moreton Bay,
http://www.moretonbay.com/
SFS SOFTWARE RELEASES DOCFATHER PROFESSIONAL 2.2
Schmalkalden Germany. February 1, 1999
SFS SOFTWARE announces the release of DocFather Professional 2.2, their
fast, easy to navigate online and offline search engine for any web site or
web-based documentation.
DocFather provides webmasters, publishers and developers alike with an
excellent utility to make their Web Sites, HTML documentation or
internet/intranet contents searchable.
DocFather is top-rated and able to run on any Java-supported operating system like Linux. The nextcoming DocFather Office Edition is capable to index Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word and Excel, HTML and all text-based files.
Availability and Pricing
There are several DocFather licenses available. The product can be ordered on-line at the SFS SOFTWARE web site, or through its US-based partner Proactive International:
Internet License: $ 349.00
Intranet License: $ 990.00
CD-ROM Publishing License for 10,000 CD-ROM: $ 1,990.00
A fully-functional demo version of DocFather is available for free download at http://www.sfs-software.com/
For more information:
SFS Software, info@sfs-software.com
Proactive International, LLC,
http://www.proactive-intl.com,
info@proactive-intl.com
Product Release of the MIMER DBMS for Linux
Date: Wed, 03 Feb 1999 13:11:58 +0100
Sysdeco Mimer AB in Uppsala, Sweden, has now released its DBMS MIMER for
Linux. A complete developer version of MIMER 8 for Linux is now available
for free download from the company's Web site at http://www.mimer.com. Full support
agreements are available for MIMER 8 on Linux.
The release of MIMER for Linux is identical to that implemented across a wide range of platforms, including many other UNIX platforms (e.g. IBM, HP and Sun), Windows NT, Windows 95/98 and OpenVMS. In addition to offering MIMER 8 run-time licences for Linux on very competitive terms, Sysdeo Mimer also offers Linux customers the opportunity to sign a support agreement, which provides telephone support and free software updates.
For more information:
Sysdeco Mimer AB, info@mimer.se
PartitionMagic 4.0
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1999 22:14:27 GMT+2
Recently released in the United States, PartitionMagic 4.0 - touted as the
easiest way to create, resize and move harddisk partitions on the fly
without destroying data - is now available in South Africa through
accredited PowerQuest software distributor, OS/2 Express SA.
PartitionMagic 4.0 offers complete support for FAT16, FAT32, FAT32X, NTFS, HPFS and Linux ext2 partitions. PartitionMagic continues to convert from FAT16 to FAT32 and vice versa, and from FAT to NTFS and HPFS.
PartitionMagic 4.0 is available from OS/2 Express SA for R459. An upgrade from earlier versions is available for R289 including VAT.
Additionally graphics / boxshots may be found at : ftp://ftp.powerquest.com/pub/Intl/graphics/PartitionMagic/PM4.x/
For more information:
os2express@icon.co.za
http://www.os2.co.za/software/
LyX-1.0.0 released
Date: Tue, 02 Feb 1999 21:58:22 +0200
LyX is an advanced open source document processor running on many Unix
platforms. It is called a "document processor", because unlike standard
word processors, LyX encourages an approach to writing based on the
structure of your documents, not their appearance. LyX lets you
concentrate on writing, leaving details of visual layout to the software.
LyX automates formatting according to predefined rule sets, yielding
consistency throughout even the most complex documents. LyX produces high
quality, professional output -- using LaTeX, an open source, industrial
strength typesetting engine, in the background.
LyX has undergone a quantum leap in functionality over the past 18 months. This release offers extensive control over fonts, margins, headers/footers, spacing/indents, justification, bullet types in multilevel lists, a sophisticated table editor, a version control interface for collaborative projects -- the list goes on and on. LyX 1.0 includes many standard formats and templates such as for letters, articles, books, overheads, even Hollywood scripts. Work continues on a growing library of "plug-in" formats and templates, in the best open-source tradition.
LyX runs on standard Unix platforms, including Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Solaris, IRIX, HP-UX, AIX, ... even OS/2 and Cygnus/Win32 (somewhat experimentally), and provides native support for PostScript(tm) fonts and figures.
The main LyX site is ftp://ftp.lyx.org/pub/lyx/
For more information:
LyX Home Page: http://www.lyx.org/
Raima's Velocis 2.1 Now Available on Linux
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1999 14:33:59 -0800
Raima Corporation has just released Velocis Database Server version 2.1
for the Linux platform. Velocis is an embedded client/server database
engine which now provides robust new interfaces for several popular
development environments. These include an interface to Rogue Wave
Software's DBTools.h++, a JDBC driver, Delphi Data Aware Components and
support for the Perl DBI standard. Velocis 2.1 extends its SQL support
with scrollable cursors and customized comparison functions and
introduces a powerful new database utility, dbrepair.
Please see the following announcement to learn more about Velocis 2.1.
A free trial download is available from http://www.raima.com/download/product_list.cfm
Raima Corporation, http://www.raima.com
SFS Software SITEFORUM Database Exchange
Schmalkalden Germany. February 8, 1999
SITEFORUM Database Exchange is a "100% pure Java" solution, which is
capable to import and
export your existing data, stored in any JDBC/ODBC-compatible database
into another JDBC-/ODBC-
compatible database. (i.e. Sybase to Oracle). The software allows you to
create, delete and modify tables and columns . In addition to that you are
able to modify the content, field types and attributes. The integrated SQL
interface enables you to make queries to the database using SQL commands The
results will be displayed in a fine-designed grid component. SITEFORUM
Database Exchange lets you import and export databases from any location on the
internet, the built-in proxy support enables you to work even behind a proxy
or firewall. The new product of SFS SOFTWARE offers an attractive, intuitive
and easy-to-use interface.
SITEFORUM Database Exchange runs on about 30 java-supporting operating
systems like Linux.
Availability and Pricing:
A fully-functional evaluation version SITEFORUM Database Exchange can be
downloaded from the SFS SOFTWARE web site at http://www.sfs-software.com/.
The product is can be ordered using our secure online shop at
http://www.sfs-software.com/shop/.
SITEFORUM Database Exchange - Single User License - US$ 495.00
SITEFORUM Database Exchange - 5 User License - US$ 1,990.00
For more information:
SFS Software, http://www.sfs-software.com/,
info@sfs-software.com
Proactive International,
http://www.proactive-intl.com/,
info@proactive-intl.com
Linuxcare Supports Business 24x7
Date: 22 Feb 99 18:15:11 -0800
SAN FRANCISCO, February 22, 1999=97Linuxcare, Inc. (www. linuxcare.com), the first company to offer a complete solution for Linux technical support, consulting, education, and product certification to Fortune 1000 companies, announced today the launch of 24x7 enterprise- class support programs, including a state-of-the-art call center and business-oriented service level agreements.
Linuxcare's state-of-the-art call center will feature advanced computer- telephony integration (CTI), so that all requests are received centrally and tracked, thus delivering speedier and more accurate customer responses. In addition, all Linuxcare technical support engineers can instantly access and update the largest shared database of worldwide Linux resources and expertise. The database includes all open and solved customer issues, all Linux documentation, articles, mailing lists and news group archives, Howtos, FAQs and more.
Linuxcare supports all major distributions of Linux on all major platforms, allowing its customers the flexibility to choose options that best fit their needs.
For more information:
Linuxcare, Inc., http://www.linuxcare.com/
NetReality reads, understands, organizes, and
presents the Web in virtual reality
EDMONTON, ALBERTA--February 23, 1999-- Bittco Solutions today released the first downloadable exemplar of its powerful neural-net foundation technology. NetReality reads, understands, organizes, and presents Web content in VR. NetReality harnesses the vast amounts of information available on the World Wide Web. Unlike current technologies, which seem to increase the problem of information overload, NetReality automatically acquires, reads and organizes information, presenting web sites, documents, searches and bookmark files in an intuitive, personalized VR landscape. This unique and powerful form of presentation enables users to quickly locate, correlate, and apply information on the Web to tasks at hand.
UNIQUE BUSINESS PROPOSITION - Bittco licenses its neuralVR technology to third parties for inclusion in products like web servers, browsers, search engines, document management solutions, news readers, and email. We have blown away all the traditional barriers to acquiring our technology, emphasizes Managing Partner, Terry Harrison, Our business approach supports low-cost/low risk acquisition vs. development. Interested software producers can embed this technology on a sizzling time-to-market schedule by licensing the Bittco advanced engineering, core and customization.
PRE-RELEASE VERSIONS of NetReality (TM) for all common operating systems will be available for download from Bittco's Web site at http://www.bittco.com/ in the next few weeks beginning today with a version for all Linux users.
For more information:
Bittco Solutions Ltd.,
Dean Bittner,
dean@bittco.com
Linuxcare and DELL Systems
SAN FRANCISCO, February 26, 1999-Linuxcare, Inc - the first company to provide a complete solution for Linux technical support to Fortune 1000 companies - announced today that it will provide comprehensive global support for selected Dell Precision(tm) WorkStations, PowerEdge=AE servers and OptiPlex business desktop PCs running any variant of the Linux operating system.
Dell will include a free Linuxcare Silver Support Incident Coupon with every PowerEdge server that ships with Linux, starting March 1, 1999. Each coupon can be redeemed for Web or email-based technical support from Linuxcare. The Linuxcare Silver Service Level provides for resolution to, or a report on the customer's problem, within one business day. Linuxcare defines a technical support incident as a single identified customer issue or problem.
Linuxcare, Inc., http://www.linuxcare.com/
Dell Computer Corporation,
http://www.dell.com/
Spectra Logic
SAN JOSE, Calif., Mar. 1, 1999 - Spectra Logic Corp. today announced that the company's Alexandria Backup and Archival Librarian(tm) software is the first major backup software to support "hot" backup of Oracle8 and Oracle Applications on the Linux operating system (OS). Alexandria 4.50 provides Linux users with extensive backup and recovery tools that until now have only been available in large corporate data centers.
Alexandria 4.50 supports backup of Oracle databases without taking the database offline via its Comprehensive Online Backup and Restore Agent (COBRA), the industry's fastest and most reliable Oracle backup/restore engine. In Oracle production environments, COBRA automatically discovers Oracle databases, including new tablespaces and datafiles, and puts the tablespaces into backup mode. Once the tablespaces are in backup mode and the datafiles are backed up, the tablespaces are taken out of backup mode.
Availability
Alexandria 4.50 with support for Oracle on Linux is available today for Red
Hat Linux, Version 5.2. Additional Oracle on Linux support is planned for
Caldera, SuSE and Turbo Linux OSes. A single-user version of Alexandria is
available free for 45 days and can be downloaded from
http://www.spectralogic.com/. At the end of
the 45-day trial period, the hot Oracle backup module can be purchased
directly from Spectra Logic.
For more information:
Spectra Logic,
alexandria@spectralogic.com
The Answer Guy
hmm. --or--
Why can I only login as root? --or--
A Reader Answers: What is the TCP/IP SACK feature?
Unable to Open Console: After "Custom" Install
"Integrating" Linux/sendmail with MS Exchange
Win 95 computer/NT server environment --or--
Bad Sectors in my HDD --or--
Please upgrade your Internet Explorer --or--
linux --or--
Diamond Multimedia Modems --or--
About a OPL-3 ( Yamaha driver for sound) (sorry for bad english...) --or--
Question from an old friend.
[Q]: Winmodem under Linux
how to fix a bad cluster on hd --or--
proxy & router combination --or--
help with partitions --or--
Linux 5.2 Loadlin.exe, where do I get it? --or--
help with partitions --or--
True modems
Is it possible to run Debian on 4 MB? --or--
win95->wingate ; linux->? --or--
Jim Dennis: Re: Gimp on RH5.1
xntpd --or--
SportyssouncardsGreat Job !!! --or--
Telnetd and pausing
Greetings from Jim DennisI have some exciting news.
I'm now working for Linuxcare (http://www.linuxcare.com) --- the Linux support company.
What does this mean for Linux Gazette readers of "The Answer Guy?" I think it means some very good things.
Of course you might be concerned. Does this mean that I'll be more "corporate?" Will Linuxcare come to own "The Answer Guy" column? Will I answer all the good questions with: "Hey, pay for that answer from ..."
I don't think so! I've been running a quiet little sole proprietorship consulting service for the entire time that I've been writing for LG. My consulting service specialized in support and training of Linux sysadmins. I've generally avoided "selling" my services through this column --- and I won't start now.
Linuxcare has no intention of exerting any editorial control over, and has no connection to the Linux Gazette "Answer Guy." I might put in a disclaimer to that effect in future issues.
However, the "good things" in this are:
I can focus on technical issues rather than worrying about billing and sales of my consulting services. (Avoiding those is what kept Starshine Technical Services "small" and "quiet").
Fellow techs at Linuxcare and the systems lab that we'll be setting up will allow me to learn all the latest and coolest stuff. My home network is pretty big, for a *home* network (four servers five desktop systems, and four laptops --- all on two or three ethernet segments (depending one what I'm doing at any given time). However, Linuxcare will be able to do *much* more.
In the past I've "shooed off" some classes of questions --- particularly regarding X Windows configuration and similar items. I'm a self-admitted "curses curmudgeon" and prefer to stay out of X when I can. Surrounded by younger techs, many of whom are more enamored of the modern GUIs --- I'll soak up quite a bit of knowlege on these topics by osmosis.
For those times when I'm actually on the phones --- I'll probably get quite a lot of LG done. I spent years in technical support at places like Quarterdeck and Symantec's Peter Norton Group. I can do phone support while reading netnews, and writing e-mail.
So, for my loyal fans (I know there are a few of you -- I met one on the Caltrain the other day; "Hi, John"), Don't worry. Be happy. Another Linux hobbyist can do what he loves and support himself doing it.
(BTW: Linuxcare is hiring. If you are in the SF Bay Area and have a couple years of extensive and technical Linux expertise --- check out their web site).
What does this mean for my other projects?
I'll be giving my tutorial on "Linux Security for System Administrators" at LinuxWorld Expo by the time you read this (9:00am Monday, March 1st). If that is successful I may be giving similar (and updated) talks at future Linux events. (LinuxWorld has already inquired about my availability for their next show). For any of you that are going to LinuxWorld Expo in San Jose, CA --- drop by Linuxcare's booth and meet me.
I'm still working on my book ("Linux Systems Administration" --- though the work is going a bit slower than I, my publishers and my co-author would like. The goods news there is that my co-author, M, is really taking charge of the scheduling and development of the manuscript. Also the couple of hours a day that I spend on the train with my laptop (from Campbell up into SF city and back) will help keep me focused on this and stop me from drifting e-mail, netnews, and slashdot as I'm wont to do from home.
I'm still teaching one class (weekly on Saturdays) at Mission College (Unix Shell Programming). I hope to continue doing that for the foreseeable future as well. My students were worried for the first couple of classes (as I was adjusting the level of discussion to their background). However, they seem to be catching on at this point and we have several more weeks to show them all the really cool things you can do with a Unix/Linux shell. (Yes, we've told them all about getting copies of Linux and/or FreeBSD to play with at home and at their offices. The school lab current runs on Sun Solaris systems --- though Linux is being installed in some of the college's new labs.
I'm really surprised at how busy I've gotten this year. I was supposed to just work on the book and let Heather support me (mostly). (Incidentally, Heather has resigned from her full-time position and may be interested in quality, Bay Area offers in the near future).
So, enough of all this "chaos manor" stuff. Let's go on to this month's selection of technical questions...
FTP Only Access: Trickier than it SeemsFrom chris on Fri, 29 Jan 1999
i was recently reading your article in the december issue of
linuxgazzette regarding setting up users for FTP access only.
[titled "FTP Login as 'root' --- Don't! -- Heather]
i ran into this problem about a month ago and putting a * in front
of the password entry in the /etc/passwd file fixed the problem.
no telnet/login access, but ftp access. is there something i dont
know that prevents this from being a simple solution?
chris.
"Starring out" the password field (the one between the second and third colons on that users line in /etc/passwd) should also prevent FTP access (unless your FTP daemon uses some other form of account management and authentication).
Locking out the "shell" field (the last one) by setting it to /bin/false (if /bin/false is actually a compiled binary --- NOT the traditional shell script) or to a simple compiled program that does a 'printf()' or 'write()' and an 'exit()') will prevent telnet access. However it might not prevent 'rsh' and it certainly won't limit the user "just" to FTP.
The clever user can post all sorts of .forward, .procmail and other files to his or her home directory (using FTP) and these "magic" files can be used to run arbitrary commands (generally under that user's ID) on behalf of the user. Thus I could post a .forward file that "forwarded" my mail through a program (using the piping feature that most installations of 'sendmail' are configured to support). My program can issue commands like 'chsh' (to change my shell to something that I can use).
There are many "magic" files. I can use FTP to create a .ssh directory and put in the .ssh/authorized_keys which will then let me 'ssh' into the system (if you're running an ssh daemon). Not only are there many of these --- but more of them are added as we create new protocols and services.
So, you really need to do more than just set their shell to '/usr/local/bin/noshell' or 'goaway' or '/bin/sync' That's why I suggest using a replacement to the standard old BSD FTP daemon. Go read the article again for that.
Another "No Login" ProblemFrom Spiros Alexiou on Fri, 29 Jan 1999
Thanks for your help. I am attaching a small file with more info.
It looks to me like the root of the problem is that the RH graphical tool does NOT encrypt the user account passwords, though root for example is encrypted. So either I missed something in the RH documentation, it is missing, or there is a bug, if what I think is right(please let me know).
If that is the case, I need to either run some additional tool that will encrypt the passwords or else remove the users and create the accounts by adduser
Please let me know if this sheds some light
Spiros Alexiou
P.S. do you have IP for ssc.com? My other mailer does not know that address
>I have RH 5.0 (2.0.32). Using their graphic tool, I created two
>/home accounts, me and guest, assigned UID and GID's and set
>passwords. The problem is, I can only log in as root. I looked for
>.nologin files, there seem to be none. I am attaching my
>/etc/fstab files. Thus, at the linux prompt If I try to login as
>any of these two users,
>I am denied entry(back to the prompt). This is not an issue of
>case sensitive.
>Any ideas of what I am doing wrong?
>Sincerely, S.Alexiou
Nice to know I'm not alone...
So, I don't get it.
You said you used their graphical tool to create two new accounts. One was named "guest" and the other was some sort of user name for yourself.
Yes, since I use the PC as a workstation and do not care about having
other users, using it as a web server etc, the second account was the
shortest possible account I could think of, "me"
Yes, I did (see below)
Wait, do I need a rescue disk? My hard disk are IDE, not SCSI and I
am supposed to only need to RH boot diskette. right? If I do need a
resue disk, can I create it without reinstalling? At any rate, I try
to be very careful when I edit root stuff, but it's better to be safe..
Here is my /etc/passwd file
> root:hASh-OMitTed:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash > bin:*:1:1:bin:/bin: > daemon:*:2:2:daemon:/sbin: > postgres:!!:100:101:PostreSQL Server:/var/lib/pgsql:/bin/bash > me:notencrypted:500:500:Red Hat Linux User,,,,:/home/me:/bin/bash > guest:sanitized:501:501:Red Hat Linux User,,,,:/home/guest:/bin/bash
You will notice that the root password is encrypted , while the me
and guest passwords are not. Actually the root and me have the same
password But I do not recall any warnings about that in the RH graphic
user creation. BTW, for the record, I did at one point reinstall
and created the same guest and me accounts I had created originally,
but I was unable to login as anything but root even with the original
installation Also, for the record, I do have some problems with my
XF86Config, but unless you believe this to be important( should not,
as the graphic tool showed no problems), I may bother you another time
Finally the UID and GID were assigned by the graphic tool, I just
acepted what was there. Let me also add, that when I looked at the
corresponding /etc/passwd file in a large AIX machine
(I was just a user,
not administrator) all I could see of course were ! for password field,
but other than that the password file looks ok to me.
Haven't done ths yet. I am not sure what troubleshooting I would
do to remove linuxconf.
Will try that. Just please let me know, if you also think that
the problem is that the guest and me passwords are not encrypted.
Please, let me know if you figure out what's doing it.
passwd me
... and set the initial password for that account using the traditional old terminal command for the purpose. Then do the same for your personal account. Then report the bug to whoever maintains the tool you were using.
A Reader Answers: What is the TCP/IP SACK feature?From Tom Kludy on Thu, 04 Feb 1999
What is the TCP/IP SACK feature? What does it do?
Why do we need/want it?
Let's say that there is are 10 packets in route between the source and destination. Along the line, packets 1,2,3, and 4 are received, and ACKed. Packet 5 is dropped, but all other packets are delivered successfully (6,7,8,etc). The receiver will ACK 5 upon receiving 4, 6, 7, 8, etc. But since there are 10 packets in transit between source and destination, the receiver won't see the repeating ACKs until it has sent all packets up to about packet 25 (since, at the same time the receiver should be receiving packet 5, the sender is sending packet 15 (5+10), plus the 10 packet delay until the sender gets the ACK).
At this point, the sender finally knows that packet 5 has been dropped, and resends it. But it doesn't know that the receiver has successfully received packets 6 through 25. So, it must wait until the receiver gets the new packet 5, and returns "ACK 26", before it knows where to restart. It will take 20 packet-transmission times to get this ACK (or, one whole round-trip-time). As you can guess, this slows things down considerably. SACK allows the receiver to say "I've missed packet 5, but I've received packets 6-25". This allows a much quicker transmission restart, since the source knows within a 1/2 round-trip-time where to resume transmission (instead of a whole round-trip-time).
It the Linux implementation any better or worse than others? (Or
is it some feature where you pretty much either have it or you
don't and there is no "better" or "worse")?
Hope I have answered the answer guy
-Tom Kludy
Unable to Open Console: After "Custom" InstallFrom Bob Miller on Thu, 04 Feb 1999
This sounds more like the kernel is being told to use the wrong
partition for root than a package problem.
Either of these would cause the problem. As I recall I recommended booting from floppy, checking the filesystem that he was trying to mount as root. If that is inconsistent with his kernel's 'rdev' or his /etc/lilo.conf parameters --- it would explain the problem
Another, more convoluted possibility is that he has a problem with his 'initrd' image (if he's using an initial RAMDisk to store and load some of his critical device drivers).
Hopefully he's worked it out. I realize my response might not have been all that clear. Sometimes I have to beat it back and forth with a correspondent a couple of times before I "get it" --- sometimes that has more to do with sleep deprivation than with technical background or communications failures.
"Integrating" Linux/sendmail with MS ExchangeFrom Kevin Harrison on Fri, 05 Feb 1999
jim;
Kia Ora from Auckland , New Zealand
I have inherited a box with Linux installed on it and we wish to integrate the linux email (using sendmail) with the dreaded ms-exchange which runs on NT....the main reason is so that LAN clients can receive email notifications from jobs that will run on the linux box.
Are there any quick guides out there on this procedure..
thanks mate
Kevin Harrison, Downunder
Let's assume that your domain was "downunder.nz" and that you MS Exchange server is configured as the primary "MX" host for that domain (meaning that all outside mail to "foo@downunder.nz" gets directed to it). Let's say your Linux system is named penguin. So you can create an MX record for penguin.downunder.nz and mail to foo@penguin.downunder.nz will go to the Linux system rather than the MS Exchange server (which we'll call "msnail" --- <g>for "MS Nt mAIL"</g>
Now mail coming from penguin, to foo@downunder.nz will go automatically to msnail.downunder.nz where MS Exchange will mangle it.
A better approach is to point your primary MX record to penguin. Penguin can then have a large aliases file for all of the users and accounts that exist in your domain --- directing the mail to the more specific hosts on which those users get their mail. Thus all the MS Outlook and MS Mail users could get their mail from msnail, while your Linux users can get theirs directly from penguin (either via POP/IMAP or by logging in to their shell account and reading mail with 'elm', 'pine', 'mutt', or any mailer they like. You heavy volume mail users who are using MS Outlook can still get their mail directly from penguin (via POP).
The main advantages to this approach:
Your Linux system probably has a much higher stability and capacity than NT on comparable hardware. So your high volume mail users won't be bringing down the system for everyone else. (It's very hard to flood a modern Linux system with just e-mail).
You have simple remote configuration and management of your mail routing (telnet in and edit your /etc/aliases file, then run 'newaliases').
You can easily create "magic accounts" like "info@downunder.nz" which feed into autoresponder scripts (presumably in the simple procmail scripting language).
You have no licensing constraints, costs or restrictions. If you want to add a hundred new e-mail users, or a thousand --- you just create the accounts on penguin and have your account holders point their favorite mail readers (Netscape Communicator, Pegasus, Eudora, even MS Outlook) at it.
You have relatively easy and free access to a number of evolving anti-spam systems (such as the RBL (real-time blackhole list). I haven't heard of any patches or modules for MS Exchange to enable RBL support --- and I suspect that MS would only provide such services on a fee-driven subscription basis (rather than as a community service, like Paul Vixie is doing with the RBL).
The difference between these two approaches:
In the first case we set up a different MX record for penguin. Anyone who needed to send mail to an account on that system needed to use the full name: foo@penguin.downunder.nz. Mail to foo@downunder.nz would go to the msnail host. You might have some options for autoforwarding from the MS box --- but you'd have to talk to your MS wizards on how to do it. It probably involves filling in some GUI dialog somewhere (requiring you to work at its console) and its probably subject to MS pricing and licensing --- i.e. you're paying extra for each account.
In the second case we reverse that: Mail defaults to landing on penguin. The further routing from there is trivial (since sendmail, aliases and .forward files have been used by the majority of the Internet for over 20 years).
In summary: MS Exchange can recieve SMTP (Internet mail) so there is no trick to "integrating" them with 'sendmail' 'qmail' or other Internet MTAs (mail transport agents). I've heard some people complain about MS Exchange's behavior (generating mail with "ugly" WINMAIL.DAT attachments that the rest of the net doesn't care for), compliance (subtle ways that it doesn't conform to the RFCs and implementation conventions of other systems --- but these might be argued as a "failure to be bug compatible" --- so those are moot), performance (more than 100 "normal" e-mail accounts, or 50 "heavy users" will probably require considerable hardware under NT --- while an old 386 or 486 can handle those loads under Linux), and robustness (my household POP server has been up for over a 125 days; I have no idea why I rebooted it 4 months ago but I know it wasn't for any real problem --- maybe it was when I was rewiring and cleaning out the server closet).
So, what have you tried so far? What sorts of problems are you encountering?
Shell Scripting: Getting Host and User NamesFrom Darby Gilbert on Sat, 06 Feb 1999
I am trying to write a batch file that will pick up the computer
name for the naming convention. On NT 4.0 computers, it is no
problem. Is there a way to write a batch file that will pick up
the computer name and/or user name from the computer so that it
will use it to name a file that is produced from the batch file?
I have been trying all sorts of different things and also
searching the web trying to find answers when I came accross your
page. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Darby Gilbert
To get the current "computer name" use the 'hostname' command. To assign that to a shell or environment variable use a command like:
THISHOST=$(hostname)
... for the short version (in foo.example.org this command returns just "foo"). You can use:
THISHOST=$(hostname -f)
or:
THISHOST=$(hostname --long)
... to get the "full" or "long" name (the host.domain string).
To get information about the current user (the one running the script) we use the 'id' command. Now, if we just use the command with no options it gives us output like:
uid=500(jimd) gid=100(users) groups=100(users),10(wheel),11(test),17(staff), 60(web),40(game)
(except that it's all on one line). This is informative for interactive use --- but far too ugly for elegant script parsing. So we use options to get just what we want:
USERNAME=$(id -un) UID=$(id -u) PRIMARYGROUP=$(id -gn) PRIMARYGID=$(id -g) GROUPLIST=$(id -Gn) GIDLIST=$(id -G)
In other words '/usr/bin/id' takes options -u (user) -g (primary group), -G (list of groups) and -n (names, not numeric IDs).
So you could construct a crude e-mail address for your user by using:
MYEMAIL="`id -un`@`hostname -f`"
... here I've used "backticks" (accent characters) which are the more common form of the "command substitution operator." Normally I use the $() form which is easier to read and nestable. I use it here only to demonstrate that they are the same (under bash and recent Korn shells at any rate).
Here's a simple shell script that takes your list of groups and walks through them one at a time:
#!/bin/bash
GLIST=$(/usr/bin/id -Gn)
set -- $GLIST
while [ "$1" ]; do
echo $1
shift
done
In this case I use a special form of the 'set' built-in command: which resets my list of command line arguments to the value specified. I could do that with just:
set $GLIST
... which sets $1 to the first string in $GLIST and $2 to the next one, etc. That would be pretty safe in this case (since I've never seen anyone create a group name starting with a dash). However it is better shell scripting practice to use the set's -- ("dash, dash") option which signifies the end of all options to the 'set' command forcing it to consider the rest of the command line items to be "arguments" (rather than options).
This is probably a bit confusing if you don't know about the 'set' command. Under bash and Korn shell (at least) you can use command like set -o noclobber (or set -C) to prevent the overwriting of existing files with shell redirection operators and set -o noglob (set -f) to disable filename expansion (the conversion by the shell of *.txt into a list of files that match that pattern). There are many other features supported by the typical Unix shell (Bourne family).
This discussion has focused entirely on Bourne shells. I don't use csh/tcsh much and don't recommend it for scripting (in which I'm in good company; see:
- Csh Programming Considered Harmful
- http://www.faqs.org/faqs/unix-faq/shell/csh-whynot/index.html
More on: Bad SectorsFrom Fadel on Sat, 06 Feb 1999
Dear sir,
I have bad sectors in my HDD about 35 sectors, so I can't use it, how can I use it agine? Note: My HDD is 3.2 GB and I use windows 98
yours,
Fadel
Why are you sending this to me, anyway. Call your drive's manufacturer or your retailer!
The Presumption!(Claiming to be) From Microsoft Internet Explorer Support on Sat, 06 Feb 1999
Microsoft Corporation
1 Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052
USA
Dear Sir/Madam
As an user of the Microsoft Internet
--- some MS Word spell-checker or "Wizard"
suggested this? In the literate world we use "a user --- since the term "user" is pronounced with a leading consonant sound "y" as in "yoozer"
I'm not a "yoozer" of Microsoft Internet Explorer or any other MS product.
Explorer, Microsoft Corporation provides
you with this upgrade for your web browser.
It will fix some bugs found in your Internet
Explorer. To install the upgrade, please save
the attached file (ie0199.exe) in some folder
and run it.
For more information, please visit our
web site at www.microsoft.com/ie/
(There was a law recently enacted in my state of residence which requires advertising to display the "ADV:" tag on the subject line. I'm collecting violations of this law to forward to my state attorney general's office. I don't consider it to be an effective deterrent to SPAM --- but they should enforce it if they're going to pass it).
Interestingly enough, this message (and another reply to it from our site) bounced. It can be reasonably suspected that the true originator of the message was not Microsoft, but someone trying to convince users of their products, to "upgrade" to an infected or malicious copy.
As such, it's really much worse than "SPAM" although it ia similar, in that it preys on people who know less about their internet environment, and are willing to take unwise risks with their assets. These folks are also least likely to be able to take effective action to correct the problems that result.
Don't get snookered -- nobody should be mailing you a binary without some sort of authentication so you can determine where it came from, and hat it has survived its ride through the mail. FTP is really better for anything of reasonable size anyway.
Mysterious Message: Subject: LinuxFrom THerbic on Sat, 06 Feb 1999
integrated e-mail, messaging, voice mail, faxing capabilities
Reader Comments: Diamond WinModems:From Joseph on Sat, 06 Feb 1999
Greetings, O Guy of Many Answers!
After buying a modem and not having any luck with it under Linux
(a dual-boot Win98 and Debian 2.0 system), I checked around on the Diamond Multimedia Website. After searching for "linux," I was eventually referred to a nice FAQ on Traditional, Controllerless (WinModem), and Software Modems by Diamond.
This brought to my attention that I had bought a WinModem by mistake. I was able to push my now-useless modem off on relatives who were buying a computer, and I instead followed the guide and bought a Diamond SupraExpress ISA (non-voice) modem. I set it up manually with the jumpers on the card as com3 and put it in. Windows kind of gawked at it at first, but using the CD to install it instead of Windows default drivers (as I can recall; this was a while ago), it was OK in Windows.
I installed the new modem just before leaving the country (and my computer) behind for a semester, so I can't say exactly how well it worked, as I was unable to try it out. However, upon booting into Linux, I was greeted with a new detection: ttySx (where x is some number I've now long forgotten). By this, I believe that it is functioning and happy, however, as I said, I was unable to test it before leaving.
As I have been scanning around, I have found people with problems with Diamond modems who were wondering if they are WinModems. As I found the Diamond guide rather helpful, I thought I'd pass it along to you, for review and further distribution.
http://www.diamondmm.com/products/white-papers/communications/c-less_paper.html
You can alternately find it under the "Support"->"FAQ" selection at the
top of the main page. A word of warning, however. After reading the
last issue of Linux Gazette, I have found that the PCI version of
the Diamond SupraExpress modem does not work with Linux. I cannot
verify this, but the quote was quoting Red Hat. (2-Cent Tips)
Hope this clearifies things somewhat.
-Joseph
(That was always safe until recently since nobody and really messed up RS232C so bad that you couldn't get your modem to work with Linux. With the recent advent of USB and the impending release of USB modems this will not be true for much longer. However, Linux may support USB before there are any significant number of USB modems on the market --- so we might squeak in).
Other than that, thanks for the pointer. I hope some of our readers find it and learn from it.
WinModems: "JUST SAY NO!" (or "RMA" --- return merchandise authorization)
OPL-3 Sound DriversFrom Jeferson Oliveira Andeluz on Sat, 06 Feb 1999
My name is Jeferson, I live in Sao Paulo, the biggest city of
Brazil...
I seek for all web sites for this driver and I can't find one to make a download for this driver...
Please, if you know how can I give this driver, tell me, because my pc doesn't have any sound and it's very boring....
You can test your sound drives by finding a .wav, .mod, .au or other sound files and issuing the 'play' command on them. (The 'play' command is part of the 'sox' (sound exchange) package). This ships with most general distributions --- though you might not have installed it.
Here's a command to find all of these sound files on a typical Linux system:
locate / | egrep "\.(au|mod|wav)$"
