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issue 10 http://console-newsletter.hypermart.net
__ __ _ _ __ __ )) __ console: tips,tricks & news about linux
((_ ((_)((\( _))((_)(( (('_ _______________________________________
[6/2000] "a good read.."
+ headlines
PKZip creator dead at 37.
"Phillip W. Katz died of complications from chronic alcoholism,
according to the Milwaulkee medical examiner's records.
Katz's file-compression software is used around the world."
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/DailyNews/pkzip000422.html
Of course, Phil Katz designed not only the zip format, but
also the method of compression "deflation" used in PKZIP 2.x.
His deflation is now also used in gzip files and in PNG images.
--
+ hmm..
How Microsoft Ensures Virus-Free Software
Interesting in light of the recent ILOVEYOU virii
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q80/5/20.ASP
Thanks to Henry White for this, "hmm.."
--
+ humorix
Linux for Two Cans Strung Together
No, the new port doesn't run on some fancy high-speed RISC chip,
or an older microcomputer like the Atari; in fact, it doesn't
run on a microprocessor at all.
"So far the architecture we've had the most success with is a
matched pair of Dinty Moore Stew cans, I think they're listed as
'size number en,'" explains Schmierck. "The current networking
medium of choice is bailing twine."
http://i-want-a-website.com/about-linux/oct98.shtml#Port-Cans
--
+ whatis
(note: "whatis" is a *nix command w/ a short one line
description of a command.)
whatis ld.so - dynamic linker/loader
--
+ distro watch
Black Cat Linux 6.02 - Russian Linux:
http://www.blackcatlinux.com/bcl-eng.html
CLE v0.9 - Chinese Linux Extensions:
http://cle.linux.org.tw/CLE/e_index.shtml
--
+ new apps
belt 1.4 - foldable menubar:
http://www.stacken.kth.se/~maxz/programming/perl/index.html#belt
Cannon Smash 0.3.8 - 3D table-tennis game:
http://cannonsmash.sourceforge.net/
Explore2fs - Windows program read/write support for Linux
filesystems
http://uranus.it.swin.edu.au/~jn/linux/explore2fs.htm
--
+ article
Which Distribution Should I Use? -
Hal Brown <halb@worldnet.att.net>
Once upon a time you were surfing around the net and you saw
this new operating system called Linux. Or perhaps a friend
built the most magnificent soap-box and began to preach the
gospel according to Linus. Maybe you were bored with DOS or
Windows and thinking of trying Mac or OS2. One way or another,
you came face to face with Linux and the more you read or heard
about it, the more obsessed you became to actually see it on
'your' computer. Then came the question that pervades every
newbies mind: Which one to try?
You ask on a newsgroup, search the net, ask a friend, and get
one of two possible answers.
"Use (Redhat, Caldera, Mandrake, Debian, Slackware, et al)
because it's what I use and it's definitely the best."
Conversely,
"It doesn't make any difference. There's not that much
difference from one to another. Whatever you're using is
the best. Let's not talk about it."
In the mind of someone who has never seen Linux on a computer
before, neither of these answers is particularly useful when
making a decision where to begin. The first answer simply says
that someone favors the distribution they're using, but begs
the question, who has the most knowledge for what you need as
a beginner. The second answer evades the question, leaving you
to mull over the meaning of life, and ultimately toss a coin to
make your decision.
Here at Newbie Central, we have been inundated with mail regarding
this most dire need to know what you want before you see it.
Consequently, we conducted a study of the major Linux
distributions to determine which one was the best. Here then,
are the results of that study.
Our first decision was to locate the most inexperienced computer
users on the planet so that we could begin with a "clean slate".
We wanted people who had no preconceived ideas about how a Linux
system, or any system for that matter, should work. Our first
thought was to head for Redmond, Washington because we had heard
it was a backward place with little or no knowledge of computer
operating systems. However, because of budget constraints,
language barriers, passport problems, and a hostile rejection
from a few of the residents, we instead chose to conduct the
experiment ourselves. We calculated the results to come out
about the same either way so it really didn't make a difference.
A room was set up in our labs, strictly for the purpose of
conducting this experiment. Eight computers lined the walls,
each a stand alone system, ranging from an ancient 486DX to a
Pentium III 500 MHz. Off the shelf brand-names, such as Compaq,
Dell, and Hewlett Packard, along with generic White Boxes were
utilized so that we could incorporate as much diversity as
possible. We did a thorough check to be sure that the hardware
was supported on each of the machines.
Determined to uncover this great mystery, we began with ordinary
out of the box installations with each of the distributions; we
chose Redhat, Slackware, Corel, Mandrake, SuSE, Debian, Caldera,
and something someone found on the Internet called Mom's Linux.
At precisely almost 8:00 a.m. the disks were inserted and the
adventure began.
Our suspicions that the older, processor challenged computers
would be slower proved to be correct, but other than that in
about 90 minutes each computer had some form of Linux running.
Mom's Linux turned out to be a hybrid DOS embedded system from
a 1995 Mitsubishi and had to be disqualified.
After a short discussion of how the different boxes reacted to the
installs, we returned to our goal, a determination of which was
the best distribution. A stumbling block was encountered while
trying to set the criteria for the final decision. Objectivity
and the need for a collective paradigm were vital to the outcome,
yet we found ourselves unable to break from the subjective,
personal needs mind-set. In short, we each thought the Linux
version we had personally installed was the best. A unanimous
decision was made to order pizza before we had another go at it.
During the pizza orgy we discussed the various aspects, the
pros and cons of different distributions, and out of this came
a wonderful idea. At least we thought it was good at the time.
What if we could take all the best from each version and put it
into one new version? There was much whooping and slapping on the
back about this idea as we set about to try it. It seemed simple
enough, what with the vise mounted on a workbench. First we took
Redhat and Slackware disks and pressed them together in the vise.
The result was a Redware and a Slackhat, thus defeating the
purpose of combining the two. We then tried SuSE and Mandrake,
this time producing one disk, but it had an odd pink color.
We referred to it as SuSEMan. It was apparent that our efforts
to combine were going nowhere and this project was abandoned.
At this point, ideas of how to continue became sparse. A decision
was made to record all the data that seemed relevant to the
experiment, and open it to the world. This is by no stretch of
the imagination a recommendation, but merely a list of subjective
opinions. In the spirit of all software ever made, we cannot
be held liable for any damage to your computer. For example,
if a large, hairy hand reaches through the monitor and yanks
you inside, we cannot help you.
Suggestions:
If you suddenly have to find a restroom at the sight of a console
screen with no graphics and no mouse, prepare a lot of hard disk
space for the Xwindow system.
Assuming the above is true, try installing Corel or Caldera until
you fully understand that computers can indeed be used without
a mouse. Of course you can work at the command line with any
Linux distribution, but it's not quite as comfortable with these.
If you see a command line prompt and get the urge to make love,
find a window manager that is so light you can hardly tell you
have Xwindows running. Or don't even bother with X; just let
on like you did.
For a person that fits the above description, either Redhat,
Slackware, or Debian would be a good choice.
If you have no idea what the first two choices mean, hang on
to your iMac until you can do further research about computers
and how they work. By all means do not consider a career in
information technology at this time. You may also want to come
out of your cave; to be on the safe side, wear sunglasses.
And last of all, if you're like most people, you are experienced
with computers and you "know what you like". Of course the
corollary to that is, you like what you know. Try any of the
distributions with the understanding that this is an experiment
for you and if you wipe it out or screw it up, so what. If you
screw it up, you then have the opportunity to try another
distribution, and you keep it up until suddenly you realize
that one of them is right for you. Then some newbie will ask,
"Which one is the best?" And of course you will have uncovered
the correct answer.
Copyright 1999 by Hal Brown Writer. This article may be
redistributed only in the complete form. It may not be
sold without the express permission of Hal Brown Writer. For
information contact: Hal Brown halb@worldnet.att.net
--
+ quote of the month
"The path of least resistance is the path of the loser."
-Phil Weltman
--
+ grok
How do I apply a patch?
cd to the directory with the file[s] to be patched & type:
"patch < /path/to/patchfile"
random/secure passwords
head -c 6 /dev/random | mmencode
--
+ jargon
:VAXen: /vak'sn/ n. [from `oxen', perhaps influenced by `vixen']
(alt. `vaxen') The plural canonically used among hackers for the
{DEC} VAX computers. "Our installation has four PDP-10s and twenty
vaxen." See {boxen}.
--
+ hobbes' internet timeline
1984
Domain Name System (DNS) introduced, Number of hosts breaks 1,000
1988
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) developed by Jarkko Oikarinen
--
+ article/review
Use a swap-file instead of a swap-partition -
digs <mjs@nts-online.net>
Up the creek without a paddle
It seems like only yesterday when I had "OS fever". I was bound
and determined to have as many operating systems on one box as
I could (never mind the fact that I didn't need but one :^)
"Lets see now...", thinking aloud to my self, "NT on a partition,
OS2/Warp on another, DOS for yet another, and Linux on the
forth partition."
After whacking my hardrive into four equal parts, I dust off the
necessary disks and settle in for a nice "install-fest" on an
otherwise rainy Saturday afternoon. "NT done, DOS done" two down,
two to go.. "Warp done." I'm getting close to finishing this
grand project of mine, now onto the Linux installation to complete
the task YEAH! In with the boot-floppy, in with CDROM. Setup
on the distro wants to know if I'd like to create a swapdrive,
"sure" I tap the key, after a few seconds the script informs me
that my hardrive does not have enough free space to accomplish
this. Suddenly things have become, err.. complex.
Rethinking my gameplan
Because of some ancient reasons lost in the mists of computer
time, I can only have four primary partitions. My eyebrows knit
in deep thought, "if Linux needs a swap partition," I reason,
"then I'll need five partitions and PC architecture limits me to
four of type primary". But wait! I can have several 'extended'
partitions inside the final partition! Quickly I begin to remove
Linux from the final partition in order to create the afore
mentioned extended disks. Then a rare moment of clarity comes
to me. If Windows/NT et al and Warp can have a swapfile rather
than a swap-disk, why cant Linux?
Eureka
To create the extended cubbyholes does nothing other than invite
added complexity to my project and, contrary to what some believe,
complex is NOT better - complex is complex. I decide to install
Linux on that "final" concentric ring. When setup inquires if
I'd like to "create a swap drive" I politely tap NO. Of course
with no virtual memory the install will take abit longer, the
rain is coming down in sheets now and I've got the time...
The strategy
To setup an 8 megabyte swap file in the root directory,
as root issue the following commands:
dd if=/dev/zero bs=1024k count=8 of=/swap
mkswap /swap 8192
sync
swapon /swap
You can make it larger than this, the formula is:
size=1024 * N
Where N is the size that you would like your swapfile to be.
Now lets break this down into smaller parts, so we can understand
it.
"dd" = diskdump
"if=/dev/zero" = an argument dd requires, in this case a zero
sized image.
"bs" = blocksize (which in our case is: 1024 k-bytes).
"count" = the amount of blocks which is 8.
"/swap" = the location and name of the file to be created.
"mkswap" = format and intilize the /swap file.
"sync" = flush all buffers to disk
"swapon /path/to/swapfile" = turn on the swapfile.
Once done, you need to put the following line in /etc/fstab:
/swap swap swap defaults 0 0
Lastly you'll want virtual memory activated automagically at
each boot so, add this to your /etc/rc.d/rc.local (or equivalent):
# enable swapfile
/sbin/swapon -a
During your next re-boot your swapfile will be activated. you can
of course turn on your swapfile before then by running the above:
"/sbin/swapon -a" from the command line. To verify that you do
indeed have virtual memory just type: "free"
Final thoughts
There are a number of advantages besides only needing one
partition for linux. Being able to dynamically resize your
swapfile (make sure to turn off the old swap first with
the command 'swapoff') on the fly, without rebooting is a
good candidate. Yet another, if for instance your editing a
huge graphic with the gimp and you'd like to speed things up
some. Maybe you need more resources during a big compile and
would to allocate more virtual memory to the task.
The method I've presented here is not any better than a true
Linux swap drive, simply another to consider. If you've got the
space or another hardrive then no worry. But if your cramped
for more partitions and would rather not disturb your existing
layout then give it shot.
--
+ funnies
_______
(_)___oo) Ned the log ----------- . Particle man -----------------
_____\/ | o
(_)___oo) alien Ned | .| particle man waiting for bus
------------------------------------------------------------------
--
+ wrap up
Coming next issue:
Setting up a Linux desktop - handy tips from a reader who's
'been there'
Review - SuSE 6.4
All the latest apps, news, and of course
Ned & particle man behaving badly :)
And if you have a story or a piece of sagely advice, put those
fingers to your keyboard and get busy, we'd like to hear from
you! Instructions for article submission are listed further down
in the newsletter.
later on,
digs
--
+ subscriptions & submittals
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To unsubscribe send a blank email to:
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To submit an article:
http://console-newsletter.hypermart.net/
Past issues can be found at:
http://console-newsletter.hypermart.net/old/
--
+ about
This issue of console was brought to you by:
digs <mjs@nts-online.net> - chief writer & layout
Hal Brown <halb@worldnet.att.net> - contributor
Hobbes' Internet Timeline (c)1993-9 by Robert H Zakon.
http://www.isoc.org/zakon/Internet/History/HIT.html
Console (c)99-00 Michael S Sanders, All Rights Reserved.
--
eof