Linux-Hardware Digest #479, Volume #13 Fri, 25 Aug 00 16:13:08 EDT
Contents:
modules ("SergejV")
WD 8003WC (John Janmaat)
Re: set up ISA modem - end of thread ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: Acceleraid 150 can't see drives (Dan Jones)
Installation on ABit Hot Rod 100 Pro disk ("Oliver Kowalke")
Installation on ABit Hot Rod 100 Pro disk - PART 2 ("Oliver Kowalke")
Adaptec 29160 with 2.0.39 kernel ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
LILO version 21.5.1 released (John in SD)
cannot get into Gnome (Anson Ng)
Umax astra 2100s-scsi-scanner (paul van duijn)
What is killing my ethernet? ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: ??:How To Read Multiple Data Tracks From A CD?? (Dances With Crows)
Linux on Compaq Presario 4836 (Stephen Crocker)
Re: Recommended SCSI card for Zip Plus drive and RH6.1? ("David S. DeWitt")
Promise ATA100 ("Simon St-Onge")
Re: setting up the Internet with sympatico HS edition ("Simon St-Onge")
Re: ??:How To Read Multiple Data Tracks From A CD?? (Douglas E. Mitton)
Re: modules ("pl")
Re: KA7-100 HPT370 RAID in Linux problems (Dennis Voss)
Re: FYI: Applix vs. StarOffice vs. WP8 for Linux.... (Nels Tomlinson)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "SergejV" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: modules
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 20:37:29 +0100
hello,
I have linux kernel 2.2.14.
I have build the new kernel 2.4.0-test6
but it does not want to load modules
during booting.
What's wrong?
May be I need tha new modutils for 2.4.0 kernel?
Thanks,
Sergej.
------------------------------
From: John Janmaat <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: WD 8003WC
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 14:26:11 -0300
Hello,
I am trying to configure a system with an old WD ethernet card. I have
no manuals. On the card is printed "8003WC B 2692", which suggests it
is a Western Digital Ethercard Plus card. I cannot get the Debian
install package to configure it. Redhat's install did O.K., but then
seemed to forget the settings that were working after the install was
finished.
Any suggestions?
John.
--
_________________________________________________________________
John Janmaat, Department of Economics, Acadia University,
Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. B0P-1X0
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: set up ISA modem - end of thread
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 17:36:02 GMT
CONSIDERATIONS OF CONFIGURING SERIAL PORTS
It is important to note that setserial merely tells the
Linux kernel where it should expect to find the I/O port
and IRQ lines of a particular serial port. It does *not*
configure the hardware, the actual serial board, to use a
particular I/O port. In order to do that, you will need
to physically program the serial board, usually by setting
some jumpers or by switching some DIP switches.
Well, considering the paragraph that I excerpted above from the man
page for setserial I do not see that as solving my problem. What I did
is point the symbolic link /dev/modem to /dev/ttyS2 thus
#ln -sf /dev/ttyS2 /dev/modem
Minicom continued to hang when I launched it so I started it
#minicom -s
this put me into the setup menu. There I looked at the "Serial port
setup" and found that the "Serial Device" was pointing to /dev/ttyS1.
I changed this to point at the symbolic link /dev/modem. Saved as df1.
Then exiting from the set up menu, Minicom sent an initialization
sequence and below that I see an "OK" response from the modem.
at[enter]
OK
atdt5552121[enter] * I can hear the modem dailing (YEA!)
BUSY
Alright! Now I have narrowed my problem down to the pppd and how it is
configured.
Note: I have made no other changes since I first posted my problem
yesterday. I did not recompile the kernel. I did not open up the case
to change non-existing jumper settings. I do want to thank all who
offered suggestions as I was out of ideas and the suggestions got me
looking in places I had not looked. THANK YOU.
------------------------------
From: Dan Jones <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Acceleraid 150 can't see drives
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 10:50:25 -0700
Drew Dunn wrote:
>
> I have a server based on the following hardware:
>
> Tyan Trinity 400
> Pentium III 600
> 256MB ECC PC133
> (2) 3Com 3c905
> (1) Seagate Cheetah 9 LVD
> (5) Seagate Cheetah 18 LVD
> Mylex Acceleraid 150 controller
> Generic SIS 8MB AGP video
>
> All of the drives are mounted in Kingston DE100I-SWCU2/B hot swap trays.
>
> The 5 Cheetah 18GB drives are in an external drive case. I've configured
> the Mylex drive to create a striped volume of the five drives. When I
> attempt to install any version of Linux (RedHat 6.2, Mandrake 7.1,
> Slackware, etc.), at some point during the file copy operation (never the
> same point), the system stops responding and I have to reboot. Then the
> controller marks drive 0 (the internal 9GB drive) as dead and I have to run
> the DOS-based configuration program to reactivate the drive.
>
> The internal SCSI chain is terminated with an active LVD terminator. The
> external chain is terminated similarly with an external terminator. There
> is no option on the controller to change termination. The cables are good.
>
> If I connect all of the drives to either the internal or the external
> connector, they work correctly. The problem only occurs when the drives are
> connected with the controller in the middle of the chain.
>
> As an experiment, I also tried installing Windows 2000 Server. The same
> thing happened. Obviously it's not a software problem. It sounds very much
> like a termination problem, but I can't see where it might be.
>
> The drives are hardwired to provide termination power. They have no
> termination of their own. Swapping drives has no effect.
>
> I'm stumped. Does anybody have any ideas?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Drew Dunn
>
> -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
> http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
> -----== Over 80,000 Newsgroups - 16 Different Servers! =-----
Drew,
Basically, a problem like yours is pretty hard to debug remotely.
Here are a few thoughts:
1. The Cheetahs and AcceleRAID combo are fine. We've qualified it
and we sell it.
2. The 150 firmware is responding to what it believes is a serious
communication problem. Here is a comment from an answer to a
Mylex FAQ:
"When the controller marks a drive dead, this indicates a
communications problem which could be a bad drive, or SCSI
bus such as cabling or termination." (No thanks are necessary.
I know this helps a lot.)
3. LVD requires better quality components in general. Personally,
I would suspect the SCSI drive carriers because they will
exacerbate stub and capacitance issues. YMMV
4. Putting the 150 in the middle of the bus means that it will
"see" degraded SCSI waveforms as compared to what it sees when
it is at one of the ends of the bus i.e. near the termination.
5. Once you are in a SCSI grey area, as you describe, all bets
are off as to what might make your particular setup work. You
might try reducing the maximum transfer rate and see if that
helps.
--
Dan Jones, Manager, Storage Products VA Linux Systems
V:(408)542-5737 F:(408)745-9911 1382 Bordeaux Drive
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sunnyvale, CA 94089
------------------------------
From: "Oliver Kowalke" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Installation on ABit Hot Rod 100 Pro disk
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 19:56:09 +0200
Hi,
did someone get Linux installed on a hdd which is conected on a Abit Hot Rod
100 Pro ide controler. I tried it with Debian 2.2 but the installer didn't
found a hdd. How to tell Debian installer to use the hdd on the controler.
thanks,
Oliver
------------------------------
From: "Oliver Kowalke" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Installation on ABit Hot Rod 100 Pro disk - PART 2
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 20:06:09 +0200
I forgot to say that I want to have Debian on a raid0 array.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Adaptec 29160 with 2.0.39 kernel
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 18:11:44 GMT
Any one know if Adaptec 29160 works with 2.0.39 kernel?
I did the following:
Added 29160 to a rh6.1 system.
Have old uw drive as drive 1 and new u3w as 4.
Want to copy all the current partitons to new drive and switch.
Under rh6.1 all went fine with no errors.
Switched id numbers and booted under tom's boot disk.
Every thing looked all right at first but got lots of scsi errors.
Was unable to make it bootable because of all the errors.
Switched back and every thing is great.
The driver not being correct on tom's boot disk that uses 2.0.39 kernel
would sure make a sense of it all.
Can anyone confirm?
John
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
------------------------------
From: John in SD <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: LILO version 21.5.1 released
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 18:20:47 GMT
LILO version 21 by Werner Almesberger has been updated to support booting
from disks > 1024 cylinders using a new 'lba32' option (-L new command line
switch). Version 21.5.1 now adds a menu-driven user interface to the Linux
boot process. Source code is available for download from:
ftp://brun.dyndns.org/pub/linux/lilo (developer's site)
Or from the main distribution site:
ftp://metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/boot/lilo (please use)
The lilo-21.5 release builds upon the stability of 21.4.4, and adds new
code to support the boot menu. This release is fully backward compatible
with earlier releases.
Version 21.5.1 is a maintenance upgrade to version 21.5, which is still
current.
See the distribution file 'CHANGES' for details of the differences between
21.5.1 and prior releases.
--John Coffman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
LILO version 21.5 (18-Jul-2000) source at
ftp: brun.dyndns.org dir: /pub/linux/lilo
------------------------------
From: Anson Ng <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: cannot get into Gnome
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 14:42:13 -0400
I just installed Redhat Linux 6.2 onto my new PC. I use a Voodoo3 2000
w/16MB video card. But after I login, and type "startx" in my shell
prompt, a little portion (about 10%) on top of the GUI screen shows up.
And when I move the mousedown to the black region of hte screen, it
disappears, i.e. everything is visible only at the top 10% of the screen
after switching to the GUI screen. What would the problem be and how I
could solve it??
Best Regards,
Anson
------------------------------
From: paul van duijn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Umax astra 2100s-scsi-scanner
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 20:40:44 +0200
Who got this scanner working with the standard
(UMAX)supplied-pci-scsi-card?
and of course how! (which 'modules')
Greetings
P.v.Duijn
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: What is killing my ethernet?
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 18:35:20 GMT
I am a newbie to linux, and recently installed
Mandrake Linux v7.1. After installing, I had many
problems getting all my hardware setup, but I
will worry about all that at a later time. My
main concern is that afterwords I couldn't get my
DSL to work in Linux, so I decided to go back
into Win98 and check some online help. To my
dismay, I found that my ADSL connection stopped
working in Win98, and I couldn't even connect to
my LAN. The thing that confuses me is that my
Linux is on hdb, and my windows is on hda.
Why would the mbr on hda cause problems with my
network card? Under windows, there aren't any
resource conflicts, and it tells me everything is
kosher. I have since then installed a very
minimal Linux configuration on a 500mb boot
partition on hdb and I could then use my ADSL
connection in win98, but there was no network
support or browser application installed in the
Linux config. Has anyone else conquered this
problem?
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Dances With Crows)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.misc
Subject: Re: ??:How To Read Multiple Data Tracks From A CD??
Date: 25 Aug 2000 19:08:00 GMT
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Fri, 25 Aug 2000 11:38:58 GMT, Douglas E. Mitton wrote:
>The problem is that the CD is damaged and all that mount sees (in
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Linux and Windows) is the last session (about 1% of the total data
>stored). The disk was written in 15 sessions and I can see all those
>tracks.
Damaged how? Are there a lot of scratches over the beginning area of
the disk, or is the data layer itself actually damaged? If it's
scratches, you can work wonders with a CD-Repair kit, or with clear nail
polish(!). If the data layer itself is damaged, there may not be a
whole lot you can do.
>I read about the mount session option BUT it is not available in my
>Slackware 7 mount ... it must be very recent.
Nope. Been there for at least 1.5 years.
mount -t iso9660 -o session=X /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
and if that doesn't work, it's entirely possible that the disc's TOC is
damaged beyond repair.
Hmm. If this data is incredibly important, it might be a good idea to
look at the cdparanoia source code and see if it's possible to adapt the
methods it uses to read data tracks. Or take a look at "readcd", which
ships with mkisofs and is supposed to be able to read damaged data discs
with some degree of accuracy. It has a "sectors=" option for
determining which sectors to read, too. You can get a sector range from
"cdrecord -msinfo" if nothing else. HTH,
--
Matt G|There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see
Brainbench MVP for Linux Admin / Those who do not understand Unix are
http://www.brainbench.com / condemned to reinvent it, poorly.
=============================/ ==Henry Spencer
------------------------------
From: Stephen Crocker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Linux on Compaq Presario 4836
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 20:07:19 +0100
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
I have recently installed Linux on a Compaq Presario 4836 but there are still
some things that need to be sorted out.
First, the modem is not detected. This is a 33.6K upgradable VSCi ISA card.
Secondly, I would like to use the video input. This appears to use a Bt829
chipset which seems to be unsupported by bttv and fails to show up under
gatos because it is not actually on an ATI card but mounted on the
motherboard.
Thirdly, my network card (Realtek 8029) seems not to be communicating with
the rest of my network. I think the card might be dodgy, as it was playing
up in a previous machine under Windows. Is there any way of testing the
interface?
Finally, has anyone produced any drivers for the easy access buttons?
--
x^ ( ) _________ // Email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
< U O |_|_|_|_|_| O || WWW: http://www.crok.demon.co.uk
\, |/|\ _________ [ ]
. |/^\ . 2 . /__\
... See that ZX81, That's your 486 DX 66 that is.
------------------------------
From: "David S. DeWitt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Recommended SCSI card for Zip Plus drive and RH6.1?
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 12:07:14 -0500
Just bought a Tekram Dc395U. There are drivers for most everything
including Linux. Looks like you have to have to remake the kernal as the
instructions say. I have not done this as of yet. The card works fine
under win98 with 2 HD and a HP tape drive. Cost from around $38 - $58 . I
was not paying attention and paid the $58. shame on me. the Tekram Dc315
is cheaper but I don't think it is bootable.
Good Luck
"Simon Tomlinson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:8nttca$kk2$[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
> I currently run my Zip Plus drive connected to my PC parallel port
> using RH6.1. However I can't use my printer off the same port. I have
> considered putting in a second parallel port but would rather add a
> Linux compatible SCSI card and run the zip plus off that. What is the
> best (ie cheap and win9x RH6.1 Zip compatible) PCI SCSI card to use?
>
> Any suggestions
>
> Thanks
>
> Simon
------------------------------
From: "Simon St-Onge" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Promise ATA100
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 19:27:05 GMT
Hi, I recently bought a Duron with an A7V motherboard,
here are a few problem i have had so far (i'm using RH 6.2):
- When recompiling the kernel to get rid of the CPUID problem, gcc has
crashed multiple times, even making the kernel panic. I eventually got to
compile the whole kernel and modules.
- Now I'm trying to access the disks which are connected to the seconth ide
controller (Promise ATA100). But linux doesnt seem to detect any thing. I
tryed forcing the detection with some kernel parameters (ide1=...) without
any success.
Anyone know if there is a solution to this?
------------------------------
From: "Simon St-Onge" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: setting up the Internet with sympatico HS edition
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 19:29:16 GMT
Yes, you can use the rp-pppoe package. Look for it on www.freshmeat.net. It
works well for me.
"Buju" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
> I'm currently using sympatico high speed edition for
> windows. How would I be able to set it up on Red Hat 6.2.
> I don't think its a dial up connection, so is it a local
> area network (LAN) or I'm I wrong and it's something else?
>
> Is it even possible to set up sympatico on Linux?
>
>
> * Sent from AltaVista http://www.altavista.com Where you can also find
related Web Pages, Images, Audios, Videos, News, and Shopping. Smart is
Beautiful
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Douglas E. Mitton)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.misc
Subject: Re: ??:How To Read Multiple Data Tracks From A CD??
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 19:33:49 GMT
On 25 Aug 2000 19:08:00 GMT, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Dances With Crows)
wrote:
>On Fri, 25 Aug 2000 11:38:58 GMT, Douglas E. Mitton wrote:
>>The problem is that the CD is damaged and all that mount sees (in
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>Linux and Windows) is the last session (about 1% of the total data
>>stored). The disk was written in 15 sessions and I can see all those
>>tracks.
>
>Damaged how? Are there a lot of scratches over the beginning area of
>the disk, or is the data layer itself actually damaged? If it's
>scratches, you can work wonders with a CD-Repair kit, or with clear nail
>polish(!). If the data layer itself is damaged, there may not be a
>whole lot you can do.
The first 14 of 15 tracks were written multi-session then the last
track was written with windows packet software.
>>I read about the mount session option BUT it is not available in my
>>Slackware 7 mount ... it must be very recent.
>
>Nope. Been there for at least 1.5 years.
> mount -t iso9660 -o session=X /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
>and if that doesn't work, it's entirely possible that the disc's TOC is
>damaged beyond repair.
The option wasn't in the man page and when I used it, though no error
message was generated, it still just showed the last track, the same
thing that just plain mounting the CD provides..
>Hmm. If this data is incredibly important, it might be a good idea to
>look at the cdparanoia source code and see if it's possible to adapt the
>methods it uses to read data tracks. Or take a look at "readcd", which
>ships with mkisofs and is supposed to be able to read damaged data discs
>with some degree of accuracy. It has a "sectors=" option for
>determining which sectors to read, too. You can get a sector range from
>"cdrecord -msinfo" if nothing else. HTH,
To my friend it is very important ... it is a collection of digital
photographs that he erased from the camera and his hard drive after
they were copied to CD. The final write was a MSWin mistake.
The reason I think the data is still accessible is that just by using
"dd" to read the raw device to a file, then mounting it with the loop
device I can read the first photos (in the first session) that was
written to the disk. By using cdrecord -toc I can see all 15
sessions. I hope I am correct in assuming that if I just find the
"dd" command syntax to read each of the 15 session tracks to the hard
drive then use cdrecord to write ONLY the FIRST 14 back to a new CD he
will be back to the starting point before the accident.
At the very least I should be able to mount each of the track/session
images read from the device via the loop device, copy the files to a
new directory structure on the hard drive, create a new ISO image and
write that back to a new CDR.
I am searching for command syntax and previous posters experience to
try to prove my assumption. I am reading up on cdrdao and it
supposedly should allow individual session tracks to be read to
harddrive image files.
Thanks again for the response.
================================================
The FACTS are my Employers, OPINIONS are my own!
Sorry: SPAM reduction project in progress:
Remove the "x." from my domain to reply!
================================================
------------------------------
From: "pl" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: modules
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 19:34:14 GMT
In article <Ofxp5.893$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "SergejV" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
> hello,
>
> I have linux kernel 2.2.14. I have build the new kernel 2.4.0-test6 but it
> does not want to load modules during booting.
>
> What's wrong? May be I need tha new modutils for 2.4.0 kernel?
>
>
> Thanks, Sergej.
Have you read the Changes file of the newer kernel? It lists minimal
requirements for such things as modutils.
(/usr/src/linux/Documentation/Changes)
------------------------------
From: Dennis Voss <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit,alt.linux,alt.os.linux
Subject: Re: KA7-100 HPT370 RAID in Linux problems
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 21:41:59 +0200
> It says in the documentation that Gentus linux supports HPT370 RAID,
> and I'm going to try this crap linux distro out when I get home today,
> but I'm wondering.. If it *does* work, and Gentus can recognize the
> array, doesn't Abit have to release the source code patch for this
> under GPL licensing? Thanks,
No. The latest NVidia drivers are also "closed-source".
Not everything on Linux is open-source.
Dennis
------------------------------
From: Nels Tomlinson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux.mandrake,comp.os.linux.misc,comp.os.linux.setup
Subject: Re: FYI: Applix vs. StarOffice vs. WP8 for Linux....
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 09:51:08 -0500
Arthur Sowers wrote:
>
> FYI, I'm a very newbie newbie, but have been dabbling with Linux since
> Summer of '99 (see footnote 1, below on experience summary). I got into
> Linux because I was disgusted with Win9X, by the way.
>
> Mainly I need a wordprocessor and a spreadsheet (something like Excel, if
> possible) and I need that to get work done. The OS and tinkering with it
> is going to be a long, drawn out hobby for me.
>
> I bought WP8 for Linux (Corel's) at a local Sam's club. I bought Sun's
> CD-ROM disk for $10 with StarOffice 5.1 on it (it has versions of SO for
> Win98 [and I have one copy installed as a Win98 ap], Linux, Solaris, and
> OS/2, by the way), and just this weekend, I decided to spring for Applix
> 5.0 (an office suite for Linux) at Best Buy (must have been on sale, the
> cash register rang it up for $62) to see how well it ran.
>
> All of my boxes are Red Hat 5.2 except one; that one is RH 6.2. Most are
> 200 mHz, one is 400 mhz. All are 32 MB ram. HDs are 1 gig, or 1 gig
> partitions. I have RH 5.2 running on a 486dx-33 with 8 MB of RAM, by the
> way. The fvwm window manager comes up rather slowly after I type
> "startx" at the prompt, but otherwise is a nice box. Once the window
> manager is up and running, the aps-games-utilities run just a little
> slowly.
>
> I installed SO and WP on several Linux boxes, and Applix on both a 5.2 and
> a 6.2 box.
>
> The Applix install had some glitches. But it launches very fast and exits
> very fast. HOWEVER, I had a bunch of windows open, then closed them before
> exiting the whole ap and shortly afterwards noticed in the terminal window
> that I used to launch the ap a series of warnings regarding "unexpectedly
> destroyed windows" AND a 1.5 MB "core" file in my root directory with a
> buch of gibberish in it. "core" files suggest that something went wrong
> somewhere and that bothered me. I do not see an uninstaller for Applix.
> Applix required an upgrade or override of some glibic libraries. I chose
> the override route. Its a gtk+ application, whatever that means but it
> worried me a little. A launches by typing "applix" at the prompt. The
> manuals for Applix are not too bad, but are certainly not thick. They
> show, in the "install" booklet, a long list of fixed bugs from ver 4.0,
> which is nice. But there is almost nothing there on "trouble-shooting" or
> explaining a few things on options & routes of installing the ap.
>
> SO launches (and exits) very slowly but has not given me any
> "trouble" like a core file or warning messages anywhere (I have had
> crashes under win98 and I have read in a few places now where crashes can
> take place in SO with complex operations). The install of SO (now on five
> boxes) has always been flawless. As I recall, there is an uninstaller for
> SO. SO has a low grade web browser (Id rather use something else) and a
> Newsgroup client that crashed on me several times (from Win98, by the
> way). The email client worked however. SO is launched by typing
> "./soffice" at the prompt. (you can also click on the menu icon on the KDE
> desktop). Its nice that you can download SO, for any of the four OSes,
> from Sun's website, for free. SO ver 5.2 is on a CD-ROM (with other
> aps/games/utilities) for, I think, this month's issue of "Maximum Linux."
>
> WP launches (and exits) faster than SO but slower than A. Its also quite
> good and well behaved (i.e. no core files generated, no error messages
> generated in the launch terminal screen. WP is just a word processor, but
> if you don't need math functions or cell formulas, you can create
> "tables" in grids as a low functionality "spreadsheet" in WP. WP launches
> by typing "./wp" at the prompt in the "bin" directory. I had a chance to
> use the uninstaller in WP8 to remove WP from a directory I did not want it
> in and then reinstall it into a directory I did want it in, and the
> uninstaller worked flawlessly. No residual files or directories.
>
> I've configured printing for SO and WP8 at least three of the RH 5.2 boxes
> and it needs about the same amount of tinkering as for Windows to get a
> printer to run.
>
> I expect to spend a fair bit more time evaluating these three packages
> before getting set up with one of them with my regular work.
>
> Arthur E. Sowers
> ----------------------------------------
> | Science career information websites: |
> | http://freeshell.org/~advocacy |
> | http://www.magpage.com/~arthures |
> ----------------------------------------
> | More 'public interest' websites... |
> | ...subject is embedded in URL: |
> | http://freeshell.org/~layoffs |
> | http://freeshell.org/~golinux |
> | (more in future) |
> ----------------------------------------
>
> footnote:
> I'd like to put in a word for Red Hat 5.2 and 6.2: I've put 5.2 on six
> boxes so far, including the slow 486 with 8 MB of ram, without a failure
> or glitch (most will boot off their HD, two need a boot disk [the trick I
> learned is to make two native partitions, one is a small "/boot" native
> partition and the second is a large root "/" partition during the install
> setup]). Most other distributions I've tried sometimes crash on install,
> or always crash on install. AND, nobody is paying me to say this. I have
> no relation with Red Hat or anyone who works there. I always used the
> "text-based" install. Sometimes the graphics installs don't work.
>
> I've also had my share of screw-ups with Linux such as getting into stuff
> without knowing how to get out of it, or doing stupid things at the
> command line. And, otherwise having to reinstall Linux a few times. It
> helps to read a good book on Linux/Unix and at least be aware of those
> little details that can blow up your install.
Hi,
I'd recommend tht you try Star Office 5.2. I've used 5.1 and been
disappointed, but 5.2 seems to be quite a bit better. It imports
MSOffice stuff VERY well, though the MBA students here are sometimes
clever (in the negative, ironic sense) enough that their homework
assignments screw it up a bit. Also, 32M is really not enough RAM for
SO. I've 112M, and that's useable, but more would be better.
I've been using Gnumeric a bit, when I need a spreadsheet. It seems to
be pretty good, and not as bloated as SO. SO is nice, but it's just so
big when you load it all at once, as seems to be necessary!
Normally I don't use the word-processors at all. I use emacs for
entering text and programming, and Latex when I need pretty output.
Once you get past the hurdle of getting the first document written, it
seems to be much easier to get a really nice-looking result in a given
amount of effort. This way I concentrate on what I want to say, rather
than getting hung up on formatting. I have used this for a couple of
little papers, for many quizzes and tests, and will be using it for my
dissertation.
I'd like to hear your opinions on Applix and Corel, once you've settled
on one or another office package.
Good luck,
Nels Tomlinson
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