Linux-Misc Digest #209, Volume #20 Fri, 14 May 99 22:13:08 EDT
Contents:
Re: 'Find'. what a strange command (Adam C. Emerson)
ghostscript printing ("Frans A. van der Hoorn")
well, what about Debian? ("Quoc A. Vu")
Enough already! Re: Pro-Unix vs anti-WinTel (Alexander Viro)
Re: GNU reeks of Communism (Rob Bos)
Re: cdrecord problem ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: Energy Star Usage? (Tom Fawcett)
Re: Registry in Linux ??? (Adam C. Emerson)
Communism dosn't even exist, never did... (Charlie Ebert)
Re: Bash Question ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: Pro-Unix vs anti-WinTel ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: Module problems: lo, eth0 and ppp ("Jordan Russell")
Re: What happened to fdformat (Gary I Kahn)
Re: piping mp3s to cdrecord ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Help With KDE (Jason Bond)
Re: GNU reeks of Communism (Christopher Browne)
Re: Modem Setup Help (Ian Briggs)
Re: Pro-Unix vs anti-WinTel (Christopher Browne)
Re: Pro-Unix vs anti-WinTel (Christopher Browne)
Re: USB Support (Christopher Browne)
Re: Debian: still viable? (Christopher Browne)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Adam C. Emerson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: 'Find'. what a strange command
Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 23:39:06 GMT
Brad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I was trying to find where netscape is installed on my newly installed
Look at which
> Linux setup. I figured there must be a 'find' command and I wasn't
> dissapointed. I typed 'man find' and had a read.
> There was the traditional user friendly syntax guide.......
> find [path....] [expression]
> so I typed
> find / netscape
> As the man pages poorly written man pages have no examples, I figured
> that this would search from the root and show me all the occurences of
> 'netscape' on my machine.
> Wrong. This, for a reason I hope someone can explain, listed, I think,
> every file on my machine.
> I got around the problem by typing 'find / netscape >> find.txt' and
> then using the wonderful grep command to display all the lines with
> 'netscape' in them. Exactly what 'find' should have done in the first
> place.
RAOTFM (Read All Of ...)
Expression lets you do much more than you would think, you can search
on permissions, names, etc. find / -name netscape would have done
what you expected.
--
Adam C. Emerson [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.calvin.edu/~aemers19/
Movesource Network Systems Specialist
I only like creamed corn in the abstract, not in the concrete.
------------------------------
From: "Frans A. van der Hoorn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: ghostscript printing
Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 11:35:54 -0600
Hi,
I want to use the pdfwrite driver that comes with ghostscript to print
postscript files to pdf files.
What is the command line that i should be using?
Thanks for any help,
Frans van der Hoorn
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
------------------------------
From: "Quoc A. Vu" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: well, what about Debian?
Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 23:54:33 GMT
I'm thinking about using the Debian distribution. Any thought on it?
How is it compare to other distributions such as SuSE (my favourite so
far) or Caldera or RedHat (suckest!), etc. I hear that the Debian
distribution is pretty technical, which I like. Should I change from
SuSE 6.0 for Debian? What's the latest distribution of Debian now?
Where can I get a copy on CD for a reasonable price? Thanks.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Alexander Viro)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.development.apps,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Enough already! Re: Pro-Unix vs anti-WinTel
Date: 14 May 1999 19:48:18 -0400
In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>G. Sumner Hayes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >snip<
>: Does Ports offer any sort of cryptographic security? Either signed
>: sources or authenticated connections when downloading? If not, it's far
>: less secure than the current package solutions.
>
> The ports tree is updated from trusted mirrors (just like the
> system). Distribution files are checked with an MD5 checksum.
>
> Using a PGP sig would offer nothing over an MD5 checksum in the case
> of ports.
... aside of uploading to the trusted mirrors, which is, AFAIK, PGP-protected
in case of FreeBSD.
Folks, could we fscking stop this idiocy? All packaging systems in
question are documented. STFW and RTFM. It is there. None of those systems
is ideal. IMO RPM is the weakest of them, but you may have different needs
and YMMV. Could we bloody stop this holy war and RTFM instead of imitating
*.advocacy on a bad day? Part of FM in question:
Ports: www.freebsd.org/handbook/ports.html
Debian policy, packaging system, team, etc.: www.debian.org/devel/ and
links from that page.
For $DEITY sake, enough is enough.
--
"You're one of those condescending Unix computer users!"
"Here's a nickel, kid. Get yourself a better computer" - Dilbert.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Rob Bos)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy,comp.os.linux.advocacy,gnu.misc.discuss
Subject: Re: GNU reeks of Communism
Date: 15 May 1999 00:00:51 GMT
PILCH Hartmut ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote:
: Pas Moi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
: >the execrrrable esr is a libertarian capitalist. moreover, his
: >toadying to mega-corps other than ms and his elitism are a far cry
: >from anarchism.
: Free software people seem to enjoy slamming their leaders. Maybe this proves that
: they are anarchists. I haven't found any other proof in this thread.
enh.. it's true anywhere you have a free society. Leaders are given
power, and any truly free society will actively rail against any form of
power, no matter how necessary it might be.
: -phm
------------------------------
Subject: Re: cdrecord problem
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 23:56:59 GMT
According to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> I'm trying to write an image to a CD-R. When I use
> the command 'cdrecord -v speed=2 dev=0,5,0 -data cdimage.raw'
> I get the following error;
>
> TOC Type: 1 = CD-ROM
> cdrecord: Invalid argument, shmget failed
>
> I assume it thinks my cd-writer is a cd-rom.
Hmmm. I'd be more worried about the "shmget failed" message --
assuming that is a shared memory problem. How much physical memory do
you have in the system? If it is limited, you might try exiting X (if
you are running it) and try again from the console.
-p.
------------------------------
From: Tom Fawcett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Energy Star Usage?
Date: 14 May 1999 19:52:23 -0400
Jason Bond <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Does anyone out there know how to use (or of any good programs that make
> use of) the energy star features (If I'm talking about the right thing)
> of monitors? What I'd like is for my monitor to power off (or go on
> standby) after a specified amount of time (ack...like windows can
> do...sorry for that)? Thanks much,
For console mode, use the setterm command ("setterm -powersave on").
For X Windows, see the power_saver option of XF86Config.
man XF86Config for details.
------------------------------
From: Adam C. Emerson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Registry in Linux ???
Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 23:47:31 GMT
Thomas Scholz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Hi together,
> I'm new to Linux and my question might look a bit strange. Anyway, my
> question is:
> In Linux, regarding applications only (not hw settings etc.), is there
> something similar to the Windows Registry?
> If not, is there anything else one has to do to an application before being
> able to execute it (in the meaning of "registering" it to the os)?
> Thanks for your help
Not usually, someone wrote a registry for Linux you can get
if you really want it. Most things are done in text files,
and X resources.
--
Adam C. Emerson [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.calvin.edu/~aemers19/
Movesource Network Systems Specialist
I only like creamed corn in the abstract, not in the concrete.
------------------------------
From: Charlie Ebert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy,comp.os.linux.advocacy,gnu.misc.discuss
Subject: Communism dosn't even exist, never did...
Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 20:02:08 -0500
>
Just to set the record straight for all parties, Communism was a goal which
was never achieved anywhere.
That's point #1.
Point #2.
We DO have some hostile governments around the world, but this has NOTHING
to do with Linux.
Point #3.
The so called Communist countries left.
China, North Korea, Vietnam, Cuba.... Did I miss any...
China is probably the biggest example of capitalism of the four I've
mentioned.
But they do have a cruel government.
The rest have cruel governments also but they are also ALL leaning towards
Capitalism.
When the Soviet Union fell apart, the dream of achieving Communism around
the world died with
it.
All of this talk about Communism is a throw-back to 20-30-40-50 years ago.
If you want to talk about THREATENING Governments then we can talk about
countries such
as Iraq. But they've never been considered Communists....
So what is all this dribble about Linux being a Communist Software package.
This is the work of 3 year olds who own Microsoft Stock.
3 year old Republicans who have nothing better to do in their spare time.
Let me refer to the exact threat Linux poses to Microsoft Corporation.
#1. Their operating system works.
#2. It's totally free.
#3. Linux X windows kicks Microsoft Gui in the ass.
#4. It's a stable build. Meaning software written 9 years ago will still
run today.
#5. You can get support for it if you need it.
#6. A mass of software vendors and computer companies are either
installing it on their pc's for sale or
writting ports of their software packages to sell on Linux.
#7. Linux will eventually turn Microsoft into an applications vendor.
They will make no more OS's.
#8. It will absolutely tear Microsoft stock into bits.
I could go on, but why bother.
Considering Linux is a better OS than NT, Linux is FREE, companies will
spend the 21st century porting to it.
Linux will be probably the last operating system available for computers;
given enough time.
Linux will bring stability to this planet and it's pc's.
Being a commercial programmer, I write software for insurance industries.
I can't tell you how dissappointed I've been in the performance and
stability of Microsoft products.
NT 4.0 SP 4 is probably their very first OS which doesn't blue screen once
a week.
Visual Basic was an absolute waste of clock cycles and a nightmare in every
department.
Visual Basic was not only NOT upwardly compatible, it didn't even freaken
work 50% of the time.
Most of their tools were junk in the beginning and they are a little better
now but, whew!!!!
And then their is this idiotic aspect of Microsoft certification.
Microsoft get's all the bucks, you get a peice of paper
which they can re-voke at any time, and the final analysis is you're not
that much brighter folks!!!!
The KGB was feared for being into everybody's business.
That what Microsoft has become. They have become the friggen KGB.
They wrote a supposedly easy to operate OS with programming tools for
untalented people.
HOOKED these untalented people, taught them that doing it THIS way was
cheaper ---- which is a total lie.
Got their butt's into every aspect of programming in almost every shop in
the nation.
There are certain HUMAN RESOURCES departments which will not even accept
your resume unless you have
a Microsoft certification completed. That's truely incredible. They have
litterally put their future in the hands
of Microsoft corporation.
DP HUMAN RESOURCES across our land have become some of the most brainless
idiots I've ever met.
Interviews have become as brainless as the push button world Bill Gates
hoped for.
I'm working for a man today who spent 2 years on a nation wide search
attempting to find programmers to work
on his NT system. 2 years of hiring them for their certifications only to
fire them 3 months later.
What's shocking is these same people end up in some major software firm and
actually stay there for 2 years before
they are fired.
You've got to do an interview folks! You have to find out what's in their
brains folks!
You can't rely on Microsoft to tell you if they are good programmers or
not!!!!!
You MUST USE YOUR BRAINS FOLKS!!!
So I accuse Microsoft of a world wide consipiracy to STUPID UP the PLANET
JANET!!!!
I mean even their systems administrator tags are hillarious.
Microsoft is cleverly controlling the employment markets of America for
Programmer's.
They have created a system of manipulating the markets for their own
profit.
The KGB created a system for controlling their masses. Microsoft has done
the same thing.
This doesn't even account for the UNDERHANDED deals they've made in the
past with PC manufacturers nor
does it account for the UNDERHANDED deals made with hardware distributors
of PC peripherals.
One of LINUX developments biggest problems has been PC peripherals refusal
to release programming details
for hardware because of Microsoft Proprietary interests.
Now LINUX has done NO bad things to our market that I'm aware of except
contribute to the ill
health of the Microsoft Stock Holder. And I could care less.
If Microsoft is that good, then why on earth am I reading stories about
LINUX and COMMUNISM today?
Why are they even worried about it?
If you have to PEE-PEE then go to the bathroom.
But under NO circumstances go PEE-PEE on LINUX because it's beating NT.
Don't be a stupid 3 year old.
That is my advise to you my freinds.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Bash Question
Date: Thu, 13 May 1999 08:21:39 GMT
In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
<snip>
>
> On my Linux machine I do "bash -version" from the
> command line 5 times.
>
> Then I do "ps -ax" and I see:
>
> 464 p2 S 0:00 bash -version
> 465 p2 S 0:00 bash -version
> 466 p2 S 0:00 bash -version
> 467 p2 S 0:00 bash -version
> 471 p2 S 0:00 bash -version
>
> What is going on here? Why should doing "bash -version"
> fork a new shell for me?
its because `bash -version` kicks off another bash! try ^c^v (ie
cntrol-c, control-v) to check the version of bash you are currently
running.
fraf
--== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==--
---Share what you know. Learn what you don't.---
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Pro-Unix vs anti-WinTel
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.development.apps,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 23:05:04 GMT
G. Sumner Hayes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>snip<
: Does Ports offer any sort of cryptographic security? Either signed
: sources or authenticated connections when downloading? If not, it's far
: less secure than the current package solutions.
The ports tree is updated from trusted mirrors (just like the
system). Distribution files are checked with an MD5 checksum.
Using a PGP sig would offer nothing over an MD5 checksum in the case
of ports.
--
-Zenin ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
My code is filled with comments! It's just that my comments are
written in Perl.
------------------------------
From: "Jordan Russell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.setup
Subject: Re: Module problems: lo, eth0 and ppp
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 18:54:15 GMT
Oops, nevermind, enabling IP aliasing *does* do the trick. I had forgotten
to run lilo after recompiling and installing the new kernel image.
Thanks for the tip! I would have never guessed to try that.
Jordan Russell
Jordan Russell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:QYj_2.813$[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
> I've got the same problem too, but enabling IP aliasing had no effect at
> all. Still get the same errors in the log.
>
> Jordan Russell
>
> Martin van Roon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
> > I had the same problem. I've traced it down to not having ip aliasing
> > turned on in the kernel. If turned on most likely these messages will
> > disappear.
> >
> > The messages are generated by the linuxconf command called from the
> > script: /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifup-aliases.
> >
> > Also removing linuxconf will get rid of the messages.
> >
> > I am running:
> > kernel-2.2.5-15
> > linuxconf-1.14r4-4
> >
> > Good luck,
> > Martin
>
>
------------------------------
From: Gary I Kahn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: linux.debian.user,linux.redhat.misc,comp.os.linux.hardware
Subject: Re: What happened to fdformat
Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 21:20:00 -0400
> I know this sounds stupid, but I used to think that you can low-level
> format a floppy in Linux using "fdformat". Well, on my Debian system
> this is what I get:
Try the following commands instead:
mkfs.msdos /dev/fd0
mkfs.msdos -cv /dev/fd0
mformat a:
The first is similar to a DOS "format /q", while the second also
tests the floppy for bad blocks. The third is part of the
"Mtools" package, and doesn't appear to test the floppy for bad
blocks.
Gary
------------------------------
Subject: Re: piping mp3s to cdrecord
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 00:33:06 GMT
According to Mark Roberts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> I was wondering if anyone has come up with a solution to this problem I
> am having with cdrecord. When I pipe raw audio from mpg123 to cdrecord,
> with "mpg123 -s /mp3/foo_bar_album/*.mp3 | cdrecord -v dev=3,0 speed=4
> -audio -" it will understandably produce only 1 track of audio as it
> cannot differentiate the different audio tracks, it just sees a audio
> stream. Has anyone found a way to do something similar to this while
> preserving the different tracks?
There are several ways that you can do it. You can extract the audio
to wav files, master it with mkisofs, and then burn it to disc.
Alternatively you could use cdrdao -- check out:
http://www.ping.de/sites/daneb/example.html
I've never actually done either myself, but it all seems pretty
straightforward.
-p.
------------------------------
From: Jason Bond <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Help With KDE
Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 18:18:40 -0700
I was wondering if anyone knows of a way to make
a window always stay on top. That is, it is visible even
if another window is moved in front of it and activated. Thanks much
for any help,
Jason
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Christopher Browne)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy,comp.os.linux.advocacy,gnu.misc.discuss
Subject: Re: GNU reeks of Communism
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 01:33:56 GMT
On Fri, 14 May 1999 15:08:54 GMT, Marco Anglesio
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>On Fri, 14 May 1999 00:21:01 GMT, Peter Seebach <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>>As you note, productivity is high. Wealth is high, too; our standard of
>>"poverty" is a moving target, but last I heard, an awful lot of the people
>>living "in poverty" had color televisions.
>
>Interesting point; it doesn't seem like you've considered the conception
>of poverty overly much. Consider Adam Smith's description: "[Poverty is
>the lack of those necessities that] the custom of the country renders it
>indecent for creditable people, even of the lowest order, to be without."
>
>A colour TV is one of those things - formerly a luxury, it is now a
>standard. It is assumed that all but the poorest will have either a
>television or access to one; it is the medium of choice for communication
>of all kinds.
>
>This is relevant to the "printing aces" discussion elsewhere in the
>thread. Let's say you have one ace and I have none: I'm poor. Let's say
>you print aces and you have eighty and I have five - more than I would
>have possibly received in a fair deal. Well, I'm still poor.
The parallels to colour TV are pretty good in this case.
Under the circumstance of the "lots of aces," the value of any given
ace diminishes when there are a whole lot more of them.
If a pack of cards suddenly has 20 aces, the card games will change
since high frequency of aces makes a hand full of aces much more
likely.
This compares nicely to the situation we see where "decent colour TVs"
are being produced in great quantity; the value, and thus the price,
of a TV set, has fallen considerably.
30 years ago, having a big black+white TV was a sign of being quite
wealthy.
Today? The kids may have a 27" set in the playroom, and the fact of
having a TV indicates *nothing* about one's economic well-offness.
The unfortunate part is that this implies that there *isn't* a fixed
definition of what poverty truly means. Which makes life difficult
for those trying to figure out if they're helping *and* for those
with less gracious "agendas" both.
--
"I will not send lard through the mail" ^ 100 -- Bart Simpson
[EMAIL PROTECTED] <http://www.hex.net/~cbbrowne/lsf.html>
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Ian Briggs)
Subject: Re: Modem Setup Help
Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 00:47:41 GMT
Jason Bond wrote:
:/usr/sbin/pppd /dev/ttyS2 33600 user yyyy connect "/usr/sbin/chat ''
:'AT S7=45 S0=0 L1 V1 X4 &c1 E1 Q0' OK ATDxxxxxxx CONNECT '/d/c'"
I don't speak Hayes too good, but are all those AT commands really
necessary? Simpler is sometimes better.
Ian
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Christopher Browne)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.development.apps,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: Pro-Unix vs anti-WinTel
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 01:33:48 GMT
On 14 May 1999 16:58:20 GMT, John S. Dyson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Ports is cool because it even allows for (almost) automated creations of
>new packages also. I have never seen anything perfectly slick, and ports
>isn't perfect either. However, it does seem that biased and incorrect
>assertions are often made about FreeBSD.
Happily, the incorrect assertion, which was that Ports doesn't "do
dependancies," was corrected.
Unfortunately, biased and incorrect assertions are similarly made
assortedly about Linux, Windows NT, X, C, C++, Lisp, and so forth.
>If such assertions were on a subtile, technical subject, then there
>might be some room for disagreement. However, this is a very clear
>case of the uninformed with an assertion.
It seems that the assertion was true at the point in time at which use
of FreeBSD was last made; I was glad to see things cleared up.
>FreeBSD ports handles both dependencies, and the FreeBSD project does
>provide backup for older distributions. The biggest plus is that,
>even as a very sophisticated developer, I don't have to deal with all
>of the little details, of even finding the location of the distribution
>or dependencies. I can even modify the distribution and repackage it
>very, very easily, when using ports.
I suspect that you have to have *something* out there to establish
"the location of the distribution;" it looks like Ports does something
pretty analagous to what Debian's "apt" utility does in this regard.
>There are no proprietary file formats used, and the system just
>works.
That sounds pretty much like the way that the Linux-oriented packaging
systems work. Note that contrary to *past* claims (and david parsons,
who used to make bitter complaints about this, has concluded that RPM
is *not* proprietary), there are no proprietary formats or utilities.
RPM uses a light wrapper around a CPIO archive, which is the nearest
thing to "proprietary" that I've seen, but there are
independently-developed utilities to manipulate RPM files, which puts
the lie to such claims.
And DPKG, which, the more I see, seems to be a
"somewhat-more-binary-oriented" analogue to Ports, uses nothing more
than ar, gzip, and tar to build its files...
--
"I withdraw my claim that rpm is proprietary -- my objections were based
on the documentation for the version of rpm (2.2.6) that I used as a
documentation source when writing makepkg and xrpm." - david parsons
[EMAIL PROTECTED] <http://www.ntlug.org/~cbbrowne/lsf.html>
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Christopher Browne)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.development.apps,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: Pro-Unix vs anti-WinTel
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 01:33:51 GMT
On 14 May 1999 13:56:12 +0100, Richard Caley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>So, to be clear, you're happier downloading some pre-compiled binary
>from god knows what teenaged hackers jokeshop than getting the sources
>for what you want from wherever it officially lives, and patches for
>FBSD from FBSD? Boy you love to live dangerously.
Could you name that "teenaged hackers jokeshop"?
Presumably you have one or two in mind; if they truly are "jokeshops"
as you say, then the Linux community should certainly be informed of
what sources they should avoid.
If you can't name the "jokeshops," then either:
a) You're making ignorant statements, and should clearly be ignored,
at least by the Linux community, but perhaps also by FBSD folk,
since wilful ignorance doesn't help them either, or
b) You're making dishonest statements, and should clearly be
shunned, not only by Linux folk, but also by the FBSD folk whose
good name you are denigrating by the association with dishonesty.
--
"I will not send lard through the mail" ^ 100 -- Bart Simpson
[EMAIL PROTECTED] <http://www.hex.net/~cbbrowne/lsf.html>
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Christopher Browne)
Crossposted-To: redhat.general,comp.os.linux.development.system
Subject: Re: USB Support
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 01:33:54 GMT
On 14 May 1999 17:16:55 GMT, Mark Hahn
>> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> "It can access the USB hub, and tell you what's on the hub. Actually
>> making use of the devices that are found may require drivers that
>> aren't There Yet..."
>
>that's a bit pessimistic.
A bit, yes.
>linux-usb people report that mice and kbds
>work fine enough to be depended on. there are sporadic reports of,
>for instance, working usb video cameras, and at least active development
>of storage devices.
I see in the 2.8 kernel drivers for keyboards, that claims to be
workable, and a driver that *looks* like it's some sort of "multiport
serial thing." I didn't see mice, but may have misread something.
At any rate, it *is* fair to say that what's there now is:
a) Somewhat beta-quality code for low level support; when the code's
so new it's rather early to call it "mature."
b) *Some* device drivers.
USB speakers are coming Real Soon Now; support for additional devices
will come on a device-by-device basis, and it is too early to predict
how quickly that will be.
USB-ZIP drives are a neat option; who knows when?
--
"You're one of those condescending Unix computer users!"
"Here's a nickel, kid. Get yourself a real computer" - Dilbert.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] <http://www.ntlug.org/~cbbrowne/lsf.html>
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Christopher Browne)
Subject: Re: Debian: still viable?
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 01:34:09 GMT
On Fri, 14 May 1999 15:36:28 GMT, Marco Anglesio
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>On 14 May 1999 14:59:15 GMT, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>>In his obvious haste, Marco Anglesio
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> babbled thusly:
>>: What alien does is unpackage the rpm, then repackage it as a deb. However,
>>: dpkg has and enforces dependencies; rpm->deb conversions are merely built
>>: with nothing by way of dependencies.
>>
>>Wouldn't it be possible to translate RPM dependencies into debian
>>dependencies?
>
>I'm sure it would, but you'd have to have consistent version numbering and
>suchlike between distributions. Which is, IMHO, a dangerous assumption in
>the absence of a formal agreement between debian and Red Hat.
Actually, it's considerably worse than that; you seem to be assuming
that RPM files are being generated by Red Hat Software. (If you
weren't, the point still needs to be punctuated...)
If you look at <http://rpmfind.net>, the majority of the packages do
*not* reflect things that are part of the main Red Hat "official"
(such as it is) distribution.
They include:
- Caldera (couple of versions)
- SuSE (several editions)
- Red Hat "Rawhide"
- Red Hat "contributed packages" (all too often of dubious quality)
- YellowDog Linux
- Linux/PPC
- Mandrake Linux
- A bunch of other packages from some assorted sources.
If the "formal agreement" that you describe above is intended to
represent a "political" agreement between The Debian Project and Red
Hat Software, that only covers a tiny minority of packages, and, quite
frankly, those packages are likely to be irrelevant ones, since the
"base" packages provided by Debian and Red Hat provide a rather
similar set of software.
What's likely of real interest is the "contributed" packages, or one
or three of the SuSE packages. And there's certainly not going to be
any "political contract" to establish comprehensive interoperability.
>Alien also ignores differences in setup between distributions - the file
>setup in the rpm is the setup in the deb, and Debian does do things
>differently than Redhat in some instances, so you can wind up in trouble.
>Setup scripts are not properly converted in any case, so you will have to
>poke around to set things up correctly. Etc.
>
>I've run into some significant problems because of this (in the
>codeforge-1.2 commercial rpms) where I had to purge the debianized
>rpm and install directly from tarball to get it to work correctly.
I don't think alien will be able to do much better than "best
efforts." I've aliened a couple of packages, with pretty limited
success.
--
"I will not send lard through the mail" ^ 100 -- Bart Simpson
[EMAIL PROTECTED] <http://www.hex.net/~cbbrowne/lsf.html>
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