Linux-Misc Digest #701, Volume #25                Fri, 8 Sep 00 14:13:04 EDT

Contents:
  Re: pppd wants remote sysyem to authenticate ("Peter T. Breuer")
  Re: Lilo removal from mbr ("Peter T. Breuer")
  Re: End-User Alternative to Windows ("Tristan Wibberley")
  Keyboard dead when I get to "login" prompt (Tom Law)
  faxspool won't read type (Bill Webster)
  Overwritten boot diskette! ("micromans")
  Re: End-User Alternative to Windows (David Dorward)
  Re: IP address stealing on Intranet (Brian V. Smith)
  Re: The Government's Decision to Use Microsoft (The Darkener)
  Re: Overwritten boot diskette! (John Forkosh)
  Re: End-User Alternative to Windows
  Re: Problem with fopen under RedHat 6.2 (Erik Max Francis)
  Re: Lilo removal from mbr (oneal)
  Re: opengl on sgi linux machines? (Tom Mitchell)
  Re: End-User Alternative to Windows (jabali)
  Which one to install? ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
  ATI ALL IN WONDER ("Samuel Irlapati")

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

From: "Peter T. Breuer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: pppd wants remote sysyem to authenticate
Date: 8 Sep 2000 17:12:13 GMT

Bill Unruh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
: In <8pa5ks$qut$[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "Peter T. Breuer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
: ]I don't know if there is a ppp directive that allows an existing
: ]default route to be overridden and then reestablished on disconnect.
: ]That would be nice. Shades of ifup/ifdown, perhaps ...

: No, there is not. pppd will not replace a default route. However you can
: do so if you wish by using ip-up.local and ip-down.local to put up and
: take down a default route through ppp0.

: But why would you want to? Just put in an explicit route for your home
: or work system, instead of using default. 
: route add -net 192.168.0.0 eth0

The reason I need to is because my home and work systems are on the same
network/netmask.  But the default routes and gateways are different when
my portable is in the office plugged in to the hub and when it is
connected by modem (and when it is at home plugged into the server
there).


Peer

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

From: "Peter T. Breuer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: alt.uu.comp.os.linux.questions,comp.linux.setup,comp.os.linux.x
Subject: Re: Lilo removal from mbr
Date: 8 Sep 2000 17:09:03 GMT

In comp.os.linux.misc Wayne Pollock <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
: How come in all the years this FAQ have been coming up, nobody has
: written a Linux utility that would do the same thing as a DOS boot
: floppy with DOS fdisk.exe/MBR?  Is there some propriety/secret software
: involved, or what?

It's called "lilo -u".

Peter

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

From: "Tristan Wibberley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux,comp.os.linux.advocacy
Subject: Re: End-User Alternative to Windows
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 17:09:00 +0100


Lina wrote in message ...

Will an end-user alternative similar to Linux appear anytime
>soon?

Most current Linux distributions try to cater for power users and computing
professionals *as well as* end-users and IMHO end up doing neither very
well.

Linux itself is a core technology which can be built upon with tailored
interfaces. This has been done for power users (see Debian), but not yet (or
not adequately) for end-users. Linux can dominate both markets, but it will
be dissimilar between them.

Windows is an (otherwise unnamed) poor core combined with a good end-user
interface,
Linux is a good core
Debian Linux is a good core (Linux) with a good power-user interface,
Corel Linux is a good core (Debian Linux) with a passable end-user
interface,
etc..

All IMHO





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

From: Tom Law <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Keyboard dead when I get to "login" prompt
Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2000 13:18:59 -0400


From:
            Tom Law <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

9:18 AM

     Subject:
            Keyboard dead at login prompt
 Newsgroups:
            comp.os.linux.hardware




    I have a dual booting pc (Win98/ Red Hat Linux 6.0), which started
behaving
strangely today.
    When it gets to the "boot:" prompt, I type in "linux", as usual, and
it proceeds
to load linux.  But then, when it gets to the "login:" prompt, the
keyboard is seemingly
dead!  I've tried 2 different keyboards, and I've tried booting from my
emergency disk, with the same results.  The keyboard works at the boot
prompt, but not when I get to login!
    If I boot into Windows, the keyboard works normally.

    This may be relevant:  I had been using a Belkin 4-port
monitor/keyboard/mouse switcher connected to my 2 pcs.  This morning, I
found that the MOUSE on my OTHER PC (with Win 98 only) would no longer
work, until I bypassed the switcher.  So now I'm using the switcher just

for the monitor, and have keyboards and mice plugged directly into the 2

pcs.  But I'm still having the above-mentioned keyboard problem in
Linux.

    Any suggestions will be GREATLY APPRECIATED!  (I'm going to go see
now if I can telnet into the linux pc from the other one...)
--
=======================================
Tom Law
WP Law, Inc
Lexington, SC, USA





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

From: Bill Webster <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: faxspool won't read type
Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2000 11:51:29 -0500

Hello,

   I ran faxspool on a text file, and it came back
 requesting "type".  I read in the man page that
 faxspool wasn't very good at reading "type".  I have
been using faxspool as an automatically launched process
after generating an ascii file, so I really need
 faxspool to always treat the file as an ascii so that
my program doesn't halt from prompting me for file "type"...

   I read further in the doc:

 `faxspool' interacts with the `file' program and `/etc/magic' to
determine the file type of the input
 files. If your `/etc/magic'     lacks entries for the various bitmap
files, take a look at
     `fax/etc-magic', it contains the most important magic numbers.


   I couldn't find /etc/magic anywhere.  Maybe I create this
 and force a "type". I'm not sure what to do at this point.  I've tried
putting the word "ascii" in a file /etc/magic - but that didn't
work.Anyone with ideas?

 Thanks,

 Bill



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

From: "micromans" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Overwritten boot diskette!
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 10:24:47 -0700

I accidentally overwrote my only Redhat 6.0 boot diskette and can't get back
into my system. It is installed on a machine that also has W98, NTWS 4.0,
and NT Server 4.0. All of these go throught the normal NT boot loader except
for Linux, which I boot from a diskette.

I tried "\dosutils\rawrite.exe -f \images\boot.img -d a: -n" from msdos mode
in W98 and created a diskette. This brings up a "boot:" prompt, then goes
into a RedHat 6.0 installation!

How do I get a diskette that works like before, ie: that points to the Linux
installation on the correct partition. I think it was hda8 but I'm not sure.
I have two IDE drives, a 6.4 gig (shows as disk 0 in NT disk administrator
and as disk 1 in FDISK), and an 18gig (shows as disk 1 in NT disk
administrator and as disk 2 in FDISK).

The first drive contains Linux, (ie: the 6.4 gig). It has the following
partitions: 502meg (C: drive for W98 and NT boot loader), 2048 meg (D: drive
for Win NT), 800meg (games), 800meg (more stuff), 1890meg (Linux RedHat 6.0
installation), and 126meg (I think this one is the Linux swap partition).
That means that Linux is the 5th partition on the drive, and the swap
partition for Linux is the 6th.

How do I make a working boot diskette?

Thanks,
Micromans





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

From: David Dorward <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux,comp.os.linux.advocacy
Subject: Re: End-User Alternative to Windows
Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2000 18:25:22 +0100

Lina wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> Will an end-user alternative similar to Windows appear anytime
> soon?

www.kde.org
www.gnome.org
www.winehq.com
www.mandrake.com


-- 
David Dorward
http://www.dorward.co.uk/

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

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Brian V. Smith)
Subject: Re: IP address stealing on Intranet
Date: 8 Sep 2000 17:29:27 GMT

In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (M. Buchenrieder) writes:

 |> (remember that
 |> the world's population is est. 6 000 000 000 000 people. 

Wow! Really?  6 trillion?
I though it was only 6 billion (U.S. word for 6 000 000 000)

===============================================================
Brian V. Smith ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www-epb.lbl.gov/BVSmith
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
I don't speak for LBL; they don't pay me enough for that.
Check out the xfig site at http://www-epb.lbl.gov/xfig

 To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the  
 glass is half empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big 
 as it needs to be.

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

From: The Darkener <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: The Government's Decision to Use Microsoft
Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2000 17:34:20 GMT

1) Windows NT can't become C2 compliant unless you configure it with the C2
Configuration manager and use it on certain hardware:

http://www.rito.com/nt/ntsec/navy/section_5.htm

2) NT also automatically looses it's C2 compliance when you connect it to a
network - it's only orange-book certified.

3) Here's an interesting article on exactly HOW MS got NT to be certified:

http://www.gcn.com/archives/gcn/1998/October12/1c.htm

I'm not here to explicitly bash NT, but that's just some info on exactly how and
why NT is certified.  Linux does have a long way to go as well, but I think they
have a better chance in achieving the final goal as Microsoft does...


TechnoJoe wrote:

> A recent OSOpinion article perked my interest about the Navy's recent
> decision to use the Microsoft Windows operating system in its next
> generation aircraft carrier
> (http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0807/news-navy-08-07-00.asp).  Two
> years earlier, a divide by zero error on a Microsoft Windows NT machine left
> the USS Yorktown dead in the water for over two hours
> (http://www.gcn.com/archives/gcn/1998/july13/cov2.htm).  The sequence of
> these events forces one to ask the question: why would the government choose
> the Microsoft Windows operating system despite the known defects and
> problems?  The answer is really quite simple - they do not have a choice in
> the matter.
>
> The Department of Defense has a little known rule that all computer products
> (hardware and software) containing classified or unclassified sensitive
> information must be evaluated and rated.  The National Computer Security
> Center (NCSC), a branch of the NSA, is responsible for evaluating and rating
> commercial security products.  These products fall into one of four
> divisions: D - Minimal Security, C - Discretionary Protection, B - Mandatory
> Protection, and A - Verified Protection.  Divisions C, B, and A are divided
> into classes: C1 - Discretionary Security Protection (no longer in use),
> C2 - Controlled Access Protection, B1 - Labeled Security Protection, B2 -
> Structured Protection, B3 - Security Domains, and A1 - Verified Design (see
> Orange Book, http://www.radium.ncsc.mil/tpep/library/rainbow/index.html).
> The ratings, in order from least secure to most secure, are D, C1, C2, B1,
> B2, B3, and A1.
>
> To make the rating system a little clearer, I'll draw an analogy.  Microsoft
> DOS with the equivalent security of a Speedo - not very secure - would have
> a D rating.  Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME with the equivalent security of a
> wooden barrel - stops rotten vegetables thrown by novice users but not
> bullets from professional hackers/crackers - would have a C1 rating.
> Microsoft Windows NT/2000 with the equivalent security of a bulletproof
> vest - able to stop professional hackers/crackers - has a C2 rating.
>
> Microsoft was very cunning in obtaining this rating.  Microsoft Windows NT
> 4.0 is the only general-purpose operating system rated by the NCSC
> (http://www.radium.ncsc.mil/tpep/epl/historical.html).  Other operating
> systems are rated, but those operating systems are designed for specific
> machines like mainframes and supercomputers, not general-purpose personal
> computers.  Since all computer products containing classified or
> unclassified sensitive information must be rated for the government to use
> them, Microsoft Windows is the only general-purpose operating system the
> government can use.  Hence, Microsoft has a monopoly on all general-purpose
> operating systems sold to the government.
>
> If you really want to break Microsoft's monopoly, you need to get
> alternative operating systems, like Linux, rated by the NCSC.  Many
> companies, like Red Hat, do not want to invest the time or money to have
> their products evaluated and rated, but I believe that the potential for
> government contracts (and the knowledge that our nuclear secrets are a
> little bit safer) is well worth the investment.  In addition, Microsoft will
> no longer be able to beat the Linux crowd over the head with the "No
> Security Rating" argument
> (http://www.microsoft.com/NTServer/nts/news/msnw/LinuxMyths.asp).
>
> I believe Linux is capable of much more than just meeting the C2 rating
> Microsoft Windows NT holds.  Since Linux can do everything that Microsoft
> Windows NT can do (and then some), one can reasonably assume that Linux can
> achieve a minimum C2 rating.  In order to meet the B1 requirements, the
> operating system must be able to append security information to objects
> after they leave the system.  Microsoft Windows NT could not achieve this
> rating because they supported only the FAT file system for floppy disks,
> which cannot track security information.  Linux supports the EXT2 file
> system for floppy disks, and the kernel can be compiled to remove support
> for the less secure FAT, forcing users to use a file system that contains
> security information, hence mandatory protection.  However, requirements for
> B3 and A1 require that the operating systems be stripped of all components
> not vital to system security
> (http://www.radium.ncsc.mil/tpep/epl/epl-by-class.html).  While this is
> theoretically possible given the Open Source nature of Linux, stripping away
> all non-security components would change the nature of Linux, and the
> stripped down version of Linux would no longer be a general-purpose
> operating system.  I believe Linux is capable of at least a B1 or perhaps a
> B2 rating.
>
> I believe companies of alternative operating systems should buckle down and
> have their products rated by the NCSC to better compete with Microsoft and
> make us feel proud (and more secure) in using alternative operating systems,
> like Linux.  Please email companies of alternative operating systems, like
> Red Hat, and tell them to get their products rated by the National Computer
> Security Center.
>
> That's my two-cents worth.  For more information on Commercial Product
> Evaluations, check out the website of the NCSC at
> http://www.radium.ncsc.mil/tpep/.
>
> TechnoJoe

--
- The Darkener
It is pitch black.  You are likely to be eaten by a grue.



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

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (John Forkosh)
Subject: Re: Overwritten boot diskette!
Date: 8 Sep 2000 17:37:25 GMT

micromans ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote:
: I accidentally overwrote my only Redhat 6.0 boot diskette and can't get back
: into my system.<snip>
: How do I make a working boot diskette?

I'd recommend a ``rescue disk,'' my favorite being
Tom's Root/Boot available at
     http://www.toms.net/rb/
John ([EMAIL PROTECTED])

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

From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux,comp.os.linux.advocacy
Subject: Re: End-User Alternative to Windows
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 10:28:44 -0700
Reply-To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>


Tristan Wibberley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:G99u5.6898$[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
>

> This has been done for power users (see Debian), but not yet (or
> not adequately) for end-users.

"power users" ARE end-users.

I think that "neophytes" is a better term for you misuse of the term
"end-user".



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

From: Erik Max Francis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.development.apps,comp.os.linux.development.system
Subject: Re: Problem with fopen under RedHat 6.2
Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2000 10:46:00 -0700

Doug Dodson wrote:

> We are trying to port some code over to a Linux PC running RedHat 6.2.
> Compilation of the code is fine, however when we run, we get a
> segmentation fault on one of our fopen calls.  We seem to be able to
> pass through the code once, but on the second iteration, we get the
> fault.

If you look at the traceback, it's crashing inside malloc.  This almost
always means you have some memory error, such as free'ing memory that
wasn't malloc'ed, or double free'ing memory, or running past the end of
a malloc'ed array.

-- 
 Erik Max Francis / [EMAIL PROTECTED] / http://www.alcyone.com/max/
 __ San Jose, CA, US / 37 20 N 121 53 W / ICQ16063900 / &tSftDotIotE
/  \ If you can't fight and you can't flee, flow.
\__/ Robert Elliot
    Product's Quake III Arena Tips / http://www.bosskey.net/
 Tips and tricks from the beginning to the Arena Master.

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

Crossposted-To: alt.uu.comp.os.linux.questions,comp.linux.setup,comp.os.linux.x
From: oneal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Lilo removal from mbr
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 17:42:46 GMT



Anita Lewis wrote:
> 
> On Fri, 08 Sep 2000 02:25:37 GMT, Peter Mitchell wrote:
> >
> >If you leave lilo on the second hard disk it won't hurt - it won't be
> >read.
> >
> >Using fdisk /mbr is only if you want to save the existing partitions.
> >The boot sector contains code to start the OS, plus the partition
> >table, and fdisk /mbr only changes the startup code, not the partition
> >table.
> >
> >If you don't care about the existing partitions you can put the drive
> >into the new machine, let the BIOS detect it and then use fdisk (DOS/Win
> >or Linux) to remove all the partitions. This may rewrite the code as
> >well; I'm not sure, but on a second drive it doesn't get used anyway.
> >
> >If the BIOS doesn't detect the drive (e.g. BIOS only supports 2 drives
> >and you have 3 counting the CD), Linux will probably detect it anyway,
> >and Linux fdisk will work.
> >
> >Peter
> 
I used fdisk /mbr to clear out LILO.  The -u command wasn't an option
when I tried it. I might reformat the drive for use in the new machine
because it isn't very large (4.3 Mb) and it it is currently split in
half.  By the way, that LILO -u command was found on a help FAQ but I
still don't know how you can use it if it isn't listed as an option on
the boot up.  Maybe for use from the kernel prompt?
Thanks for the help though
Oneal

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

From: Tom Mitchell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.sys.sgi.admin
Subject: Re: opengl on sgi linux machines?
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 10:59:31 -0700
Reply-To: Tom Mitchell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>


On 6 Sep 2000, Peter T. Breuer wrote:
> 
> In comp.os.linux.misc Thor Lancelot Simon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> : (or completely, depending what code you run) managed to compensate for the
> : horrific instruction set that the IA32 crowd are stuck with.
> 
> Yerrs. What's the problem on this? Surely a MIPS design should have far
> less gates in, so should need shorter traces,

Wonder over to the AMD and Intel sites and look for
white papers on new chip designs.

Most of the new processor chips have been built on a
RISC-like or VLIW core. So at the core the playing field is
flatter than it used to be in this regard.  IMO one of the
big wins of RISC was the way cache was part of the design.
It seems that tossing silicon at cache has found some limits
on the cost/value front.

One of the 'keys' to going fast on big machines today is the 
system that surrounds the processor.   

Look at the recently published Origin 3000 numbers and
compare with Origin 2000 numbers for the _same_ MIPS R12K
processor.

Marketing is making much about the modular components of the
O3K family (they should). As much or more could be said
about the other improvements (I am sure that they will).

It is a marvelous system.

Isn't it great to live in the future....!





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

From: jabali <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux,comp.os.linux.advocacy
Subject: Re: End-User Alternative to Windows
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 18:19:28 +0100

"Lina" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>What is the percentage of computers and servers running Linux now.=20

Anybody's guess. My guess is that two to five million machines have linux
installed against an estimated 100 million for windows - another guess
really - but a much lesser number is used as the main working machine. It=
 is
said that majority of web-servers are running on Linux though M$ would ce=
rtainly
dispute that.

>Will an end-user alternative similar to Linux appear anytime soon?

You mean another OS like Linux ? Are not you happy with the revolution ? =
:)

Linux is currently the only end-user system alternative to windows on a P=
C=20
(IBM compatible in older terminology). Of course you also have Mac-OS.

--=20

jabali


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

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Which one to install?
Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2000 17:47:12 GMT

I have been away from Linux world for last three years. I sure that
system and window managers evolved since slackware/FVWM95 that I was
using. What is currently good distribution package and Window Manager?
I'm looking to build software development system.
Thanks!



Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

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

From: "Samuel Irlapati" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux,comp.os.linux.hardware
Subject: ATI ALL IN WONDER
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 13:50:42 -0400

Can someone please send me their Xfree86_config (or whatever the config file
is called) which they have gotten to work with the ATI ALL IN WONDER 128
card, which is compatible with XFree86 v4.01? I have tried upgrading to
v4.01 and the new X server could not read some of the statements in the
config file. So I hope someone else got it to work and can send me their
config file.



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


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