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<head>
<title>More 2 Cent Tips & Tricks LG #29</title>
</head>

<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#A000A0"
ALINK="#FF0000">
<!--endcut ============================================================-->
<H4>"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>
<P> <hr> <P> 

<!-- QUICK TIPS SECTION ==================================================  -->
<center>
<H1><A NAME="tips"><IMG ALIGN=MIDDLE ALT="" SRC="../gx/twocent.gif">
More 2&#162; Tips!</A></H1> <BR>
Send Linux Tips and Tricks to <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">
gazette@ssc.com
</A></center>

<p><hr><p>
<a name="contents"></A>
<H3>Contents:</H3>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#rosomakho">Linux Kernel 2.1.102 Error Patch</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#ehliar">Tip for using Windows 95 Button in X</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#bronson">Re: Usershell on Console</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#hall">IBM LAN Adaper for Ethernet</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#ballueder">Easy Access to Removable Media</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#smith1">Re: bpp 16 question</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#smith2">Re: Finite Elements Programs</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#smith3">Re: How to Enable Swapping</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#smith4">Re: Slackware</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#mcanulty">Re: about::mozilla</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#niemann">Re: Rebooting without logging in as
Root</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#omegaman">Re: Running an ATAPI ZIP Drive</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#rodrigo">Re: Enabling Swap Space</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#hammel">Re: Problems using Menus in X</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#tennent">Music Typesetters</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#dossey">BASH hostname Completion</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#mcnamara">Re: xdm and depth</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#digulla">Re: Shutdown and root</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#davis">Printing with Linux</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#gilb1">Re: Finite Elements Programs</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#gilb2">Re: Hot to Enable Swapping</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips29.html#jacobsen">Cuckoo Clock</a>
</ul>

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="rosomakho"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Linux kernel 2.1.102(3) error - patch!
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 16:20:07 +0000<BR> 
From: Yaroslav Rosomakho, <A HREF="mailto:alons55@dialup.ptt.ru">
alons55@dialup.ptt.ru</A> 
<P>
Hello. I have found that make menuconfig and lowlevel sound drivers
won't work in 2.1.102 & 2.1.103 (latest kernels). I have written a patch:<BR> 
http://yaroslav.hypermart.net/linux
<P> 
tell people about it!
<P>
Yaroslav Rosomakho.

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="ehliar"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Tip for using Windows 95 buttons in X
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 20:18:00 +0200 (MET DST)<BR> 
From: Andreas Ehliar, <A HREF="mailto:tamyrlin@futurniture.se">
tamyrlin@futurniture.se</A> 
<P>
I am sure that I am not the only one using a keyboard with Windows 95
buttons. Most people I know tend to ignore them, since they are not very
useful in Windows 95, and even less so in Linux. But they are supported in
the Linux kernel. That is, they do generate key codes which applications
could use, if they only know what to look for.
<P>
So, how do I get X to use the offending buttons?
In the following example, I will show how I configured X and fvwm2 to
allow me to move a window by pressing the left Windows 95 button, and the
left mouse button anywhere in the window. I can also resize the window by
pressing the left Windows 95 button and the right mousebutton anywhere in
the window. This greatly simplifies things for me, since I don't have to
locate the titlebar, or a border of the window to move it. So, how did I
accomplish this?
First, I created a file named .Xmodmap in my home directory with the
following two lines:
<PRE>
keycode 115 = Hyper_L
add mod4 = Hyper_L
</PRE>
This will map the left Windows 95 button to Hyper_L, and map Hyper_L to
mod4. 
<P>
I added the following line to .xsession to actually load the modified
keymap:
<PRE> 
xmodmap $HOME/.Xmodmap
</PRE> 
Note that .xsession is usually executed if you use xdm to log on. If this
is not the case, you need to find the relevant file on your computer
system. Some likely candidates are .xinitrc, or .Xclients, however, YMMV.
<P>
To actually use mod4 I modified my .fvwm2rc by adding the following lines:
<PRE> 
# I have bound my left win95 button to mod4, and by holding down it
# I can move and resize my window without bothering to find a border or
# titlebar
Mouse 1 W       4       Move
Mouse 3 W       4       Resize
</PRE> 
What these lines does is to specify that if you press the left mouse
button (1) in a window (W) while pressing mod4 (4) you will move the
window. (Move)
If you want to know more about these lines, you should study the fvwm2 man
page.
<P>
So, read in your .Xmodmap, restart fvwm2, and enjoy the added
functionality. Now all that is left is to replace that Windows logo with a
penguin :)
<P>
Final notes:
<P>
* This is only an example, you will probably need to modify some paths to
  suit your system.
<P>
* It is also possible that you already have a button bound to mod4. In
  that case, you should probably think twice before binding another button
  to it.
<P>
* If you don't use fvwm2 as your window manager,you should read the
  documentation that comes with your window manager to figure out how to
  do the above mentioned configuration.
<P>
* If you want to bind the other two window 95 buttons, the scan codes for
  them are 116 respectively 117. This sort of information is by the  way
  available using the xev program.
<P>
Andreas Ehliar

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="bronson"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Re: Help Wanted (usershell on console without logging in) 
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 09:38:03 -0700<BR> 
From: Rick Bronson, <A HREF="mailto:rick@efn.org">rick@efn.org</A> 
<P>
  I've read, with interest, the good ideas people have submitted about
setting up Linux to be more stand alone.  I've worked on this issue on
and off for some time now and would like to share my ideas.
<P>
  I've often thought that there needs to be a Linux distribution that
has an automatic startup as the default.  One of the reasons that
MSDOS (as bad as it was) was popular was because it wasn't burdened
with "security" items like logging in.  Most of us that use Linux at
home don't need to waist time logging in every day.  If we had a
distribution of Linux that booted up into X we would have a lot more
users.
<P>
  My goals are as follows (all done automatically from power up):
<P>
1. From power up, automatically login.
<P>
2. Bring up X Windows.
<P>
3. If I haven't been connected to my ISP (via PPP) in the last 4 hours
then connect.
<P>
3.1 Start up Netscape, get mail from my ISP (via cron), and check it
every minute.
<P>
3.2 If I haven't read USENET news today then fire up newsreader and
automatically to thru and apply kill files to all articles and leave
newsreader just showing what's left.
<P>
3.3 (I admit, this one is weird) Telnet into my local library and
check to see if I have overdue books.
<P>
  For the purposes of this 2 cent tip, I'm going to cover #1 &
#2. (NOTE: replace every occurrence of "username" with your real login
name).
<P>
1. Add this to the bottom of your /etc/inittab (for Debian), unless
you have an rc.local file
<PRE> 
rc:12345:wait:/etc/init.d/rc.local
</PRE> 
1a (if you don't have an rc.local file) Make an /etc/init.d/rc.local
file with this in it:
<PRE> 
#!/bin/bash
echo "Auto login of user username"
cd /home/username
su - username
</PRE> 
  Set permissions of rc.local to:
<PRE> 
  -rwxr-xr-x   1 root     root           96 Jun 29  1997 rc.local
</PRE> 
  By doing:
<PRE> 
chmod 755 rc.local
</PRE> 
1b (if you have an rc.local file) 
Add this to the bottom of your rc.local
<PRE> 
echo "Auto login of user username"
cd /home/username
su - username
</PRE> 
2. Add the following to the bottom of your ~/.bash_profile:
<PRE> 
if [ "`tty`" = "/dev/console"  -o "`tty`" = "/dev/tty0" ]
then
  startx
fi
</PRE> 
  That's it!  This has been tested under Slackware (a long time ago)
and under Debian, recently.  Please give me any feedback.
<P>
 Thanks, Rick Bronson

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="hall"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
IBM Lan Adapter for Ethernet
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Fri, 01 May 1998 00:23:21 +0000<BR> 
From: Brian Hall, <A HREF="mailto:brihall@pcisys.net">
brihall@pcisys.net</A> 
<P>
I believe this is the same card I have. I have two on my home LAN, one
in my Linux box and the other in a Win95 box. In Linux, use the ne2000
compatible network driver, found under "Other ISA" network cards in the
kernel configuration. To configure the card itself, you will need to run
a DOS program. The setup program is contained in an archive called
"ETILAN.EXE".

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="ballueder"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Easy Access to Removable Media
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Fri,  1 May 1998 10:30:52 +0100 (BST)<BR> 
From: Karsten Ballueder, <A HREF="mailto:karsten@phy.hw.ac.uk">
karsten@phy.hw.ac.uk</A> 
<P> 
Here's a little tip that makes life much easier. I always found it
annoying to manually mount and unmount floppies, CD-ROMs or my ZIP
drive, so eventually I decided to use the amd automounter for that.
<p>
The configuration is somehow tricky, but once it's set up, it works
like a charm.
<p>
For amd to work, you need to create a mountmap <tt>/etc/amd.direct</tt>=
. Mine
looks like this:
<PRE> 
zip type:=3Dprogram;fs:=3D"/.amd/myhost/zip";mount:=3D"/bin/mount mount=
-tvfat -o user,rw,conv=3Dbinary,nosuid,uid=3D502,gid=3D100,umask=3D0000=
,quiet
/dev/sda4 ${fs} ";unmount:=3D"/bin/umount umount ${fs}"
<br>
cdrom type:=3Dprogram;fs:=3D"/.amd/myhost/cdrom";mount:=3D"/bin/mount m=
ount
-tiso9660 -o user,ro,conv=3Dbinary,nosuid,uid=3D502,gid=3D100,umask=3D0=
000
/dev/cdrom ${fs} ";unmount:=3D"/bin/umount umount ${fs}"
<br>
A type:=3Dprogram;fs:=3D"/.amd/myhost/A";mount:=3D"/bin/mount mount -tv=
fat -o user,rw,conv=3Dbinary,nosuid,uid=3D502,gid=3D100,umask=3D0000,qu=
iet /dev/fd0 ${fs} ";unmount:=3D"/bin/umount umount ${fs}"
</PRE> 
Where you will need to replace "myhost" with your machine's
hostname. Like this it will automount the ZIPdrive, a CD-ROM and the
first floppy in a set of directories created under <tt>/.amd</tt> .
<p>
To start amd, you will usually use something like a script
<tt>/sbin/init.d/amd</tt>, which should contain a line like:<br>
<tt>
/usr/sbin/amd -l syslog -c 30 -w 30 -x all -a /.amd -- /tmpmnt /etc/amd=
.direct &=20
</tt>
<p>
This will start amd and give it a 30 second timeout for unmounting
directories. You also need to create a directory called
<tt>/tmpmnt</tt> where you can access the devices. For easy access, I
have create symbolic links <tt>/zip</tt>, <tt>/A</tt> and
<tt>/cdrom</tt> pointing to <tt>/tmpmnt/zip</tt>, <tt>/tmpmnt/A</tt>
and <tt>/tmpmnt/cdrom</tt>.
<p>
Now, when you try to access any of these directories, amd will
automatically mount the device with the options specified in
<tt>/etc/amd.direct</tt>. Once you no longer access it, it will get
unmounted after 30 seconds.
<p>
Oh, if it doesn't unmount your device, you can use the<tt>fuser
/dir</tt> command to check which of your processes uses it.
<P>
 Karsten Ballueder

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="smith1"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Re: bpp 16 Question
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Sun, 3 May 1998 14:07:55 +0200 (MET DST)<BR> 
From: Roland Smith, <A HREF="mailto:rsmit06@ibm.net">
rsmit06@ibm.net</A> 
<P>
To: Denny@ele.kth.se<BR> 
You asked in the Linux Gazette #28:
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
Hi, I'm tired of starting my X-session with 'startx -- -bpp 16' to get 
16 biplanes instead of the default 8.
How do I get xdm to run with 16 bpp? If I use it now, 
it starts X with 8bpp on my Red Hat 5 installation. 
</font></blockquote> 
Assuming you're using the XFree86 server:
<P>
Edit your XF86Config file.
<ul>
<li>Look for the "Screen" section, then the subsections marked "Display"
  (you can have more then one).
<li>Make sure the display subsection which has a depth of 16 is listed
  first.
</ul>
Hope this helps.
<P>
Roland

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="smith2"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Re: finite elements programs for Linux
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Sun, 3 May 1998 14:07:55 +0200 (MET DST)<BR> 
From: Roland Smith, <A HREF="mailto:rsmit06@ibm.net">
rsmit06@ibm.net</A> 
<P>
To: berntsen@bkm.dtu.dk<BR> 
In response to your query in the Linux Gazette #28:
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
I started talking to the ones buying it and my arguments stopped, 
when they said that one reason for using NT was that they should 
be running finite elements programs on them and that the frontier 
for those programs was now on the Windows platform. 
I don't know anything about that, so I am looking for info; should I
accept their arguments or is it that he just does not know what 
can be gotten for Linux? Commercial Finite
Element Method (FEM) programs are also in the searchlight! 
</font></blockquote> 
FEM has traditionally a UNIX domain. Most FE programs run on commercial
unices. I only know of one free program for Linux: felt.
You can find it at http://www-cse.ucsd.edu/users/atkinson/FElt/felt.html
<P>
Hope this helps.
<P>
Roland

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="smith3"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Re: How to enable swapping
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Sun, 3 May 1998 13:51:21 +0200 (MET DST)<BR> 
From: Roland Smith, <A HREF="mailto:rsmit06@ibm.net">
rsmit06@ibm.net</A> 
<P>
To: kng@HK.Super.NET<BR> 
In the Linux Gazette you wrote:
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
My machine, which is a Pentium Pro with 64MB memory, reports no swap space 
being used. In procinfo, it always report 0K swap space. 
I did a fdisk on /dev/hda and verified that a 64MB partition 
of type Linux swap (83) is actually there. 
So why is the swap never being used ? 
</font></blockquote> 
Swapping needs to be started. This can be done with the `swapon'
command.
<P>
Normally there should be something like `/sbin/swapon -a' in the system
initialization scripts. On my Slackware system it is in /etc/rc.d/rc.S.
<P>
For this to work, you need to define the swap partition in /etc/fstab.
Something like (on my box):
<PRE> 
/dev/hda7    swap         swap    defaults   1   2
</PRE> 
Hope this helps.
<P>
Regards, Roland

Re: cd rom
<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="smith4"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Re: Slackware
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Sun, 3 May 1998 14:30:59 +0200 (MET DST)<BR> 
From: Roland Smith, <A HREF="mailto:rsmit06@ibm.net">
rsmit06@ibm.net</A> <BR> 
To: letromb@tin.it
<P>
In the Linux Gazette #28 you asked:
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
Hello.I have the Linux Slackware 2.0.30 Walnut Creek.I
installed it on a Pentium 200 MMX with a 24x CD-ROM.
During the installation I had to write "ramdisk hdd=cdrom" for
reading the CD-ROM, but after the installation Linux doesn't
see the CD-ROM. I have an atapi CD-ROM, and when I tried
to compile my kernel another time, I saw that atapi is the
default !!! So I don't understand where is the problem . What
can I do ?
</font> </blockquote> 
To use your CD-ROM, you must "mount" it, i.e. add it to your
file-system.
<P>
You will have to make sure that the iso9660 filesystem is supported in
the kernel.
<P>
Mounting is most conveniently done by first adding an entry into your
/etc/fstab file like this:
<PRE> 
/dev/hdb     /mnt/cdrom   iso9660 ro,user,noauto,unhide 1 2
</PRE> 
(Assuming your CD-ROM player is /dev/hdb)
Create the directory /mnt/cdrom before mounting the CD!
Put a CD-ROM in the drive and issue the command `mount /mnt/cdrom' to
mount the CD.
<P>
You will have to unmount the CD (`umount /mnt/cdrom') before you can
open the drive!
<P>
Hope this helps.
<P>
Roland

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="mcanulty"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
May 2Cent Tips--about:mozilla
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 10:28:44 -0700 (PDT)<BR> 
From: David Mc Anulty, <A HREF="mailto:davemc@connectnet.com">
davemc@connectnet.com</A> 
<P>
The tip of going to about:mozilla is incorrect. You do not have to click
on Netscape's logo to get the new animation. The act of visiting
about:mozilla does this. 
<P>
It lasts until Netscape is restarted. So if you like him, set
about:mozilla as your home page.
<P>
Dave 

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="niemann"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Re: Rebooting without logging in as root, 2c tips
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Wed, 06 May 1998 09:25:13 +0200<BR> 
From: Hartmut Niemann, <A
HREF="mailto:niemann@cip.e-technik.uni-erlangen.de">
niemann@cip.e-technik.uni-erlangen.de</A> 
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
An alternative I used once on a system that did *not* have
<ctrl-alt-del> enabled was to provide a special login that
*just* did a shutdown. There is such a line in my /etc/passwd 
now that I didn't put there, so I guess it's from Red Hat
two years ago. 
</font></blockquote> 
I had this shutdown login too. Normally it needs rood rights,
i.e. UID 0. But then I found out that 
   su shutdown
does not execute the login shell, i.e. the shutdown script.
So everybody can become 'shutdown', which is basically 'root'
with a different startup shell. Bad if this 'shell' doesn't get
executed ...
<P>
For some time I have had 'shutdown' just SUID root, and now I'm
back to Ctrl-Alt-Del performing a shutdown -h. (And then press
Ctrl-Alt-Del again for a reboot.)
<P>
Hartmut.

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="omegaman"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Re: Running an ATAPI ZIP drive
</H3>
<P> 
Date: 05 May 1998 20:26:26 -0500<BR> 
From: Omegaman, <A HREF="mailto:omegam@cmq.com">omegam@cmq.com</A> 
<P>
Steve Beach gives some interesting remarks and good advice for setting
up an ATAPI ZIP drive.  In it he says: First, the kernel:
<blockquote> <font="navy">
Do _not_ use the "IDE FLOPPY" option (officially the name is
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_IDEFLOPPY ). This will work perfectly for reading and
writing, but it will not work for ejecting.
</font></blockquote>
I recently bought a system with one of these units PRE-installed.  I
purchased a copy of Debian 1.3.1 on CD and was surprised to find "IDE
Floppy" support compiled into the stock kernel.  So, like Steve, I
added necessary entries to my /etc/fstab to mount my ZIPs and away I
went.
<P>
However, I do not have the problem he's had with ejecting my ZIP
disks.  On the front of my drive is a status light that also functions
as the eject button.  It works fine.  I surmise that Steve's problem
is that he has no such button and requires a software-only eject
method.
<P>
One note of warning: I once ejected a standard floppy by pressing the
drive's eject button when it was mounted causing a system panic and
forced reboot.  I don't know if the eject button on the ZIP is
disabled in the same way as the eject button on a CDROM when it is
mounted.  I have no intention of finding out.
<P>
Omegaman

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="rodrigo"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Re: enabling swap space
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Tue, 05 May 1998 04:44:22 -0300<BR> 
From: Diego Rodrigo, <A HREF="mailto:d.rodrigo@iname.com">
d.rodrigo@iname.com</A> 
<P>
On issue # 28,  Kevin Ng wrote :
<blockquote> <font="navy">
My machine, which is a Pentium Pro with 64MB memory, reports no swap space being used.
n procinfo, it always report 0K swap space. 
I did a fdisk on /dev/hda and verified that a 64MB partition of type Linux swap (83) is
actually there. 
So why is the swap never being used ? 
</font></blockquote>
Tagging a partition with type 83 (Linux swap) is not enough. You kave to
prepare it for swap with mkswap (see manual page) . Type:
<PRE> 
        mkswap /dev/hdxx
</PRE> 
where hdxx is your swap partition.
After that, you have to append a line in /etc/fstab saying this:
<PRE> 
        /dev/hdxx       none            swap
</PRE> 
where /dev/hdxx is your swap partition, none is the mount point, and
swap is the type of file system.
<P>
With these changes, the next time you reboot, your swap space will be
added to your system.
The command that actually adds your swap space to the system is swapon
(see man page, section 8), which is called from an init script at boot
time.
OK, I agree, Linux shouldn't be rebooted, (only when recompiling the
kernel), so you can just type:
<PRE> 
        swapon -a
</PRE> 
and you'll have your swap space.
<P>
	Diego Rodrigo - ARGENTINA

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="hammel"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Re: problems using menus in X
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Thu, 7 May 1998 11:45:01 -0500 (CDT)
From: Michael Hammel, <A HREF="mailto:mjhammel@graphics-muse.org">
mjhammel@graphics-muse.org</A> 
<P>
To: eijck@iri.tudelft.nl<BR> 
<blockquote> <font="navy">
I'm having a problem with my menus in X. I can access all menus (by mouse),
but the items of those menus which are WITHIN a "X-box" are not selectable,
somehow.
The menus I'm talking about are menus like the 'vt fonts', 'main options'
and 'vt options' in the Xterm. Or the 'file' and 'page' menu of
Ghostscript. 
If anyone has a suggestion on why I can select the menu but not menu item,
please send me a mail. I'm using Debian 1.3. 
</font></blockquote>
Check your NumLock key.  It should probably be turned off for applications
written in strict Xlib or Athena widgets, which appears to be the case with
the applications you mention.  Its not a strict rule, but many people had
problems with my XPostitPlus program, caused by the use of the number keypad 
with applications like XCalc.
<P>
Michael J. Hammel, The Graphics Muse

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="tennent"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Music Typesetters
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 12:13:50 -0400 (EDT)<BR> 
From: Robert Tennent, <A HREF="mailto:rdt@qucis.queensu.ca">
rdt@qucis.queensu.ca</A> 
<P>
Although I appreciated Bob van der Poel's review of MUP in LG28,
there are some good free music notation systems that weren't even
mentioned.  First, a very good site to check out is the Lilypond
home page at
<P>
http://www.cs.ruu.nl/people/hanwen/lilypond/out-www/index.html
<P>
This describes Lilypond (which is still under development) but 
also has links to many other music packages.  
<P>
One of these, musixtex, is IMHO the best free system
available.  It certainly isn't beta, but it is being extended
and improved constantly.  The input language is plain TeX,
but there are some good pre-processors available (PMX, MPP, M-Tx, SceX,
ABC2MTeX).  The output quality is professional.  Several arrangements 
I've set using musixtex have been published directly from my postscript 
files.  Check out
<P>
http://www.gmd.de/Misc/Music
<P>
for links, downloads, documentation, examples, etc.
<P>
Bob Tennent

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="dossey"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
BASH hostname completion: comment on tip in May '98 issue
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 08:58:18 -0500<BR> 
From: Justin Dossey, <A HREF="mailto:dossey@ou.edu">
dossey@ou.edu</A> 
<P>
The script John Taylor sent had a nice idea to it, but I must admit I didn't
read it; Bash completes host names by a builtin function. 
<P>
Just as you would use <tab> to complete a filename, you can use ESC, @ to
complete a hostname (if it is in /etc/hosts) and CTRL-X, @ to list all possible
hostname completions based on /etc/hosts. 

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="mcnamara"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Re: xdm and depth
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 11:32:26 +0100 (IST) <BR> 
From: Caolan McNamara, <A HREF="mailto:Caolan.McNamara@ul.ie">
Caolan.McNamara@ul.ie</A> 
<blockquote> <font="navy">
From: Denny berg, Denny@ele.kth.se <BR> 
Hi, I'm tired of starting my X-session with 'startx -- -bpp 16' to get 16 
biplanes instead of the default 8. How do I get
xdm to run with 16 bpp? If I use it now, it starts X with 8bpp on my Red Hat 5 
installation. 
</font></blockquote>
under redhat in the file 
/etc/X11/xdm/Xservers
<P>
there's a line 
<PRE> 
:0 local /usr/X11R6/bin/X
</PRE> 
change this to 
<PRE> 
:0 local /usr/X11R6/bin/X -bpp 16D
</PRE> 
and ta-da, thats it.
<P>
Caolan McNamara

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="digulla"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Re: Shutdown and Root
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 13:42:44 +0200<BR> 
From: Aaron Digulla, <A HREF="mailto:digulla@wi-pc44.fh-konstanz.de">
digulla@wi-pc44.fh-konstanz.de</A> 
<P>
Another note to the 2cents Tip "Re: Shutdown and Root":
<P>
I have a shutdown user, too, and this is what he looks like:
<P>
In /etc/passwd:
<PRE> 
    shutdown:x:6:0:shutdown:/home/shutdown:/bin/sh
</PRE> 
You'll probably have to adjust the user-id (here: 6).
<P>
Then you create a home-dir which just contains this script as
.profile:
<PRE> 
------------------------ .profile ---------------------------------------
#!/bin/sh
trap "" SIGKILL SIGINT SIGQUIT

PATH=/bin

# List all users which are still logged on
/usr/bin/finger

echo
echo "Really shut down (y/N) ?"

read answer

# Every answer except "y" is no
if [ "x$answer" != xy ]; then
	answer=n
fi

if [ $answer = y ]; then
	echo 'The system will now shut down. You can turn the power'
	echo 'off when the message "System halted" appears'
	/bin/sleep 5
	./halt
else
	echo 'Abgebrochen...'
	/bin/sleep 1
fi
------------------------ .profile ---------------------------------------
</PRE> 
Now just copy /sbin/halt to /home/shutdown/ and make it executable
for this user (chown shutdown halt and chmod 700 halt).
<P>
Aaron "Optimizer" Digulla 

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="davis"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Printing with Linux 
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Sat, 09 May 1998 18:50:06 +1000<BR> 
From: Mitch Davis, <A HREF="mailto:mjd@alphalink.com.au">
mjd@alphalink.com.au</A> 
To: AFAIZ@cstp.umkc.edu
<blockquote> <font="navy">
I've just bought a HP DeskJet 722C printer, but I couldn't get it
to work. I asked around and everyone has answered that Linux
does not support it - is it a Windows-only printer? 
If so, is it possible to write a driver for it? or does anyone know
of where I can get my hands on the driver (if it's already been
written, of course).
</font></blockquote>
In an effort to reduce the production cost of their low-end printers,
HP has removed as much of the electronics from the printer as possible,
and put the burden of turning commands into dots on the printer driver
in the computer.  Somewhat euphuistically, this is called the Printing
Performance Architecture, a kind of less-is-more concept which I'm
sure is big in the HP marketing Dept.
<P>
All is not lost however.  There's a guy who reverse-engineered the
protocol, and has written a driver.  You can find his page here:
<P>
http://www.rpi.edu/~normat/technical/ppa/
<P>
(I have not tried it, nor have I corresponded with him).
<P>
I hope this helps you.
<P>
Mitch.<BR> 
(I don't work for HP.  Well Ok, I do, but further away from the
bit that makes printers than you'd ever believe.  I speak as an
outsider)

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="gilb1"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
RE: finite elements programs for Linux
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 09:39:29 -0700<BR> 
From: "James Gilb (p27451)", <A HREF="mailto:p27451@email.sps.mot.com">
p27451@email.sps.mot.com</A> <BR> 
To: berntsen@bkm.dtu.dk
<blockquote> <font="navy">
At the department where I am sitting they are planning to buy a PC-bar, and they intend to put NT on the machines.
I would benefit from them putting Linux on them, since I could then use
them for simulations overnight. ...
I don't know anything about that, so I am looking for info; should I accept their arguments or is it
that he just does not know what can be gotten for Linux? Commercial Finite Element Method (FEM) programs are
also in the searchlight!
</font></blockquote>
There a some really neat FEM codes out there that are free or
semi-free.  Check out the Scientific Applications for Linux (SAL) page,
sponsored by Kachina Tech at
http:// SAL.KachinaTech.COM/
<P>
Next, go to the INTERNET   FINITE   ELEMENT   RESOURCES page at:
<P>
http://www.engr.usask.ca/~macphed/finite/fe_resources/
<P>
and check out the section on Public Domain FE Programs (I think FElt is
way cool).  Also, there may be some commercial vendors that support
Linux as well, you should probably ask your vendors.  I found Northwest
Numerics and Modeling on the above page which sells a product called
Zebulon on Linux.  Also, some related software is also available on
Linux, e.g. PV-WAVE (graphics), MATLAB, Mathematica, Maple.
<P>
Finally, do a search of Linux and FEM software on your favorite search
engine.  (linux + FEM + software gave me 1085 hits on www.hotbot.com).
<P>
As a postscript, the future of FEM doesn't depend on the OS it is used
on.  The real work is done in numerical code that never touches the OS,
indeed an OS call in the middle of the deepest loops would cause a
severe slowdown of the program.  Some of the interfaces that you use for
input, pre-processing and post-processing may be moving to NT, but there
are still substantial packages available on the big iron.  In any event,
the current IA32 line from Intel is not a leader in double-precision
floating point work, the current crop of workstations will blow it away
in most floating point benchmarks.  This is improving with the emphasis
on multi-media, but the new chips will be very expensive within the near
term (USD $2000-$4000 until at least 2000).
<P>
If you have any more questions, please email me.
<P>
James Gilb, p27451@email.mot.com

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="gilb2"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
RE: How to enable swapping
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 15:49:17 -0700<BR> 
From: "James Gilb (p27451)", <A HREF="mailto:p27451@email.sps.mot.com">
p27451@email.sps.mot.com</A> <BR> 
To: kng@HK.Super.NET, gazette@ssc.com
<blockquote> <font="navy">
My machine, which is a Pentium Pro with 64MB memory, reports no swap
space being
used. In procinfo, it always
report 0K swap space.
I did a fdisk on /dev/hda and verified that a 64MB partition of type
Linux swap (83)
is actually there.
So why is the swap never being used ?
</font></blockquote>
First, make sure the partition has been turned into a swap partition by
doing an mkswap on it.  Then just do swapon /dev/hda? where ? is the
partition number of the swap partition.  Now, if you put an entry for the
swap partition in /etc/fstab and run swapon -a in your boot scripts
(pretty early on), then swap will be automagically enabled whenever you
boot.
<P>
James Gilb

<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->

<a name="jacobsen"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
Cuckoo Clock 
</H3>
<P> 
Date: Sun, 24 May 1998 23:48:02 +0200<BR> 
From: Jjacobsen, <A HREF="mailto:jacobsen@biosys.net">
jacobsen@biosys.net</A> 
<P> 
My wife's grandpa has a pretty switzer-cuckoo-clock (kuckucksuhr..).
Well, I love to hear the little bird singing every hour.
That's why I wrote this little script...
<PRE> 
#!/bin/sh
#cockoo.sh
time=`date +%I`
count=0
until [ "$count" -eq "$time" ]
  do
   play /usr/share/sounds/au/cuckoo.au
   count=$[$count+1]
  done
</PRE> 
Then, I edited the crontab file using <tt>crontab -e</tt>:
<PRE> 
00 * * * * /bin/cuckoo.sh
</PRE> 
and well, it's really funny... Using my script and cron, your Linux box
will become a great switzer-kuckucks-uhr ;)
<P> 
Joerg Jacobsen, Schweinfurt, Germany


<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->
<center>Published in <I>Linux Gazette</I> Issue 29, June 1998</center>
<P> <hr> <P> 
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