File: issue40.html

package info (click to toggle)
lg-issue40 1-2
links: PTS
area: main
in suites: potato
size: 432 kB
ctags: 58
sloc: makefile: 36; sh: 4
file content (2797 lines) | stat: -rw-r--r-- 117,452 bytes
parent folder | download | duplicates (2)
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE> Linux Gazette Table of Contents LG #40</TITLE>
</HEAD>

<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#0000AF"
ALINK="#FF0000" >
<center>
<A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/">
<H1><IMG SRC="../gx/newlogo.jpg" ALT="Linux Gazette" border="0"></H1></A> 
<H4>Mid-April 1999, Issue 40 Published by <I>Linux Journal</I></H4> 
</center>
<!--=================================================================-->

<table>
<TR>
<TD COLSPAN="3" WIDTH="100%" BGCOLOR="#000000"><IMG
SRC="../gx/hammel/cleardot.gif" ALT="indent" HSPACE=30 VSPACE=2 HEIGHT=1
WIDTH=1 ALIGN=LEFT></TD>
<TD></TD>
</TR>
<tr><td>
<table>
<tr>
<td><H1><font color="#BB0000">Visit Our Sponsors:</font></H1></td></tr>
<tr>
<td><A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/"><img src=../gx/ljtop.gif alt="Linux Journal" border=0></A></td></tr>
<tr>
<td><A HREF="http://www.linuxtoday.com/"><img vspace="10" src=../gx/lt-lg.gif alt="LinuxToday" border=0></A></td>
<tr>
<td><A HREF="http://www.stalker.com/ads/cg-lgp.html"><img vspace="10" src=../gx/stalker.gif alt="Communigate Pro" border=0></A></td></tr>
<tr>
<td><A HREF="http://www.cyclades.com/"><img vspace="10" src=../gx/cyclades.gif alt="cyclades" border=0></A></td> </tr>
<tr>
<td><A HREF="http://www.linuxresources.com/"><img vspace="10" src=../gx/linux6.gif alt="Linux Resources" border=0></A></td></tr>
<tr>
<td><A HREF="http://www.LinuxMall.com/"><img vspace="10" src=../gx/linuxmall.gif alt="LinuxMall" border=0></A></td></tr>
<tr> <td>
<A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/"><img vspace="10" src=../gx/redhat.gif alt="Red Hat" border=0></A></td></tr>
<tr> <td>
<A HREF="http://www.suse.com/"><img vspace="10" src=../gx/suse.jpg alt="SuSE" border=0></A></td></tr>
<tr>
<td><A HREF="http://www.infomagic.com/"><img src=../gx/infologo.gif alt="InfoMagic" border=0></A></td></tr>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<!--==================================================================-->
<TD ROWSPAN="3" WIDTH="2" BGCOLOR="#000000" NOSAVE><IMG
SRC="../gx/hammel/cleardot.gif" ALT="indent" HSPACE=1 HEIGHT=1 WIDTH=1></TD>
<td>
<H1><font color="#BB0000">Table of Contents:</font></H1>
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="../lg_frontpage.html">The Front Page</A> 
<LI><A HREF="./lg_mail40.html">The MailBag</A> 
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_mail40.html#help">Help Wanted & Article Ideas</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_mail40.html#gen">General Mail</a>
</ul>
<LI><A HREF="./lg_bytes40.html">News Bytes</A>  
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_bytes40.html#general">News in General</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_bytes40.html#software">Software Announcements</a>
</ul>
<LI><A HREF="./lg_tips40.html">More 2 Cent Tips</A>
<LI><A HREF="./staff.html">Corel Press Conference</a>, by Dean Staff
<LI><A HREF="./york.html">Creating a Linux Certification Program, Part 5</a>, by Dan
York
<LI><A HREF="./sparks.html">Replacing Legacy Systems with Linux</a>, by Bob
Sparks
<LI><A HREF="./lg_backpage40.html">The Back Page</A> 
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_backpage40.html#authors">About This Month's Authors</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_backpage40.html#notlinux">Not Linux</a>
</UL>
</UL>
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
&nbsp;<BR> 
</td>
</tr>
<TR>
<TD COLSPAN="3" WIDTH="100%" BGCOLOR="#000000"><IMG
SRC="../gx/hammel/cleardot.gif" ALT="indent" HSPACE=30 VSPACE=2 HEIGHT=1
WIDTH=1 ALIGN=LEFT></TD>
<TD></TD>
</TR>
</table> 

<!--=============================================================-->
<P> 
<table>
<tr><td>
<A HREF="./issue40.txt.gz">TWDT 1 (gzipped text file)</A><BR>
<A HREF="./issue40.html">TWDT 2 (HTML file)</A><BR>
are files containing the entire issue: one in text format, one in HTML. 
They are provided 
strictly as a way to save the contents as one file for later printing in
the format of your choice; 
there is no guarantee of working links in the HTML version.
 </td></tr>
<!--==================================================================-->
<TR>
<TD COLSPAN="3" WIDTH="100%" BGCOLOR="#000000"><IMG
SRC="../gx/hammel/cleardot.gif" ALT="indent" HSPACE=30 VSPACE=2 HEIGHT=1
WIDTH=1 ALIGN=LEFT></TD>
<TD></TD>
</TR>
<tr><td>
<center>
<I>Linux Gazette</I><img src="../gx/tm.gif">, <A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/">http://www.linuxgazette.com/</A><BR> 
This page maintained by the Editor of <I>Linux Gazette</I>,
<A HREF="mailto: gazette@ssc.com"> gazette@ssc.com</A>
<P> 
<H5>Copyright &copy; 1996-99 Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc.</H5>
</center>
</td></tr>
<TR>
<TD COLSPAN="3" WIDTH="100%" BGCOLOR="#000000"><IMG
SRC="../gx/hammel/cleardot.gif" ALT="indent" HSPACE=30 VSPACE=2 HEIGHT=1
WIDTH=1 ALIGN=LEFT></TD>
<TD></TD>
</TR>
</table>
<H4>"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"</H4>  
<HR> 
<center>
<table width="100%" cellpadding=7><tr><td>
<H2><a NAME="mail"><IMG SRC="../gx/mailbox.gif" ALIGN=MIDDLE ALT=" ">
The Mailbag!</a> </H2>
Write the Gazette at <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com"> gazette@ssc.com</A>
</td><td>
<H3>Contents:</H3>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_mail40.html#help">Help Wanted -- Article Ideas</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_mail40.html#gen">General Mail</a>
</ul>
</td></tr></table>
</center>

<a name="help"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="maroon">Help Wanted -- Article Ideas</font></H3></center>
<P> 
Answers to these questions should be sent directly to the e-mail address of
the inquirer with or without a copy to gazette@ssc.com. Answers that are
copied to <I>LG</I> will be printed in the next issue in the Tips column.

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Tue, 06 Apr 1999 11:25:56 PDT<BR> 
From: "Trenton Hergesell", <A HREF="mailto:lethalbyte@hotmail.com">
lethalbyte@hotmail.com</A> <BR> 
Subject: <font color="navy">Help with NEC 4X6 Multi-platter CD-ROM reader</font>
<P>
I have Caldera OpenLinux 1.2 with 2.2.5 kernel installed.  I need to 
know if the NEC 4X6 CD changer is supported under Linux, and if so how 
do you set up Linux to access the 3 other platters?
<P> 
--<BR> 
Thanks,
Trenton

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Mon, 5 Apr 1999 23:53:39 -0400<BR> 
From: "linalan", <A HREF="mailto:linalan@ufl.edu">linalan@ufl.edu</A> <BR> 
Subject: <font color="navy">diald as backup?</font>
<P>
I'm trying to figure out a way to automatically bring up a back-up line if
my leased line goes down. For example, my T1 goes down. This is recognized,
thus my back-up line (modem) gets brought up. I was thinking that this could
somehow be done with diald and maybe some scripting. any suggestions?
<P>
thanks
<P>
--<BR> 
linalan

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 19:04:30 +0800<BR> 
From: "Gary", <A HREF="mailto:gary0526@ms2.hinet.net">
gary0526@ms2.hinet.net</A> 
Subject: <font color="navy">Question for hp682c</font>
<P>
    I have a question , I can not print chinese with hp682c.
            Can you help me?
<P>
--<BR> 
Gary

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 01:54:06 -0400<BR> 
From: "gurugarzah", <A HREF="mailto:gurugarzah@novagate.com">
gurugarzah@novagate.com</A> <BR> 
Subject: <font color="navy">Dual Monitors</font>
<P>
Does Red Hat 5.2 Apollo kernal support two monitors
with two separate video cards:
S3 Virge
and STB Velocity 4400 Riva TnT Chipset Worksin windows98?
<P> 
--<BR> 
GurugarzaH

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 22:45:28 -0400<BR> 
From: "Raymond Koenig", <A HREF="mailto:rayk2@bellsouth.net">
rayk2@bellsouth.net</A> <BR> 
Subject: <font color="navy">SoundPro</font> 
<P>
I recently upgraded my system and the new motherboard came with a "built
in" sound card called Sound Pro.
I run a dual OS system Linux and Windows 95, Windows only because my job
requires it. the *sndconfig* file
does not list this chipset. Do you know of  any drivers for this card?
<P>
--<BR> 
Raymond

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 13:03:27 -0500<BR> 
From: LaFette Partee, <A HREF="mailto:lafette@interaccess.com">
lafette@interaccess.com </A> 
Subject: <font color="navy">Cable Modems Under Linux</font>
<P>
I am trying to resolve a problem with getting the proper route and
netmask configured for a cable modem under Linux RedHat 5.2.  The
configuration under Windows98 uses the DHCP to configure the
connection.  Which I used in linux as well.  I have made the connection
via PPP but I am unable to make the proper route to receive the
information sent back via the ethernet.  I can make a complete
connection to a normal service provider via PPP only and it works fine.
<P>
The way the cable moden works is as follow:
<P>
You call the service provider via PPP and the information is sent back
through the ethernet connection.
<P>
Any suggestions would be greatfully accepted.  The cable company is
Prime Cable in Chicago, IL.
<P>
--<BR> 
LaFette

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 21:07:20 -0700<BR> 
From: Rob Bertrand, <A HREF="mailto:cvp.rob@sympatico.cax">
cvp.rob@sympatico.cax</A> <BR> 
Subject: <font color="navy">DV editing</font>
<P>
I am a video editor/home studio who just discovered the Linux OS and
would love nothing more than to leave the "other system", but I can't
seem to confirm if  DV editing is ready on the Linux Os.  In paticular
my system is the Sparks DV firewire board made by Adaptec for DPS, I use
Adobe Premiere4.2 and DPS's Video action editors for post production
non-linear editing.  Any info would greatly be appreciated.
<P>
--<BR> 
Rob

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 15:12:39 +0200<BR> 
From: "Roman Valuch", <A HREF="mailto:roman@tbb.sk">roman@tbb.sk</A> <BR> 
Subject: <font color="navy">Help wanted</font>
<P>
I'm looking for any small OPI server on Linux Red Hat 5.2.
Thank you 
<P>
--<BR> 
Roman Valuch

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 06:45:03 +1000<BR> 
From: Lazar Lubin, <A HREF="mailto:tsar@editgroup.aunz.com">
tsar@editgroup.aunz.com</A> <BR> 
Subject: <font color="navy">Help this old battler</font>
<P> 
I have a very smattering knowledge of Linux, and am having problems
installing the ruddy thing. Can anyone help?!
Thanx.
<P> 
--<BR> 
Lazar
<blockquote> <I> 
(Have you checked our Ron Jenkins' series "Linux Installation Primer"? He's
done 8 parts so far, all full of good information. --Editor)
</I> </blockquote> 

<a name="gen"></a>
<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="maroon">General Mail</font></H3></center>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 1999 14:30:14 -0500 (CDT)<BR> 
From: "Michael J. Hammel", <A HREF="mailto:mjhammel@graphics-muse.org">
mjhammel@graphics-muse.org</A> <BR> 
Subject: <font color="navy">Re: a newbie's grief</font>
<P> 
Sorry to take so long to reply.  I was out of the country the entire month
of March and am just now catching up on my email.
<P> 
Thus spoke Erik Refner & Clara Lundqvist:
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
A few month ago I started getting interested in Linux. Everything seemed so wonderful in Linuxland, and the sheer Idea of a free OS spoke to my Scandinavian nature having a long tradition for free an "unpatented" knowledge.
Today after having used two month of my spare time and my tenth try to get Linux (RedHat 5.2) and some programs (KDE-office) up running, I'm disappointed and utterly frustrated. 
I'm a graphic designer and use apps like Adobe PageMaker, PageFrame, Illustrator, Photoshop etc.
I'm very well aware that new things take time to learn. But if this system is so wonderful, why make everything so damned complicated? I'm interested in using my computer as a tool in my work, not being a programmer. And of course I'm willing to pay for it too). 
</font></blockquote> 
Like you, I prefer to use my system for doing non-programming work:
artwork, writing, etc.  This despite the fact that I'm a programmer by
trade.  Many of the new faces to Linux are just like you and I - and they
are experiencing some of the same issues you are facing.
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
At the moment I'm beginning to understand why Windows (and not Linux) is the most popular and used OS. It seems to me that Windows takes pride in making life easy to the user. If the user find it interesting he or she can start learning about the OS, writing programs and so on). Linux seems to do the exact opposite, and may I: I do not at all find it funny or interesting writing unintelligible words and commands.
</font></blockquote> 
Although I understand your comments, I think you need to put things into
perspective.  First, the Microsoft interface has about 8 years (going back
to early DOS-based Windows) head start on the Linux interface.  Although
the components for designing the interface for Linux (the X Windows
libraries and architecture) has been around for quite some time, it was
never used to create a non-technical interface, ie a point-and-click,
drag-and-drop style interface.  Such a design has only recently been started 
by the Linux community within the past 2 years by KDE and only a little over 
a year for GNOME.  The original use of the X Windows system was for more
computer savvy users who wanted greater control of their environment, and
they found they could have that with a mostly command line oriented
environment.  At least that was the case early on.
<P>
Things change, the world evolves.  Linux brought X Windows to the
non-technical user.  So now projects like GNOME and KDE are working to
provide the simpler to use interfaces that users like yourself demand from
their computers.  And you should demand it!  Demands from users are what
drive development.
<P> 
As to the unintelligible words or commands, well, thats strictly a point of
view.  To me, DOS commands are cryptic.  Why?  Because I never use them.
Unfamiliarity breeds contempt.  Then again, many of the scripting languages
you find on Linux (Perl, for example) are available from command line
prompts on Microsoft systems too.  Its just that many users never use them
from the command (re: DOS prompt) line.
<P> 
Its not that the words or commands are cryptic that annoys you - thats just
a matter of becoming familiar with new surroundings - its that the
interface to the OS is not graphical and intuitive.  And thats a valid
complaint for Linux at this time for users like yourself.
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
While trying to get Linux to obey my awkward commands I've been surfing the net in my look out for programs that would match above mentioned. Neither this seems to be successful. I may be wrong and would bee most delighted if you could advise me a page layout application like PageMaker/FrameMaker or QuarkExpress. I have seen LyX and KDE's KWord, but they do not meet my needs (will they ever?). And what about press and prepress? It is crucial that I get my files back from printing without too much trouble. I have hardly been able to find anything about this issue. (I mean, everybody knows that CorelDraw is superior to Illustrator, but very few proffs use it because of the printing problems.)
</font></blockquote> 
The first question is an easy answer:  there aren't any such tools yet
announced for Linux.  The problem is simple - large application companies
like Adobe and Quark haven't yet found the demand on Linux systems to
warrant their porting of their applications.  But these application houses
are driven by either commercial requests or consumer (end user) requests.
Demand from either side will get them to port.  Quark is rumored to be
interested in porting if they can validate a supportable market for their
products.  Adobe seems less willing, but again, money talks.  With large
companies like IBM, Oracle, Dell, Compaq, and Corel showing large scale
support for Linux, its only a matter of time before the application houses
realize the demand is there to warrant their efforts to port their
products.
<P> 
Your concerns here are extremely valid.  The problem is that Linux isn't
ready for prepress at the support level you need it because its still too
early in the game.  Corel will be shipping their products sometime this
year (so I've heard, I could be wrong here) for Linux.  I expect later this
year we'll start hearing announcements from other application level
companies about their plans to support Linux.  
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
In one of your articles last year you "advertised" for whishes regarding Linux and related software. These are mine:
Window based ease-of-use and easy to install (no programming tricks)
</font></blockquote> 
Red Hat is working on this, with help from vendors like IBM, Dell, and
Compaq.  They've had to deal with these same issues in the past for the
Microsoft environment and can offer both technical and end-user assistance
to improve this area.  Other vendors, such as SuSE in Europse and Pacific High 
Tech in Japan, will also benefit from this since the installation improvements 
are likely to be shared with the Linux community in general.
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
Applications like Adobe PageMaker, PhotoShop, Illustrator (Gimp, KIllustrator??)
</font></blockquote> 
Gimp has quite a number of improvements in the works, both from the volunteer
developers and from a number of movie-industry special effects people who
hoping to improve it for use with film and video productions.
<P> 
Beyond that, Adobe will, in my opinion at least, eventually come around.
There is demand for these products on Linux.  Adobe isn't likely to ignore
a potential source of added revenue.  It just may take a little while
before we see this happen.
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
Press- and prepress-proof.
</font></blockquote> 
Magic words.  These are things I'd love to see too.  I just don't know when
they'll happen.  All I know is that Linux is growing fast - and someone
will fill this void eventually.
<blockquote><font color="navy">
Until then I will use my spare time on my family, off and on read your recommendable column, and try Linuxland once again in a couple of years from now.
-- Yours sincerely Erik
</font></blockquote> 
Not a bad plan, really.  Keep an eye and ear open on the Linux community.
Things move fast here.  You might check back in August to see if I've heard
anything new, then again in December.  I really do expect to start hearing
of more application ports soon.
<P> 
The demand is growing.  You're one of the early pioneers from the
non-programming world into Linux.  Its not an easy road for pioneers like
yourself, but in the long run I think you'll find it a worthwhile pursuit.
<P> 
Thanks for the note!  I hope I've helped put your mind at ease about the
state of the Linux world for now.
<P>
-- <BR> 
Michael

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Tue, 06 Apr 1999 02:54:15 +0100<BR> 
From: George Russell, <A HREF="mailto:george.russell@clara.net">
george.russell@clara.net</A> <BR> 
Subject: <font color="navy">KDE - so what?</font>
<P>
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
Am I just being obtuse, or does KDE feel like a heavy, bloated, resource-intensive desktop environment? If that's what I
wanted, I would stay with M(I'm sorry, I can't say the word)t. 
</font></blockquote> 
Being unable to utter the name of Microsoft does show a certain
obtuseness.
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
Features and benefits be damned, FVWM2 comes real close
to the type of responsiveness I feel should be expected of the desktop ... KDE doesn't even come close. 
</font></blockquote> 
<P>
So:
<ol>
<li>Fix it
<li>Use something else
<li>STFU.
<li>Try and understand KDE is *NOT* a Window Manager and fvwm2 *IS*. 
Direct comparisons are obviously *POINTLESS*.  A Window Manager does not
a desktop make.
</ol>
If your going to fix it you can do one of several things
<ol>
<li>Hack the code, and make it better
<li>Use a better compiler.  Turn up optimisatiions to -06, target the
pentium or whatever your CPU class is, use PGCC (pentium gcc) for
cutting edge performance, use egcs and optimise for size (ie small),
compile Qt and KDE yourself with --fno-exceptions.
<li>Replace or remove whatever you find to big / slow about KDE. Edit
startkde and # comment out what you don't want and replace it.  Don't
use sound? edit out kwmsound and kaudioserver.  Don't want kwm? use
Window Maker, Blackbox, flwm, or any other WM. Don't want KDE to set
backgrounds or use root menus? comment it out. Don't want the panel? 
Don't use it.  KDE is not a monolith.
<li>But some decent hardware. If your running slow hardware, don't expect
anything to run other than slow.
</ol>
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
And WHY hasn't anyone else complained? At least, not in a forum that I've been aware of. Is it that everyone is so enamored
of the acceptance that Linux has been getting that they are afraid to rock the boat? 
</font></blockquote> 
Other people are capable of actions other than whining about how
they don't like something that they aren't forced to use.  You have a
choice. Use it.
<P>
KDE is an example of what many, many people want.  A layer on top of
X11/Unix, in which they can carry out their daily work, without recourse
to the command line or editing  text files to configure trivial software
behaviour.
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
On the other hand, I suppose that we (the Linux user community) feel like we can pass this KDE thing off as a ready
replacement for W(I'm sorry, but I can't say that word, either)s, given that it is so slow and bloated that W(you know)s users
will feel right at home. 
Yeah, that's the ticket, we'll make 'em feel right at home. 
</font></blockquote> 
They'll see you running fvwm2, think "Oh my god, thats ugly", and go
straight back to Windows.  KDE makes the use of UNIX bearable for many,
and acts as a platform from which to explore the depths of the operating
system. Throwing them in at the deep end will merely deter them.  
<P>
--<BR> 
George Russell

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Wed, 07 Apr 1999 19:25:20 +1000<BR> 
From: "Anthony Johnston", <A HREF="mailto:drider@mail.dcsi.net.au">
drider@mail.dcsi.net.au</A> <BR> 
Subject: <font color="navy">New page layout</font>
<P>
I like the look of the new page layout. I have been reading your articles for several months, and they have helped me with so 
many things .... keep up the excelent work!!
<P>
--<BR> 
AJ :)
<blockquote> <I> 
(Thanks. --Editor) </I> </blockquote> 

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Thu, 8 Apr 1999 09:44:56 -0600 <BR> 
From: "Worth, Norman", <A HREF="mailto:Norman.Worth@siinet.trw.com">
Norman.Worth@siinet.trw.com</A> <BR> 
Subject: <font color="navy">NT Article</font>
<P>
A recent article in "Windows NT" magazine [RUSS] needs to be answered.
Unfortunately, I am not well enough acquainted with the kernel internals to
do so properly.  Any volunteers?
<P>
The main thrust of the article is that Linux is unsuitable for large
networking or enterprise applications due to inherent problems in thread
handling, kernel reentrant code implementation, and scalability. In some
cases, the author does not seem to see the big picture - that certain
actions will be required to take place somewhere, regardless of the specific
implementations.  In others, he raises legitimate issues.  There is also the
matter of style - Linux and NT approach the world in quite different ways
despite their similarities.  
<P>
Among the issues raised is the lack of standard benchmark reports (TPC-C,
TPC-D, SpecWeb) for Linux.  Has anyone done these?  A big issue is how the
select routine handles events.  The objection is that all processes are
notified of all events.  This may be more of a style issue than a real
performance issue, but it requires an answer.  Another big issue is that
because the kernel IO code is not rentrant, true asynchronous IO and
adequate multiprocessor scaling are impossible.  
<P>
The fact that Linux seems to be more stable and a better performer in Web
servers and some enterprise servers than NT is ignored.  Indeed, the
apparent Linux advantage may be simply a matter of how the applications are
implemented on the systems, rather than inherent operating system
characteristics.
<P>
A good, two-sided discussion of these performance issues would be helpful.
Linux seems to perform quite well in networks and as a standalone system.
I've seen (actually seen) some real horrors recently when NT was applied to
large networks.  The horrors are slowly being resolved, and I'm sure anyone
could foul up a Linux network too.  
<P>
[RUSS]  Mark Russinovich, "Linux and the Enterprise", "Windows NT", April
1999, p.93
<P>
--<BR> 
Norman Worth

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 1999 18:03:02 -0500<BR> 
From: "John E. Malmberg", <A HREF="mailto:malmberg@columbia.total-web.net">
malmberg@columbia.total-web.net</A> <BR> 
Subject: <font color="navy">Comparison of Server-Based Operating Systems</font>
<P>
A well written comparison that even covers operating systems not mentioned.
<P>
Sean Bullington wrote:
<blockquote> <font color="navy">
Sun has even started to recognize the benefits of enthusiasts and 
hobbyists using their operating system and has started offering Solaris 
for free (the user pays just the media and shipping/handling fees--see
http://www.sun.com/solaris/freesolaris.html).
</font></blockquote> 
Be also aware that Digital had a free HOBBY license available earlier than 
sun for the OpenVMS Operating system.  The media was available at very low 
cost.  If you wanted to program in something other than BLISS-32 and 
Macro-32, Much of the GNU software was already ported, including GCC.  The 
right to use the POSIX software was also included.
<P>
Compaq has improved the OpenVMS Hobby license recently.  It now covers both 
ALPHA and VAX systems.  In addition to that, a variety of very efficient 
compilers and other programs are now available.  See 
www.montagar.com/hobbyist/ for complete information.
<P>
SCO UNIX is also available free for non-commercial use.  See 
www.sco.com/offers/
Their program may have started before Digital's.
<P>
--<BR> 
John Malmberg

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 1999 05:27:02 -0500<BR> 
From: "D Gartner", <A HREF="mailto:dgwhiz@earthling.net">
dgwhiz@earthling.net</A> <BR> 
Subject: <font color="navy">Linux, and Freedom of Choice Petition</font>
<P>
If you want the right to choose what software and
hardware products are installed on your own computer,
then the Freedom of Choice Petition is for you. No matter
what p.o.v. you have about the Microsoft monopoly, and
whether you are a Linux home or business user, software
developer or computer re-seller, you are invited to join
us in this Petition to stop the exclusive
pre-installation [bundling or tying] of a single
company's software on the computers sold, bought and used
across the world.
<P>
Many of us realize that PC makers such as Compaq, Dell,
Gateway etc. pre-install Microsoft software on the
majority of new computers, along with hardware e.g.
modems and chipsets "optimized" just for Windows. We are
given no other choice. The PC maker will not install any
other mix of software brands for us. Though many of us
will delete the MSFT Windows software from our systems,
neither MSFT nor the computer companies will give us a
fair market exchange or refund. With such a lack of fair
choice, we are forced to pay double-- first when we pay
for Microsoft programs that we don't intend to use, and
secondly when we buy Linux software that we really want. 
<P>
The only real, long-term solution is to buy new computers
with a choice of all available software in any
combination, including no software whatsoever. Likewise,
new computer hardware must support a wide range of
operating systems such as Linux-- not merely the
operating environments pushed upon us by Microsoft.
<P>
Our computers indeed belong to us and _not_ to Microsoft
nor the PC makers; those companies must respect our right
to choose for ourselves which programs and hardware will
be installed on our own property! You can help us send
that direct message to the PC companies, just by
supporting IACT's Freedom of Choice Petition. Take a
moment to read the Petition in the "Connections" section
of our website at...
<P>
<A HREF="http://pages.cthome.net/iact/iact-tell.html#IACTion">
http://pages.cthome.net/iact/iact-tell.html#IACTion</A> 
<P>
...and "sign on" to the letter with us!
<P>
--<BR> 
Diane Gartner, IACT Co-ordinator

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->
<IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/envelope.gif">
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 1999 17:15:59 -0400 (EDT)<BR> 
From: Theo Chisholm <A HREF="mailto:theoc@us.ibm.com">theoc@us.ibm.com</A><BR>  
Subject: <font color="navy">IBM Announces Linux Web Site</font>
<P>
In just a few years, Linux has gone from the pet project of a Finnish
university student to the fastest-growing server operating environment.
<P>
IBM recently announced support for Linux, alliances with key Linux
distributors and product plans that will enable more companies to integrate
Linux into their enterprises.
<P>
We are pleased to announce a Web site to keep you abreast of the latest news
about IBM's offerings for Linux, at: <A HREF="http://www.ibm.com/linux/">
http://www.ibm.com/linux/</A>.  The site
gives details about IBM offerings for Linux as well as links to informative
resources for open source and Linux.
<P>
We know the time constraints you work under and hope this Web site will be a
useful tool for you.  For more information please contact me.
<P>
Sincerely,
<P>
--<BR> 
Theo Chisholm, IBM Software


<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->
<center>Published in <i>Linux Gazette</i> Issue 40, Mid-April 1999</center>
<!--====================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P> 
<A HREF="./lg_toc40.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/indexnew.gif" ALT="[ TABLE OF 
CONTENTS ]"></A>
<A HREF="../index.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/homenew.gif" ALT="[ FRONT 
PAGE ]"></A> 
<A HREF="./lg_tips40.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/fwd.gif" ALT=" Next "></A>
<P>
<h5>This page written and maintained by the Editor of <I>Linux Gazette</I>,
<A HREF="mailto: gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A><BR> 
Copyright &copy; 1999 Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc. </H5> 
<P> 
<H4>"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"</H4>
<HR>
<center>
<table cellpadding=7><tr><td>
<IMG SRC="../gx/bytes.gif" border=1  ALT="News Bytes">
</td><td>
<H3>Contents:</H3>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_bytes40.html#general">News in General</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_bytes40.html#software">Software Announcements</a>
</ul>
</td></tr></table>
</center>

<a name="general"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">News in General</font></H3></center>

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

<center><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="./gx/cover62.jpg"></center>
<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
June 1999 <I>Linux Journal</I>
</font>
</H3>
<P> 
The June issue of <A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/"><I>Linux
Journal</I></A> is now on newsstands.
This issue focuses on Standards with an article by Daniel Quinlan about what's
happening with the Linux Standard Base Project and one in which the various
distributions tell us how they feel about standards.
<I>Linux Journal</I> now has articles that appear "Strictly On-Line".
Check out the Table of Contents at
<A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/issue62/index.html">
http://www.linuxjournal.com/issue62/index.html</A> for articles in this
issue as well as links to the on-line articles. 
To subscribe to <I>Linux Journal</I>, go to <A
HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/ljsubsorder.html">
http://www.linuxjournal.com/ljsubsorder.html</A>.


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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Linux Certification Group Launches Survey
</font>
</H3> 
<P> 
April 1, 1999 -- The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) today announced
the launch of a survey to be taken by Linux system administrators. The
survey's results will be used in the development of a professional
certification program.
<P>
This survey (located on the web at <A HREF="http://www.lpi.org/cgi-bin/jass.py">
http://www.lpi.org/cgi-bin/jass.py</A>)
is open to the public, and all Linux administrators are encouraged to
participate.
<P>
"We have always been a community organization," said LPI executive
director Evan Leibovitch. "The survey is just a continuation of our open 
process, and commitment to meet the needs of Linux users."
<P>
The survey takes between 15 and 30 minutes to complete. Running until
mid-April, its data will assist the LPI in designing the exam-based
program it will use to certify Linux professionals. It is one of the early
steps in the development of the LPI's three-level program, detailed at its
website at <A HREF="http://www.lpi.org/">http://www.lpi.org/</A>.
<P>
The LPI is a non-profit, vendor-independent organization with more than
200 participants.

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
First International May Day Linux Fest!
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 1999 12:13:55 -0400<BR> 
An ISP in Southwest Virginia, LSNet (<A HREF="http://www.ls.net/">
http://www.ls.net/</A>) and
is planning the First International May Day Linux Festival on
May 1st this year.
The url for this little shindig is 
<A HREF="http://www.ls.net/linux/expo.html">
http://www.ls.net/linux/expo.html</A>.
<P> 
For more information:<BR> 
Starr Hopkins<A HREF="mailto:starr@ls.net">starr@ls.net</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
WWW Announcement
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 22:37:44 +0200<BR> 
Linux Development Tools web site annouced:<BR> 
This resource page is meant as a collection of links to development
software (i.e. programming languages, tools and libraries) available
for Linux. Most references to such tools are scattered around on more
general resources sites. The aim is to have these in a repository
exclusively reserved for development tools.
<P>
<A HREF="http://212.55.205.69/~gemi/LDT/">http://212.55.205.69/~gemi/LDT/</A> 
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Gerard Milmeister, <A HREF="mailto:gemi@bluewin.ch">gemi@bluewin.ch</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Linux Links
</font>
</H3> 
<P> 
Mozilla: <A HREF="http://www.jwz.org/gruntle/nomo.html">
http://www.jwz.org/gruntle/nomo.html</A> 
<P> 
Linux kb: <A HREF="http://linuxkb.cheek.com/">http://linuxkb.cheek.com/</A> 
<P> 
"I bet the Farm on Linux" Contest: <A HREF="http://www.standishgroup.com/rules.htm">http://www.standishgroup.com/rules.htm</A> 
<P> 
First penguin comic: <A HREF="http://www.gigaperls.org/linux/">
http://www.gigaperls.org/linux/</A> 
<P> 
The Linux Image Montage Project:
<A HREF="http://linux.remotepoint.com/">http://linux.remotepoint.com/</A> 
<P> 
Red Hat and Dell <A HREF="./redhat.pr">Press Release</A> 

<a name="software"></a>
<P> <hr> <P> 
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">Software Announcements</font></H3></center>

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Debian Touts Integrated SGML Environment
</font>
</H3> 
<P> 
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 10:41:44 -0500
Debian's 2.1 distribution, now in release, features integrated SGML,
XML, and DSSSL infrastructure and packages.  Debian's innovative SGML
subsystem positions Debian as a premier platform for SGML and XML
developers, offering a complete working toolset for documenters and
markup programmers with no manual setup required.
<P> 
Features:
<ul>
<li>James Clark's jade 1.2.1 and SP suite version 1.3.3,
   enabling validation and formatting of SGML or XML
   http://www.jclark.com/jade/.
<li>SGMLOpen shared system catalog integration (no need to manually 
   register SGML Public Identifiers or set with environment
   variables).
<li>docbook (v3.0) and docbook-stylesheets (v1.13) available, providing
   an industry-standard markup convention
   http://www.ora.com/davenport/
<li>psgml, which in conjunction with Emacs19, Emacs20, XEmacs19, or
   XEmacs20, provides a profession SGML editing environment.
   http://www.lysator.liu.se/projects/about_psgml.html
<li>jadetex, combined with jade, facilitates the conversion of SGML to
   PostScript or PDF, for high quality printed output.
<li>a host of other SGML, XML, and DSSSL software packages are
   available, including but not limited to sgml-tools, expat,
   sdc, perlsgml, sgmlspm, and dsc.
</ul>
We believe that Debian's open model of participation and committment
to system quality (as reflected in the Debian Policy
http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/) puts Debian
head-and-shoulders above other commercial or free systems.  SGML
integration efforts continue apace in the unstable distribution,
including DocBook 3.1, DocBk XML, TEI, and more DTDs.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Debian, <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">http://www.debian.org/</A>
<P>
PKZIP LINUX:  A Step Ahead
<P>
Miamisburg, OHIO -- (March 30, 1999)<BR> 
With a 32-bit algorithm, PKZIP UNIX zips LINUX files up to 2GB of
uncompressed data and creates a single, compressed archive resulting in
an
average savings in disk storage space of 50-70%, with some database and
spreadsheet compressing to 1/10th the original size.
<P>
PKZIP UNIX is cross-platform compatible with the entire line of PKZIP
products including the AS/400, DOS, Macintosh, MVS, OS/2, VM, VMS, VSE
environments, MultiZip for NetWare and Nico Mak Computing's WinZip. A
self-extractor program is included so that zipped files can be utilized
other LINUX users. With a self-extractor attachment (SFX), PKZIP is
launched
when the zipped file is opened.
<P>
This product is available at
<A HREF="http://www.pkziplinux.com/">http://www.pkziplinux.com/</A> as shareware for $24.99.
<P>
For more information, contact:
Ascent Solutions Inc.,
<A HREF="http://www.asizip.com/">http://www.asizip.com/</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
HP OpenMail/VirtualVault news
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
PALO ALTO, Calif., March 30, 1999 -- Hewlett-Packard Company today
announced a new program that combines HP OpenMail with the HP
VirtualVault trusted Web platform, enabling organizations to reduce the
costs of supporting remote e-mail users dramatically while greatly
simplifying access.
<P>
The integration of OpenMail and VirtualVault eliminates the need for
remote users to rely on dial-up networking or carry a laptop to access
e-mail from remote locations.  OpenMail users simply access an
SSL-secured URL from any device with an Internet browser, including
PDAs, Web phones, walk-up terminals and PCs.  The browser accesses
OpenMail Web client software located on a VirtualVault server.  The
server then connects users to their OpenMail accounts on OpenMail
servers inside the corporate firewall.
<P>
With this solution, companies can reduce their investment in
remote-access systems, private networking, and associated support and
help-desk staff.  HP estimates that it can cost organizations up to $500
annually to support a remote user.  By using OpenMail with VirtualVault,
organizations can reduce these costs by as much as 75 percent.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
OpenMail, <A HREF="http://www.hp.com/go/openmail/">http://www.hp.com/go/openmail/</A><BR> 
HP, <A HREF="http://www.hp.com/">http://www.hp.com/</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
SiteEater 2.0 SFS SOFTWARE
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
Erfurt GERMANY, March 31 1999 <BR> 
SFS SOFTWARE is proud to announce the release of SiteEater 2.0 . The
popular, and cross-platform website downloader can be used to copy web content to
the local hard drive for offline browsing, archiving and presentations.
<P>
SiteEater is the most powerful, cross-platform, offline browsing, site
mirroring and file-retrieving tool on the Internet. The software runs fully
automated, multithreaded and link-following. SiteEater downloads all or only
specific files. The software tool is able to download entire websites or just
special file sets to the computer's hard drive. SiteEater users are able to
copy favourite websites to the local harddrive for offline browsing,
presentations or archiving.
<P>
Fully functional evaluation versions of the software are available on the
SFS SOFTWARE website at <A HREF="http://www.sfs-software.com/">
http://www.sfs-software.com/</A>. The product can be
ordered online at http://www.sfs-software.com/shop/.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
SFS Software,
<A HREF="http://www.sfs-software.com/">http://www.sfs-software.com/</A>,
<A HREF="mailto:info@sfs-software.com">info@sfs-software.com</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
eMerchant, Magic Software's Powerful New Business-to-Business e
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
At the Internet Commerce Expo last week in Boston, Magic Software's
powerful new business-to-business e-commerce solution, eMerchant, was
selected by the more than 12,000 conference attendees as a Best of Show
award winner.  eMerchant is an extremely robust, high volume transaction
processing solution that enables businesses to quickly move their supply
chain activities to the Internet to recognize significant operational
efficiencies and high degrees of profitability.
<P>
At the Internet Commerce Expo, Magic also announced free limited
development and deployment licenses of Magic for Linux, together with demo
applications and free email support, to enable Linux developers to rapidly
build e-commerce solutions for Linux.  Within hours, 300 CDs of the
software were given away, with several hundred requests for additional
copies.  The attached release describing these events should be of
interest.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
<A
HREF="mailto:Katharine_Hanley@magic-sw.com">Katharine_Hanley@magic-sw.com</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Helius, MTI Technology Corp. and Caldera Systems Partner to Demonstrate...
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- BrainShare -- March 22, 1999 -- Helius, Inc., MTI
Technology Corp. (Nasdaq: MTIC) and Caldera Systems, Inc. today announced
plans to demonstrate solutions for large file data distribution and storage at
the BrainShare conference.  The high-speed and universal coverage of satellite
transfer, large capacity RAID and the stability of Linux will provide strong
product applications for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to cache Internet
data and allow the hospitality industry to distribute and store entertainment
digitally.
    <P> 
For more information:<BR> 
MTI Technology Corp., <A HREF="http://www.mti.com/">http://www.mti.com/</A>,
<A HREF="mailto:info@mti.com">info@mti.com</A>   <BR> 
Helius, Inc., <A HREF="http://www.helius.com/">http://www.helius.com/</A> <BR> 
Caldera Systems, Inc., <A HREF="http://www.calderasystems.com/">
http://www.calderasystems.com/</A>, <A HREF="mailto:linux@calderasystems.com">
linux@calderasystems.com</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Penguin Release
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
San Francisco, CA  March 18  Penguin Computing, Inc., the nation's 
largest and fastest-growing company focusing exclusively on turn-key 
Linux solutions, announced today that it now offers Internet and Oracle 
database applications on Linux computers systems powered by the new 
Intel Corporation's (Nasdaq: INTC) Pentium III Xeon.  The Pentium III 
Xeon processor for workstations and servers, which debuted yesterday, is 
the most powerful, reliable and compelling platform for viewing, 
creating, and sharing Internet-driven content.
<P>
Penguin Computing is able to provide Pentium III Xeon powered turn-key 
Linux-based systems immediately.  Penguin is therefore uniquely 
positioned to take advantage of the explosive growth of both Linux and 
E-commerce.  E-commerce revenues are estimated to reach $1 trillion in 
the next decade.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Penguin Computing, <A HREF="http://www.penguincomputing.com/">
http://www.penguincomputing.com/</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Salon Adopts Linux
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
San Francisco, April 5 -- Salon.com (<A HREF="http://www.salon.com/">
http://www.salon.com/</A>), formerly known as
Salon Magazine, has adopted Linux as its enterprise Internet server
platform. The adoption of Linux, and the new Web address, coincide with a
site redesign that launched today.
<P>
The server platform has moved from Windows NT to a customized version of
the Red Hat 5.2 distribution of Linux. The site is moving its critical
business functions, Web serving and ad serving to the Linux platform in
order to support Salon.com's growing needs.
<P>
Says Chad Dickerson, Vice President of Technology, "For a growing company
like Salon, Linux is the best of all worlds. It's a proven technology, it's
low cost and high performance, and it's broadly supported.  The robustness
and stability of the Linux operating system make it ideal for
mission-critical applications."
<P>
According to Dickerson, Linux will provide a solid technical backbone to
support Salon's move from a magazine-based model to a network of web sites.
The site redesign needs the versatility and power of Linux to keep pace
with its growing business and e-commerce needs.
<P>
A key factor in the decision to adopt Linux was the availability of Real
Media's industry-leading Open Ad Stream advertising software for use with
Linux and the Apache web server. 
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Salon, <A HREF="http://www.salon.com/">http://www.salon.com/</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
New Java Tools Available At http://sourceware.cygnus.com
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 7, 1999 - Cygnus Solutions, the leader in open
source software, today announced the immediate availability the Cygnus
GNU Compiler Java Edition (GCJ) complete with open source Java
libraries. Now all Java application developers can take advantage of the
significant performance gains offered by GCJ, a Java compiler built with
GNU compiler technology that allows Java source code and Java byte codes
to be compiled to native instructions.  The Java libraries (java.lang,
java.util, java.io, java.test, and java.net) and compiler are available
in source form on <A HREF="http://Sourceware.cygnus.com/">
http://Sourceware.cygnus.com</A>.
	<P> 
  	GCJ allows developers to write applications in the Java programming
language for the Linux OS.  By compiling to machine code rather than
bytecode, Cygnus Java Compiler technology enhances application
performance more that twenty times than an interpreted application. 
This Java technology is also ideal for embedded systems developers, who
are seeking the best tradeoffs in performance, memory footprint, and
cost.  
<P> 
Pricing and availability<BR> 
GCJ and the libraries are immediately available for Linux OS at
http://Sourceware.cygnus.com/. Embedded developers who wish to use GCJ
may contact Cygnus for availability on the more than 125 host/target
combinations in the Cygnus product matrix.
<P> 
For more information:<BR> 
Cygnus, <A HREF="http://www.cygnus.com/">http://www.cygnus.com/</A> 
<A HREF="mailto:info@cygnus.com">info@cygnus.com</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Hewlett-Packard and Cygnus Solutions Collaborate On Tools
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
PALO ALTO, Calif., April 5, 1999 -- Hewlett-Packard Company and Cygnus
Solutions today announced that they will deliver Cygnus' market-leading
GNUPro(R) Toolkit for HP-supported platforms under HP's Foundation
Program for software development partners.  Open-source developers now
will have access to a common set of commercial-quality tools that
facilitate development of applications deployed on Linux, HP-UX(1) and
Windows NT(R) systems.
<P> 
HP and Cygnus also plan to enhance the popular open-source GNU toolsuite
for HP's PA-RISC(2) 64-bit processors.  HP will make its PA-RISC
debugger technology available to the open-source community and Cygnus. 
In addition, Cygnus will provide toolchain optimizations, value-added
software components, and developer support services for GNUPro software
development products. 
<P> 
For more information:<BR> 
Cygnus, <A HREF="http://www.cygnus.com/gnupro/">http://www.cygnus.com/gnupro/</A>,
<A HREF="mailto:info@cygnus.com">info@cygnus.com</A> <BR> 
Hewlett-Packard Company, <A HREF="http://www.hp.com/">http://www.hp.com/</A>  
	
SuSE V6 Linux Release
<P>
Just released internationally, SuSE Official Linux 6.0 is now available   
nationwide through Johannesburg-based software distributor OS/2 Express SA. 
SuSE Linux has set new standards for quality and ease of use, offering the   
most comprehensive packages of Linux-based applications. With its   
world-class customer service and support, SuSE is the leading distribution   
of Linux in Europe,  and its popularity is growing fast in North America and   
Asia among seasoned professionals and newcomers alike. 
 <P> 
SuSE Linux supports most hardware, including common printers, network, sound   
and video cards, and monitors. Both the GNOME and the KDE graphical desktop   
environments are included in the package. 
 <P> 
New features in version 6.0 include, for the first time, full support for   
glibc2, while libc5 applications are still supported. 
 <P> 
This latest version is kernel 2.2-ready, and as soon as version 2.2 of the   
Linux kernel becomes available, SuSE users may just copy it into their   
installation. Kernel 2.0.36 is included in SuSE 6.0, with full featured   
support for SCSI-Controller Adaptec 2940U2W/7890 and AMI Megaraid. The   
alternative kernel is 2.1.130. 
 <P> 
A further boon is the inclusion of the personal edition of StarOffice 5.0,   
Germany s fastest-growing office suite (with over 30% market share already),   
in SuSE Official Linux 6.0, which also features new init-scripts whereby   
services can be activated and deactivated even when they are disabled in   
rc.config; and new flags: restart, reload, check and status. 
 <P> 
For more information:<BR> 
SuSE, <A HREF="http://www.suse.com/">http://www.suse.com/</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
GraphOn Releases New Versions of Server-Based Connectivity Software for Multi-user NT, Windows PC and Java access of UNIX and Linux applications
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
GraphOn Corporation (http://www.graphon.com/) important new features to its thin, server-based connectivity software, GO-Global version 1.6, GO-Joe version 2.3, and GO-Between version 1.1, including improved data compression for more speed, international keyboard compatibility, improved password security, shared TrueType font capability and support for Red Hat Linux 5.1.
<P>
GraphOn is also unifying its server component, GlobalHost, so that a single Universal X Server operates with all the latest versions of GraphOn's GO-Global (Windows), GO-Joe (Java) and GO-Between (Windows Terminal Server/multi-user NT) clients.
<P> 
For more information:<BR> 
Graphon, <A HREF="http://www.graphon.com/News/pr-newversions032299.html">
http://www.graphon.com/News/pr-newversions032299.html</A> <BR> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Linux Press
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
PENNGROVE, CA (March 31, 1999) - Linux Press today unveiled plans to
introduce a series of Linux titles during 1999. First in the series,
"Linux Volume 1: ac to zcat, the basics", is written by Dale Scheetz, a
member of the Debian Linux development team, and is based on the popular
"Coherent Manual".
<P>
"Linux Volume 1: ac to zcat, the basics" is designed to appeal to both
new and power users of Linux. The first part of the book features
tutorials explaining common utilities found in Linux, walking the reader
through a variety of useful tools, such as awk, sed, shells, and emacs.
With a wide array of examples, the user can quickly and easily learn and
apply utilities included with all the latest Linux distributions.
<P>
The second part of "Linux Volume 1: ac to zcat, the basics" is the
Lexicon. This section comprises several articles that define and discuss
Linux concepts. Arranged alphabetically, these articles provide an
in-depth yet easily accessible source of information on specific topics,
such as apropos, crontab, emacs, ifconfig, lex, patch, mke2fs, nroff,
route, standard error and whereis.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Linux Press, <A HREF="http://www.linuxpress.com/">http://www.linuxpress.com</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Natural MicroSystems, leader in open telecommunications,
announces support for Linux community
</font>
</H3> 
<P> 
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.  April 7, 1999 -- Natural MicroSystems (NASDAQ:NMSS), the
technology leader in Open Telecommunications, today announced that Linux
drivers are now publicly available through the open-source code model for
 its
Alliance Generation=AE DSP (digital signal processor) boards. Developers can
 use
these drivers to build a wide range of telecommunications applications on
Linux  from Web-enabled call centers to IP telephony gateways and speech
recognition systems.
The announcement reflects Natural MicroSystems=92 commitment to address the
immediate needs of the rapidly growing Linux community, which is accustomed
 to
employing open-source code for software development. Source code for the
Alliance Generation DSP boards can be obtained via the Web at
<A HREF="http://www.opentelecom.org/">http://www.opentelecom.org/</A> .
       <P> 
In addition to providing the above-mentioned source code for Linux, Natural
MicroSystems provides the complete source code for its circuit-switching and
CompactPCI hot-swap software at the http://www.opentelecom.org site.
 The
company also offers NaturalEdge consulting, support, integration, and
 testing
services for Linux developers who want to accelerate development and
 deployment
of applications.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Natural MicroSystems, <A HREF="http://www.nmss.com/">http://www.nmss.com/</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
la51 0.0 beta 8051 cross assembler & clobberd 4.5 beta
</font>
</H3> 
<P> 
Is an 8051 cross assembler for Linux/UNIX. It will take your standard
*.a51 file and assemble it as an Intel *.hex file. It's very beta at this
stage, although, I have done extensive testing with it, and it will
accurately assemble every a51 program I have written.
<P>
<A
HREF="http://www.downunder.net.au/~jsno/rel/unix_projects/la51-0.0-beta.tgz">
http://www.downunder.net.au/~jsno/rel/unix_projects/la51-0.0-beta.tgz</A> 
<P>
la51 comes under the GNU GPL and is free software.
<P>
Clobberd 4.5 beta<BR> 
A new clobberd update has been released which fixes some bugs in
release 4.3.
<P>
<A HREF="http://www.downunder.net.au/~jsno/rel/unix_projects/clobberd-4.5-beta.tgz">
http://www.downunder.net.au/~jsno/rel/unix_projects/clobberd-4.5-beta.tgz</A> 
<P>
clobberd also comes under the GNU GPL.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Jason Nunn, <A HREF="http://www.downunder.net.au/~jsno/">
http://www.downunder.net.au/~jsno/</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Geodesic's Great Circle Supports Linux
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 16:50:35 -0400<BR> 
Geodesic Systems' announced that their product, Great Circle, now supports the Linux
platform.
Great Circle is a complete solution to debugging and eliminating memory
leaks.  Different from the standard debugger, Great Circle can both
identify and eliminate all of an application's memory leaks automatically.
<P>
In addition to the software product, last year Geodesic began providing a
Memory Audit Service to clients by targeting memory allocation problems in
their applications. The consultants assess key aspects of a company's
application's memory usage and make specific recommendations for
improvement.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Bill Snethen,
<A HREF="mailto:bsnethen@rmr.com">bsnethen@rmr.com</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Business Accounting for Linux
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
April 15, 1999<BR> 
	Proven Software, Inc. announced today the release of  Proven 
CHOICE,  their off the shelf general business accounting package 
written specifically for Linux.     
<P>
	Proven CHOICE for Linux includes Sales Invoicing/Accounts 
Receivable CheckWriter/Accounts Payable, General Ledger and 
Financial Report Generator bundled for under $500USD.  Proven 
CHOICE has all the general accounting essentials for small to medium 
sized businesses and becomes the foundation for fully-integrated 
specialized modules to be released in the near future.                 
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Proven Software, Inc., <A HREF="http://provenacct.com/">
http://provenacct.com/</A> 
<A HREF="mailto:info@provenacct.com">info@provenacct.com</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
TCL/TK in a Nutshell Release
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
April 12, 1999<BR> 
Sebastopol, CA--The Tcl language and Tk graphical toolkit are simple
and powerful building blocks for custom applications. The Tcl/Tk
combination is increasingly popular because it lets you produce
sophisticated graphical interfaces with a few easy commands, develop
and change scripts quickly, and conveniently tie together existing
utilities or programming libraries.
<P>
One of the attractive features of Tcl/Tk is the wide variety of
commands, many offering a wealth of options. Most of the things you'd
like to do have been anticipated by the language's creator, John
Ousterhout, or one of the developers of Tcl/Tk's many powerful
extensions. Thus, you'll find that a command or option probably exists
to provide just what you need. Keep TCL/TK in a Nutshell on your desk as you write
scripts, and you'll be able to find almost instantly the particular
option you need.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
<A HREF="http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/tclnut/">
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/tclnut/</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
EasyCopy 6.0 Debuts at COE Spring Conference
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
SAN JOSE, Calif., April 20, 1999 - AutoGraph International (AGI) will
release EasyCopy 6.0 at the COE TechniFair. EasyCopy 6.0 is a major
rewrite of AGI's flagship, EasyCopy/X, which has an installed base of
more than 150,000 users worldwide. With this new generation EasyCopy has
taken a major step from a printing solution to a flexible set of image
communication tools. And it runs on Linux.
<P> 
EasyCopy/X 6.0 comes with a new Graphical User Interface, an integrated
image viewer and a fast image browser. For image printing the new GUI
offers complete control of the printer setup and improved selection of
page layout and color options. WYSIWYG preview assists the user in
printing or saving the image with the right options.
EasyCopy 6.0 provides an open and flexible solution. It includes
EasyCapture which gives the user the option of screen capture from the
GUI, from the command-line, or via a hot-key=97easy definition of hot-key
s
gives the ultimate flexibility. As an option to screen capture, EasyCopy
imports a wide range of common CAD and DTP image file formats. Filters
can be installed to import virtually any image or graphics file format;
and EasyCopy 6.0 is preconfigured with a number of popular filters.
Printing and viewing assure that black/white as well as color image data
will receive superior attention. You can remove background colors
whenever it is appropriate to combine the sharpest output with saving
money on ink or toner. You can communicate data via paper or
transparencies using the printer of your choice or through the companion
product, EasyConvert, share the data with applications demanding a
different file format.
<P> 
For more information:<BR> 
AutoGraph International Inc, <A HREF="http://www.augrin.com/">
http://www.augrin.com/</A> 
                          
Indelible Blue Announcement
<P>
RALEIGH, NC -- March 11, 1999 -- One of the country's top marketers of OS/2
hardware and software products and an IBM/Lotus direct channel partner
today introduced Linux technical support, adding a centralized base of
knowledge for most popular Linux distributions to its OS/2 support
services.
<P>
Indelible Blue also offers custom pre-loaded Linux desktop and server
systems, as well as multiple OS pre-loaded systems with Linux, OS/2 and/or
Windows NT/98.  Indelible Blue also carries a growing line of commercially
available Linux software applications and development tools.  With
technical support, the company continues its movement to becoming a full
service Linux provider.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Indelible Blue, 
<A HREF="http://www.indelible-blue.com/linux/support/">
http://www.indelible-blue.com/linux/support/</A>,<BR> 
<A HREF="mailto:linuxupport@indelible-blue.com">
linuxupport@indelible-blue.com</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
The Independence Distribution
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
Date: Sun,  7 Mar 1999 20:52:15 GMT<BR> 
We have a dream: spreding Linux between the masses.  This requires
making it easy to use.  But it also requires to start thinking in
those people who are not using or will not be using Linux as a
traditional Unix.  In those people who have to administer the box
before knowing the simplest of the Unix commands.  In those who will be
using it at home and have a different idea of fun than C programming.
It will require to stop thinking everyone is in a LAN or the box is
powered up 24h a day.  It will require to stop thinking Linux will be
used only as a server or a programmers workstation.
<P>
The high cost of Unix banned it outside many areas of use.  Linux can
go where Unix never went but fulfilling those differents needs will
not be reached by designing Linux distributions as just a cheap
version of UNIX.
<P>
The Independence distribution is licensed under the GPL.  It is
developped not for profit by a small group of volunteers.  Not for
profit means we don't ourselves distribute it on CDROM but we will
help anyone interested in doing it.  Small group means you can make a
difference if you contribute.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Project Independence: Linux for the Masses,
<A HREF="http://independence.seul.org/distribution/">
http://independence.seul.org/distribution/</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Linux Hardware Solutions to support Debian Project
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 12:51:21 -0500<BR> 
 Linux Hardware Solutions, Inc. a premier supplier of Linux systems and 
service, announced support for the Debian Project of Software in the Public 
Interest, Inc.
 The support comes in the form of a Linux Hardware Solution PS350RR-100 
RAID rackmount server with 256 MB RAM attached to a dedicated colocation 
connection at Mindspring Enterprises' data center in Atlanta, Georgia to 
act as the new ftp.debian.org server.
 <P> 
 The server has a retail value of $6100 and has been custom configured to 
address the specific needs of the Debian team.
 <P> 
For more information:<BR> 
Linux Hardware Solutions, Inc., <A HREF="http://www.linux-hw.com/">
http://www.linux-hw.com/</A> <BR> 
Debian, <A HREF="http://www.debian.org/">http://www.debian.org</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Mylex Announces Support for Linux across Entire
RAID Controller Product Line
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
FREMONT, CALIF. (March 1, 1999) -- In a move expected to greatly
accelerate corporate adoption of the popular Linux operating system,
Mylex Corporation today announced broad support for Linux across its
entire product line.  Mylex is the world's leading RAID controller
vendor in the non-captive network systems marketplace, and supplies
eight of the top ten PC server vendors.
<P>
 The Linux driver for Mylex's RAID controllers was written by Leonard N.
Zubkoff, a highly respected member of the Linux development community
who is now the chief technical officer of Mountain View,
California-based VA Research, Inc.
<P>
 The driver is available for download from the author's Web site at
http://www.dandelion.com/Linux/ and will be in upcoming Linux
distribution releases.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Mylex,
<A HREF="http://www.mylex.com/">http://www.mylex.com/</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
SAP Annouces Linux Support
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
SAP, a German Enterprise Business Solution Software Company ( The biggest -
beats peoplesoft jdedwards, baan etc ), has announced support for
Linux, with first cutomer shipment 3rd Q this year.  This will be
unveiled at CeBit 99.  The significance of this may not be immediately
apparent, but basically this will mean that the stranglehold
Microsoft has on the desktop environment of SAP customers can now be
broken with the client GUI software becoming available for Linux.  Not
to mention other features of SAPs Internet related connectivity and
general realtime interfacing components no longer being reliant on NT.
This product is three tier, relying primarily on an Oracle, or
Informix Database backend (hence other recent news).
<P> 
For more information:<BR> 
SAP, 
<A HREF="http://www.sap.com/">http://www.sap.com/</A> 
<P>

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Linux on Quad 750 PPC SBC
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
March 1, 1999, San Diego, CA -- Synergy Microsystems, Inc. today announced
that it has successfully run Linux with Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) on
a quad-PowerPC 750 CPU board, running at 433 MHz. SMP allows the operating
system to dynamically balance the processing load among the four
processors. This allows the most efficient use of the four processors,
resulting in performance up to four times faster than a single-processor
board. This is the first time this level of performance has been achieved,
and the first time Linux has been offered on a VMEbus single board
computer.
<P>
The PowerPC 750 is currently available at speeds as high as 433 MHz. In
addition, the processor features its own private L2 cache that can be
accessed at up to 300 MHz. Four such processors in a system provide a very
powerful compute engine for high-end general-purpose needs, digital signal
processing (DSP), array processing and server applications.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Synergy Microsystems, Inc., <A HREF="http://www.synergymicro.com/">
http://www.synergymicro.com/</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
Tripwire(tm) 2.0 for Red Hat Linux Now Free
</font>
</H3> 
<P>
PORTLAND, Ore. - March 2, 1999 - Tripwire Security Systems (TSS), a
Portland, Oregon-based software development company specializing in system
security and policy compliance applications, today announced the free
availability of the Red Hat Linux version of its popular Tripwire(tm) 2.0 File
Integrity Assessment (FIA) software.
<P>
Tripwire 2.0 for Linux is available for download from the TSS website
(www.tripwiresecurity.com).  The free, commercial version will include basic
customer support and on-line technical assistance.  CD-Roms, user manuals,
product upgrades and rapid-response customer service (4 hours or less) are
available at an additional cost.
<P>
Tripwire's FIA technology provides the most fundamental layer of intrusion
detection for the enterprise.  It is the most widely deployed FIA software
tool for the UNIX platform and is also a key technology for damage
assessment and recovery, and forensics.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Tripwire Security Systems,
<A HREF="http://www.tripwiresecurity.com/">
http://www.tripwiresecurity.com/</A> 

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

<H3><IMG ALT=" "   SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
BX PRO, LEADING UNIX GUI BUILDER, DEBUTS ON RED HAT LINUX
</font>
</H3> 
<P> 
CAMBRIDGE, MA, April 5, 1999 -- Integrated Computer Solutions, Inc. (ICS)
,
leading supplier of user interface development tools for UNIX, today
announced that its flagship product, Builder Xcessory (BX PRO(tm)), is now
available for Red Hat Linux. ICS also announced that it would give away
1,000 free licenses for open source development over the next 10 weeks to
visitors of its website. BX PRO is the GUI builder preferred by UNIX
software developers because its WYSIWYG environment simplifies and speeds
the creation of user interfaces.
<P>
For more information:<BR> 
Integrated Computer Solutions, Inc.,
<A HREF="http://www.ics.com/">http://www.ics.com/</A>
Red Hat Software, <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">http://www.redhat.com/</A> 


<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->
<center>Published in <i>Linux Gazette</i> Issue 40, Mid-April 1999</center>
<P> <HR> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<A HREF="./lg_toc40.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/indexnew.gif" ALT="[ TABLE OF 
CONTENTS ]"></A>
<A HREF="../index.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/homenew.gif" ALT="[ FRONT 
PAGE ]"></A> 
<A HREF="./lg_mail40.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/back2.gif" ALT=" Back "></A>
<A HREF="./lg_tips40.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/fwd.gif" ALT=" Next "></A>

<P><HR><P>
<h5>This page written and maintained by the Editor of <I>Linux Gazette</I>,
<A HREF="mailto: gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A><BR> 
Copyright &copy; 1999 Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc. </H5> 
<P> 
<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>
<H3><font color="#CC0000">New Tips:</font></H3>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips40.html#kenoyer">
Spell Checking a Single Word
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips40.html#allen">
DANGER: Spell Checking a Single Word
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips40.html#lh_1">
Star Office Solves the Problem 
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips40.html#lilo">
Directory Cloner 
</a>
</ul>
<H3><font color="#CC0000">Answers to Mail Bag Questions:</font></H3> 
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips40.html#stetter">
Video Card 
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips40.html#avelon">
Linux Email
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips40.html#carboni">
Re: Trap float divide-by-zero and NaN (issue38)
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips40.html#jansen">
Re: What is a *.ajr file?
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips40.html#lawson1">
Re: bogus'd DOS partitions from Linux...
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips40.html#lawson2">
Re: WinModems under Linux...
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips40.html#malmberg">
RE: Retrieving Win9x / NT user names with Linux
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips40.html#aursand">
Word to PostScript
</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_tips40.html#vincent">
DSL and Linux
</a>
</ul>

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

<a name="kenoyer"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<font color="navy">
Spell Checking a Single Word
</font> </H3>
Date: Sun, 04 Apr 1999 23:35:59 -0700<BR> 
From: Phill Kenoyer, <A HREF="mailto:rawg@c0de.net">rawg@c0de.net</A> 
<P>
Hmm, for about a half a year I've been using spellword and fixwords to
spell check a word at the command line.  spellword with output correct
or incorrect, and fixwords will give you spelling matches that you could
choose.
<P>
I use Debian Linux, I don't know if it comes with any other
distribution.
<P>
--<BR>
Phill

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

<a name="allen"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<font color="navy">
DANGER: Spell Checking a Single Word
</font> </H3>
Date: Sun, 4 Apr 1999 18:57:47 -0400<BR> 
From: "Michael B. Allen"<A HREF="mailto:mballen@erols.com">
mballen@erols.com</A> 
<P>
I ran the "Spell checking a single word" 2c tip from the March issue as a
bash alias and it deleted all the files in my home directory. The below
shell script will work a little better for bash users. Also, even for tcsh
or any other shell, I don't recommend the "rm -f ${j}*" construct. If j is
not defined it results in "rm -f *" which is what happend to me.
<PRE>
#!/bin/bash
j=`mktemp /tmp/mspell.XXXXXX`
echo $1 > ${j}
ispell ${j}
cat ${j}
rm -f /tmp/mspell.*
exit 0
</PRE>
--<BR> 
Michael

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

<a name="lh_1"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<font color="navy">
Star Office Solves the Problem 
</font> </H3>
Date: Thu, 08 Apr 99 17:45:56 +0800<BR> 
From: <A HREF="mailto:lh_1@hotmail.com">lh_1@hotmail.com</A> <BR> 
<P>
Having problem reading MS Excel or MS Word from a spoil floppy?
<P>
Well, you could try using the StarOffice to open that file, maybe it
will work.
I have try a few times, and it works star office can read the
"corrupted" MS Excel or MS Word files thought some format like borders
might be gone. But most data are still there.
<P>
Maybe you guys or gals out there would like to try out.
If it works for me, it might work for you too....
Wish you goood luck....

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

<a name="lilo"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
<font color="navy">
Directory Cloner
</font> </H3>
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 1999 18:27:42 -0700<BR> 
From: lilo, <A HREF="mailto:pa@bc.sympatico.ca">pa@bc.sympatico.ca</A>
<P>
I use this script to backup or clone directories. I happen to call it
mirror.
<pre>
#!/bin/sh
echo "Which directory do you wish to copy, oh great master?"
read SOURCE
echo "Which directory do you wish to copy the contents of $SOURCE to?"
read TARGET
cd $SOURCE
tar cfp - . | (cd $TARGET; tar xvfp -)
exit
</pre>
Now my shell scripting abilities are rudimentary at best. I invite all
flames, comments and suggestions to the above email address. I'd like to
know how to get some sanity checking, (do the directories in question
exist, and if the target directory doesn't, maybe offer to create it).
<P>
--<BR> 
Peter


<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->
<H4><font color="maroon">
Tips in the following section are answers to questions printed in the Mail
Bag column of previous issues.
</font></H4> 

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

<a name="stetter"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">
Video Card 
</font> </H3>
Date: Thu, 08 Apr 1999 19:57:31 -0500<BR> 
From: John Stetter, <A HREF="mailto:stetter@iswi.net">
stetter@iswi.net</A>
<P>
You may want to give 'xvidtune' a try.  It's an X-based program (usually
included with standard distributions) which allows you to 'tune' your
display to fit your monitor, then display the clock settings which work.
<P>
You've got to be root to run the program.
<P>
When in the program, use the left/right/wider/narrower and
up/down/taller/shorter buttons in conjunction with the 'Auto' button.
Clicking 'Auto' first will allow you to view the changes real-time.
When you have a good image, click on the 'Show' button.  This will
display the current clock settings in the x-term from which you launched
xvidtune.  You'll also see the hsync/vsync ranges in stdout as well.
<P>
Put this line in /etc/X11/XF86Config in the "Monitor Section".  You
should see other examples beginning with 'Modeline'.  Myself, I actually
have this as the only line in the Monitor Section, as it's the only one
I need.  This is probably wrong, but like I said, it works for me.
<P>
This all assumes you're running XFree86, as that's all I have ever
worked with.
Hope this helps,
<P>
--<BR> 
John

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

<a name="avelon"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">
Linux Email
</font> </H3>
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 1999 09:42:10 +0200<BR> 
From: Ian Carr-de Avelon, <A HREF="mailto:ian@emit.pl">
ian@emit.pl</A>
<P>
<blockquote><font color="navy">
I'm looking for an email program that equals Windows' Eudora. Who can
 do a suggestion? Thanks.
--   Huub
</font></blockquote> 
        One of the areas where open source software still has a long way to
go is in matching the free 3rd party email programs ie Eudora and Pegasus.
I have not yet seen any "Linux Software" which can really be compared  to
them.
	<P> 
        If you get WINE you can run them under X,
http://www.winehq.com/
 but they are slower. Under WINE a pentium looks like a 486 and a 468
looks like a 386.
<P> 
--<BR> 
Ian

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

<a name="carboni"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">
Re: Trap float divide-by-zero and NaN (issue38)
</font> </H3>
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 16:25:00 +0200 (MEST)<BR> 
From: Massimo Carboni, <A HREF="mailto:Massimo.Carboni@lnf.infn.it">
Massimo.Carboni@lnf.infn.it</A> 
<P>
Here is the <A HREF="./trap.txt">source</A> with a few difference and also I append a small
C-library that manage traps.
<PRE> 
	% cc -g tst.c fpe.c -lm -o tst 
</PRE> 
--<BR> 
Massimo 

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

<a name="jansen"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">
Re: What is a *.ajr file?
</font> </H3>
Date: Fri, 9 Apr 1999 08:52:29 +0200<BR> 
From: hans jansen, <A HREF="mailto:hans.jansen@ehv.ce.philips.com">
hans.jansen@ehv.ce.philips.com</A> 
<P>
I think what you see here is the result of Win98 stumbling over a filename 
with multiple periods in it. I get a similar result on Win95, as well as on 
Win-NT4.0, only the name in my case is mangled into xxx_tar.tar.
So when you have the dialog for the download on screen, you can simply 
change the name into something like xx.tgz, which is unpacked by e.g. 
WinZip with the same ease as if it were a real ZIP file.
Note for LG: maybe this would be an alternative for the names you use on 
the website?
Regards,
--<BR> 
Hans

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

<a name="lawson1"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">
Re: bogus'd DOS partitions from Linux...
</font> </H3>
Date: Wed, 07 Apr 1999 22:44:54 -0700<BR> 
From: Corey Lawson, <A HREF="mailto:clawson@home.com">
clawson@home.com</A> 
<P>
Well, I was trying to install/upgrade from quazimodo RH4.2/5.0/5.1
system w/ 2.0.36 kernel, and brilliant me decided to try and add some
partitions.   Throw in some DOS as well as Linux FDISK mayhem,
downloading Norton Utilities 4.0 (for $50...), about the only right
thing I did when having NU try and "repair" one of my partition tables
(the one with the one ext2fs partition I really wanted to keep), I did
make a backup before NU mangled it, leaving only the DOS partitions.
<P>
I also have Partition Magic 3.0, and the errors for my drives I was
getting were #120 and something else that changed into #120, where the
description was something like:
<P>
    DOS requires partition table to be in logical order.  Other FDisk
tools (like Linux's), create partitions in the order they're created.
<P>
So I couldn't use PM to back myself out of this hole.
<P>
I downloaded a free program (I think!) called Partition Master, put it
on a DOS boot floppy.  I found it searching around on
http://www.hotbot.com/
<P>
Rebooted from floppy, ran the program. Hmm... it shows you the raw guts
of the partition table.  So I deleted the partitions it had flagged as
bad for one reason or another, after restoring my failed partition fix
on the 2nd drive, and fixed that drive's partition table with this
program as well.
<P>
Reboot, windows.  Partition Magic could see my partitions!  Yay!  OK,
delete ALL the partitions I didn't really want so I could redo the LInux
partitions correctly (i.e., start with /, then /usr, then /usr/*'s,
etc.).
<P>
OF course, that little program was really what I needed in the first
place (why didn't Partition Magic 3.0 have such a tool?  Oh well)...
<P>
--<BR> 
Corey

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

<a name="lawson2"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">
Re: WinModems under Linux...
</font> </H3>
Date: Wed, 07 Apr 1999 22:33:32 -0700
From: Corey Lawson, <A HREF="mailto:clawson@home.com">clawson@home.com</A> 
<P>
Well, my IBM Aptiva came with a Lucent Technologies (LT) WinModem.
<P>
From one of the IBM support pages, apparantly somewhere in Windows
exists a DOS tsr to make the WinModem work from DOS.
<P>
...but I haven't used it.
<P>
In theory, it would represent (at least)  two WinModem options for those
other people with LT WinModems, and possibly other WinModems as well:
<P>
1.  Run this TSR under DOSEMU.
<P>
2.  Someone with the expertise to suck out the relavent x86 code from it
and incorporate it into a device driver.  That person, however, isn't me
unless I win the Lottery, thus freeing up lots of time.
<P>
The Lucent Technologies site has basically 0 info on their WinModems,
since they only OEM'd them, and thus refer you to your PC's manufacturer
for any info.
<P>
Wish I knew of sites to get info on WinModem technology. If HP is slowly
releasing info on their printer control protocol (I don't mean PCL...)
for their WinPrinters, maybe... but probably not.
<P>
For a real scare, check out Nick Petreley's hoax article at
http://www.infoworld.com/forums about Microsoft-Intel WinPC, where
*EVERYTHING* on the board runs this way.  It was a hoax article, but it
is totally concievable.
<P>
Send me e-mail if you want me to accidentally attach the TSR to a mail
message.
<P>
--<BR> 
Corey Lawson

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

<a name="malmberg"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">
RE: Retrieving Win9x / NT user names with Linux
</font> </H3>
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 1999 17:16:36 -0500<BR> 
From: "John E. Malmberg", <A HREF="mailto:malmberg@columbia.total-web.net">
malmberg@columbia.total-web.net</A> 
<P>
No, as far as I know, LINUX currently does not like WINS.
<P>
It should not be too hard to change though, it would involve modifying the 
DNS daemon code to query the SAMBA nmbd process in addition to any other 
DNS servers.
<P>
Microsoft does this by adding a new record type of WINS to the DNS that 
contains a pointer to the WINS database.  Someone modifying the DNS daemon 
code could probably adopt the same record format.
<P>
There is a faster way for you to get things working if you have a NT SERVER 
Version 4.0.
[IIRC NT Server 3.51 does not have DNS]  The built in DNS that you can set 
up on Windows NT Server 4.0 will can be configured to query the WINS server 
in that fashion.
<P>
You can configure that DNS as a caching only server, and it will make all 
the Windows systems visable on the DNS with manual tweaking.
<P>
The NMBDQUERY tool from the SAMBA product could do what you need to do.  It 
queries a WINS database.  Assuming the person is only logged in at one 
windows system, their name should be mapped in the WINS database with the 
IP address of that system.
<P>
That is also assuming that your windows boxes are registering with a WINS 
server or the SAMBA nmbd equivalent.
<P>
While it accesses the common conf file, it should not require the SAMBA 
daemons to be running.
<P>
see www.samba.org if the information is not on your LINUX distribution.
<P>
--<BR> 
John Malmberg

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

<a name="aursand"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">
Word to PostScript
</font> </H3>
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 08:48:41 +0200<BR> 
From: "Asle Aursand", <A HREF="mailto:asle@sentinel.no">
asle@sentinel.no</A>
<P>
It is possible to print to file. The resulting *.prn file is really a
Postscript file, at least if you are using a postscript printer. Anyway,
this *.prn file you can import into Ghostview.
Hope this may be of help
<P>
--<BR> 
Asle Aursand

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

<a name="vincent"></a>
<H3><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/lil2cent.gif">
ANSWER: <font color="navy">
DSL and Linux
</font> </H3>
Date: Mon, 5 Apr 1999 15:30:03 -0400<BR> 
From: "John E. Vincent", <A HREF="mailto:john@lusis.org">john@lusis.org</A> 
<P>
Sudhakar,<BR> 
You shouldnt have any issues with any of the hardware listed. The DSL modem and
the POTS splitter wont be installed into your PC. Those are external devices to
allow you to use DSL. The only other devices then left is the NIC. That
Kingston Card should work fine under Linux . Ive used other Kingston cards in
the past but not that particular model. Of course if you already have a NIC in
your Linux box then all you will have to do is plug a network cable from the
DSL Modem into your existing card. A bit of advise about when the installer
comes out...boot into 95 and let him verify that everything works. The guys who
do the installs arent usually the brightest people (from my experience) and the
have only been trained to deal with Wintel and Macs.
<P> 
--<BR> 
John E. Vincent



<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->
<center>Published in <I>Linux Gazette</I> Issue 40, Mid-April 1999</center>
<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--================================================================-->
<A HREF="./lg_toc40.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/indexnew.gif" ALT="[ TABLE OF 
CONTENTS ]"></A> <A HREF="../index.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/homenew.gif" 
ALT="[ FRONT PAGE ]"></A> <A HREF="./lg_bytes40.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/back2.gif" ALT=" Back "></A>
<A HREF="./staff.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/fwd.gif" ALT=" Next "></A>

<P> <hr> <P>
<h5>This page maintained by the Editor of <I>Linux Gazette</I>,
<A HREF="mailto: gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A><BR> 
Copyright &copy; 1999 Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc. </H5> 
<P> 

<H4>
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--===================================================================-->

<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Corel WordPerfect Suite 2000 and CorelDraw 9 Release Press Conference</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:dstaff@echelon.ca">Dean Staff</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>  

On April 7, 1999, Corel Corporation held a press conference in
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to announce the official release of CorelDraw 9
Graphics Suite, which includes Corel Photo-Paint 9 and Corel WordPerfect
2000 Suite.
<p>
While the announcement was geared more towards those who use the Microsoft Windows
platform, it was also announced that the Linux version of Corel WordPerfect
Suite 2000 should be available in the last quarter of 1999, probably
around November, and that the Linux version of CorelDraw 9 Graphics
Suite will be available in the first quarter of 2000.
<p>
<center><img src="./gx/staff/3421f1.gif"></center>
<p>
<h4>Corel WordPerfect 8 for Linux Booth</h4>
<p>
There are new features in both packages. One of them is
real-time previewing in the WordPerfect Suite, also called Live Effects
in CorelDraw, allowing you to ``preview'' a potential change to
your document or drawing in ``real-time'' without committing
to the change permanently. Also, CorelDraw 9 Suite will include IXLA
digital camera support, allowing one to download and edit images from
approximately 120 different camera models. Both packages allow you to
publish a document in PDF format, a very important new feature for the
legal community that locks a document so it cannot be edited, allowing
lawyers to submit briefs electronically, safe in the knowledge they cannot
be altered but are easily retrievable.
<p>
While other Linux packages are available, it is nice to see
``commercial'' software packages with outstanding
industry acceptance available to the Linux community, further
proving that Linux IS a viable alternative.
<p>
To show the success of Corel's Linux efforts, they provided the
following information. Since the Personal Edition of WordPerfect 8 for
Linux was released for download, over 900,000 download attempts have been
recorded. Based on an on-line survey, 60% of the people downloading
stated they were previous Microsoft Word users.
<p>
To add a little note of humour, during the CorelDraw demonstration,
done on a Windows 95/98 machine, the software froze. This author
had to bite his tongue hard so as not to yell out, ``That would
not happen on a Linux machine!'' To the credit of the young lady
performing the demonstration, she very quickly recovered and turned the
``crash'' into a demonstration of how fast CorelDraw 9 loads,
for which she received a round of applause.
<p>
Dr. Michael Cowpland also announced Corel has been negotiating with
the Debian Linux Development team to use the Debian Linux distribution
as the backbone of Corel Linux for the Desktop. He also announced
they would be using KDE as the default desktop environment. This came
as a bit of a surprise, considering Corel's past work with Red Hat.
Dr. Cowpland explained that Red Hat is concentrating on network servers
and Caldera (another logical choice for an alliance) is focusing on
Novell networks, while Corel's focus is on the desktop PC. Instead of
reinventing the wheel, Corel decided to align themselves with an existing
distribution, and Debian was the one they picked.
<p>
Some of the features Corel is promising in their Corel Linux for the
Desktop are an easy setup GUI, plug-and-play support, auto-hardware
detection, auto update from the web, Windows network integration including
mapping and sharing, and a home networking GUI interface.
<p>
It will be interesting to see how many of these features are present when
Corel releases their Linux for the Desktop, due in the fall of 1999 to
coincide with the release of WordPerfect Suite 2000 for Linux, but they
have stated a beta release will be ready for LinuxWorld in August.
<p>
Corel has realized that to get the masses to switch to Linux, they
cannot expect users to purchase all new applications for the Linux
operating system: they must provide a way for users to run their existing
applications. To that end, Corel is also working with the Wine Project,
partly to facilitate the porting of the two suites to Linux and also
provide the ability to run one's existing Windows-based applications
under Linux. For this, they should be applauded.
<p>
These are truly exciting times for the Linux community, and I for
one am excited to see where Linux will be this time next year. One
of Dr. Cowpland's closing remarks was that this is the 10th
anniversary of CorelDraw, and while we have had great years of
CorelDraw (under Windows), he is looking forward to the next 10 years
of Linux.

<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P> 
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1999, Dean Staff <BR> 
Published in Issue 40 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, Mid-April 1999</H5></center>

<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P> 
<A HREF="./lg_toc40.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../gx/indexnew.gif" 
ALT="[ TABLE OF CONTENTS ]"></A>
<A HREF="../lg_frontpage.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../gx/homenew.gif"
ALT="[ FRONT PAGE ]"></A>
<A HREF="./lg_tips40.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/back2.gif"
ALT=" Back "></A>
<A HREF="./york.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/fwd.gif" ALT=" Next "></A>
<P> <hr> <P> 
<h4>&quot;Linux Gazette...<i>making Linux just a little more fun!</i>&quot;
</h4>

<hr>

<p align="center"><!--===================================================================--> </p>

<h1 align="center"><font color="#800000">Creating A Linux
Certification Program, Part 5</font></h1>

<h4 align="center">By <a href="mailto:dyork@lodestar2.com">Dan
York</a></h4>

<hr>

<p>Over the past two months, the community effort to build a
Linux certification program, called the Linux Professional
Institute (LPI), has made some very strong progress. We had very
successful and positive discussions with members of the Linux
community at both LinuxWorld in San Jose, CA, and also at CeBIT
in Hannover, Germany. Now, we're poised to make our program a
reality over the next few months. (See my<a
href="http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue33/york.html">October</a>,
<a href="http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue34/york.html">November</a>,
<a href="http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue35/york.html">December</a>
, and <a href="http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue37/york.html">February</a>
Linux Gazette articles for a history of the process.)&nbsp; This
month's article will address: </p>

<ul>
    <li><a href="#New Web Site">New web site</a> ----- <a
        href="http://www.lpi.org/">http://www.lpi.org/</a> &nbsp;
    </li>
    <li><a href="#analysis">Job Analysis Survey</a></li>
    <li><a href="#SAGE">Liaison with SAGE</a></li>
    <li><a href="#Linuxcare">Linuxcare offers more support to LPI</a></li>
    <li><a href="#ac">Advisory Council</a></li>
    <li><a href="#How You Can Help"><strong>How you can help</strong></a></li>
</ul>

<hr>

<h2><a name="New Web Site">New Web Site</a></h2>

<p>In an effort to make the Linux Professional Institute web site
easier to remember, we have taken out the domain lpi.org and our
pages can now be found at:</p>

<blockquote>
    <p><a href="http://www.lpi.org/">http://www.lpi.org/</a> </p>
</blockquote>

<p>They also continue to be available at:</p>

<blockquote>
    <p><a href="http://www.linuxinstitute.org/">http://www.linuxinstitute.org/</a>
    </p>
</blockquote>

<p>Please visit the web pages, read about the program we are
proposing, and jump on board to help us out!</p>

<p>Credit for the site is due to <a
href="mailto:evan@starnix.com">Evan Leibovitch</a> who
established the domain name and maintains the site.</p>

<hr>

<h2><a name="analysis">Job Analysis Survey</a></h2>

<p>As part of our effort to ensure that our certification program
is grounded on solid statistical data about the actual tasks that
people are doing as they administer Linux systems, we have
undertaken a job analysis survey. A couple of our volunteers,
including Scott Murray (the chair of our exam development
committee), have degrees in psychometrics and have worked to
develop a method of validating both our program and the questions
themselves. Scott and Tom Peters (chair of our program committee)
put together a pre-survey where we collected lists of tasks
performed by Linux system administrators. This pre-survey ran for
a week, after which Tom and Scott cleaned the information up and
now have the actual survey available on the web.</p>

<p>We invite anyone with an interest in Unix and Linux system
administration to visit the website we put up to collect data for
the job analysis. You will be asked to answer a few questions
about a random selection from the many tasks a system
administrator might need to perform; this will take 15 to 30
minutes of your time. We also need to collect some data of a
personal nature, for reasons that are explained in the on-line
instructions; these may be entered anonymously if you wish.</p>

<p>The survey will run until Friday the 9th of April. This is
your opportunity to help shape the future of professional Linux
certification, so please offer your input at:</p>

<blockquote>
    <p><a href="http://www.lpi.org/cgi-bin/jass.py">http://www.lpi.org/cgi-bin/jass.py</a>
    </p>
</blockquote>

<p>Please help us out by visiting now!</p>

<hr>

<h2><a name="SAGE">Liaison with SAGE</a></h2>

<p>For the past several years, the <a
href="http://www.usenix.org/sage/">System Administrator's Guild
(SAGE)</a>, a Special Technical Group of <a
href="http://www.usenix.org/">USENIX</a>, has been trying to
develop a generic UNIX system administration certification. This
effort has not been easy, as many within SAGE have been against
the entire concept of certification. The challenge faced by SAGE
is also far greater than that of LPI. The differences between
Linux distributions are minor when compared with the wide
differences between various versions of UNIX.</p>

<p>Still, SAGE has slowly moved forward and has a <a
href="http://www.usenix.org/sage/cert/certification.html">web
site describing their efforts</a>. They are about to begin a job
analysis project similar to what we are doing, only utilizing a
research firm that specializes in performing such surveys. Expect
to see notices in UNIX mailing lists and possible focus groups at
upcoming conferences.</p>

<p>Since we both share similar goals, we have agreed to stay in
close communication. The SAGE certification committee invited me
to join their group (I have), and we will shortly be inviting one
of their members to be a member of our Advisory Council. Several
of our list members, including John Sechrest and Jim Dennis, are
also members of SAGE and have been posting LPI information to
SAGE lists (and also strongly defending the concept of
certification!).</p>

<hr>

<h2><a name="Linuxcare">Linuxcare offers more support to LPI</a></h2>

<p><a href="http://www.linuxcare.com/">Linuxcare</a>, a
organization offering 24x7 support for all distributions of
Linux, has been a supporter of LPI efforts since the very
beginning of our work last fall. Dave Sifry offered to create
mailing lists and that has been our dominant form of
communication. They took their support one step further in
February, when they hired me to work full time as their
representative to the LPI certification program. I will also have
other duties within Linuxcare, but the bulk of my time in at
least the short term will be spent on the LPI program. We within
LPI appreciate their vote of confidence in our work and thank
Linuxcare for their continued support.</p>

<hr>

<h2><a name="ac">Advisory Council</a></h2>

<p>To ensure that our program meets both the needs of the Linux
community as well as the organizations that will employ those
people who successfully complete our certification program, we
have been building an Advisory Council of individuals and
organizations who can provide us with the feedback we require.
Members of our Advisory Council will be part of a private mailing
list to which questions will occasionally be posted and feedback
solicited. Their assistance will be sought in helping guide the
overall direction of the LPI program, as well as in helping to
solve questions that may arise from time to time within the
linux-cert lists where a wider industry perspective may be
useful. As a consultative body, the Advisory Council will provide
input to the LPI Steering Committee as that committee makes
decisions related to LPI.</p>

<p>Based on the very successful meetings we have had, both at
trade shows such as LinuxWorld and CeBIT, and also separately
with individual people and companies, we will soon be announcing
a large council including representatives from several
distributions, Linux International, the Linux Journal, UniForum,
publishers, information technology companies and other
organizations who believe in the need for Linux certification. We
appreciate their support and are looking forward to their
assistance in making our program a reality. Watch for our
announcement soon!</p>

<hr>

<h2><a name="How You Can Help">How You Can Help</a></h2>

<p>We need you!&nbsp; We want this certification effort to be far
better than those for other operating systems. We need your
assistance with our <a href="http://www.lpi.org/cgi-bin/jass.py">job
analysis survey</a> and also with our continuing efforts on our
mailing lists.</p>

<p>To help out, you can join one or more of our <a
href="http://www.linuxinstitute.org/tli/involved.html">mailing
lists</a>.&nbsp; Before you decide how you can help, please read
about our proposed <a
href="http://www.linuxinstitute.org/tli/program.html">program</a>
(which has been arrived at over the past six months of
discussions) and the <a
href="http://www.linuxinstitute.org/tli/structure.html">structure</a>
we are building to move the whole process forward.&nbsp; I would
suggest you also browse the<a
href="http://linux.codemeta.com/archives/linuxcert_archive/">
archive</a> of our linux-cert mailing list to understand the
discussions we've had to date.</p>

<p>After reading our information, please plunge on in, join a
list (or lists) and help us out!</p>

<hr>

<h2>Final Thoughts</h2>

<p>The next few months will be a time of high energy within our
program. The job analysis survey will be completed and by the end
of this month, we should have exam objectives online for all of
our Level 1 exams. The development of the exams themselves will
be underway, and we will be working hard to bring Level 1 to
completion by the middle of the year. There will be a lot of work
- and a lot of opportunties for people wanting to help make this
program a reality.</p>

<p>Will a Linux certification program evolve out of the
community?&nbsp; Or will it be specified by a vendor or
distributor?&nbsp;&nbsp; <em>We believe it should come from the
community and we hope you will join us in that effort!</em></p>

<p>Please take our survey, join us on the list(s) and let's make
this happen!</p>

<hr>

<h4 align="center">Previous ``Linux Certification'' Columns</h4>

<p><a href="../issue33/york.html">Linux Certification Part #1,
October 1998</a><br>
<a href="../issue34/york.html">Linux Certification Part #2,
November 1998</a><br>
<a href="../issue35/york.html">Linux Certification Part #3,
December 1998</a> <br>
<a href="../issue37/york.html">Linux Certification Part #4,
February 1999</a> 
<!--===================================================================--> </p>

<hr>

<h5 align="center">Copyright &copy; 1999, Dan York <br>
Published in Issue 40 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, Mid-April 1999</h5>
<!--===================================================================-->
<hr>

<p><a href="lg_toc40.html"><img src="../gx/indexnew.gif"
alt="[ TABLE OF CONTENTS ]"></a> <a href="../lg_frontpage.html"><img
src="../gx/homenew.gif" alt="[ FRONT PAGE ]"></a> <a
href="staff.html"><img src="../gx/back2.gif" alt=" Back "></a>
<a href="sparks.html"><img src="../gx/fwd.gif" alt=" Next "></a>
</p>

<hr>


<H4>
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
</H4>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--===================================================================-->

<center>
<H1><font color="maroon">Replacing Legacy systems with Linux, or, a Tale of Two TTYs</font></H1>
<H4>By <a href="mailto:Bobnhlinux@aol.com">Bob Sparks</a></H4>
</center>
<P> <HR> <P>  

We have an old Honeywell Bull Unix system. It uses some proprietary pr=
int servers, which can't be updated, and cost $10k/yr to maintain. The Bu=
ll system can't print to HP JetDirect servers, NetWare, or other Unix sys=
tems. Enter Linux.</P>
<H2>I'm still a newbie</H2>
<P>It wasn't quite as easy as I thought. If it were, we wouldn't need Lin=
ux. The Bull machine prints to BSD style remote print queues. But it woul=
dn't print to Linux. OK, bring out tcpdump. Luckily using the tcpdump opt=
ion host d2 and home, (the names of the Bull and Linux machines), cuts do=
wn the traffic to just what we want to see. Tcpdump showed the Bull machi=
ne trying to get access to the rsh port (514), not the remote printer por=
t (515). However, it didn't show the contents of the packets, so we don't=
 know what it was trying to do. Tcpdump -w put the raw packets into a fil=
e. Looking at them with a text editor (on a Win95 machine, SMB shared, an=
other story), showed an error message:&#9;/usr/ucb/lpr, no such file or d=
irectory. </P>
<P>First, create the directory with mkdir /usr/ucb</P>
<P>This meant it was coming in as a tty, looking for lpr in an old place =
We needed a combination of ingredients. Putting a symbolic link from /usr=
/ucb/lpr -&gt;. /usr/bin/lpr solved one part. We had already looked at /v=
ar/log/messages and seen that PAM was rejecting the remote host. Putting =
the Bull machine in the /etc/hosts.lpd and /var/spool/lpd/.rhosts files a=
llowed the remote machine in. </P>
<H2>Rtfm, rtfm, rtfm</H2>
<P>I have to add that many of these answers came from asking on the newsg=
roups and mailing lists. I had read the printing howto, the Printing usag=
e howto, the Linux System Administrators Guide, Network Administrators Gu=
ide, man pages, ad nausium. One of the downsides of Linux being the most =
thoroughly documented system is that there is more documentation to read.=
 I still haven't found out how to turn on printer accounting yet. There a=
re some hooks built into the lpd, lpr system, but I don't see anything al=
ready set up. Red Hat's printtool seems to use the /var/spool/lpd/&lt;pri=
ntername&gt;/acct file in the printcap file as af=3D (which is the accoun=
ting file), but then doesn't seem to use it for accounting. In fact, they=
 use it to find a .config file, containing user and password information =
for SMB and NetWare queues. This prevents it from being used anywhere but=
 in the print spool directory. Aeleen Frisch's "Essential System Administ=
ration", from O'Reilly, mentions that many systems use /var/adm. The Linu=
x/Unix File Hierarchy Standard has a /var/account and /var/log directorie=
s. it doesn=92t mention printer accounting specifically.</P>
<H2>What, telnet to a printer?</H2>
<P>HP JetDirect print servers, it turns out, act like remote Unix systems=
. They have print queues, and you can even telnet to them. Telnet only gi=
ves a configuration menu, not a real OS. So, to print directly to HP prin=
ters, we use the Red Hat printtool to set each printer as a remote Unix m=
achine. Now, the Bull machine prints to a Linux queue, which is defined a=
s a remote queue on the JetDirect server. This allows the Bull machine to=
 print to laser printers around the LAN, instead of just the old serial p=
rinters on the old proprietary servers. </P>
<H2>An instant solution</H2>
<P>While in the middle of putting up more servers, a communications line =
went down. This was the line going to the proprietary servers. Instead of=
 using this as an excuse to put out more Linux servers, we chose to be pr=
ofessional. This meant providing a quick solution. We put one of the crit=
ical printers on a serial port of a win 95 box, shared it by SMB, then re=
directed the Linux queue via smbprint. Of course, only Linux can both rec=
eive the Bull print queue, and export an SMB queue; but the emphasis was =
on providing a professional solution, rather than just advancing Linux. T=
he rapidity of the solution made Linux look good anyway. We now have perm=
ission to put up more Linux servers. It is in an atmosphere of profession=
al competence, not radicalism. Linux looks better. We then replaced this =
scenario with a dedicated Linux server, putting the printers on serial po=
rts (ttySn) of an old 486 originally destined to be surplussed. JetDirect=
 boxes only handle parallel ports. </P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<H2>And now, make it smarter</H2>
<P>In order to make it even more stable, we put in a script on the Bull m=
achine, which sees if the print redirector is running. I sometimes use it=
 as a demo machine, and these units aren't on uninterruptable power suppl=
ies. We are in a 160 year old building. Stable power is not a given. This=
 same idea could apply to different printers on JetDirect servers. If a p=
rinter, server, network cable, hub, or anything else goes down, some prin=
t queues could switch to a nearby printer, and keep on going. After all, =
one of the reasons to use Linux is that it keeps on going under rough con=
ditions.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>#!/bin/sh</P>
<P># shell script to find out what parts of the network are up.</P>
<P># it would be run by cron every so often, for root.</P>
<P># /etc/hosts.pup &amp; /etc/hosts.pdown are identical,</P>
<P># except for the IP address of pdirector.</P>
<P># pprimary is the primary print redirector. psecond is the backup.</P>
<P># /etc/hosts.pup has pdirector with the IP address of pprimary.</P>
<P># /etc/hosts.pdown has pdirector with the address of psecond.</P>
<P># Both pprimary and psecond are running 24x7, and have identical</P>
<P># redirected print queues.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>if { ping -c 1 pprimary &gt;/dev/null }</P>
<P>then</P>
<P>cp /etc/hosts.pup /etc/hosts</P>
<P>else</P>
<P>cp /etc/hosts.pdown /etc/hosts</P>
<P>fi</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>

<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P> 
<center><H5>Copyright &copy; 1999, Bob Sparks <BR> 
Published in Issue 40 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, Mid-April 1999</H5></center>

<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P> 
<A HREF="./lg_toc40.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../gx/indexnew.gif" 
ALT="[ TABLE OF CONTENTS ]"></A>
<A HREF="../lg_frontpage.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../gx/homenew.gif"
ALT="[ FRONT PAGE ]"></A>
<A HREF="./york.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/back2.gif"
ALT=" Back "></A>
<A HREF="./lg_backpage40.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/fwd.gif" ALT=" Next "></A>
<P> <hr> <P> 
<center>
<A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/">
<IMG SRC="../gx/newlogo.jpg" width=600 height=256 border=0
ALT="Linux Gazette... making Linux just a little more fun!"></a>
<H4>Published by <A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/"><I>Linux
Journal</I></A></H4> 
</center>

<P> <hr> <P> 

<H1><font color="maroon">The Back Page</font></H1>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="./lg_backpage40.html#authors">About This Month's Authors</a>
<li><a HREF="./lg_backpage40.html#notlinux">Not Linux</a>
</ul>

<a name="authors"></a>
<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--======================================================================-->

<center><H3><font color="maroon">About This Month's Authors</font></H3></center>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--======================================================================-->

<P> 
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Bob Sparks</H4>
Bob is a computer consultant working in the homelessness 
and housing areas. He works with Linux and "other" OSs. He likes Linux because 
it is a better OS, and because it is budget friendly for shallow pocketed
non-profits. His hobbies include: reading, writing, wife, kids, &amp; grandkids.
He can be reached at  bobnhlinux@aol.com.

<P> 
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Dean Staff</H4>
Dean Staff is a manager at NovoClub, a computer bookstore in Ottawa,
Canada. He is a writer for <I>Linux Journal</I>.
When not at work Dean enjoys spending time with his
wife and two daughters and playing with his aquarium.

<P> 
<H4><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="" SRC="../gx/note.gif">Dan York</H4>
Dan is a technical instructor and the training manager for a technology
training company located in central New Hampshire. He has been working with the Internet
and UNIX systems for 13 years. While his passion is with Linux, he has also spent the past
two-and-a-half years working with Windows NT. He is both a Microsoft Certified System
Engineer and Microsoft Certified Trainer and has also written a book for QUE on one of the
MCSE certification exams. He is anxiously awaiting the day when he can start teaching
Linux certification classes.


<a name="notlinux"></a>
<P> <hr> <P> 
<!--====================================================================-->

<center><H3><font color="maroon">Not Linux</font></H3></center>

<P> <HR> <P> 
<!--======================================================================-->
<P>
Thanks to all our authors, not just the ones above, but also those who wrote
giving us their tips and tricks and making suggestions. Thanks also to our
new mirror sites.
<P> 
I decided to put out an EXTRA issue this month for three reasons:
<ul>
<li>I get so much mail asking for help, I hate to make them wait so long
before it gets posted. I know as soon as I post they get answers to their
questions. You guys are so generous with your time and expertise.
<li>I didn't want to wait any longer to put the Corel Conference article up.
<li>Third, the article by Bob Sparks was actually supposed to be in issue 38,
but I inadvertently left it out of the Table of Contents. My apologies to
Bob.
</ul>
At any rate, I've thought it would be nice to have an abbreviated mid-month
issue for some time, so here it is. Enjoy!
<P> 
Have fun!

<P> <hr> <P> 
<A HREF="http://www.ssc.com/ssc/Employees/Margie/margie.html">
Marjorie L. Richardson</A> <br>
Editor, <A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/"><i>Linux Gazette</i></A>, <A
HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</a>

<P> <HR> <P>
<!--====================================================================-->
<A HREF="./lg_toc40.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/indexnew.gif" ALT="[ TABLE OF 
CONTENTS ]"></A>
<A HREF="../lg_frontpage.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/homenew.gif" ALT="[ FRONT 
PAGE ]"></A> 
<A HREF="./sparks.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/back2.gif" ALT=" Back "></A>
<p><hr><p>
<center>
<I>Linux Gazette</I> Issue 40, Mid-April 1999,
<A HREF="http://www.linuxgazette.com/">http://www.linuxgazette.com</A><BR> 
This page written and maintained by the Editor of <I>Linux Gazette</I>,
<A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com"> gazette@ssc.com</A>
<H5>Copyright &copy; 1999 Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc.<BR></H5>
</center>

<P> 
</BODY>
</HTML>