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RE: [Wlug] Re: Another distro Question
by Martin, Eric 19 Aug '04

19 Aug '04

Definitly going to pitch choices; after all, that's what linux and Free Software is all about. I'm prob going to go with OpenOffice, seeing as how that's what I'm comfortable with (and I know its capabilities). Def looking for a graphic install (at least to start off with), I don't want to scare people away. As far as KDE v. Gnome, I'm not quite sure. I'm not big on the newest version of MetaCity, and I just installed KDE 3.2.3 on a new box and it looks / feels awesome. I'm probably going to lean more towards KDE but show gnome as well. Also covering Firefox, Gaim, and gnuCash. I'm trying to do an intro to computers class with linux. Don't know how it's going to work out but its worth a shot. I want to show people that there is more than the M$ way, (Windows, IE, Outlook Express, Money, etc) I'm open to suggestions of applications to cover keeping with every day tasks (Budgeting, net browsing, email, office type stuff,etc) Eric -----Original Message----- From: JONATHAN BEALL [mailto:joncbeall@hotmail.com] Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2004 8:53 AM To: chaines(a)gmail.com; wlug(a)mail.wlug.org Subject: Re: [Wlug] Re: Another distro Question Gentoo over Slackware for a new user? i think the 3 different types of Gentoo installs, plus the optimiziation steps would absolutely turn off a newbie. if a graphic installer is what you're looking for Redhat, Mandrake, and SuSe have that covered. i'm also a big Mepis fan, they have a great distro with a very simple install. partitioning is most likely going to be a tough sell to windows converts, but anything you can do to keep them away from the nasty windows-wanna-be flavors of linux (like Lindows and Lycoris) will help them in the long run. you said you'd be teaching them mostly GUI features... will you do Gnome or KDE? KOffice or OO.org? So many choices... that's why linux is great -jonathan beall >From: Chuck Haines <chaines(a)gmail.com> >Reply-To: Chuck Haines <chaines(a)gmail.com>, Worcester Linux Users Group<wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> >To: Worcester Linux Users Group <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> >Subject: Re: [Wlug] Re: Another distro Question >Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 05:39:53 -0400 > >Slackware for beginners, ugh, I'd say not. If you want a good >beginners distro, go with Gentoo (though it still has a little >learning curve for installation and setup) or get one of the distro's >that does more for you like Fedora Core 2 (which I'm running and like >a lot), Mandrake or Suse. They make much better beginner friendly >distro's. Remember, you want to make the switchover easier on users, >otherwise they won't make it. IMHO, Slackware would be too hard to >learn for a beginner (but don't get my wrong, I love Slackware, just >not for a beginner). > >Chuck > >On Wed, 18 Aug 2004 05:32:12 -0400, Frank Rizzo <joe(a)crankhouse.com> wrote: > > > > I'm teaching a Beginners Linux course in a few weeks for Nitelife with > > > > the Worc Pub Schools. I was almost ready to go with Fedora, but I > > > > don't think that has what I'm looking for. I want something easy for > > > > people to pickup, and I don't think RPMs don't give you the linux > > > > feel. I'm going to start out w/Knoppix, but I also want to get into a > > > > disk install. I've only used Gentoo, RHAT, and Knoppix. A friend > > > > mentioned SuSe, but I've never used it. Very open to suggestions, I > > > > want as people to enjoy this class, not think that linux is out of > > > > their grasp. So, the question is what distro would people recommend > > > > for beginners aside from Knoppix? > > > > I would say Slackware would be a good distro to show people Linux. It's simple, > > secure, and stable. It does have the tgz packages, but you dont have to use them. > > The only problem is the install is not as pretty as some of the other distros. > > > > -Joe > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Wlug mailing list > > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > > > >-- >Chuck Haines >chaines(a)gmail.com >------------------------------------------- >Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity >WPI Class of 2005 >------------------------------------------- >AIM: CyberGrex >YIM: CyberGrex_27 >ICQ: 3707881 >------------------------------------------- >_______________________________________________ >Wlug mailing list >Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

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RE: [Wlug] Re: Another distro Question
by Martin, Eric 19 Aug '04

19 Aug '04

I've done a Stage3 with GRP (all you do is the kernel with stage3, and GRP is precompilied Oo.O, KDE, gnome). It's quick, it works, but I prefer to use Stage1 and distcc for speed. I like the fact that I can rip kerberos support out, etc. I'm gonna d/l SuSe and Slackware tonight, see what I can see. Eric -----Original Message----- From: gboyce(a)badbelly.com [mailto:gboyce@badbelly.com] Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2004 9:27 AM To: Worcester Linux Users Group Subject: Re: [Wlug] Re: Another distro Question On Thu, 19 Aug 2004, Chuck Haines wrote: > Slackware for beginners, ugh, I'd say not. If you want a good > beginners distro, go with Gentoo (though it still has a little > learning curve for installation and setup) or get one of the distro's > that does more for you like Fedora Core 2 (which I'm running and like > a lot), Mandrake or Suse. They make much better beginner friendly > distro's. Remember, you want to make the switchover easier on users, > otherwise they won't make it. IMHO, Slackware would be too hard to > learn for a beginner (but don't get my wrong, I love Slackware, just > not for a beginner). I consider Gentoo a good learning distribution for people who want to get to know Linux (layouts, etc), but I'm thinking that a course at public schools will probably have low end hardware to work with. I'm not sure how much learning they'll do while they wait for their packages to compile on the older hardware. Glibc itself would take at least a class. Has anyone tried installing Gentoo using pre-built packages? I know it's supposed to be possible, but I've never tried it. I'm not sure how usable it really is. -- Greg Boyce _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

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Re: [Wlug] Re: Another distro Question
by JONATHAN BEALL 19 Aug '04

19 Aug '04

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Another distro Question
by Martin, Eric 19 Aug '04

19 Aug '04

I'm teaching a Beginners Linux course in a few weeks for Nitelife with the Worc Pub Schools. I was almost ready to go with Fedora, but I don't think that has what I'm looking for. I want something easy for people to pickup, and I don't think RPMs don't give you the linux feel. I'm going to start out w/Knoppix, but I also want to get into a disk install. I've only used Gentoo, RHAT, and Knoppix. A friend mentioned SuSe, but I've never used it. Very open to suggestions, I want as people to enjoy this class, not think that linux is out of their grasp. So, the question is what distro would people recommend for beginners aside from Knoppix? Eric

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RE: [Wlug] Linux Training
by Martin, Eric 18 Aug '04

18 Aug '04

I agree. HOWTOs have taught me the most out of everything. I'd say take the money that you'd pay for training, and get a few ORA (O'Reilly & Assoc.) books, cd rom bookshelves, or maybe even a Subscription to safari. Reading and doing is my best way. Eric -----Original Message----- From: sonnyvn(a)linus.mitre.org [mailto:sonnyvn@linus.mitre.org] Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2004 11:54 AM To: wlug(a)mail.wlug.org Subject: [Wlug] Linux Training Mark, In my opinion, classes are always out of date. When I first started with HPUX and Solaris, I was sent to classes. Afterward, I have found docs.sun.com and docs.hp.com has even more info than the classes (and they are free). For Linux, the www.linux.org with (www.tldp.org) website(s) have given me 80% of linux knowledge. Depending upon your distributions (mine is Redhat), I have found even more indepth documentations (pdf) from their website to do almost everything my Solaris and HP-UX can do (except Jumpstart and Ignite-UX). Hopes this helps a little. Sonny Nguyen > Send Wlug mailing list submissions to > wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > wlug-owner(a)mail.wlug.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Wlug digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Linux Training (Mark Eaton) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 08:54:19 -0400 > From: "Mark Eaton" <meaton(a)sterilite.com> > Subject: [Wlug] Linux Training > To: <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> > Message-ID: > <C410352A9903E540B8FBE58DAEDDC09147E66B(a)shomail2k.sterilite.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > We are a manufacturing firm located in North Central Mass. We're > converting our Enterprise systems from Unix/Solaris & SUNs to Linux & > Intel's running clustered servers. We are pretty proficient at > Solaris but need to get up to speed on Linux fast. I can't afford to > have people out for 2 or 3 weeks to go to Red Hat for formal training > and that's about all I've found other than "buy our > CD's...". Are there some good intermediate to advanced courses available > in the Greater Worcester area that you would recommend? Thanks for > your help. Mark - meaton1(a)earthlink.net > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > > End of Wlug Digest, Vol 10, Issue 14 > ************************************ > > _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

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RE: [Wlug] Another distro Question
by Martin, Eric 18 Aug '04

18 Aug '04

I want to structure it as a more beginners class, more desktop type stuff than shell scripting. Targetting towards regular users who are frustrated with Word, getting virii left and right, etc. Eric -----Original Message----- From: Andrew Robert [mailto:arobert@dhcp-0-7-e9-bc-5c-fc.cpe.townisp.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 9:24 AM To: Worcester Linux Users Group Subject: Re: [Wlug] Another distro Question Is this course as much about learning Unix/Linux commands or the distribution itself? I believe that virtually any Linux distribution could be a good choice if you are spending most of your time discussing how to use the command line and general administrative tasks. Once the command line basics and bash shell scripting is covered, specific distributions could be covered. I would then say that Fedora or Suse are good general choices. Slackware is good too but it is not necessarily for a new user. On Tue, 2004-08-17 at 09:04, Martin, Eric wrote: I'm teaching a Beginners Linux course in a few weeks for Nitelife with the Worc Pub Schools. I was almost ready to go with Fedora, but I don't think that has what I'm looking for. I want something easy for people to pickup, and I don't think RPMs don't give you the linux feel. I'm going to start out w/Knoppix, but I also want to get into a disk install. I've only used Gentoo, RHAT, and Knoppix. A friend mentioned SuSe, but I've never used it. Very open to suggestions, I want as people to enjoy this class, not think that linux is out of their grasp. So, the question is what distro would people recommend for beginners aside from Knoppix? Eric _____ _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org <http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug Thank you, Andrew Robert Systems Architect TS&S Infrastructure Support - OpenVMS Massachusetts Financial Services Phone: (617) 954-5882 Pager: (781) 764-7321

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Linux Training
by sonnyvn＠linus.mitre.org 18 Aug '04

18 Aug '04

Mark, In my opinion, classes are always out of date. When I first started with HPUX and Solaris, I was sent to classes. Afterward, I have found docs.sun.com and docs.hp.com has even more info than the classes (and they are free). For Linux, the www.linux.org with (www.tldp.org) website(s) have given me 80% of linux knowledge. Depending upon your distributions (mine is Redhat), I have found even more indepth documentations (pdf) from their website to do almost everything my Solaris and HP-UX can do (except Jumpstart and Ignite-UX). Hopes this helps a little. Sonny Nguyen > Send Wlug mailing list submissions to > wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > wlug-request(a)mail.wlug.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > wlug-owner(a)mail.wlug.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Wlug digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Linux Training (Mark Eaton) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 08:54:19 -0400 > From: "Mark Eaton" <meaton(a)sterilite.com> > Subject: [Wlug] Linux Training > To: <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> > Message-ID: > <C410352A9903E540B8FBE58DAEDDC09147E66B(a)shomail2k.sterilite.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > We are a manufacturing firm located in North Central Mass. We're > converting our Enterprise systems from Unix/Solaris & SUNs to Linux & > Intel's running clustered servers. We are pretty proficient at Solaris > but need to get up to speed on Linux fast. > I can't afford to have people out for 2 or 3 weeks to go to Red Hat for > formal training and that's about all I've found other than "buy our > CD's...". Are there some good intermediate to advanced courses available > in the Greater Worcester area that you would recommend? > Thanks for your help. > Mark - meaton1(a)earthlink.net > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > > End of Wlug Digest, Vol 10, Issue 14 > ************************************ > >

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RE: [Wlug] Another distro Question
by Martin, Eric 18 Aug '04

18 Aug '04

What I'm probably going to do is have some older boxes that we can run linux on, but the lab computers I'm going to use Knoppix (to avoid that problem). Also, I was just thinking, are there any good free software packages for disk partitioning to make room for linux if I want to cover dual boots? Iknow there's partition magic for windows, but I wanted something freesoftware / opensource. Eric -----Original Message----- From: Andy Stewart [mailto:andystewart@comcast.net] Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 6:14 PM To: Worcester Linux Users Group Subject: Re: [Wlug] Another distro Question -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Tuesday 17 August 2004 9:04 am, Martin, Eric wrote: > I'm teaching a Beginners Linux course in a few weeks for Nitelife with > the Worc Pub Schools. I was almost ready to go with Fedora, but I > don't think that has what I'm looking for. I want something easy for > people to pickup, and I don't think RPMs don't give you the linux > feel. I'm going to start out w/Knoppix, but I also want to get into a > disk install. I've only used Gentoo, RHAT, and Knoppix. A friend > mentioned SuSe, but I've never used it. Very open to suggestions, I > want as people to enjoy this class, not think that linux is out of > their grasp. So, the question is what distro would people recommend > for beginners aside from Knoppix? > > Eric HI Eric, Are you actually going to be allowed to obliterate the existing hard drive contents on the computers for this Linux class? If so, that's actually a good thing! I teach an intro course for the Chelmsford Community Education program, and I'm not allowed to blow away Windows on their hard drives (shucks...). So, I stick with Knoppix and user level concepts and it has worked out rather well. Later, Andy - -- Andy Stewart, Founder Worcester Linux Users' Group Worcester, MA USA http://www.wlug.org -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFBIoMPHl0iXDssISsRAjhwAJ0dy1gHGR4xp2mECx/P3QsMDVA7BgCfSlmC 5j7MiYpm0+Hz2AHNX7gXbm8= =yCuv -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

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Linux Training
by Mark Eaton 18 Aug '04

18 Aug '04

We are a manufacturing firm located in North Central Mass. We're converting our Enterprise systems from Unix/Solaris & SUNs to Linux & Intel's running clustered servers. We are pretty proficient at Solaris but need to get up to speed on Linux fast. I can't afford to have people out for 2 or 3 weeks to go to Red Hat for formal training and that's about all I've found other than "buy our CD's...". Are there some good intermediate to advanced courses available in the Greater Worcester area that you would recommend? Thanks for your help. Mark - meaton1(a)earthlink.net

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RE: [Wlug] Another distro Question
by Martin, Eric 18 Aug '04

18 Aug '04

Awesome! Thanks! -----Original Message----- From: Brian Waite [mailto:linwoes@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2004 8:19 AM To: Worcester Linux Users Group Subject: Re: [Wlug] Another distro Question On Wed, 18 Aug 2004 08:21:19 -0400, Martin, Eric <martine(a)worc.k12.ma.us> wrote: > What I'm probably going to do is have some older boxes that we can run > linux on, but the lab computers I'm going to use Knoppix (to avoid > that problem). Also, I was just thinking, are there any good free > software packages for disk partitioning to make room for linux if I > want to cover dual boots? Iknow there's partition magic for windows, > but I wanted something freesoftware / opensource. > > Eric > Eric, qtparted works great. There is a good HOWTO on the web, whose URL escapes me, that exaplains you to resize NTFS partitions and also recover if something goes wrong. I have resized 2 WinXP disks with any problems. Thanks Brian > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Andy Stewart [mailto:andystewart@comcast.net] > Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 6:14 PM > To: Worcester Linux Users Group > Subject: Re: [Wlug] Another distro Question > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > On Tuesday 17 August 2004 9:04 am, Martin, Eric wrote: > > I'm teaching a Beginners Linux course in a few weeks for Nitelife > > with the Worc Pub Schools. I was almost ready to go with Fedora, > > but I don't think that has what I'm looking for. I want something > > easy for people to pickup, and I don't think RPMs don't give you the > > linux feel. I'm going to start out w/Knoppix, but I also want to > > get into a disk install. I've only used Gentoo, RHAT, and Knoppix. > > A friend mentioned SuSe, but I've never used it. Very open to > > suggestions, I want as people to enjoy this class, not think that > > linux is out of their grasp. So, the question is what distro would > > people recommend for beginners aside from Knoppix? > > > > Eric > > HI Eric, > > Are you actually going to be allowed to obliterate the existing hard > drive contents on the computers for this Linux class? If so, that's > actually a good thing! > > I teach an intro course for the Chelmsford Community Education > program, and I'm not allowed to blow away Windows on their hard drives > (shucks...). So, I stick with Knoppix and user level concepts and it > has worked out rather well. > > Later, > > Andy > > - -- > Andy Stewart, Founder > Worcester Linux Users' Group > Worcester, MA USA > http://www.wlug.org > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (GNU/Linux) > > iD8DBQFBIoMPHl0iXDssISsRAjhwAJ0dy1gHGR4xp2mECx/P3QsMDVA7BgCfSlmC > 5j7MiYpm0+Hz2AHNX7gXbm8= > =yCuv > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

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Installfest/bakeoff
by Brian Waite 17 Aug '04

17 Aug '04

With this talk of different distros lately, I was wondering if anyone was interested do an installfest and/or a distro bakeoff Where we can all see how each distro install, behaves, and how the HW support is. I for one would enjoy trying to install some distros on random machines. Any thoughts? Thanks Brian

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RE: [Wlug] Another distro Question
by JONATHAN BEALL 17 Aug '04

17 Aug '04

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Re: [Wlug] Linux distro for older hardware
by JONATHAN BEALL 17 Aug '04

17 Aug '04

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Linux distro for older hardware
by Joel Desrochers 17 Aug '04

17 Aug '04

I second the vote for Slackware. Text based install and overall performance make it my favorite for older hardware. Unfortunately I prefer 128 MB RAM minimum for console only and around 256MB for X. Memory is cheap though. I am still quite happy with my P300/384MB RAM with Slack. Before Slackware, I toyed with a few minimalist distros (Peanut and Grey Cat Linux but found most of them lacking in either reliability or application packages/support). Two other tips on trying Linux and picking a distributionto try: 1) Don't rule out Knoppix, the popular CD-ROM bootable distro. You can use it on another box (possibly your current Windows 9X or XP) without modifying anything on the hard disk. Also makes a great PC diagnostic tool. http://www.knoppix.com/ 2) Consider reading up on the many distros on one of the many websites that list information. These are my two favorites and I am sure there are many more. http://www.linux.org/dist/index.html http://www.distrowatch.com Joel _________________________________________________________________ Dont just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/

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linux for older computers
by Andrew Perry 15 Aug '04

15 Aug '04

Hi everyone. I have some older computers, the newest of the bunch being Celeron-566 MHz-64 MB RAM, the oldest a 486-25 MHz- maybe 16 MB RAM and wonder if anyone could either a) recommend linux distributions for them or b) point me to a site with minimum hardware requirements for linux distributions Primarily my goal is to learn more about linux. I would prefer something sold for a nominal cost on CD's. Cheapbytes.com sells Pink Tie 7.3,Mandrake 8.2, Debian 2.2 and some others for around $1 only, but offer no guidance as to the hardware requirements. Thanks, Andrew ===== -Dr. Andrew B. Perry Assistant Prof. of Mathematics, Springfield College 263 Alden St., Springfield MA 01109

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Does anyone know of any phones have the ability to sync with linux?
by Arturo 15 Aug '04

15 Aug '04

Hi All, I've been searching for a cell phone and I wanted to know if anyone knows of one that has the ability to synchronize with linux. More specifically, I need the ability to synchronize the address book. Synchronization of the calendar as well would be really slick. A dream come true would be if anyone knows of a program that can sync Nokia 6800 or the Motorolla v300 with evolution or kmail? Any thoughts? Arturo

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Question on privoxy
by Andrew Robert 13 Aug '04

13 Aug '04

Hi Everyone, I just installed the privoxy proxy server and configured my Opera browser v7.54 to use 127.0.0.1 under Fedora Core2. It works great but the "blocked by" messages are somewhat annoying. Does anyone know a quick way to eliminate seeing these? Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. -- Thank you, Andrew Robert Systems Architect TS&S Infrastructure Support - OpenVMS Massachusetts Financial Services Phone: (617) 954-5882 Pager: (781) 764-7321 Linux user : #201204

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has anyone work with xwindows and svideo out display (tv)
by Sonny Nguyen 13 Aug '04

13 Aug '04

just asking...and testing...I have been trying to post stuff and keep getting email bounces. Sonny Nguyen

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fedora core 1 or 2 with lirc remote control program
by Sonny Nguyen 13 Aug '04

13 Aug '04

Any anyone done anything with lirc? Sonny Nguyen

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Fedora core 1 or 2 with Lirc remote control program
by Sonny Nguyen 13 Aug '04

13 Aug '04

Has anyone work with the lirc program with Fedora core 1 or 2. If you have seen this more than once.Please ignore the previous. Thanks. Sonny Nguyen

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New currency(?)
by Andy Stewart 12 Aug '04

12 Aug '04

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 http://www.danamania.com/temp/scodollar.jpg - -- Andy Stewart, Founder Worcester Linux Users' Group Worcester, MA USA http://www.wlug.org -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFBG+kNHl0iXDssISsRAu5VAJ9ObHEV0IPGDorp6rDn3th0XK/urQCfZAfk ipKrKo7j69a4qUWqfumgmQs= =3T76 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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C gurus
by Chuck Haines 11 Aug '04

11 Aug '04

For all you C gurus out there. I'm working on a little program that when an event occurs, it dials out a Verizon Wireless AirCard, does it's thing and then when all events are done, the last event close the card. To close the ppp connection you send it a Ctrl-C, which I'm doing, however it is never working. The code I'm using is as follows: void *sound_alarm ( void * rd_struct ) { RADSPY_STRUCT *ptr_rd_struct; ptr_rd_struct = ( RADSPY_STRUCT * ) rd_struct; /* lock the modem_in_use variable to check to dial modem */ pthread_mutex_lock ( &modem_mutex ); if ( modem_in_use++ == 0 ) { /* we need to dial out the modem */ printf ( "Dialing the modem: %d\n", modem_in_use ); modem_pid = fork(); if ( 0 == modem_pid ) { int ret; /* we are the child so dial out the modem */ ret = execl ( "/usr/sbin/pppd", "pppd", "call", "ac555qnc", NULL ); if ( -1 == ret ) printf ( "Problem dialing modem: %s\n", strerror ( errno ) ); printf ( "Got here.\n" ); exit ( 0 ); } /* hack to wait enough time to let the modem dial */ sleep ( 10 ); } pthread_mutex_unlock ( &modem_mutex ); /* perform the sending of the data */ printf ( "Sounding the alarm: %d.\n", modem_in_use ); sleep ( 1 ); /* code to send away alarms will go here, sleep for now */ /* release the modem in use */ pthread_mutex_lock ( &modem_mutex ); if ( --modem_in_use == 0 ) { /* we need to hangup the modem */ printf ("Hanging up the modem: %d\n", modem_in_use ); kill ( SIGINT, modem_pid ); } pthread_mutex_unlock ( &modem_mutex ); pthread_exit ( (void *) 0 ); } This function is a thread that is spawned by the main loop when an event occurs. This event can occur multiple times, which is why I have the shared variable of how many events are currently occuring (modem_in_use). When I run this program, I'm always getting an error about the modem being locked by pid XXX, so it's never being closed. Anyone have any experience with this kinda thing? Chuck -- Chuck Haines chaines(a)gmail.com ------------------------------------------- Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity WPI Class of 2005 ------------------------------------------- AIM: CyberGrex YIM: CyberGrex_27 ICQ: 3707881 -------------------------------------------

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Multiple platform blues...
by Stephen C. Daukas 11 Aug '04

11 Aug '04

I'm sure my experience with platform-dependent apps as an impediment to moving entirely to Linux is not unique. I have spent plenty of time playing with Linux at home, but have always had to deal with platform-specific needs of employers, etc., so I have never been able to completely immerse myself in Linux. I'd still like to use Linux as my primary platform, but I have to deal with having to run quite specific apps in different environments. So, I'm looking to begin a discussion about how to set-up a home environment that is as much Linux-based as is possible while providing for the realities of platform-specific requirements. Of course, this is as much a discussion of applications as it is about platforms. I have 3 systems and 1 laptop at home, all of which are Pentium IIIs, one as fast as 800MHz (imagine that!), that are available for use in my home network. I must be able to run Internet Explorer 6.x (required for several web-enabled apps I must use on a regular basis), Word, and PowerPoint. My wife has a Pentium III laptop that must run XP because of her work, but it would be nice to have her access a linux file server for backup and such. (She also likes Linux games!) Also, I have a couple of laser printers and an ink jet that I would rather hang off of one print server. With an eye toward a home network that must include Microsoft and access to Macs at work, here are some questions to start this discussion off: Q1 - OpenOffice versus MS Office: I will need to be reading/editing/creating Word and Powerpoint files (as most of the world do). I will be getting files to edit, and be creating others from scratch. I teach, so the results are intended for display on an ActiveBoard with the expectation of touching the board (or clicking from the console) to follow a link embedded in a powerpoint slide yielding a movie clip, or web page, or whatever. I'm told I have control over the department's files, but not to the extent of choosing something other than MS, so I'd like to use OpenOffice as my primary environment and then generate MS files for use at the school. I assume OpenOffice can do what PowerPoint can do (within reason), but I can't afford the time to "fix" generated MS Office files to work in a Mac or XP environment. Are the any OpenOffice users out there that can comment on this? Q2 - Heterogeneous access: I want to be able to access any file created in any of the three environments. I'd like to move files between the Macs at work and one or more of my machines at home without using Email (I want to avoid any constraints like size limitations on attachments). I want to be able to pull and push those files to whatever platform is needed for whatever needs to be done with them. I assume VNC is available on the Mac, and that I would probably need to run SAMBA, but what are the options these days? I suppose I could set up a FTP server... I'd also like to drop the static IP because of cost, and have already moved the web site to a commercial provider... Q3 - Email: Of primary concern is moving existing email from the MS environment (laptop) to Linux. I am trying to find a way to export all of my email from Mozilla 1.6 to a file or files that can then be moved to a Linux box and imported/read by a mail reader there, but I can't seem to find a way to do this... There is no export function in Mozilla 1.6 and the mail files are not consistently ASCII (at least from what I've seen). I have even tried to use other mailers' ability to import from their competitors, in the hopes that one of them can do the export, but I have had no luck with any of them knowing about Mozilla. Does anyone know of a way to get email out of Mozilla into an ASCII file-based structure (or something equally vanilla) that can be read by a standard Linux reader? Beyond that specific issue, what would be the best way to handle email? Right now I limit myself to using one platform and POP only from it. This is because I can travel with the laptop and not all the servers I access allow IMAP. I retrieve mail from 7 different accounts and forwarding is not allowed (nor do I want to have to keep track of that). I don't mind having to do this, but I'm wondering about other options... Thanks for your sage advice! Steve

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Logitech QuickCam Pro and Programming
by Chuck Haines 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

Hey guys, I recently got a Logitech QuickCam Pro and was thinking about doing some development work with it. I'd like to make a program that will take pictures when motion is detected or when I send it commands to do so. I'm currently looking to do it in C, so does anyone have any experience with this? I've done some googling and found some material but nothing that is really a how-to for the API for this kinda thing. Oh yea, I'm developing it on a laptop that runs Fedora Core 2, but I will eventually be porting it to an embedded computer (an Arcom GX-1 to be exact) which runs a flavor of RedHat 7.2 and kernel 2.4.18. Thanks, Chuck -- Chuck Haines chaines(a)gmail.com ------------------------------------------- Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity WPI Class of 2005 ------------------------------------------- AIM: CyberGrex YIM: CyberGrex_27 ICQ: 3707881 -------------------------------------------

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Job posting
by Mike Leo 06 Aug '04

06 Aug '04

Think this is my first mass-email but thought I would share with the group. I recruiter sent this to me today...i have no more information than what is listed below. If interested, I recommend communicating directly with the recruiter at winterwyman.com....he is Joe Kotlinski j jkotlinski(a)winterwyman.com--you can tell him Mike Leo sent you, for what ever that is worth. Good luck. "a successful start-up in the medical devices industry located in the MetroWest/495 area. They want to hire 3 desktop support people. The people they're seeking must have: 6-12 months of experience; Microsoft Networking, Windows 98/NT/2000/XP, and hands on knowledge of Microsoft Office, e-mail applications such as Outlook and Outlook Express and Internet Explorer; and a BS Degree. The base salary will probably max out in the low $40,000s." __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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