Subject: Linux-Activists Digest #97
From: Digestifier <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 92 06:30:08 EDT

Linux-Activists Digest #97, Volume #2            Thu, 23 Apr 92 06:30:08 EDT

Contents:
  Thanks, no more e-mail please!!  ;) ([email-masked])
  Re: help, cannot mount file system... (Drew Eckhardt)
  alpha test ispell for "proper" english available for ftp (Peter Williams 8169821)
  resource sharing? ([email-masked])
  Re: IDE drive performance with linux (Theodore Ts'o)
  Re: Graphics and IPC questions... (Doug Evans)
  test message----please ignore ;) ([email-masked])
  Control-alt-del ([email-masked])
  PS/2, SCSI, etc (Daniel L'Hommedieu)
  linux (Matt Mosley)
  also (Matt Mosley)
  How to pronounce "Linux"? (Ng Pheng Siong)
  Re: trouble with curses (Martin Peter Howell)
  Re: HELP! SHOELACE IS STRANGLING ME!!! (Kellom{ki Pertti)
  Re: Yet another X question (Zeyd M. Ben-Halim)
  Re: Any comments on Quantum 240A ?? (Pat Duffy)
  fully broiled ideas (Peter MacDonald)
  Request for repeat info (Erik Green)
  News under Linux (Steve Robbins)
  Re: all kinds of questions (autoparking) (Rogier Wolff)

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

From: [email-masked]
Subject: Thanks, no more e-mail please!!  ;)
Reply-To: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1992 02:01:50 GMT

Thanks, it got thru obviously, please cease the e-mail though.
I really appreciate it, but this system slows down BIG TIME the more mail I get.
:(
Thanks!!!!!!
ljg
[email-masked]

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

From: [email-masked] (Drew Eckhardt)
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux
Subject: Re: help, cannot mount file system...
Date: 23 Apr 92 01:31:12 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (gary a moyer) writes:
>Hey netters!  I _accidentally_ messed up my ability to mount
>a file system!  I did it inadvertantly while trying to incorporate
>some _protection_.  Anyhow, what other files does mount access besides
>the actual device in /dev ?  I am getting the message:
>mount: unable to open lock-file
>
>               thx.  [email-masked]

This is a FAQ - the mount programs use a lock file, /etc/mtab~  - so no
one tries to access the /etc/mtab file at the same time.  Delete this,
or better yet put 

rm -f /etc/mtab~

in your /etc/rc.

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

From: [email-masked] (Peter Williams 8169821)
Subject: alpha test ispell for "proper" english available for ftp
Date: 23 Apr 92 01:06:37 GMT

There is an alpha test version of Geoff Kuenning's ispell V3.0 for "proper"
(i.e. Australian/British) english available for ftp in pub/linux/ispell
at archsci.arch.su.oz.au (129.78.66.1).

There are 3 files:

  README.ispell  - brief installation instructions
  ispell.tar.Z   - tar file that should drop the various files into the
                   appropriate directories if untarred in / directory.
                 - includes man, info, el and elc files
                 - has the medium sized directory recommended by Geoff
  ispell.texinfo - texinfo source for using ispell in emacs

As soon as I get time I will build and make available American English
and German dictionaries.

-- 
Peter Williams                |e-mail: [email-masked]
Key Centre for Design Quality |phone: +61-2-692 2053 or +61-2-660 6156
University of Sydney          |+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

From: [email-masked]
Subject: resource sharing?
Reply-To: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1992 02:33:25 GMT

Ok, I have 2 linux machines:
1:  386-33 4MB 100MB as 50Mb root, 30MB/pub 20MB swap
2:  386-16sx laptop 8MB 40MB 20MB root, 20MB DOS/Stacker(approx 40MB tot.)

I want to bring the laptop home, and use null modem cable(for now, maybe ethernet
later) to connect them, and share resources(diskspace, printers, modems...)
I would specifically like to mount the laptop's hd as /laptop, and use it's
internal modem, as well as mount my root as /desktop on the laptop so
it can use my modem and printers.  also, I have a dumb dos box, and I 
would like to use the desktop as a file/print/comm server.
(if this is currently impossible, let me know, otherwise I need to know
EXACTLY what I need to do this, as I only have e-mail ftpmail access.
)
Thanks in advance,
Jim Gifford
[email-masked]
 ...!uunet!attmail.com!jgifford

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

From: [email-masked] (Theodore Ts'o)
Subject: Re: IDE drive performance with linux
Reply-To: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1992 03:15:40 GMT

   From: [email-masked] (Charles Hedrick)
   Date: 22 Apr 92 22:41:36 GMT

   If you're getting one block per rotation, that means that the system
   can't keep up with the rotation speed of the disk.  This is not at all
   unusual.  Classically what you do is arrange the files on disk using
   every other block or every third block, or whatever you need in order
   that the system can keep up.  

We could certainly do that, although I think it would be more profitable
to try speeding up the hard disk driver; and only if that doesn't work,
then start mucking with block allocation algorithm for the filesystem.

(BTW, a very simple change to the block allocation algorithm for the
Minix fs would be to pass it the location of the previous block in the
file, and for it to try to allocate a block in the same "zone".  If
there is no previous block, it should allocate a block in the zone with
the highest amount of free space, to spread out the allocated blocks
around.  Such a change would give you a large part of the speed
advantages of the Berkeley FFS, with relatively little work.  Of course,
it still wouldn't give you long filenames...)

In any case, there are two things about the current hard disk driver
which hopefully should be fixed.  (1) It doesn't use DMA.  This may or
may not be fixable; I'd need to do some research about the low-level
interface before I could answer that.  (2)  It doesn't coallesce
multiple block read requests over a single track into a single request.
Fixing this should significantly speed up the speed of non-caching IDE
drives, especially combined with the look-ahead which the filesystem is
already doing.

                                                - Ted

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

From: [email-masked] (Doug Evans)
Subject: Re: Graphics and IPC questions...
Date: 22 Apr 92 15:46:40 GMT

chojnows@osiris (Brian Chojnowski) writes:

> 
>       I plan to add a direct to screen library. Basically I envision
> creating a terminal type that is a superset of vt100. Nothing as fancy or
> system hog like X. Just a characterset based graphix system. So while we are
> at it, if anyone has some info somewhere on how to write assembly stuff
> under linux, I can start porting some of my dos-mode screen routines.

What does a "character set based graphics system" mean?
If it means you want something like what a vt220 gives you,
or perhaps some other terminal, wouldn't the better route be to
take the vt100 stuff and enhance it?

Direct screen writing stuff may be interesting and even necessary
on dumb 4.77 Mhz machines, but for more powerful machines, I think
it attaches too much hardware dependance to the application.

Can you not achieve what you want doing it the Terminfo/Termcap way?

P.S. I presume Linux uses Terminfo, right?

Doug Evans                    |
..!{canada,uunet}!sspiff!dje  | Vancouver 11, Calgary 0
[email-masked]               | There is no joy in Cowtown.
[email-masked]      | But how 'bout those Canucks, eh?

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

From: [email-masked]
Subject: test message----please ignore ;)
Reply-To: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1992 03:27:26 GMT

------------- Begin Forwarded Message -------------
Date: Wed Apr 22 23:22:23 -0400 1992
From: internet!ATHENA.MIT.EDU!tytso (Theodore Ts'o)
Phone: +(617) 253-8091
Subject: Re: linux list
To: !jgifford
Content-Length: 443

   From: [email-masked]

   Hi, Michael, this is a follow-up to my last message.
   Hi, right after my last message, I was flooded with about 4 or 5 digests. ;)
   However, my posts STILL aren't showing up.  :(

Grump.... Whenever I try sending a test post, it always shows up.  Can
you try sending a post to linux-activists, cc'ed to me?  I can't figure
out what's going wrong, and perhaps that will help me figure it out.

                                                - Ted

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

From: [email-masked]
Subject: Control-alt-del
Reply-To: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1992 03:30:42 GMT

Amazing discovery with NCS version of AMI BIOS.  C-A-D has never worked
with Linux-0.95 on.  A-C-D works 100 per cent of the time (since
discovered it pre-0.96 version) BTW:  using left Alt left Ctrl rightmost
Del

BTW:  With NCS AMI BIOS can set repeat speed and init delay, using int16
in keyboard.S with same value get less than 250msec initial delay Does
Linux alter the timer chips such that the keyboard thinks 250msec has
past?
                    John

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

From: [email-masked] (Daniel L'Hommedieu)
Subject: PS/2, SCSI, etc
Date: 23 Apr 92 02:45:29 GMT

Greetings.  I have an IBM PS/2 Model 65sx, currently with 2 megs RAM
(soon to be 10 megs), a 60 megabyte Western Digital SCSI drive, and a 84
meg Seagate SCSI drive.

I have been watching the newsgroup for a few days, but haven't seen any
FAQ, or anything to do with IBM MicroChannel.

Is there anyone working on an MCA version of linux?  If so, I would like
to correspond with this person(s).

Oh, someone too please point me toward the FAQ.  Thanks so much.

Daniel
--
Daniel L'Hommedieu / CSC Major, NC State U, on the 6-year plan :) 
Internet: eagle@{catt.ncsu.edu,Salzo.Cary.NC.US,grunt.Berkeley.edu}
10215 Hanover Glen Road / Charlotte NC 28210 / 704-541-5116
"Windows 3.1 is Microsoft's $50 bug-fix to Windows 3.0."-JWL

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

From: [email-masked] (Matt Mosley)
Subject: linux
Date: 22 Apr 92 20:03:03 GMT

A few questions. I just got Linux running under a partition on my 386-25.
My primary partition, C:, is running DOS, which is how this message is 
coming to you :) (I am using Waffle-DOS for uucp).
 
Anyway, D: and E: are Linux filesys and swap, respectively. (swap is 4m).
 
I would like to know how to do the following:

1) Does Linux have *any* working mail program? I can't seem to find any.
2) How do I transfer my news and mail feeds over to Linux (I'd first need
   a mail program, of course, plus readnews and uucp).
3) Where can I get troff/groff/nroff for Linux? (or at least workable).
 
Thanks!

=============================================================================
Matt Mosley (Shadow)  |  Systems manager of Starnet BBS and 
[email-masked]   |  programmer for Starcom Software

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

From: [email-masked] (Matt Mosley)
Subject: also
Date: 22 Apr 92 20:17:06 GMT

I'm also interested in a finger command for Linux, if it exists...

=============================================================================
Matt Mosley (Shadow)  |  Systems manager of Starnet BBS and 
[email-masked]   |  programmer for Starcom Software

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

From: [email-masked] (Ng Pheng Siong)
Subject: How to pronounce "Linux"?
Date: 23 Apr 92 04:43:17 GMT

I apologize if this is considered trivial, but what is the
proper pronunciation for "Linux"?

Li      lee or lie?
Nux     nuks or nerks? Nooks?

Anyone?

PhengSiong
Singapore       (Which schools teach English not American.)

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

From: [email-masked] (Martin Peter Howell)
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux
Subject: Re: trouble with curses
Date: 19 Apr 92 04:50:13 GMT

[email-masked] (gary a moyer) writes:

>Has anyone had trouble using curses?  I am _trying_ to compile the
>visual version of gnuchess (that uses cureses), however, the farthest
>I get is "curses.h: parse error before line 100" and then it slowly
>chokes and dies.  I can't remeber where exactly I got the curses
>package from (some anon ftp site).  By chance is there a newer
>version floating around anywhere?

This is caused by sys/param.h #defining HZ whilst curses.h tries to
use it as a variable.  A temporary hack is to add "#define HZ HZ" before
you include curses.h.

-Martin.
[email-masked]

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

From: [email-masked] (Kellom{ki Pertti)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: HELP! SHOELACE IS STRANGLING ME!!!
Date: 23 Apr 92 07:51:51 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Greenup) writes:
           I recently used shoelace to try & make linux boot.  after no success,
   i want to go back.  HOW DO I GET RID OF THIS BOOT THING THAT KEEPS
   ASKING WHICH PARTITIAN TO BOOT?!?!?!?!?

I almost messed up my Dos partition when installing Shoelace. In the
course of restoring it, I installed Dos, and the installation restored
both the boot sector on the Dos partition (which I expected it to do),
and also the boot sector of the whole hard disk (which I did not
expect). This was Dos 5.0 installed with the setup.exe (or something
similar) that came with it. Hope it works for you.

--
Pertti Kellom\"aki (TeX format)  #       These opinions are mine, 
  Tampere Univ. of TeXnology     #              ALL MINE !
      Software Systems Lab       #  (but go ahead and use them, if you like)

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

From: [email-masked] (Zeyd M. Ben-Halim)
Subject: Re: Yet another X question
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 92 08:35:38 GMT

[email-masked] (Steve Sykes) writes:

>I'm very keen to get something like X up.  At the moment my biggest
>problem is a lack of knowledge on how to implement i/o mapping.
>Rather than thinking up some obscure and probably bad way to allow
>user processes access to io-space, I was hoping someone could point me
>in the right direction.  I think it's normally done as an ioctl call
>but have now idea how to implement it.

Well, there are patches to add mmap/munmap system calls to linux. Other patches
exist to access i/o ports, to switch to various VGA modes. Unfortunately, these
are not coordinated and no docs. Using these I can switch to graphic modes and
write to the screen. I never got a consistant result, with random appearing
pixels on the screen. I understand that 256-color modes are easier to write to.
One missing addition is code for bank-switching. The code that comes with djgpp
graphics libraries could be cannibalized to achieve this purpose.

I know that several people are working on graphics support, but none are sharing
much of their efforts or results (no flames intended).

Zeyd

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

Crossposted-To: comp.os.os2.misc
From: [email-masked] (Pat Duffy)
Subject: Re: Any comments on Quantum 240A ??
Date: Tue, 21 Apr 1992 16:47:44 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (David A. Sinclair) writes:
>Hello, world.
>
>I need to buy anew hard drive for my system so I can install Linux and
>OS/2 2.0.  I am considering the Quantum 240A, (240 meg IDE) and would
>like to hear from anyone who is either using this drive with either
>OS, or has tried and failed to do so. 

Hi!

I am using the Quantum 240A with OS/2 V2 GA with no problems at all.
-- 
Patrick Duffy, E-Mail:  [email-masked]
 
"I wouldn't believe in anything if it weren't for my lucky astrology mood
watch."  - Steve Martin

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

From: pmacdona@sanjuan (Peter MacDonald)
Subject: fully broiled ideas
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 92 07:22:56 GMT

Two weeks in the Maui sun, and some half baked ideas are now fully broiled.
Here they are, in no particular order.
 
I note BSDI is promising binary compatibility with SysV 3.2.  I imagine
then that if this happens, 386BSD will eventually follow suit if possible.  
Soooo, anyone know if there are any steps that could be taken to move Linux
part way towards it now?  Like perhaps, adopting the same system call
interface, if possible?   I know that the current shared libraries
interface is incompatible with that goal, but ignore that for the moment.
The primary issue here is to strengthen Unix vis-a-vis other commercial
operating systems.

BTW:  has anyone tried the OLEO spreadsheet on tsx yet.  Bug reports or
"it works for me" reports would be appreciated.  

Is anyone working on a fully automated install program like the one
for SUN and DELL?

I would like to see a layered installation available with perhaps the 
following options:
        1) Just the runtime system
        2) Development (includes, kernel source, compiler, yacc, etc)
        3) X-windows runtime.
        4) X-windows development.

This would hit most of the interest groups, while remembering the
frugel (space conscious) nature that draws us all to systems like Linux.

Please reply to:

[email-masked]

if at all.

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

From: [email-masked] (Erik Green)
Subject: Request for repeat info
Date: 23 Apr 92 09:13:52 GMT

Will sonebody please mail me the info on what to do if you have a 
parse error in stdio.h(line 101)?  I know this has been gone over 
a zillion times before, but being a normal, fallible human being
I didn't save it.  While you're at it(whoever), send me the address
of the site where these newsgroups are being archived (I'm pretty
sure I heard there was one.)

Thanks,
Erik Green

Thx,Lns

Erik "Longshot" Green    
longshot@(vax1 | att2.cs | krypton | theory.cs).mankato.msus.edu  
This is a .signature virus scanner.  Stop the .sig virus!
Disclaimer: I said the above. So sue me.  I'm broke anyway.

--
Erik "Longshot" Green    
longshot@(vax1 | att2.cs | krypton | theory.cs).mankato.msus.edu  
This is a .signature virus scanner.  Stop the .sig virus!
Disclaimer: I said the above. So sue me.  I'm broke anyway.

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

From: [email-masked] (Steve Robbins)
Subject: News under Linux
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1992 02:04:38 GMT

Howdy,

I finally got C-news to work well enough to read and post news!  
Unfortunately, the dbz routines are still screwing up - so the active
file is always growing longer rather than being overwritten.

If someone out there has this working flawlessly, PLEASE tell me what
else I have to do to it.  I also found that newsbin/inject/tear didn't
work as distributed -- this may be a problem with awk or with my shell.

I found out the extremely hard way that linux or gnu thinks that fseek() 
should return the new offset if sucessful, rather than zero, like all
other stdio's appear to.  Is this some new ANSI thing, or is libc screwed 
up?

Also strcasecmp() is the same as strcmp().  I got the gcc2.1 distribution
from tsx-11 somewhere around April 4 -- is there a newer version that
has corrected these things?

Steve Z

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

Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux
From: [email-masked] (Rogier Wolff)
Subject: Re: all kinds of questions (autoparking)
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1992 08:44:02 GMT

[email-masked] (Rick Kelly) writes:

>These days, most hard disks greater than 40 megs will park themselves on
>power down.

>Rick Kelly     [email-masked]        unixland!rmkhome!rmk    [email-masked]

Yes. Right. I have a broken 40M disk, and when you power down, it still
discharges a capacitor through the voice coil, which jams the head
behind a latch. (wouldn't autoparking be hard for stepper motor controlled
heads? at 24 ms average seek time, you'd need power for 0.1 seconds
to step the motor back home, worst case)

                                Roger.
-- 
If the opposite of "pro" is "con", what is the opposite of "progress"? 
        (stolen from  [email-masked])
EMail:  [email-masked]   ** Tel  +31-15-783644 or +31-15-142371

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

** FOR YOUR REFERENCE **

The service address, to which questions about the list itself and requests
to be added to or deleted from it should be directed, is:

    Internet: [email-masked]

You can send mail to the entire list (and comp.os.linux) via:

    Internet: [email-masked]

Linux may be obtained via one of these FTP sites:
    nic.funet.fi				pub/OS/Linux
    tsx-11.mit.edu				pub/linux
    tupac-amaru.informatik.rwth-aachen.de	pub/msdos/replace

The current version of Linux is 0.95a released on March 17, 1992

End of Linux-Activists Digest
******************************