Linux stuff - and install notes

USB Thumb-drives Pen-drives flash-drives 4GB or more

WARNING! lots of fake drives are being sold!

First,the drive is just a flash chip and a embeded micro. If it gets to currupted to format try zeroing the device with a dd command:
Where /dev/sdb is your thumb drive - don't screw this up!!

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdb bs=512 count=512

Format with:
Where /dev/sdb is your thumb drive - don't screw this up!!
fdisk /dev/sdb

Set the type to 0B or 0C is LBA which might make a difference??

add a volume lable

The add a vfat file system:
Where /dev/sdb is your thumb drive - don't screw this up!!
mkfs.vfat /dev/sdb1

R5C822 is in laptop

Why Debian

I've been testing distributions one at a time. I bought the libranet installer for debian - and it went with out a hitch.

So far I'm really liking what I see. Libranet earned their money by added a few time saving tools. I like it much better than Redhat. An example helps - I needed to install e3 (a tiny text editor I've grown used to) and all I did to make this happen was to open the Admin-libranet - click on add package from internet - it asks for the package name - and it is finished.

I've also noticed that for some reason debian includes exim, slypheed and other gpl packages that I would have to go get with redhat/mandrake/Suse.

The biggest reason I like Debian is that it seems to be the heart of the linux community - my hunch is that most gpl developers are using debian and reading between the lines the other distributions get their updates from debian anyway.

The installation defaults to the ice desktop, which I hadn't played with before. It gives you the choice of using the kde or gnome file browser (and others) - I will probably settle on kde.

I've also noticed that things run a bit faster than they did with my suse and mandrake tests - not sure why?
--

First, it is the most Linux "community" oriented in that it really is where many other distributions borrow their parts. Security fixes always seem to be available for debian before even Redhat and I believe that redhat basically just grabs the patches from the debian distribution as they have their fixes out always a few hours after the debian fix.

Debian follows the much more rational and standard locations for file placement which means more scripts/programs will work with out having to fix file paths.

There are three versions of Debian at anyone time Unstable, Testing and stable. The "stable" version of Debian is ultra stable - but for desktops lots of people use testing as it has a more recent Kernel and would be similar in stability to redhat9 (verses the older enterprise products they are pushing now)

Debian needs only to be installed once, after that all upgrades are via and update program called "apt-get". There is no charge for apt-get. Apt-get also seems to have the best handle on dependency problems.

I have also noticed that a large portion of developers use debian as their platform so problems with specific applications should occur less often.

Debian has more than 8,710 software packages included with it at this time.

Debian is also where the heart of the Linux community is - they include no software that has even questionable licenses - that means that you won't get hooked on some program that will cost money or have propriety file formats to keep you from your files later in life. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. (I have gotten married to some CAD software where the support to keep it working with OS upgrades now costs $1,500/year).

A couple of notes on KDE/vs Gnome

I've run both desktops and it really gets down to the file browser. From the user's experience not much else is different. The KDE file browser is just better – it takes a bit of learning, but it is clearly better than the M$ file browser which I can't say about the Gnome. I also have no plans to run evolution as it is a move away from integrating the best available to interoperate; instead it aims to make a proprietary suite. The competition of individual packages is what give Linux such great potential. Bundling is bad for users in the end for the choice and thus the marketplace of ideas goes away.

More competition in Linux than in the M$ software world

One very strange fact of the Linux vs M$ OS's is that while Linux is painted as a communist OS, the fact is 180 degrees from that. M$ OS depends on the US federal government buying systems that work on proprietary file formats. If Our government only insisted on all default file types to be open standards, the M$ monopoly would disappear in just a few years. So in the commercial world there is no competition while in the Linux word there is very much competition and the resulting innovation.

The innovation is powered by the pride of writing good software and then showing all ones code - no programmer wants the public to see sloppy code. Some people complain of the forks and think that KDE vs Gnome is a waste - I don't I think it is what will lead Linux to be the best that there is.

Debian install hints

base-config - re-runs start up configurations.

dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86

update-rc.d

wajig install configure-debian
#then run

install x-window meta package

install kde

install menu (updates desktop menus)

install list:

less
rsync
wajig
gjig

modconf --- installs modules for you from GUI

doc-linux-html installs the howtos

cdrtools-doc

mkisofs

cdda2wav

sox - sound translating tool

ide-smart - drive checking utility

samba a LanManager-like file and printer server fo
samba-common Samba common files used by both the server and client
samba-doc
smbfs needed for smbmount and smbumount

To uninstall kernel image

dpkg -P --force-remove-essential kernel-image-2.4.25

Hylafax under Debian

This package needs a lot of maintenance! I found that the errors about finding the font metric files could be ignored.

Archiving was an idea that never was implemented. I put a line in /etc/hylafax/bin/faxrcvd about 2/3 of the way in the file find some thing that looks like this and add the one line.

if [ -n "$SENDTO" ]; then 
###kps one line added 
cp $FILE /home/faxarchive/received/ 
(MIMEBOUNDARY="NextPart$$" 
echo "Mime-Version: 1.0"

This archives received faxes to /home/faxarchive/received/
-------------------
To archive the sent faxes is messy. and there is not a good way to archive the cover-page. I set up a cron job to run the following:

#!/bin/bash
rsync -au --include "doc*" --exclude "*" /var/spool/hylafax/docq/ /home/faxarchive/sent
rsync -auq /var/spool/hylafax/recvq/fax* /home/faxarchive/received
savelog -c 5 /var/log/hylafax/faxqclean.log >/dev/null
faxqclean -t -j 3024000 >> /var/log/hylafax/faxqclean.log

Sure wish there was someone cleaning up hylafax for Debian. Probably needs to fork. If you have new info send it to inform@xtronics.com

Bind - named

For those of us running bind, I think it is safe to say it is some of the poorest Linux software (comparable to sendmail - use exim instead) First DHCP and Bind should use the same database. (It would be quite possible to use the comment field in a bind zone to save the lease information.)

I am hoping someone will come out with a gpl repalcement, but in the mean time here are some hints:

The syntax is not very good - C like. If you mess up look above the error line returned.

KDE vs Gnome

I have no political ax to grind here. To me the issue is quite simple: who has the better file browser? Clearly it is KDE. Nice thing about competition is that one has choices.

Hey, Just what DOES DHCP stand for?

Did you ever notice that If you just let the M$ machines network peer to peer without the LAN DHCP provided by DachStein it can take several minutes for a machine to figure out what other machines are on the LAN - and in true M$ style often erroneously and needing the aid of a reboot. DachStein fixes this - I would use it even if I wasn't connected to the Internet.

DHCP = Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol It is an extension of the older BootP (Boot Protocol) that allowed a machine to get an IP address and boot image from a server (via tftp) without being configured. Both protocols make use of broadcast packets to communicate before the client's IP address is assigned. DHCP allows the setting of virtually unlimited parameters on the client system, but is typically used to set up basic network information (IP address, netmask, default gateway) and provide a pointer to DNS servers. You can send windows boxes WINS servers to use, set their name resolution method (WINS, broadcast, or a combination), and lots of other stuff. It is also possible to pass a machine boot information via DHCP, allowing 'diskless' network terminals and the like. My network enabled HP printer supports this...it will read a boot script from the server to configure itself (name, protocols supported, & other misc. stuff) if you so desire...

What are all these UNIX directories about?

These things are less standard than you might think, especially as far as what
goes where, but the standard directories are:

/bin - general command executables
/boot - Static files of the boot loader
/etc - configuration files
/dev - devices
/home - User home directories
/lib - shared libraries and kernel modules
/mnt Mount point for mounting a file-system temporarily applications & such)
/opt Add-on application software packages
/proc - kernel configuration and statistics
/root Home directory for the root user
/sbin - system executables (stuff general users shouldn't be running)
/tmp - temporary files...typically wiped on reboot
/usr - where most stuff goes that's not an integral part of the OS (ie
/var - log files, mail queues, etc...

RELAY RACK COMPUTER CASES

I wonder if someone makes a mounting kit to put mother boards onto a relay rack mount with connectors in front? I've always wanted all the connectors in front (maybe not the power). I looked in the Industrial Computer Source, but all they have is rack mount with Com, Printer Video Etc coming out the back. They do have some with LCD screens.

Seems like you could have a floppy on CD ROM on one side of a rack mount and the daughter card plates on the other side - On/off and reset by the drives - that would make a great bench computer - or firewall, or server. Someone in the case business has an opportunity.

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