1237e12a6193
tech



Hello Wayne - 

WC>> Found Dillo browser is already included as is AbiWord word
WC>> processor. 

CA>> Ah ... good, I thought you might have the version of
CA>> KNOPPIX that does not include AbiWord (it's been
CA>> deprecated apparently). 

WC> As long as I can save in an MSWord and W.P. convertable
WC> format I'm happy. 

I've fiddled with other OS, not just Windows/DOS/Linux, and
tend to favor plain text files for that reason - maximum
readability regardless of the OS/app doing the reading. :-) 

WC>> Still prefer Firebird browser though which is included and
WC>> the same release I've got in 98 :-) 

CA>> Firebird is OK but I prefer the full Mozilla myself. :-) 

WC> Well it's in there, haven't gone there yet. 

I'm using the 'modern' scheme (skin). 

--8<--cut 

WC> When I get the larger drive I'll make compressed image
WC> files of my setups before making drastic changes or doing
WC> potentially dangerous stuff as root. There's a GUI
WC> interface to this image binary logged on as root in KDE. 

WinRAR can read img files and that was confusing me, at times,
since I was seeing a directory structure on a bootable CD where
there really was only one ISO image file. :-) 

WC>> The syntax for telnet transfers is going to take some
WC>> research on my part. I've seen references to a BSD - Linux
WC>> hack of ztelnet but as yet no download link. 

--8<--cut 

WC> I've already discovered this but it doesn't look any worse
WC> than logging onto the internet straight out of DOS
WC> software. I'll just figure it out, write it to file and
WC> make the file executable... a script! 

That too. No, I was referring to how zmodem is invoked from
within an active telnet connection. :-) 

WC>> SCP stands for Secure Copy and is another possibility I
WC>> need examine to see if it's suitable to this use. 

--8<--cut 

WC>> :-( Time to change providers, it's my 150 Hrs/Mo and I
WC>> should be allowed to chose how I use them! 

CA>> My brother's ISP, PeoplePC, does the same thing. Nasty IMO. 

WC> Yeah, a 150 hours/month ought to mean exactly that!!! 

WC> DSL marketing strategy? 

No. The ISP oversells their capacity to provide services then
chokes down the bandwidth and if that fails they begin bumping
people offline. AOL has been sued (class action) more than once
for doing this. 

--8<--cut 

WC> I figure three years before relatively profficient if I
WC> work at it, far less for what I _need and want_ to setup
WC> for day to day use. 

The good part is some things you can 'learn' in a few minutes
and only a few require longer. It's not like you have to sit
and wait three years before doing something useful/interesting.
:-) 

WC>> I've still some things to learn from those mini-intalls
WC>> and that's why I've got the spare Linux native partition,
WC>> later I may tack it on in Knoppix on boot. 

CA>> If you make copies of a mini-install the nice part is if
CA>> you trash it you can restore in minutes. :-) 

WC> Less, use the Knoppix root GUI image file creation and
WC> compression utility :-) Found I could have installed
WC> Knoppix as a compressed image the size of the CD and saved
WC> configurations to either FAT 32 or a small Linux native
WC> partition as well. 

Loopback? 

--8<--cut 

WC>> The big attraction to DSL is all the Linux freeware out
WC>> there and streaming multimedia. 

--8<--cut 

WC> If www.ij.net offers real unlimited access for 9.95/Mo so I
WC> can download the occasional ISO file I've no need for DSL
WC> at an additional 25 dollars a month. 

If you could locate a local 'user group' for Linux there would
normally be CDs available from members who have fast(er)
connections and for a few dollars each you could get enormous
amounts of software to test/practice/learn/use. 

WC> Seems IIRC I tripped over a GUI utility that automates
WC> Knoppix file updates to managable amounts of online time in
WC> the KDE desktop logged on as root. 

Good. :-) 

--8<--cut 

WC>> Got GIMP, haven't used it yet. 

CA>> I found the user interface to be a bit confusing.
CA>> Multi-level menus make finding the tools a bit
CA>> frustrating. Memorization of where the tools are 'buried'
CA>> in those multi-level menus seems a necessity for ease of
CA>> use. 

WC> Roy T. says much the same though he states it's quite
WC> powerful once you've a handle on it. 

Interesting thing about how Linux software is 'reveiewed' is
that even after admitting they hardly ever use it they say it
is 'powerful'. All Linux software is either 'fast' or
'powerful'. I wonder if this is really true and compared to
what? 

I was reading about Linux being used for time-critical services
and found that when it gets really 'hairy' they insert a
third-party interrupt service that over-rides the one in the
kernel to increase Linux sensitivity to requests for
interrupts. Being a premptive multitasker realtime can be a
problem for robotics where the machine interacts with humans
(detection of proximity and collisions etc.) and others. 

My opinion is that the user interface has become the new
location for 'power' or lack of 'power'. If the interface is
confusing and causing mistakes it's not 'powerful' regardless
how fast the algorithms are and the user interface for _all_
Linux software I have used could use some tweaking. ;-) 

>
>        ,                          ,
>      o/      Charles.Angelich      \o       ,
>       __o/
>     / >          USA, MI           < \   __\__
 

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