Baslinux mailing list

[sindi keesan <keesan2 AT cyberspace.org>]

On Wed, 16 Apr 2003 qwms-avib AT dea.spamcon.org wrote:

> sindi keesan wrote:

> > I am using Lynx 2.8.5 for DOS for over a year now.  
> 
> DOS was different.  Almost everything was provide as a
> binary (it was *very* rare to see DOS source-code).  So
> when a new DOS version comes out, it is normally released 
> as a binary.  

The DOS programs that were ported from Linux often include source code.  I
have been using several programs ported by Doug Kaufmann.  Whenever I ask
about a good DOS program, he ports a program to DOS.  He has done lynx,
wget, wvware, some netpbm programs, djpeg, cjpeg.  He attempted links but
said it was too difficult.  I am also using Antiword for DOS, and I have a
nice small database program that is available for DOS and Win95 and Linux
and the DOS version won't work on Cyrix M1 cpus (probably the Russian DOS
extender never bothered with older Cyrix).  At some point it started to
make more sense to simply use the Linux versions of these.  The DOS
ones can be a real pain to set up.  It was a breeze to install Lynx - just
get one required ssl library (I think I may actually just have installed
one file from the library) and type installpkg, add a viewer (seejpg) and
it works! No fiddling with wattcp.cfg or chat.scr....

> 
> > I need the latest Opera in order to be able to access 
> > websites that won't work with Lynx or an older Opera, 
> 
> Opera is not the only option.  links2 may do what you need.
> It doesn't even need X to run.

I have tried links 2.0 on a friend's FreeBSD server.  It did not do 90% of
the javascript sites that I tried it with.  I was disappointed.  I would
much rather not have to use a graphical browser just because the site was
designed not to work without javascript.  Opera is the only graphical
browser I have tried that does not need a mouse.  It is worth learning how
to upgrade a library or even several libraries (not sure I would want to
learn to compile my own later kernel if it needs that too) in order to get
a version of it to work on Linux.  That would let me stop bothering to own
a Win95 computer.  I am hoping Steven can get the older Opera to work with
BL2.  Links 2.1 is supposed to do plugins like Realaudio - it needs X, I
think? 

> 
> > They said there was some security problem in 2.1 and I 
> > should upgrade.  
> 
> There are security holes in most of the old stuff.  New
> ones are being discovered all the time.  Anybody running
> a sensitive server exposed to the outside world should 
> be using the very latest version of everything and should 
> keep up-to-date with all security alerts.  However, this 
> doesn't apply to BasicLinux, which is not designed as a 
> server.  BasicLinux has no network servers -- only clients.
> It is not at risk (unless you install a server and expose 
> it to the internet).

I have no interest in servers.  I am mainly interested in using Linux to
get online and read websites and do mail.  It seems to be much more stable
than the DOS dialers and browsers.  There are times I have to dial my ISP
as many as five times to connect in DOS, and Linux gets right through. 
And is giving me about twice the rate of transfer for viewing web sites. 
It is also really nice to be able to download a file while reading email,
or view the site with both Lynx and Links at the same time (on two
monitors plugged into the same computer).  I only wish there were a non-X
wordprocessor for Linux (like WP for DOS). 

> 
> > You obviously did not need Kermit or Lynx 2.8.4.
> 
> There are versions of Kermit and Lynx that work fine on
> BL2 (and BL1 for that matter).  They may not be the most
> up-to-date versions, but I don't mind.

I could not find Kermit that would work on BL2.  Where would I look other
than the Kermit site?  I probably don't need the most up to date Kermit
either.  

> 
> Cheers,
> Steven
> 
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