Baslinux mailing list

[Samual Acorn <sam.acorn AT gmail.com>]

On 25/12/05, sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org> wrote:
> On Sun, 25 Dec 2005, Samual Acorn wrote:
>
> > On 25/12/05, sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org> wrote:
> >> (Slow connection, won't quote original while uploading a large file.  Why
> >> is Earthlink transferring at 1500 cps?).
> >
> > dialup uploads are always slow (check the CS light)
> > if not dialup then a fiber-seeking backhoe might be causing problems... ;)
>
> I get these speeds or worse (lots of stalls).  I tried three ISPs.
> So it might be the phoneline?  Sometimes downloads go as fast as 5K/sec
> and my connection speed is 50 kbits/sec.
> I have problems at three phone numbers too.
> Old phone lines.

http://www.hayesmicro.com/Products/accura-prod-v92.htm

do yourself a big favor and buy the external.....

then goto radioshack and buy an RS232 serial port tester and put it
between the modem and its cable.... (to add a CS indicator)...

when the buffer in the modem gets full it tells the comp to stop
sending data (CS) and this.. combined with the unbalanced speed of 56k
(or even some 33.6k) modems can make for a rather unstable
connection....

install curl and use its software bandwidth throttle to slow the
upload to 2k/s ... wont be as fast but will be stable...

in case you are wondering where curl came from i had to
compile/install it before ogg123 would compile/install so a link to it
should be somewhere on xiphophorus'  website... it has some rather
interesting uses...

>
> >> I use MS DOS 7.1 standalone because FreeDOS did not do scsi (does it
> >> now)?, did not recognize the hard drive on 2 or 3 of our computers, and I
> >> think did not work with DOS usb-storage driver.  On two computers loadlin
> >> only worked with DOS 7 (2.2.26 may have fixed this).
> >
> > this is why i use LILO to start linux.....
>
> Loadlin is easier.  Can lilo let you boot into DOS?

yep... and windows NT....

>
> > one computer for linux (only linux)
> > one computer for the 'doze (and only the 'doze)
> > and a third for DOS (and only dos)
>
> Where do you find the space?  Why not put three drives on one computer?

the server has  2 hdds and one cdrom... the wintendo 3 hdds 2 cdroms
and an IDE LS120 drive... (using the ide controller on the
soundblaster AWE for the extra stuff) .. the 'main' linux box has 2 cd
drives one a burner... (and 2 hdds of course) .. i dont partition
harddrives... if i want a new drive letter or /dev/ entry i add a
drive...  swap is not on the server (103mb ram).... tho it is turned
on -  on the main linux box it can be turned off with no noticable
change.... and it only has 128mb of ram ;) .. windoze is so bloated
that i had to add an extra drive for swap just to get it to boot (no
extras... just windows...) and it has 160mb of ram...  the dos box has
2 hdds one cdrom and 48mb of ram...


where do i keep them? all on the same desk...  all but the dos box
that is... i set it up on occasions when i want to play tunes in adlib
tracker or run old demos like hplus+  (www.pouet.net)

if you are curious how i stuck 3 computers a dvd player and stereo on
the same desk ask... ill send pics... (no.. the desk was not modified
and no... nothing is sitting on the floor)

> I did put Win98 on the second drive of one computer and can change it to
> the active partition if I ever need to upgrade a modem to V90 with it.

see the above link to modem...

>
> > 2 for linux if you count the 'webserver'
> >
> > each system with a set of hardware specific to its use....
> >
> > btw, ive never done anything with DOS (or any other OS) and SCSI...
> > too expensive... and i dont need the transfer rate it boasts...
>
> I have three free SCSI cards, three free SCSI CD-ROM burners (external,
> but two behave internally), five SCSI scanners, a 9GB and several smaller
> SCSI drives found at the curb (Apple discards).  DOS scsi works fairly
> easily with the CD-ROM drives and hard drives.  I needed linux for the
> scanner (or Win31).

ive seen all of one scsi scanner in my entire life... i have scsi
drives but they are too small to use and are currently stuck in
macintosh systems that are in storage... i dont have a ISA/PCI card
for them....

>
> >>
> >> I use DOS rather than lilo because I still use DOS programs:
> >> WP51/DOS because I don't like GUIs.  It does not work under Dosemu (4.1
> >> does, somewhat better).
> >
> > bochs works good too.....
> >
> > http://bochs.sourceforge.net
>
> Some day I will try it.

http://mephitus.renamon.org/bochs_qb.png

DOS 6.22 and qbasic 1.1 running in bochs... (system only online
between 10pm and 10am CST...)

http://mephitus.renamon.org/cgi-bin/uptime

if you want to see when the last time i saw the server check its memory ;)

btw, i compiled bochs... didnt come on cd.... quite a lot of what ive
added has been compiled... for those of you out there who dont think i
know how... (read it somewhere in one of the messages in this thread)

i also enjoy tinkering with bash and perl CGI scripts...

>
> >>
> >> I tried VDE, which works well in DOS but under DOSEMU does not support
> >> upper ASCII, and some of the Ctrl-key combinations don't work - Ctrl plus
> >> arrow key for moving one word at a time, Find, End of File.
> >> I am used to some DOS viewers and other programs.  Kermit works in DOS, 
> >> as
> >> does lynx, w3m (not links), netpbm....  You can power off DOS at any 
> >> point
> >> and access drives without mounting them.
> >>
> >> I have not found a way to directly print email from my shell account with
> >> linux.
> >
> > i dont even use printers with linux so i cant help you on that one....
> Do you print with something else?

the extreamly rare times (is it a blue moon out?) times i do print i
use windows(or dos... but that has been some time ago... have also
used a commodore 64... that was even longer ago)... i have dot matrix
printers coming out of my ears... and one functioning ink-jet that i
cant find cartriges for (they arent made anymore)

>
> >>
> >> Linux does not work properly on TTL monitor.  I can't see bold or
> >> underline with lynx, or inverse with VDE.
> >
> > TTL monitor??? where in the world did you find a TTL monitor? where in
> > the world did you find the card to drive it??
>
> I have probably the largest collection in town, about 10 of each.  Friends
> give us monitors, or old computers, and I save the cards.  I even have two
> Hercules Plus cards but they don't cooperate with VGA cards like plain MGA
> do.
>
> > better yet.... why are you using it? VGA cards can be found in
> > trashcans and VGA monitors can be found cheap (or free) just about
> > anywhere....
>
> I prefer to see bold and underline at the same time (could not find a way
> to do that with VGA in text mode) and I like the smaller screen with amber
> on black, and besides linux lets me use MGA/TTL and VGA in the same
> computer so I have vt1 and vt2 run by mdacon (on TTL) and vt3 and vt4 on
> VGA and I can display text on one monitor (or svgalib graphics) and
> translate on the other.

old school dual-head.... cool

>
> I also use 84-key keyboards with accessible F keys.  I was able to
> customize the CLI and X keyboards.

i prefer 102 key keyboards (no windoze keys but a 'normal' layout)

>
> >>
> >> Only one or maybe two of my 360K drives works in linux.
> >
> > non-standard? every PC floppy drive ive ever used works with linux...
> > even the original belt-driven full-height XT drives....
>
> Well, most of mine just give errors if I try reading fds with linux.
> I had to add the /dev devices for 360K and 720K.

i had the /devs already there...

>
> >>
> >> I have not found any need for a 'full' linux.  We put SW81 on one
> >> computer for a while to see what it looked like, and ran SW91 live CD to
> >> try out USB, but it is much quicker booting with BL.
> >>
> >> Every time I come up with something that BL can't do, someone compiles it
> >> for me.  Mutt, netpbm, mplayer, USB storage kernel and boot disk, parport
> >> zip drive floppy boot disk, chip-specific modelines.  Or works out a
> >> script (sound, CD burning, mpg123 for streaming audio).
> >>
> >> What is it you can't do with BL and need a larger linux for?
> >
> > i dont have to wait for someone else to compile or strip something
>
> So use something compiled for SW4.0 or SW7.1, or upgrade the library and
> use something compiled for a later slackware, or an RPM or DEB package. Or
> learn to compile.  I can do simple compilations with standard libraries.
> Sometimes I need to add a utility.
>
> > down.... boot time is fine for me.... how fast do you expect a machine
> > to boot??  (30seconds not fast enough?.. for that matter i rarely turn
> > my linux boxen off... so i dont see the boot process very often...)
>
> I prefer not to heat with computers, or listen to them all the time.

i sleep with 3 running (each system has 3 fans)... puts me in mind of
rain on a roof... only time they ever wake me up is when my brother
forces my modem offline.... it makes a horridly loud POP when hanging
up (loud to someone half asleep anyway)... and if hes online tieing
the phoneline up i get to hear 3 pops in a roll every 10 minutes cos
of the rather persistant connect script....

when im awake i cant hear the fans or hdds over the stereo (if im
awake... its playing...)

>
> i
> > have an X server that was compiled specifically for my videochip
> > (accelerated) installed right off the CD...
>
> I find Xvesa works on most of my video cards.  I had to use X with special
> modelines on one laptop and xfbdev on ET6000. But you can install the full
> X from Slackware if you want.

i have the full X...

>
> > dont have to worry about that new NIC i install not being supported...
> > dont have to worry about vidcard problems... i have the -real- set of
> > gnu tools.... (busybox is awkward)
>
> I doubt you would have any better luck with the S3 Trio3D, even with a
> newer linux and full X.  Xvesa works, xfbdev works, but X (Virge or SVGA)
> says 'signal out of range' no matter what frequencies I tell it to use.

S3 is picky... i use an ATI mach64.... have an S3 virge in the dos
box... works well with QVPro; www.multimediaware.com/qv (plays divx
and many other movies [and sound formats] in dos... pure dos..) can
even go as far as to listen to mp3s through the PC speaker :P (new
twist on an old hack? *chuckles*))

>
> One linux (Mandrake?) we tried to install on our newest computer refused
> because it did not like our video.  Slackware is better than most.
> BL has worked on every video card, Xvesa on all but one (needed X with a
> special set of modelines) and it is unstable on my ET6000 cards.

used the standard install?

>
> > its not a matter of what cannot and what can be done... its a matter
> > of everything being properly supported (large kernel)... not needing
> > to deal with problems of booting one os from another...
> You don't NEED to use loadlin, use lilo instead.
>
> > and it also means i dont have to spend hours downloading 'extras' like
> > the GNU GCC over a 5k/s connection since its already on a CD...
> So buy some CDs and use them to add packages to BL.

lol... why would i want to buy CDs to add to BL... would be better to
install what was on the CD...

>
> > installs rather quickly off a 50X cdrom drive.... along with a whole
> > bunch of other little utilities... like GNU 'screen'... everythings a
> I found a version of 'screen' in SW81 that works with glibc 2.2.5 and
> SW81 ncurses.
>
> > mount /dev/cdrom away.... and its not broken or stripped down... like
> > the broken telnet or the microcom serial client in baslin...
>
> They are smaller and therefore work less than 100% of the time.  You don't
> need to replace them unless they don't work for you.  I replaced them.

i installed working ones the first time around... (has my point been made?)

>
> Do you also buy 100 piece toolkits instead of just the tools you need?

when it comes to software? yes... and then i use the 10 or so peices i
need and save the rest (on the CD) for possible future use...

>
> >>
> >> Yes my camera has a memory card and I got a card reader for it, which now
> >> works with the 2.4.31 USB boot disk (but not with DSL or un-updated XP).
> >>
> >> A Smartmedia to PCMCIA adaptor sold for $20 used on ebay, another for 16
> >> pounds.  My card reader was $3 used.
> >>
> >> A floppy disk or CD-ROM burning camera is large and heavy as well as more
> >> expensive.
> >
> > heavy? erm... ok... matter of preference there i guess... i dont like
> > the tiny ones like the elf and similar sized cos they are just too
> > damn small... (like cell phones that have to be dialed with
> > toothpicks)
>
> I would rather not lug around an extra couple of pounds in my backpack on
> my bike.  My camera would fit into a large pocket. 5" long, 1.5" deep?
>
> So what are you using BL for, fun?

basically (no pun intended)... last time i ran it i used it as an X
terminal/workstation... was interesting to see mozilla on one machine
but have it running on the other..... was horridly slow tho.... if i
ever made serious use of a setup like that i would have to get a much
faster NIC (thats what was slowing me down) and replace the default
telnet.... but ive never needed to... so i didnt.... i dunno if i even
have it on my hdd anymore... might have went when i dumped 98 for
2k.... i think a really old version of it is on the dos box but i
never have a need for it there either... the DOS smb client works fine
for networking and dos itself does all of what i need....

speaking of getting dos to do what you need i used to telnet to and
play on MU* (muds mucks moos etc) on a 4mhz PC/XT... was really
cool... and the lack of CPU speed made the text scroll slow enough it
was comfortable to read... (lucky the modem had a 16550A UART since it
tended to outrun the CPU) tho the problem with that machine was that
telnet was the only thing that i -could- do... lol....

>
> Sindi
> _______________________________________________
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> BasLinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/baslinux
>


--
--sam
http://mephitus.renamon.org/
"When you've done something right, no one will be sure you've done
anything at all." -- Futurama
--