Baslinux mailing list

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

On 26/12/05, sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org> wrote:
> >> 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
>
> We have the same problems with all of our 56K modems, internal and
> external.  Why is upload speed only about 1.6-1.7K but download can be 5K?

because the ISPs side is digital (less noise) but your side is
analog... when a 56k modem uploads it uses the same method as a 33.6k
(if its not using v.pcm upstream that is) but when it downloads it
uses a psudo-digital method...

>
> >
> > 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...
>
> It can't be any slower than the 1.6-1.7K upload I am getting now.
> Somehow it uses up all the bandwidth so I can't do any browsing at the
> same time at reasonable speed.

ok... lets use a bit of an analogy... a shock absorber on a car will
put up more resistance the harder/faster it is compressed (in order to
do its best to push the tire back down and onto the pavement as
quickly as possible)  when a program tries to upload at full speed its
pushing as hard as it can and it fills the modems output buffer and
causes CS to drop... when CS drops -nothing- new can get through (or..
if using our analogy.. bottom out...)... including  the TCP/IP
protocol... this  makes the connection unstable and slows it down.... 
now... if you limited the transfer speed (size of the bumps on the
road and how fast you hit them) on the software side this would
prevent the buffer from filling so quickly and would give TCP/IP more
wiggle room... the connection stabalizes and can go faster... in other
words... if you 'push' gently it will go faster than if you push
hard...  make sense? so if you slowed it down to 2k you might get
2k... but if you let it try to go as fast as it can it will get stuck
at 1.5 or lower...

a test on your upspeed/downspeed (to get a very rough idea) would be
to open minicom (or whatever) and type first;

ATZ
you should get OK
then ATDT <isp phone number>
depending on what your ip uses you may see login: or just a bunch of
random junk.... wait a couple of seconds and press the "+" key three
times... dont press any other key... you should get OK
type ATH0
it should hang up the line and say OK again.... if the modem beats you
to hanging up you will get something like NO CARRIER... this is ok...

at this point type AT&V1 if it is a rockwell/conexant modem or ATI6 if
it is a USR... youll get quite a bit of diagnostic info on the
connection you made... including your upspeed and downspeed usually
written something like 46666/24000

this is the fastest transfer rates your phone line can handle (may
slow down later on... due to fall back from noise)

>
> I looked at the description and curl works with HTTP FTP TELNET but I am
> trying to mail things with SMTP.  Would FTP upload go faster?

well... it would let you resume (i think FTP lets you resume uploads anyway)

get a free web account at something like http://www.o-f.com (or
something else that supports FTP) and use it to share files... save
yourself some major bandwidth...

email is a serious pain when it comes to big file attachments...

>
> > 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...
> >
> >>
>
> >> Loadlin is easier.  Can lilo let you boot into DOS?
> >
> > yep... and windows NT....
>
> I will learn how some day if I ever need to access with Win98 partition
> that I made inactive.
>
> >>
> >>> 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...
>
>
> Since you advocate spending money (on new cameras, film, developing, etc.)
> why not buy yourself and put in two new large drives with 4 partitions on
> each, and one DVD drive that also burns CDs, and one LSI drive?  Use lilo
> to boot to DOS, Win, or linux.  Put all the RAM that will fit into this
> one computer (buy 1G).  Use a swap file instead of partition for Windows.
> Run a linux that takes up 50GB.


i like running the systems as -seperate- systems -at the same time-
and i dont need a 50GB harddrive... i have a CD burner for data and i
never have had a need for that much software...


>
> >
> >
> > 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)
> Adlib won't work under dosemu?

never tried dosemu cos i have the real thing...

i installed bochs to play with it and do small things with DOS and DOS
format disks...

>
>
> > 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)
>
> Post the URL.  I once posted my dual-head 9" VGA and 12" TTL setup with
> both monitors sitting on top of the computer (having just compiled PhotoPC
> for linux to download the photo with).

well... i prefer not to share the innards of my room with the world...

>
>
> >
> > 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....
> ebay has them.
> That would let you add even more hard drives to your computers for swap
> partitions.

only needed one drive for swap on the wintendo... ive trimmed the
linux installs to -not need swap-....

>
> >
> >
> >>> bochs works good too.....
> >>>
> >>> http://bochs.sourceforge.net
> >>
> >> Some day I will try it.
> >
> > http://mephitus.renamon.org/bochs_qb.png
>
> Why the URL for a png?  I found bochs.sourceforge.net.  Mandriva

to show it running.... i linked to the program itself before...

bought it
> and made it open source.  Some of the links there are broken.
>
> Does it support upper ascii characters in CLI mode?  Can you type, for
> instance, Alt plus a number between 128 and 255 and get an upper ascii
> character to display?

with keyboard mapping yes... it has an emulated VGA bios and
hardware... it supports everything a standard VGA can do... including
modex and copper modes...

>
> I would also like Ctrl key combinations to work properly.
>
> They are working on USB device support now.
>
> How hard was it to compile?

./configure
make
make install

its written very well...

>
>
> > DOS 6.22 and qbasic 1.1 running in bochs... (system only online
> > between 10pm and 10am CST...)
> >
> Your own server.
>
> > 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)
>
> Could you find space on some drive to install BL3 and compile Bochs for
> it?  Enlarge the 20MB fs.img in loop BL3 and add compiler.

since you are so insistant on using BL why not do it yourself... this
quaint song and dance is getting old...

or... was your goal to get me to use/expand BL again?


>
> >>>> 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 would really appreciate if you would download VDE and try it out under
> Bochs.  F1 for a menu, try the Find (Ctrl-Q?) and Ctrl arrow combinations.

what -is- VDE???

is this what you are talking about??; 
http://short.stop.home.att.net/vde/vde.htm

>
> VDE is not working in CLI mode with vesafb even with switch -V.  I see
> only the cursor (and I can exit the program and see what I type again).
> Check this out too if you have a framebuffer kernel and card (VESA 2.0).

i dont think the framebuffer is installed... i use X for graphics
1024x768@24bpp with 4 virtual desktops provided by fvwm2...

>
> It works with xdosemu under X but at full screen the font looks awful.

well... X is known to have some really terrible fonts... i took the
set of TTF fonts from windows98 and a bitstream font disk and used
those to replace Xs defaults... looks much nicer...

>
> What I really want is for WP51/DOS to work under it.  (Which still does
> not fix the lack of bold and reverse video on TTL in linux).
>
> >> 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)
>
> I lose my place on the keyboard hitting F keys (needed in WP51/DOS).
>
>
> (Just had a 20 sec freezeup - would curl fix this somehow?)

thats what the bandwidth throttle would fix.. yes...

>
>
> >> I prefer not to heat with computers, or listen to them all the time.
>
> You did not address this problem.  Do you live in a climate where you need
> heat all summer, and generate your own electricity from hydropower
> installations?  I like the 14 sec BL boot, so I can keep my computers off
> when not in use.

i just keep em on since im on them so much and no i dont heat with
them during the summer.. in fact it gets rather warm in here... with
the monitors on anyway... when im not using them the CPUs slow down
(hlt instruction... built into linux) and the monitors go into DPMS
standby... (only thing on is the indicator light... they are as cool
as if they were off)  it doesnt make any difference in heat output if
they are in lowpower mode or turned off... and yes.. a hydroelectric
dam is not too far from here.... i dont manage it mind you... the
power company does that...

>
> > when im awake i cant hear the fans or hdds over the stereo (if im
> > awake... its playing...)
> >
>
> >>> dont have to worry about that new NIC i install not being supported...
> My NICs are all rather old.  I thought you said yours was too.

some are some arent... the server has 3... 2 isa one PCI... all supported...

>
>
> >>
> >> 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?
> I don't understand your question, please expand.
> xf86config for X.

standard install as in 'let the autoconfigurator set it up for you'...
linux autoconfigurators... much like windoze 95 are bad at messing up
hardware when poking around looking for it...


>
> >>
> >>> 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...
> If you have a large hard drive and don't mind it being stuffed full of
> things you never use.

like i said before... i install what i  want and what i need... and
only that... i wouldnt install it if i didnt use it now would i?


>
>
> >>
> >> 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?)
>
> Your point is that you like to have your drive full of things that you
> don't usually use, or never use.   I don't.
>

see above.......

> >> 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...
>
> I save it all on the CD too, and only install replacements for busybox
> programs that don't do what I want them to do.

i didnt bother with busybox in the first place as i found it lacking
from the start.... and yes... i use what i install....

>
> >> 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
--