Baslinux mailing list

["David Moberg" <davidjmoberg AT gmail.com>]

(I make the next line look like that because gmail doesn't handle the
dates right and I don't think they help much anyway on a mailing
list.)

sindi keesan wrote:
> When you boot BL3.40 you get a page of HINTS FOR NEW USERS (see also
> /etc/issue) which tells you how to use X, if you know what  GUI is and
> that X is a GUI.  Maybe it should be worded differently?

It could point out that the console (which BL3 uses by default) uses
the keyboard while X has nice pixel-based graphics and uses a mouse
mainly. The only way to use a mouse in console BL3 is with 'cd /dev;
cat mouse', which doesn't do much, or by installing a mouse system
such as gpm or imps/2.

> But the download site does not make it at all clear that links2 and
> sylpheed require X.  They 'require SVGA' - what does this mean?
> I interpret that as 800x600 resolution, which they do NOT need, do they?

I think this means that they do not work unless you can start X in
16-bit color. If your chipset only does 8-bit then you need a big X
server. I also think that "SVGA" looks too much like svgalib, which
links2 can also support but the BL3 version does not.

> Is it mentioned anywhere obvious that X (the GUI) needs more than 8-bit
> color?

It still works with 4-bit, doesn't it? It just will not work in 8-bit
mode. So to use 8-bit X clients you need a VESA graphics card that
does 16 or 15 or 12-bit?? color.

> And to use another X server (X_SVGA) if you have only 8-bit?

Only if you use 8-bit programs like abiword or links2, AFAIK.

> Steven, I could not find the instructions to insert the slhc and ppp
> modules every time before dialing.

It is in /etc/rc.

> We complained about that and Steven added a 'man' script and man pages.
> But not 'info'.

info is more complex. Most non-GNU software only has manpages.

> > .   ,-./\>

David