Issue 7

M arch , 2007

Appl icat ion Ch an ge s i n 2007 Pl ay in g w it h Be r y l R e cord in g Au d io w it h PCL in u xO S W ork in g in Gn om e I n s e rt an I m age in You r Gm ail Sign at u re PCL in u xO S D u al V ie w an d Tw in V ie w Tu t orial

H ow t o M ul t i- Boot L in u x R e d R oot Prom pt Ne w K id in Tow n H ow t o Con t r ib u t e H ow t o M ak e R - b as e W ork

Exce ptw h e re ot h e rw is e not e d, cont e ntoft h is m agaz ine is l ice ns e d u nde r a Cre at iv e Com m ons At rrib u t ion- NonCom m e rcial - NoD e rv is 2.5 L ice ns e

From t h e Ch ie fEdit or's De s k

I k now w e prom is e d t h att h is is s ue w oul d h av e an in-de pt h re v ie w ofPCL inuxO S .9 4/ 2007 Final , butitj us tcoul dn'th appe n. Unf ort unat el y, or f ort unat el y, de pe nding on h ow one l ook s atit , e nough bugs w e re dis cov e re d in .9 4/ 2007 TR1 t h ata s e cond t e s tre l e as e w as de e m e d ne ce s s ary. Righ tnow , t he f orum is al iv e w it h pos t s about t h atT e s tRe l e as e . From t h is de s k , itl ook s l ik e t h e re are f ar f e w e r is s ue s t h an w it h TR1. Th at 's a good t h ing. Th e Final can'tbe f ar aw ay now . So I 'l l prom is e again t o prov ide our re ade rs w it h t h atin-de pt h l ook att h e Final Re l e as e in ne xtm ont h 's is s ue . W e 'l l h av e l ot s ofs t uf faboutt h e 3D de s k t op and al l t h e ot h e r goodie s w e 'v e al l be e n w ait ing f or .L ook f or it ! Th is t im e , t h ough , w e h av e l ot s ofgood s t uf f . Th e re 's an art icl e on s e t t ing up Be ryl in .9 4/ 2007 and a de s cript ion ofs om e oft h e appl icat ion and m e nu ch ange s as w e l l . M e rl in W h it e w ol f 's gre atpie ce on h ow t o cont ribut e t o ope n s ource , and PCL O S in part icul ar , is a m us tre ad ifyou m is s e d itw h e n itw as pos t e d on t he f orum . Th e re 's a ne atl it t l e t ip on h ow t o m odif y your K ons ol e , s o itis obv ious ata gl ance w h e n you are w ork ing as Root . And f inal l y, an e xce l l e ntpie ce on ripping audio f rom t ape s or ot h e r s ource s int o your com put e r s o you can t rans f e r al l t h os e ol d cas s e t t e t ape s t o CD. Th e re 's m ore , butI 'l l l e av e t hem f or you t o dis cov er . So, unt il ne xtm ont h , e nj oy w h atw e 'v e pre pare d f or you and l ook f or e xcit ing ne w t h ings f rom your f av orit e m agaz ine in t h e ne ar f ut ure . Th e re are s om e nice ch ange s com ing s oon. Tim Robins on

PCL inuxO S M agaz ine is a com m unit y proj e ctof M yPCL inuxO S.com t o prov ide an addit ional m e ans ofcom m unicat ion t ot h e PCL inuxO S com m unit y. Proj e ctCoordinat or: De rrick De v ine Publ is h e r: M yPCL inuxO S.com Cont act : m ag@ m ypcl inuxos .com

Proof re ade rs : Doug W il s on, Se n L e am y, Jan Al l e n, Danny Crane , Guy T ayl er , Jam e s L a Rue , Duane Trude au, Dav e Doak , Pam Dougan, Jare d Be rnard Cont ribut ors : Papaw oob, acaz a, be t am axm an, Paul Ev ans - Ge m l og, Me rl in W h it e w ol f , gryph e n, j aydot and Scot ch t ape L os e r , Sim f ox, st e ph e nt ony H TM L Code s : Gal en Page L ayout : Arch ie Are v al o Addit ional Graph ics : t am e

H om e on t h e Ne t : ht t p:/ / w w w .pcl inuxos .com / f orum s / ht t p:/ / w w w .m ypcl inuxos .com

Ch ie fEdit or: Tim Robins on Edit ors : Se n L e am y, Ne al Brook s , Joh n Paxt on

PCL inuxO S 2007 Te s tRe l e as e 2

T e xs t ar , h e ad de v el ope r ofPCL inuxO S, pos t e d on W e dne s day 14 Fe bruary 2007 22:24:04 t h atPCL inuxO S T e s tRe l e as e 2 is now av ail abl e f or dow nl oad. Th is is m ainl y a bug f ix updat e bas e d on us e r f e e dback f rom T e s tRe l e as e 1. Th e re are s t il l af e w pe nding is s ue s t o cl e ar be f ore f inal . M ore de t ail s are l ocat e d be l ow and our f orum is ope n f or bug re port s.

Dis cl aim e r -Th is is e xpe rim e nt al s of t w are . Us e atyour ow n ris k . PCL inuxO S
cannotbe h e l dl iabl e unde r any circum s t ance s f or dam age t o h ardw are or s of t w are , l os tdat a, or ot h e r dire ctor indire ctdam age re s ul t ing f rom t h e us e oft h is s of t w are . I f you do notagre e t ot h ese t e rm s and condit ions , you are notpe rm it t edt o us e or f urt h e r dis t ribut e t h is s of t w are . Pl e as e not e t h is is nott he f inal re l e as e . PCL inuxO S 2007 f inal w il l be re l e as e d on or be f ore t h e e nd oft h e m ont h. Fe at ure s incl ude : * K e rne l 2.6.18.6-de v 5 * K DE 3.5.6 f inal * M oz il l a Fire f ox 2.0.0.1 * Fl as h 9 * M oz il l a Th unde rbird 1.5.0.9 * O pe n O f f ice 2.1.0 * Xorg 7.1 * Be ryl (1.9 9 ), Com piz , Aixgl and Xgl f or 3D graph ics s upport * Gcc 4.1.1 and updat e d gl ibc * Updat e d boot s pl as h , icons , and m ore f rom t h e m ypcl inuxos .com be aut if icat ion proj e ct . * Xdg M e nu s ys t em * Re buil d and updat e ofour e nt ire re pos it ory agains tne w gcc and gl ibc * Sim pl if ie d L iv e cd bootopt ions .

L iv e cd bootopt ions :
*L iv e cd - De f aul tbootopt ions * Saf ev ide om ode - Bootus ing ge ne ric v ide o driv e rs (Proprie t ary driv e rs av ail abl e af t e r ins t al l ) * Saf e - Turns of fm os th ardw are probing * M e diach e ck - T e s tt h e m e dia t o de t e rm ine a good burn t o cdr

*M e m t e s t- T e s tyour com put e r m e m ory

Addit ional Ch e atcode s : (can be t ype d on t h e com m and l ine )

* nous b - s k ip us b probing * nos cs i - s k ip s cs i de t e ct ion * nos ound - s k ip s ound de t e ct ion * nocpuf re q - s k ip cpuf re q m odul e de t e ct ion * nopcm cia - s k ip pcm cia de t e ct ion

K now n I s s ue s :
* Synat pic doe s n'tal l ow one t o re -ins t al l al re ady ins t al l e d s of t w are * 3D s upportis s t il l e xpe rim e nt al and doe s n'tw ork w it h al l v ide o cards ye t . * M is s ing a l otofappl icat ions in t h e re pos it ory. W e w il l be adding m ore as t im e al l ow s . * M e nu e dit or ge t s w onk y f rom t im e t ot im e . * Ndiw rappe r s e t up f rom pcc re q uire s rootl ogin * Sus pe nd/ h ibe rnat e notw ork ing prope rl y.

Ch ange l og - Al l oft h is ne e ds your t est ing

* Updat e d k e rne l t o 2.6.18.6de v 5 * Updat e t o k de 3.5.6 f inal *Adde d m adw if i k e rne l driv e rs * Sw it ch e d t o is o l inux ins t e ad ofGrub boot l oade r f or l iv e cd * Us b cdrom boot *Adde d m is s ing pppoe f il es *Adde d ipw 39 45 * Fixe d ins t al l ing f rom gue s taccount * Fix pcm cia on h d ins t al l * Sw it ch e d t o auf s ins t e ad ofunionf s f or t h is t e s tre l e as e *Adde d e xt ra Ark f unct ions t o k onq ue ror *Adde d Sam ba Se rv e r and L is a t o m ak e ite as ie r t oset up af t e r h d ins t al l . * Fixe d rough s crol l ing in K onq ue ror * Re m ov e d ne t st at s f rom aut os t artt of ix de s k t op l ogin w h e n no s ys t e m h as no ne t w ork * Fixe d re do-l il o and re nam e d t o re do-m br * Fixe d printpre v ie w in K PDF * Fixe d s t andard K DE us e r l ogin m e nu * Fixe d XFCE f rom s t art ing prope rl y * Fixe d im age pre v ie w s

* Updat e d init s cript s *Adde d re d col or t o k ons ol e root *Adde d re s ol v .confupdat e *Adde d m ount ing f or / m nt / w in_ c f or ndis w rappe r infins t al l during l iv e cd ne t w ork set up. *V e rbos e m ode bootback t of ul l s cre e n m ore f or be t t e rv is ual out put * Fixe d / boot / k e rne l .h t o pointt o corre ctk e rne l *Adde d e ciads l -us e rm ode -0.11 t ol iv e cd. * m uch m uch m ore ...

Dow nl oad M irrors :

ht t p:/ / f t p.ch .de bian.org/ m irror/ pcl inuxos / l iv e -cd/ e ngl is h / pre v ie w / ht t p:/ / f t p.h e ane t .ie / pub/ pcl inuxos / l iv e -cd/ e ngl is h / pre v ie w / ht t p:/ / f t p2.be .f re e s bie .org/ pack age s / pcl inuxos / l iv e -cd/ e ngl is h / pre v ie w / ht t p:/ / f t p.us s g.iu.e du/ l inux/ pcl inuxos / pcl inuxos / l iv e -cd/ e ngl is h / pre v ie w / ht t p:/ / f t p.s urf ne t .nl / f t p/ pub/ os / L inux/ dis t r/ t e xs t ar/ pcl inuxos / l iv e -cd/ e ngl is h / pre v ie w / ht t p:/ / f t p.be l ne t .be / l inux/ pcl inuxos / l iv e -cd/ e ngl is h / pre v ie w / ht t p:/ / f t p.s h .cv ut .cz / MI RRO RS/ pcl inuxos / l iv e -cd/ e ngl is h / pre v ie w / ht t p:/ / pcl inuxos .cons ul t -righ t .com / pcl inuxos / l iv e -cd/ e ngl is h / pre v ie w / f t p:/ / f t p.pbone .ne t / pub/ pcl inuxos / l iv e -cd/ e ngl is h / pre v ie w / f t p:/ / rm .m irror .garr .it / m irrors / pcl inuxos / l iv e -cd/ e ngl is h / pre v ie w

Th is ad s pace is f or s al e! H el p in t he de v el opm e ntof PCL inuxO S, and ge t e xpos ure . Cont actus , and you can be a partin our ef f ort s t o im prov e t he be s tL inux dis t ribut ion in t h e w h ol e univ e rs e .
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Appl icat ion Ch ange s in 2007

W e are on t he v e rge oft h e re l e as e oft h e m uch ant icipat e d PCL inuxO S 2007. W it h t h is in m ind, I t h ough tt h atI w oul d bring you up t o dat e on w h atis ne w , w h atis gone , and w h atis s t il l in t h e de f aul tm e nu. Th e e nt ire re pos it ory h as be e n re com pil e d us ing t h e ne w gcc and gl ibc. Al s o incl ude d in 2007 are Be ryl , Com piz , Aixgl , and Xgl f or 3D graph ics s upport . Now l et 's ge t back on t rack . L et 's s t artw it h I nt e rne t(I tus e d t o be Ne t w ork ing.) Ch at : Adds K Sirc and k e e ps XCh at . Fil e Trans f e r: Fros t w ire and K ge t re t urn w h il e K FTPGrabbe r and KT orre ntre pl ace gFTP and Bit t ore nt . Sm b4K m ov e s h e re f rom Re m ot e Acce s s . I ns t antM e s s aging: K ope t e M ail : K m ail , K Sig, and K s h ow m ail are gone , butTh unde rbird is back . Ne w s : L ogj am re m ains and Ak re gat or , K node , and gPodde r are no s h ow s . Re m ot e Acce s s : K PPP , K PPPL ogv ie w , K rdc, K rf b, and Put t y m ade t h e cut , butNm ap did not . V ide o Conf e re nce : (anot h e r ne w s ub-m e nu) h as Ek iga Sof t ph one . W e b Brow s e rs : K onq ue ror and Fire f ox 2.0 are back , O pe ra is m is s ing, and Nv u h as be e n m ov edt ot h e ne w s ub-m e nu W e b Edit ors . Now w e ne e d t o m ov e on t o Of f ice . Acce s s orie s : K cal c, K j ot s , and gl abe l s L abe l De s igne r

by Papaw oob

are ne w w h il e Dict ionary is t he l one h ol dov er . Com m unicat ions (m ov edf rom Acce s s orie s ) cont ains t h e ne w s ubm e nu, Fax, w h ich re t urns K de Print Fax and adds H p Se nd Fax, K f ax, and Kf axv ie w . Draw ing: O pe n O f f ice Draw Pre s e nt at ions : O pe n O f f ice I m pre s s Publ is h ing: K pdfis back and Scribus is ne w . Spre ads h e e t s : O pe n O f f ice Bas e and Cal c W ord Proce s s ors : O pe n O f f ice W rit er re t urns and M at h is gone . M os tofus us e M ul t im e dia appl icat ions s o l et 's s e e w h atw e h av e. Graph ics : digik am , Gim p, Gq v ie w , K s naps h ot , K w ik s h ow , K v ie w , s h oFot o, and XSane h av e m ade itback in and K al bum , K ov er , k cdl abe l , Xcam , W ink , and Xs canim age are t h e ne w k ids on t h e bl ock . Sound: K s cd, Am arok , Aum ix, and K M ix h av e be e n re h ire d;M Pl aye r is ne w ;Audacit y, K AudioCre at or , K re c, St re am t une r , Xm m s , and SoundK onv e rt e r h av e be e n f ire d. V ide o: K af f e ine , M pl aye r , TV t im e T el ev is ion V ie w e r re m ain unch ange d. Now w e can l ook atw h atis in t he Sys t e m m e nu. Arch iv ing: CD Burning: k 3b and L igh t s cribe Com pre s s ion: Ark and K ons e rv e Conf igurat ion: Conf igure Your De s k t op, Conf igure Your Com put er ,

K DE h as h ardw are , print ing, and pack aging s ubm e nus . O t h e r: k inf oce nt er , k m e nue dit or and m e nu s t yl e. Fil e Tool s : Find/ Fil e s Fol de rs , Fil e M anage r Supe r Us e rM ode , K rus ade r , K rus ade r RootM ode M onit oring: K s ys guard, Gk re l l um , H P Print e rT ool box, K dis k f re e , K j obv ie w e r , K ne t st at s , K w ik Dis k , Ne t Appl et , NM ap, and Supe rK aram ba. W e are al m os tdone s o l et 's m ov e on t o our l as tm e nu it e m , M ore Appl icat ions : Dat abas e s : O O Bas e De v el opm e nt : Kj s cm d Docum e nt at ion: K DE H e l p Ce nt er Edit ors : K at e , K Re gExp Edit or , and K W rit e re t urn w it h t h is s e q ue l w h il e V I Edit or gue s ts t ars . Wel l ,t h atw raps t h is up. I t h ink w e can see t h att h e re are f e w e r s ound appl icat ions , butm ore graph ics and m onit oring appl icat ions . Since w e h av e s uch a nice re pos it ory of appl icat ions and L inux giv e s us t h atw onde rf ul t h ing cal l e d CH O I CE, itis up t o e ach ofus t o m ak e our dis t ro ofch oice w h at ev e r w e w oul dl ik e itt o be .
Af rie nd and I w e re l ook ing f or a C com pil e r in a s of t w are s t ore . W e w e ntin and s e arch e d t h e sh el v e s butf ound not h ing. W e as k e d t h e s al e s pe rs on. H e w e ntl ook ing t h rough t he gam e s s e ct ion. I t ol d h im itw as a program m ing l anguage . So h e t ook us t ot he f ore ign l anguage s of t w are .

Th e ot h e r day I w al k e d int ot h is l it t l e pl ace t h ats e l l s ol d s of t w are , ol d com put e rs , and s om e ne w s of t w are . I w al k e d up t o a s al e s cl e rk and s aid, " Do you guys carry L inux? "H e t ook one l ook atm e (I am 15 ye ars ol d) and, notk now ing w h atL inux w as , h e ch e ck e d t h e rack w it h gam e s . I s aid, " No, L inux is nota gam e -- it 's an ope rat ing s ys t e m ." H e l ook e d conf us e d, t h enst ut t e re d, " Uh h h ...ye ah ...w e l l ch e ck t h atrack , w e 'v e gots t uf fl ik e Quick e n t h e re ."

Pl aying w it h Be ryl
by be t am axm an
Firs t ,t h is is int e nde d f or nV idia cards , w it h outXGL , and f or K DE. Ge tyour s ys t e m 3D e nabl e d by f ol l ow ing t h is h ow t of rom ocil e nt 1: ht t p:/ / w w w .pcl inuxos .com / f orum / inde x.ph p? t opic=15174.0 Th e n run Synapt ic and s e arch f or XGLand Com piz and unins t al l t h e m (as in re m ov e t h e m ).Se arch f or be ryl Core and Em e ral d Th e m e M anage r and ins t al l t h e m , ift h e y are notal re ady ins t al l e d. O pe n a t e rm inal , be com e rootand t ype kwrite /etc/X11/xorg.conf. T ot h e s e ct ion t it l e d De v ice add t h ese l ine s j us tbe f ore t h e e nd s e ct ion l ine .

Option "AllowGLXWithComposite" "true"

Option "backingstore" "true" Option "TripleBuffer" "true" Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True" And ifitis notal re ady t h e re , add t h is s e ct ion t ot he bot t om oft he f il e.

Section "Extensions" Option "Composite" "on" EndSection

O pe n your /home dire ct ory and f rom t he " v ie w t ab" e nabl e," s h ow h idde n f il es" . Find t h e .k de f ol de r and ope n it , in t h e aut os t artf ol de r cre at e t wol ink s t o appl icat ions , m ak e one be ryl and t h e ot h e r be ryl -

m anage r . O n K onq ue ror's m e nu bar cl ick e dit , go t o Cre at e Ne w and cl ick l ink t o appl icat ion. I nt he f ie l dt h at ope ns up, t ype /usr/bin/beryl and cl ick ok . Re pe att h e proce s s and t ype /usr/bin/beryl-manager. Be ryl and t h e be ryl m anage r w il l st art w h e n K DE is s t art e d. Th e re are ot her met h ods t o accom pl is h t h is , h ow e v e rI h av e f ound t h is one t o be pre f e rabl e f or m e . Re s t artK DE and w e l com e t o be ryl . Be ryl Se t t ings Cl ick on t h e be ryl icon in t h e s ys t em t ray and s e l e ct" Be ryl Se t t ings M anage r" ,t h is w il l ope n t h e be ryl set t ings GUI and s h ow t he l is tof ge ne ral opt ions . Th e re are m any m ore s e ct ions , h ow e v e r I am onl y going t of ocus on t h os e t h e av e rage us e r w il l w antas t h e y cov e rt he l ook and e f f e ct s t hey s e e pos t e d on t h e ne tand de al m ainl y w it h t h e cube . You e v ok e t h e cube by pre s s ing t h e Al t + Ct rl k e ys and dragging t h e m ous e t o t h e righ tor l ef toft h e de s k t op. Th e s e ct ion pe rt aining t ot h e cube is " De s k t op" cl ick on t he " De s k t op Cube " e nt ry. Now cl ick on t he " Caps " e nt ry t h is w il l al l ow you t o add a cus t om im age on t h e cube , not e t h e y m us tbe .png or .s v g. Th e " Sk ydom e " e nt ry w il l al l ow you t o sel e ctan im age f or t h e s k ydom e , not e t h e y al s o m us tbe .png or .s v g and m us tbe re s iz e d t o 2048x1024.

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Th e ne xte f f e ctm any s e e m t ol ik e is t h e 3D w indow e f f e ctdis pl aye d on t he cube w h e re w indow s s e e m t o h ang of f t h e s ide oft h e cube , t h is is f ound in t he " V is ual Ef f e ct s " s e ct ion on t h e 3D Ef f e ct s t ab. H e re a l it t l e doe s a l ot ,so m ov e t h e sl ide r a bitt h e n ch e ck out h ow itl ook s on t h e cube . Th at 's al l t h e re is t o it . Th e re are l ot s m ore s e t t ings and t w e ak s , butt h ese w il l do f or m os tand are l ik e l y m ore t h an m os tw il l ne e d. Th e Em e ral d Th e m e M anage r Cl ick again on t h e be ryl m anage r and sel e ctt he " Em e ral d Th e m e m anage r" Th is an e xce l l e ntt h e m e m anage r w it h ne w t h e m e s port e d dail y and can be f ound on s uch s it e s as k de l ook .org. Jus ts e l e cta t h e m e by cl ick ing on it and your de s k t op ins t ant l y is t rans f orm e d. Se l e ctt he " e ditt h e m e "f e at ure and you can m ak e e dit s t ot he t it l e bar h e igh t , drop s h adow s , t rans pare ncy, t e xtcol or , and s o on. W it h be ryl and t h e Em e ral d Th e m e M anage r , K DE w il l ne v e r be t h e s am e again. You can re v e rtt ot h e K DE w indow m anage r by s e l e ct ing itf rom t h e be ryl m e nu. I h ope you e nj oy your be ryl e xpe rie nce .

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R e cording Audio w it h PCL inuxOS

by Paul Ev ans - Ge m l og
O ur prim ary m is s ion is t ol e arn h ow t o 'rip' cas s e t t e t ape s t o a h ard driv e . Th atis , t o copy audio cas s e t t e t ape s int o conv e nie ntf il es t h atw e can pl ay back w it h any oft h e popul ar m us ic pl aye rs dis t ribut e d w it h PCL inuxO S. I nf act , w e 'l l be abl e t o re cord any audio s ignal w e can l ay our h ands on, incl uding broadcas t radio by t he t im e w e 're done . Be ing l az y L inux us e rs , t he f irs tt h ing w e do is a q uick Googl e s e arch t o s e e w h at 's outt h e re t ohel p us . Ev en be f ore pos t ing t ot he f orum s , or pe rh aps e s pe cial l y be f ore pos t ing t ot he f orum s , j us th av e a q uick Googl e f or t h e ans w e r . Googl e h as a s pe cial w ay t of ind h e l pf or t opics aboutL inux. Se arch ing ht t p:/ / w w w .googl e .com / l inux ins t e ad oft h e re gul ar w e bs it e , itw il l s h ow re s ul t s about L inux onl y. Sure e nough , s e arch e s on 'audio cas s e t t e s ' and 'audio t ape ' q uick l yt urn up s e v e ral e xce l l e ntart icl e s , al l m os t l y s aying t h e s am e t h ings and q uit e of t e n us ing one ofm y f av orit e audio t ool s : Audacit y. Th e re are s om e l ink s t o t h e m ore int e re s t ing one s att h e e nd oft h is art icl e. W il l I tBe Dange rous ? REL AX! Th e re 's not h ing q uit e l ik e h av ing s om e one s cre am t h e w ord 're l ax' in your f ace t o inv ok e a s e ns e of cal m and s e re nit y, is t h e re ?O ur prim ary m is s ion pre s e nt s no dange r atal l ;w e 'l l be m arch ing al ong w e l l t rodde n pat hs t ram pe d s m oot h l ong ago by, w e l l , ol d

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L inux pat h t ram pe rs . T ow ards t he v e ry e nd ofour m is s ion, w e m ay w ande r of ft he t rail al it t l e in s e arch of a bitofe xcit e m e nt , butI prom is e t h e re w il l be no Com m and L ine s O fUnus ual Siz e or any m ore Prince s s Bride re f e re nce s . Probabl y. W h atTo Pack W e coul d do t h e bas ics s t raigh tf rom a PCL inuxO S L iv e CD and s av e t he f il es t o, s ay, a USB k e y, butitw il l be s im pl e s tt o us e a re al h ard driv e ins t al l and av oid any h as s l e atal l . Th at 's t h e pl an f ol l ow e d h e re . Th e f irs tt h ing w e ne e d is a cas s e t t e pl aye r w it h an out putj ack on it . Ne arl y anyt h ing w il l do, s o l ong as it h as s om e t h ing l abe l e d as 'L ine O ut ', 'Ph one s ', 'H e adph one s ' or s im il ar . Anyt h ing t o ge tt h e s ound outof iton s om e w ire s w it h a pl ug on t h e e nd. W e w on'te v en t h ink ofput t ing a m icroph one ne ar t h e s pe ak e rs oft he t ape pl aye r and doing itt h atw ay. Th atw oul d onl y s ound nas t y on pl ayback . Nas t y. Th e f inal it e m w e ne e d t o add t o our k itis t h e act ual pie ce ofw ire t o conne ctt he t ape pl aye r t o our s ound card in t h e com put er . Th is is t he t rick y bit . Bot h e nds of t h e w ire w il l l ik e l y ne e d t o h av e a m al e e nd. O r pos s ibl y, t w o dif f e re nts t yl e s ofe nds . O ne e nd w il l al m os t ce rt ainl yl ook l ik e t he j ack s h ow n on t he l ef t , w h ich l ook s j us tl ik e t h e e nd oft h e s pe ak e r w ire t h atgoe s int o your com put e r s ound card. Th e ot h e r e nd m ay be t h e s am e , or itm ay ne e d an e nd s im il ar t o s om e com binat ion of t h os e s h ow n in t h e ot h e r il l us t rat ion, de pe nding on t he t ape pl aye r . Not ice t he t wol it t l e bl ack s t ripe s on t h e m ini-ph ono pl ug?Th os e are act ual l y im port ant , as w e w on'tge t st e re o s ound ift h e re is onl y one s t ripe , onl y m ono s ound. W ors e , t h atm ono audio m ay al l be on one s ide during t h e pl ayback . Any oft h e s e pat ch cords are e as y t of ind in t h e s h ops and s h oul dn'tcos tm ore t h an a good cup ofcof f e e dow nt ow n.

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Sal l y Fort h H av e you e v e r be e n in a cl ub w ait ing f or t h e band t o st artup?O fcours e you h av e . Did you e v e r not ice t he guy be h ind t h e s ound board pre t e nding t o ignore t he re s toft h e w orl d w h il s tgrandl y pronouncing s uch m e m orabl e ph ras e s as Ch e ck ! Ch e ck O ne ! Tw o! and T est !?Did you e v e r im agine w h ata ge nius h e m us tbe f or k e e ping t h atincre dibl e s nak e 's ne s tofw ire s s t raigh t ? OK, w e l l t h e n, t h at 's w h e re you m e s s e d up in your apprais al ofh im . Aboutt h e onl y k now l e dge ne e de d t o h ook -up t h ate nt ire m e s s ofaudio cabl e s is 'O ut s go t o I ns ' and v ice v e rs a. Th e re are a f e w ot her cons ide rat ions t o be s ure , butt h atis t h e s ingl e m os t im port antpartofh is w iring j ob. 'Pre -am p O ut ' goe s t o 'Pre -am p I n', 'L ine O ut ' goe s t o 'L ine I n' and s o on. W e onl y ne e d t he l as tone . Sim pl yl ocat e t h e 'L ine O ut ' on t he t ape de ck and pl ug it int ot h e 'L ine I n' on t h e com put er . Th e com put e r s ide is al w ays l abe l e d as 'L ine ' or 'L ine I n'. Th e t ape de ck s ide m ay t ry t o be t rick y and l abe l it sel fas 'Ph one s ', e t c, as m e nt ione d abov e , butw e w on'tbe f ool e d. I t 's an 'O ut ' and w e w il l conne ctitt o an 'I n'. Th is can be done w it h e it h e r or bot h de v ice s pow e re d up and itw on'th urt anyt h ing. No f e ar . Th e Good Part Be f ore w e be gin re cording, t h ese t w o point s f rom t he Audacit y w e bs it e are w ort h not ing: Do notpl ug s t e re o e q uipm e ntint o your com put e r's " M icroph one " port , w h ich is de s igne d f or l ow -pow e re d (" m ic-l ev el " ) s ignal s onl y. Us e t he " L ine I n" portins t e ad. Do notconne cta t urnt abl e dire ct l yt o your com put er . Th e s ignal f rom a t urnt abl e is dis t ort e d;itm us tbe corre ct e d by pas s ing itt h rough a ph ono pre -am p or a re ce iv e r w it h a" ph ono" input . Now w e 're good t o go!

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Audacit y is our w e apon ofch oice s ince itis , a) w onde rf ul , and b) incl ude d in PCL inuxO S. You can e as il yf ind itin t h e K -M e nu unde r M ul t im e dia > Sound > Audacit y. Th e Audacit y program is partoft he PCL inuxO S bas e ins t al l and w e w on'tne e d t o ins t al l anyt h ing e xt ra atal l f or bas ic f unct ional it y. Audacit yl et s us re cord s ound f rom t he t ape pl aye r (or anyt h ing e l se conne ct edt o 'L ine I n'), cl e an itup in v arious w ays , and t h e n s av e itt oaf il e on our h ard-driv e.I t 's re al l y e as y t o us e and w e can do s om e cool t h ings w it h itt oo. Firs t ,l et 's m ak e s ure w e are ge t t ing good s ignal in t ot he com put e rf rom t he t ape de ck . W e can m e s s w it h l ev el s a bitand ge ta f eel f or t h e gam e it sel f . W it h ev e ryt h ing conne ct e d, s e tt he v ol um e on t he t ape de ck f airl yl ow , s ay abouta t h ird oft h e w ay up t o m axim um v ol um e . De pe nding on t h e out put , it 's be s tt o be s af e and not bl ow t h e inputt o your s ound card;a l ine l ev el outw on't be e f f e ct e d, buta h e adph one j ack w il l .I s t h e s ound com ing outoft h e com put e r s pe ak e rs ?Ye s ?Gre at w e 're h om e f re e ! W h at , no s ound?Don'tw orry, it 's l ik e l yj us ta m ixe r set t ing. L et 's go pl ay w it h t h atf or a bit . I fyou don'th av e al it t l e s pe ak e r icon ne ar t h e cl ock in t he l ow e r righ t -h and corne r oft h e s cre e n, v is itt h e Km e nu and ch oos e M ul t im e dia Sound Sound M ixe r (K m ix). Now , cl ick on t h e s pe ak e r icon ne ar t h e cl ock . A s m al l w indow w il l pop up s h ow ing a v ol um e cont rol and a but t on att h e bot t om l abe l e d 'M ixe r'. M ak e s ure t he L ED att he t op is brigh tgre e n t h at 's t he m ut e but t on. Cl ick on t h e m ixe r but t on once and a dif f e re nt , m ore com pl icat e d w indow w il l ope n up. Th is w indow h as 3 t abs : O ut put ,I nput , and Sw it ch e s . Cl ick on t he I nputt ab. Th e l it t l e gre e n f ak e L EDs att he t op m e an t h att he t h ing is t urne d 'O n' f or s e nding t o O ut put . Th e f ak e re d L ED's att h e bot t om s e l e ctw h ich I nputis us e d f or re cording s t uf f . Try t o s e tt he l ev el s be t w e e n 50 and 75% , now ch oos e t h e O ut putt ab and

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do t h e s am e t h ing. Att h is pointyou re al l y s h oul d h av e s om e s ound. I fnot , t h ings you can ch e ck f or are a ph ys ical s w it ch and/ or v ol um e on your s pe ak e rs , l oos e or unpl ugge d cabl e (duh ) or an out puts w it ch on t he t ape de ck , ifitis t h at s oph is t icat e d. Be yond t h os e caus e s , pl e as e v is itour f orum s : you're of ft h is m is s ion f or now . Now w e h av e t h ats ort e d, l et 's do t he f un s t uf f ! Go t o your K -m e nu and run Audacit yf rom : M ul t im e dia > Sound. You'l l see a w indow l ik e t h ats h ow n abov e af t er you ch oos e t he l anguage s e t t ing. I tl ook s a l it t l e int im idat ing, butt he t h ings w e care aboutf irs tare t h os e w e al re ady k now be s t :t he V CR/ DV D st yl e but t ons att he t op l ef t ,t he l arge , col ore d, f rie ndl yl ook ing one s . Th e y w ork j us tas e xpe ct e d. Jus tpre s s 'Pl ay' on t he t ape de ck and cl ick t h e round, re d, 'Re cord' but t on in Audacit y. Tw o row s ofw av e f orm s s h oul d appe ar in t h e Audacit y w indow as t h e re cording proce e ds . I ft he t w o row s ofw av e f orm s do notappe ar as s h ow n on t he l ef tt h e n ch e ck back ov e rt h e cabl es and s e t t ings . Cl ick on t h e s q uare , brow n, 'St op' but t on in Audacit y and s t op t he t ape de ck af t e r e it h e rl et t ing t he t ape pl ay t ot h e e nd or af t e rj us tone or t w o s ongs . I nf act , any am ountofs ound re corde d t h is f irs tt im e outis f ine , ev enj us ta f e w s e conds w ort h ofit . Att h is point ,t he s ound is re corde d ont ot h e h ard-driv e , butonl y as t e m porary f il e s . Th e re are t w o, s om e w h atconf us ing opt ions unde r t h e 'Fil e ' m e nu f or s av ing f il es pe rm ane nt l y. 'Sav e Proj e ct ' w il l s av e al l t h e raw s ound dat a as Audacit y proj e ctf il e s . Th e s e f il e s are no good f or burning t o a CD or s e nding t o an m p3 pl aye r , butit l et s us k e e p al l our opt ions ope n f or f urt h e r e dit ing or ef f e ct s.I t 's a good ide a t o s av e t h e re cording as a

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proj e ct , e s pe cial l y ifit 's a l ong s e s s ion. Th e 'Export ' opt ion is t h e one w e ne e d f or cre at ing t he m ore f am il iar '.ogg' or '.m p3' f il es t h atw e probabl y w ant t o e nd up w it h . Brie f l y, t h e 'W av e ' opt ion s h oul d be ch os e n f or cre at ing re gul ar audio CDs f or w h e n w e l at er us e t h e K 3B CD burne r program incl ude d w it h PCL inuxO S. W e can al s o us e 'O gg V orbis ' or 'M P3' f or us e w it h USB k e ys , M P3 pl aye rs , or v e ry re ce ntcar audio s ys t ems. W av e and FL AC f il e s cont ain al l t h e original audio inf orm at ion f rom t h e re cording. FL AC f il e s are m uch s m al l e rt h an w av e f il e s , butnott oo com m on ye t . O gg and M P3 f il e s are t h e s m al l e s tin s iz e , butt h ats m al l s iz e is ach ie v e d by act ual l yt h row ing aw ay s om e inf orm at ion. Th e s e are k now n as 'l os s y' f il e f orm at s and is t h e re as on w h y w e w antt okeept h e original re cording s e s s ion around as Audacit y proj e ctf il e s unt il w e are s ure t h atw e h av e t he f inal v e rs ion as O gg or M P3. Th e O gg f orm atis bot h ope n-s ource and s upe rior t ot h e proprie t ary M P3 f orm atand s h oul d be pre f e rre d w h e re pos s ibl e. Th e f irs tt im e a f il e is e xport e d as an M P3 a dial og w il l pop up e xpl aining t h e ne e d f or l ibL AM E. Jus tl e titgo ah e ad and l ocat e iton t h e h ard-driv e . Th is w il l onl y h appe n t he v e ry f irs tt im e . I fAudacit y com pl ains t h atit can'tbe f ound, j us tgo t o Synapt ic and m ak e s ure t he t h e M ul t im e dia M e t a Pack age is ins t al l e d and t ry again and t h e n itw il l w ork . Now , j us tm e s s around and h av e s om e f un. Th e re are a l otoft oys in Audacit y. Jus tus e t h e 'I be am ' curs or (t he de f aul t )t osel e ctport ions ofaudio and t hent el l Audacit y t o do Som e t h ing I nt e re s t ing t o it . For e xam pl e , ift h e re 's a bitt oo m uch s il e nce att h e be ginning or e nd you can s nip itof f . O r pe rh aps itw oul d be nice ifitf ade d outat t h e e nd or f ade d up att h e st art ?Jus te xpl ore t he m e nus and e xpe rim e nt . Th e re is no w ay t o m ak e t he s m ok e com e outofyour com put er , no m at t e r w h atyou do w it h in Audacit y:

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Fil t e r outh is s or rum bl e (H igh or L ow f il t e ring) Fade in or out Add s om e e ch o Cre at e f ak e s t e re o or re m ov e v ocal s L ot s m ore , ch e ck outt he t ut orial s l is t e d be l ow O ne oft h e nice t h ings aboutO gg and M P3 f il e s is t h at t h e y cont ain t h e nam e oft h e art is t , al bum , ge nre , ye ar and m uch e l s e ins t e ad oft h e boring Track 1, Track 2, et c. t h att h e RI AA gif t e d us w it h . Unde r t h e Audacit y 'Fil e ' m e nu is an e nt ry nam e d 'O pe n M e t adat a Edit or .' Pick t h atand t henj us tf il l in t h e bl ank s pre t t y m uch . Ch oos e 'I D3v 1' w h e n itas k s t h e ot h e r one doe s n't w ork w it h al l pl ayback program s or de v ice s ye t , butitis sel e ct e d by de f aul t . Th is pointin t he t rail is as f ar as you ne e d t o go t o ge t t he j ob done . H av e f un! Dange r?W h atDang...Um ph Re al l y, t h e onl y dange r around is h ow addict iv e itcan be t o pl ay w it h audio on L inux. Th e re are an aw f ul l otof program s outt h e re , bot h com m and l ine and t h os e w it h graph ical us e r int e rf ace s . H av e al ook att he " L oads of L inux L ink s " s it e l is t e d in t h e re f e re nce s and you'l l f ind doz e ns ofprogram s t o pl ay w it h . M any oft h e s e are av ail abl e in PCL inuxO S w it h s im pl e cl ick s in Synapt ic, buts om e w oul d re q uire m ore e f f ortt o ins t al l . Th e 'Baudl ine ' program is notl is t e d atL OL L , butit 's an ov e r-t h e -t op-w onde rf ul t oy f or z e ro cos t . Act ual l y, itis m e antas a s e rious t ool f or e xpe rt s in f ie l ds l ik e v ibrat ional anal ys is , butifyou k now h ow t o undo a t arbal l and cl ick t o run a program , it 's w ort h ch e ck ing out .I tis onl y dis t ribut e d as a pre -com pil e d, re ady t o run, binary and is notope n s ource . I tw on'tappe ar in your m e nus unl e s s you putitt h e re m anual l y af t e rw ards . Final l y, f or t h e re al l y adv e nt urous (or t h os e w it h a s e rious am ountofaudio w ork ah e ad) ch e ck outt h e Sox program , w h ich is ins t al l abl e f rom Synapt ic and incl ude d

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w it h PCL inuxO S. I t 's e nt ire l y com m and l ine , but e xt re m e l y us e f ul f or bat ch conv e rs ions off il e s . Tim e s h if t ing broadcas tradio us ing cron j obs and conv e rt ing m ode m v oice m ail f il e s are ot h e r us e s I 'v e f ound f or it .I 'd t al k m ore aboutSox, butI 'd h av e t o bre ak m y prom is e aboutCL O US giv e n att h e be ginning. M is s ion accom pl is h e d! Re f e re nce s Audacit y: ht t p:/ / audacit y.s ource f orge .ne t / m anual -1.2/ inde x.h t ml Audacit y Tut orial s: ht t p:/ / audacit y.s ource f orge .ne t / hel p/ t ut orial s Nos t al gia proj e ctw it h O gg V orbis : ht t p:/ / w w w .l inux.org/ l e s s ons / be ginne r/ l 18/ l e s s on18e .h t ml FL AC f orm at : ht t p:/ / f l ac.s ource f orge .ne t / O gg V orbis : ht t p:/ / w w w .v orbis .com / L oads ofL inux L ink s : ht t p:/ / l ol l .s ource f orge .ne t / l inux/ l ink s / Audio-V ide o/ inde x.h t ml SoX - Sound e Xch ange : ht t p:/ / s ox.s ource f orge .ne t /
I col l e ctol d com put e rs as a h obby, m os t l y 20 ye ar ol d m icrocom put e rs -- Appl e I I , Com m odore , e t c. O nce , in an at t e m ptt of ind one , I cal l e d a com put e r s urpl us s t ore . *M e : " H i. Do you h av e any ol d com put e rs , m aybe 10-20 ye ars ol d? " * Sal e s pe rs on: " Sir ,t h e re w e re no com put e rs 20 ye ars ago." *M e : " Um m , ok . Bye ." Th e n I crack e d up.

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W ork ing in Gnom e

by M e rl in W h it e w ol f
Th is is an e xcit ing t im e f or PCL inuxO S us e rs . Th e ne w v e rs ion .9 4/ 2007 int roduce s m any ne w and int e re s t ing ch ange s . Th e Be aut if icat ion Proj e ctat M yPCL inuxO S.com giv e s us ne w and be aut if ul graph ics ;Be ryl and Com piz de l iv e rf ul l y e nabl e d 3D;t he ne w e s tv e rs ion ofK DE is f rontand ce nt er , and t h e re is a ne w k e rne l . For t h os e w h o e nj oy w ork ing in a Gnom e e nv ironm e nt , PCL inuxO S pre s e nt s v e rs ion 2.16. I fyou are ne w t o Gnom e , you'l l f ind itdif f e re ntt h an K DE, butv e ry us abl e and e nj oyabl e. Ev e ryt h ing you are us e d t o doing in K DE, you can do in Gnom e . You'l l onl y ne e d a f e w m inut es t o s e e w h e re t h e m e nu dif f e rs . Th e de s k t op is as conf igurabl e , and you m ay w antt o st artoutby ch anging itt o s uityour t as t es. H e re are a f ew t ips t o ge tyou s t art e d: Firs t , you'l l see t h atGnom e of f e rs t wo k ick e r pane l s , one att he t op and one att h e bot t om . You m ay ch oos e t o l e av e t h e s e in t h e ir de f aul tm ode or re arrange t hem t o your t as t e. T o s e tt hem t o your pre f e re nce s , ch oos e t h e pane l t o be m ov e d or ch ange d and m ov e your curs or t o it . Righ tcl ick , and ch oos e Prope rt ie s . A dial og box w il l ope n, and dis pl ay t he pos it ion oft h e pane l . Pul l dow n t he

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drop m e nu unde r O rie nt at ion and sel e ctt h e pos it ion you pre f e r: t op, bot t om , l ef t , or righ t . You m ay pre f e rt o h av e one pane l rat h e rt h an t h e de f aul tt w o. T o re m ov e one oft h e pane l s , righ tcl ick on itand ch oos e De l et e Th is Pane l . W arning! Th is w il l pe rm ane nt l y re m ov e t h e pane l . You w il l no l onge r h av e any oft he f unct ions at t ach e d t o itw h e n you de l et e it , s o re v ie w t h e m care f ul l y be f ore t h row ing t h e m aw ay. T o m ov e any appl icat ion or appl e tt h atis at t ach e d t oa pane l , righ tcl ick on it s icon. I fL ock t o Pane l is ch e ck e d, unch e ck it . Th e n righ tcl ick on t h e icon again, pl ace t h e m ous e on M ov e,t hen drag and drop t h e icon t o anot h e r s pot on t h e pane l , or t ot h e ot h e r pane . Af t e r you h av e m ov e d it ,l ock itt ot he pane l by t h e s am e m e t h od you us e d t o unl ock it . You m igh tw is h t o add t ot h e pane l s. Righ tcl ick on t h e pane l ofyour ch oice and ch oos e Add t o Pane l . Ch oos e f rom am ong t h e m e nu opt ions . T o ch ange t h e de s k t op back ground, go t o Sys t em, Pre f e re nce s , De s k t op Back ground or righ tcl ick on t he de s k t op and ch oos e Ch ange De s k t op Back ground. Cl ick on a ne w back ground f rom t h e pre s e nt edl is t , t h e n cl ick Finis h . I fyou w antt o us e your ow n pict ure , j us tcl ick Add W al l pape r and brow s e t ot he f ol de r w h e re your pict ure s are s t ore d and ch oos e t h e pict ure you w antt o us e . You m ay w antt o add a l it t l e s ym bol is m t o your de s k t op icons . T o

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do t h is , righ tcl ick t h e icon, ch oos e Prope rt ie s and cl ick on t h e Em bl ems t ab. Ch oos e t h e e m bl e m or e m bl ems t h atyou w antt o add and cl ick t o put an X in t h e box be s ide it . Th e e m bl em w il l be adde d. Cl os e t h e prope rt ie s box. T o s e tup your s cre e ns av er , go t o Sys t e m , Pre f e re nce s , Scre e ns av er .A box w il l ope n up f rom w h ich you can ch oos e , t e s tand appl y a s cre e ns av er . Th e s e are j us ta f e w oft he t h ings you can do t o s e tup your Gnom e de s k t op. I tis a good s t art ing pl ace w h e n w ork ing in Gnom e , butt h e re is m uch m ore t o it s f unct ional it y. Th e be s tw ay t ol e arn aboutital l is t oj us ts t art us ing it . Again, you m ay f ind Gnom e 's m e nu dif f e re ntf rom w h atyou are us e d t o, butw h e n you ge t accus t om e d t ot h e dif f e re nce s , you w il l be gin t osee t he l ogic be h ind t he m e nu l ayout . Enj oy your ne w Gnom e de s k t op.

Af e w ye ars ago I v is it e d a com put e rs t ore and s aw a com put e r e q uippe d w it h t h is ne w M icroid Re s e arch BI O S w h ich w as unf am il iar t o m e . I w oul dl ik e t o k now s om e t h ing aboutt h e pe rf orm ance oft h is BI O S, s o I as k e d ifitw as a f as tBI O S. " Wel l ye s !" h e ans w e re d, " T ak e a l ook att h is !" H e re boot edt h e com put e r and point e d at t he " Pre s s DELt o e nt e r SETUP" m e s s age , w h ich w as on t h e s cre e n f or f iv e s e conds . Th e n h e re boot edt h e s ys t e m again, e nt e re d t h e BI O S, and de cre as e d t he " Dis pl ay e nt e rs e t up m e s s age t im e " f rom f iv e s e conds t o one s e cond, l ef tt h e BI O S, and re boot edt h e s ys t e m once m ore . W h il e itw as boot ing, h e point e d again att he " Pre s s DELt o e nt e r SETUP" m e s s age w h ich w as now on t h e s cre e n f or j us tone s e cond. " Se e h ow f as titis ? " h e s aid proudl y. " I incre as e d it s s pe e d by a f act or off iv e !I s t h is a f as tBI O S or w h at ? "

22

I nse rt an I m age in Your Gm ail Signat ure

by gryph e n
H e re 's h ow t o ins e rtan im age int o your Gm ail s ignat ure or int ot he t e xtbody ofyour e m ail m e s s age : 1) Upl oad your im age t o an onl ine ph ot ost orage s it e , ie . I m age s h ack , Fl ick r , Ph ot obuck e t ,e t c. 2) Once t h e im age is upl oade d, f ind t h e dire ctl ink f or t he im age . 3) Copy t he l ink addre s s t ot h e cl ipboard, ope n a bl ank t ab in your brow s e r , and pas t e t h e addre s s int ot h e addre s s bar . 4) Once t h e im age is l oade d in your brow s e r , drag your m ous e acros s t h e im age s o t h e w h ol e im age ge t s sel e ct ed or h igh l igh t e d (itw il l t urn dark t o indicat e t h atitis s ucce s s f ul l y h igh l igh t e d/ sel e ct e d). 5) Righ t -cl ick t h e h igh l igh t e d im age w it h your m ous e curs or ov e r it ,t h enf rom t h e m e nu w h ich appe ars , ch oos e COPY. 6) Ope n your Gm ail accountin a ne w t ab and ch oos e COMPOSE MAI L . Us e RI CH FORMATTI NG ins t e ad of PL AI N TEXT . 7) Type t he t e xtofyour e -m ail and att h e pl ace you w is h t o ins e rtyour im age , pre s s CTRL -Vt o pas t e t h e copie d im age int o your m e s s age body. Th e im age w il l t h e n s h ow and appe ar e m be dde d. Cool . Your re cipie nt s s h oul d be onl ine t o be abl e t ov ie w t he im age . I n Gm ail ,t h e y w il l ne e d t o ch oos e DI SPL AY I MAGES BEL OW w h e n t h e y re ce iv e your e -m ail w it h t he e m be dde d im age .

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PCL inuxOS Dual V ie w and Tw inV ie w Tut orial

Dual V ie w by j aydot Tw inV ie w by Scot ch t ape L os e r
Dual v ie w Dual v ie w prov ide s t w o s e parat el y conf igurabl e s cre e ns . I tis al m os tl ik e be ing t w o us e rs in one . You ge tdoubl e t h e num be r ofde s k t ops and m any appl icat ions w il l ope n in bot h s cre e ns . Som e w il l notand you ne e d t o de cide w h ich s cre e n you w antt o us e prior t o ope ning t he appl icat ion. 1. O pe n a t e rm inal and s u t o root 2. inv ok e init3 3. nav igat e t o/ 4. ins t al l driv e r # s h NV I DI A-e t c.run [s h ort cutN-t ab] Re j e ctonl yt h e of f e rt o dow nl oad a k e rne l . Th is w il l be buil tf or you and itm ay t ak e s om e t im e . I tis s af e t o acce pte v e ryt h ing e l se.Wh ent h e ins t al l e r is com pl et e d, re boott h e m ach ine t ol oad t h e pre v ious s e t t ings . You m ay f ind yours e l fin v e rbos e m ode . Att h is point , your xorg.confm ay be conf igure d incorre ct l y. You w il l be re q uire d t o pe rf orm a v ide o card s e t up. I fyour are notin v e rbos e m ode , you can s k ip t he f ol l ow ing s t e ps and e nj oy your Dual V ie w s e t up. 1. l og in as root 2. Us e t h e XFdrak e com m and t o conf igure your v ide o card. Ch ange t h e re s ol ut ion and/ or m onit or t ype . 3. L og outas rootand re -l og in as a norm al us e r account .

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4. Us e t h e st art x com m and t ost artt h e GUI int e rf ace . I fe v e ryt h ing is corre ct , you w il l now h av e t w ice t he v is ual pl e as ure . O ne s cre e n w il l h av e al l ofyour pre v ious s e t t ings w h il e t h e ot h e r s cre e n w il l h av e t he de f aul ts e t t ings . You can f ind m ore inf orm at ion at : ht t p:/ / w w w .pcl inuxos .com / f orum / inde x.ph p? t opic=12085 Tw inV ie w I ns t al l ing Graph ics Driv e rs f or Dual H e ade d Sys t ems: Af t e r you com pl et e t h is t ut orial , your de s k t op im age m ay be s t re t ch e d acros s bot h m onit ors . Th is giv es a panoram ic s t yl e v ie w . You can righ tcl ick on t he de s k t op and s e l e ctt h e Conf igure De s k t op t o s e te ach de s k t op inde pe nde ntoft h e ot her . You w il l al s o be abl e t o sl ide appl icat ions f rom one m onit or t ot h e ot her . You w il l al s o be abl e t ost re t ch your pane l s acros s bot h s cre e ns . NV idia conf igurat ion: Th e de f aul tnV idia driv e r ins t al l e d is " nv " or " v e s a" w h ich is ok f or bas ic graph ics . I fyou w antt ot ak e adv ant age of your graph ics card, dow nl oad and ins t al l t h e 3-D driv er (" nv idia" )f rom nV idia.com or us e t h e nV idia pack age in Synapt ic. I fyou ch oos e t o ge tt h e pack age f rom Synapt ic, you can s k ip t ot h e s e ct ion t h ate xpl ains t he xorg.confs e ct ion oft h is t ut orial . Th e f ol l ow ing s t e ps de s cribe h ow t o ins t al l t h e nV idia driv e rf rom t h e nV idia s e rv er . M ak e s ure bot h m onit ors are conne ct e d and are t urne d on be f ore f ol l ow ing t h is t ut orial . 1. Dow nl oad t h e nV idia driv e rs f rom ht t p:/ / w w w .nv idia.com / obj e ct / unix.h t ml

25

2. L og outofX and s w it ch t o a Cons ol e s e s s ion. L ogin as root . 3. Run t h e nV idia ins t al l e r w it h t he f ol l ow ing com m and:

sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86-1.0-8756-pkg1.run -q
(V e rif y your f il e nam e ). You can acce ptt h e de f aul t set t ings in t h e nV idia s e t up w iz ard. 4. St artX 5. EditX11 conf ig f il e /etc/X11/xorg.conf as de s cribe d be l ow . 6. Editt he " M onit or" s e ct ion as de s cribe d be l ow . X11 conf igurat ion (XO RG.CO NF) I fone m onit or re m ains bl ack or s e e m s t o be random col ors and t h e ot h e r is w ork ing, t h is coul d be due t ot he de f init ion oft he " Conne ct e dM onit or" .I fyou are us ing bot h t h e anal og and digit al port s oft h e m onit or ,t he corre ctde f init ion M UST be s pe cif ie d. I fyou conne ct us ing anal og conne ct ors buts pe cif y a digit al f l atpane l dis pl ay, t h e s cre e n w il l be bl ack . V al id de f init ions f or Conne ct e dM onit or are : * CRT : Anal og Cat h ode Ray Tube * FPD: Digit al Fl atPane l Dis pl ay * DPM S: Digit al Pow e r M anage m e ntSav ings f or Ene rgy St ar com pl iantm onit ors . Edityour xorg.conf L ook f or Se ct ion " De v ice "

Section "Device" Identifier "Videocard0" <-- acce ptt he

de f aul tnam e

Driver "nvidia" <-- t h is s h oul d now be nv idia

notnv or v esa

VendorName "Videocard vendor" BoardName "NVIDIA Quadro 4 (generic)" <-- t h is w il l ch ange de pe nding on w h at
your card t ype is .

Option

"TwinView" "true"

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Option "TwinViewOrientation" "RightOf" <-- You can ch ange t h e orie nt at ion Option "SecondMonitorHorizSync" "3181" Option "SecondMonitorVertRefresh" "55-85" Option "MetaModes" "1280x1024,1280x1024; 1024x768,1024x768" <-- your re s ol ut ion Option "ConnectedMonitor" "FPD,FPD"
<-- Ch ange de pe nding on w h att ype ofm onit ors you h av e EndSe ct ion Tw inV ie w O rie nt at ion opt ions : Righ t Of L ef t Of Abov e Be l ow Cl one

You w il l ne e d t ol ook f or t h e Se ct ion M onit or and dupl icat e t h ats e ct ion. M ak e s ure you ch ange t he I de nt if ie r on t h e s e cond M onit or . i.e . M onit or1 w il l be com e M onit or2. Bot h dis pl ays w il l s h are a s ingl e f ram e buf f er . T o dis abl e one oft h e dis pl ays f or a m ode , us e m ode nam e NUL L , i.e .:

Option "MetaModes" "1600x1200, NULL; NULL, 1024x768"

T o cre at e a panning are a (bounding box) f or t h e de s k t op (v ie w port ), i.e .:

Option "MetaModes" "1024x768 @1600x1200, 800x600 @1024x768"

ATIconf igurat ion: 1. Dow nl oad t h e ATI driv e rs f rom t h e ATI driv e r w e bs it e. 2. L og outofX and s w it ch t o a Cons ol e s e s s ion. L ogin as root .

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3. Run ins t al l e r: sh ati-driver-installer-8.22.5-

i386.run
Ch oos e " I ns t al l Driv e r X.O rg 6.8" " Cus t om I ns t al l " 4. Dual m onit or conf igurat ion:

/usr/X11R6/bin/aticonfig -dtop=horizontal --overlay-on=1 (Command placed here by installer in above step.) Command line help: aticonfig -h
5. Edit/etc/X11/xorg.conf

Section "Monitor" Identifier "aticonfig Monitor 0" DisplaySize 1000 400 EndSection
Th e ins t al l e r w il l add an appl icat ion t ot h e m e nu, " ATI Cont rol " . Th is w il l l aunch t he " ATI Rade on 9 800 Cont rol Pane l "f or dual m onit or cont rol and adj us t m e nt .I tw il l al s o cont rol TVouts e t t ings . Pow e r M anage m e ntConf igurat ion: DPM S can re duce t h e pow e r cons um pt ion ofEne rgy St ar com pl iantm onit ors w h e n t h e s ys t e m is idl e. XFre e 86 4.x+ or X.org 6.7+ is re q uire d. Turn on DPM S:

Section "Monitor" Identifier "Monitor0" ... Option "DPMS" "true" ... EndSection
Conf igure DPM S:

Section "ServerLayout" ...

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Option "StandbyTime" "360" Option "SuspendTime" "720" Option "OffTime" "840" ... EndSection
Us e t h e xs e tcom m and t o s e tX-W indow dis pl ay param e t e rs : *V ie w curre nts e t t ings : xs e tq * Se t t ing DPM S: o Dis abl e DPM S: xs e t-dpm s o Enabl e DPM S: xs e t+ dpm s o Se tDPM S param e t e rs : xs e tdpm s 360 720 840 * Se tf ontpat h : xs e tf p= / h om e / us e r1/ f ont s Re -re ad t he f ont s dat abas e : xs e tf p re h as h * Se tbe l l v ol um e (m e dium ), pit ch (H z ) and durat ion (m il l is e c): xs e tb 50 400 100 Turn of fbe l l : xs e tb of f * Se tk e y aut ore pe at : xs e tr of f * Turn of fs cre e n s av e r act iv at ion: xs e ts of f You can f ind m ore inf orm at ion at : ht t p:/ / w w w .pcl inuxos .com / f orum / inde x.ph p? t opic=14421 Re f e re nce s : ht t p:/ / w w w .nv idia.com / obj e ct / unix.h t ml ht t p:/ / ge nt oo-w ik i.com / H O W TO _ Dual _ M onit ors ht t p:/ / w w w .l inux.com / art icl e .pl ? s id=03/ 10/ 05/ 025207 ht t p:/ / w w w .cs b.yal e .e du/ pe opl e/ core / aj p/ l inuxde s k / 2xm onit or .h t ml

Y O U . An d t h ou s and s ofre ad e rs cou l dj u s tb e l ook ing aty ou r ad .

ACT NO W !
and h e l p de v el op PCL inuxO S ! Cont actus f or y our pricing.
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H ow t o M ul t i-Boot L inux
A Sim pl ifie d V ie w
by M e rl in W h it e w ol f
Th e f irs tcons ide rat ion in cre at ing a m ul t i-boots e tup is h ard dis k s iz e . Your H DD m us tbe ofs uf f icie nts iz e t o cont ain al l oft h e dis t ribut ions t h atyou w is h t o ins t al l . Tw e nt y GB is ofs uf f icie nts iz e t o com f ort abl y boott wo dis t ros . M ore dis t ros coul d be adde d, butupdat ing t hem m igh tbe com e an is s ue . From t h irt y GB and up, you w oul d h av e m ore opt ions f or adding m ore dis t ros . Not e : H ard dis k s can h av e onl yf our prim ary part it ions on t hem.I fyou pl an t o h av e m ore part it ions , you'l l ne e d an e xt e nde d part it ion. Th e f irs tt h ing you'l l ne e d t o do is s e tup your part it ions . PCL inuxOS h as a part it ioning t ool in t h e PCL inuxOS Cont rol Ce nt e r (PCC) > MountPoint s t ab, or you m ay w ant t o us e a part it ioning t ool l ik e t h e GPart edl iv e CD. Th e t ool you us e s h oul d be t h e one you are m os tcom f ort abl e w it h. I fyou h av e notus e d one be f ore , e it h e r oft he t w o nam e d abov e is a good one t ost artw it h . As Ih av e us e d GPart ed m ore of t e n, Iw il l de s cribe it s us e be l ow . Th e part it ioning t ool in PCC is j us tas us e f ul t h ough . I ns e rtt he l iv e CD in your CD driv e com put er . Be s ure t h atyour BI OS f rom t h e CD. Se tup ofGPart e d is t h rough t h e s e tup m e nus unt il t he is l oade d. and s t artyour h as be e n s e tt o boot int uit iv e,sof ol l ow part it ioning int e rf ace

I m port ant :I fyou're s t art ing w it h W indow s ins t al l e d, be s ure you run t h e dis k de f ragm e nt e r in W indow s be f ore you part it ion t h e driv e , ifyou w antt o k e e p W indow s . W h y?W h e n W indow s is w rit ing a f il e t ot h e dis k , itl ook s

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f or a s uit abl e pie ce off re e s pace in w h ich t ost ore it . L et s s ay you m odif y an e xis t ing f il e , adding a w h ol e bunch ofdat asot he f il e now t ak e s up m ore s pace on t h e dis k . T o accom m odat e t he f il e , W indow s w rit es t he f irs tpartoft he f il e in one s e ct ion oft h e dis k and t hen s cout s around f or ot h e r pl ace s t ost ore t h e re s toft he f il e . Th e e nd re s ul tis t h ata s ingl e f il e m ay be s t ore d in sev e ral ch unk s s cat t e re d aboutt h e dis k . Running t he dis k de f ragm e nt e r al l ow s W indow s t o gat h e r al l t he s cat t e re d pie ce s and putt h e m back t oge t h e r att he be ginning oft h e part it ion. I fyou w e re t o part it ion t he driv e w it h outde f ragm e nt ing, you w oul d ris k l os ing dat a t h atw as s pre ad al l around t h e dis k . T o re s iz e your W indow s part it ion, cl ick t o h igh l igh titand ch oos e " Re s iz e / M ov e " on t he t ool bar . (W indow s part it ions are nt f s or f at 32.) I nt h e box t h atope ns , you'l l s e e a bar w it h a col ore d borde r and t h re e s e ct ions of num be rs ;t he f irs tis " Fre e Space Pre ce ding." Th is s h oul d h av e a" 0" in it . Ne xtis t h e s iz e ofyour driv e in M B. Th is is t h e num be r t h atyou w il l be ch anging. L as tis " Fre e Space Fol l ow ing." Th is w il l s h ow t h e am ountof s pace you w il l f re e up. On t he t riangl e t ot h e righ toft h e bar ,l ef tcl ick and h ol d. Drag your curs or t ot he l ef tt o re duce t h e s iz e giv e n in t h e m iddl e num be r dial og t o your de s ire d s iz e . Th is s iz e is up t o you, butyou'l l w antt o h av e m ore s pace t h an W indow s h as in us e f or s af et y. Th e am ountt h at W indow s h as us e d is s h ow n in ye l l ow on t h e bar .A good rul e oft h um b is t o k e e p your W indow s part it ion 10 GB or m ore . O n m y 160 GB driv e , I gav e it29 GB, but ,I h av e l ot s ofs pace . Cl ick t he " Re s iz e " but t on. Cl ick " Appl y" on t he t ool bar . You w il l be as k e d t o conf irm your ch oice . W h e n re s iz ing h as be e n com pl et e d, you'l l s e e an unas s igne d are a ofyour driv e in gre y, l is t edj us tunde r your W indow s part it ion. Cl ick t o h igh l igh titand t hen cl ick " Ne w " on t he t ool bar . Th e s iz e m ay be ch os e n by t he met h od de s cribe d abov e . Th e f il e s ys t e m can be

31

ch os e n on t h e righ t . Cl ick on t h e but t on w it h " e xt 2" on it and ch oos e " e xt 3" . Cl ick " Cre at e " and t hen" Appl y" . Your ne w part it ion w il l be cre at e d and t h e n appe ar on t he l is t . Us e t h is m e t h od t o cre at e as m any part it ions as you ne e d. T o cre at e a s w ap part it ion (v irt ual m e m ory), ch oos e " L inux Sw ap" f rom t he f il e s ys t em t ype m e nu. A Sw ap part it ion of1 GB is a good com prom is e . I fyou pl an t o re m as t e r your s ys t e m , cre at e a 2 GB s w ap part it ion. I fyou pl an t o h av e m ore t h an f our part it ions , cre at e one oft he f our prim ary part it ions as an e xt e nde d part it ion by ch anging " Prim ary Part it ion" t o" Ext e nde d Part it ion" in t h e Ne w box. Th is is l ocat edj us tabov e t he f il e s ys t em t ype ch oos e r . Th is w il l cre at e t h e part it ion on al l oft he re m aining s pace on your driv e . You m ay cre at e as m any " L ogical " part it ions as you w oul dl ik e w it h in it . Not e t h at L ogical part it ion num be rs w il l be gin atf iv e .(h da5) W h e n cre at ing your part it ions , be s ure t o s iz e t hem t o h ol d w h atyou w il l be put t ing on t h e m pl us e xt ra s pace f or updat e s , adding appl icat ions , and f or your f il e s and f ol de rs . For your m ain dis t ro, you m ay w antt o h av e s e parat e / h om e and root(/ ) part it ions . You m ay do t h is f or al l ins t al l at ions , or you m ay ch oos e t o ins t al l e ach dis t ro us ing one part it ion pe r dis t ro. Be ce rt ain t h atot her dis t ros do notus e your m ain / h om e part it ion. Al s o, you w il l ne e d t o w rit e e ach oft h e s e part it ion num be rs dow n be caus e you w il l ne e d t hem l at er . W h e n you ins t al l t h e boot l oade r ofyour m ain dis t ro, ch oos e t he " ins t al l t o M BR" opt ion. I ns t al l t h e ot her boot l oade rs t ot h e rootpart it ion ofe ach dis t ro. Be aw are t h ats om e dis t ros ins t al l t ot h e M BR by de f aul tw it h out as k ing you t o ch oos e . Find outh ow t o ch ange t h is be f ore you proce e d, ifno opt ions are e as il y av ail abl e. T o add an e nt ry t o your boot l oade r , ope n PCC and cl ick on " Se tup H ow t h e Sys t e m Boot s" .Whent h e w iz ard ope ns , cl ick ne xtifyou are notm ak ing ch ange s t ot he w ay t h atPCL inuxO S is boot e d. O n t he f ol l ow ing page , cl ick " Add" t o add anot h e rl is t ing t o your grub m e nu.

32

You'l l ne e d t o k now t h e part it ion num be r on w h ich you ins t al l e d root . (You s h oul d h av e t h is w rit t e n dow n al re ady.) I m port ant : You s h oul df ind outt h e k e rne l v e rs ion num be r oft h e dis t ro and be pre pare d t o e nt e r it . Exam pl e : 2.6.18.6.de v 3.l gc is t h e k e rne l v e rs ion in PCL O S 9 4 RC1. An e nt ry f or itw oul d be :

linux /boot/vmlinuz- 2.6.18.6.dev3.lgc /dev/hda5 splash=silent

Al t e rnat iv el y, you coul d ope n a t e rm inal ,t ype " s u" and e nt er . Giv e your rootpas s w ord w h e n as k e d and t hen t ype " k w rit e / boot / grub/ m e nu.l st " .W h e n t h e e dit or ope ns , s crol l t ot h e bot t om and m ak e an e nt ry, m aybe s om e t h ing l ik e t h is :

title Mepis rootnoverify (hd0,7) chainloader +1

I m port ant : Be s ure t o h av e an e m pt y s pace be t ween e nt rie s in your /boot/grub/menu.lst. Grub num be ring be gins w it h 0, s o your f irs th ard driv e w il l be h d0. Any addit ional h ard driv e s w il l be num be re d f rom 1 on up. Part it ions are al s o num be re d in t h is m anne r by grub. Th us your f irs tpart it ion on your f irs t H DD w il l be h d0,0. Not e : SATA driv e s w il l be s d rat h e rt h an h d. For m ore inf orm at ion on grub, cons ul tt h e m anual at : ht t p:/ / w w w .gnu.org/ s of t w are / grub/ m anual / grub.h t ml GPart edl iv e CD is av ail abl e f or dow nl oad at : ht t p:/ / gpart e d.s ource f orge .ne t / l iv e cd.ph p Enj oy your m ul t i-boot ing e xpe rie nce .

33

R e d R oot Prom pt
by Sim f ox
M any pe opl e w oul dl ik e a painl ess v is ual re m inde r t h at t h e y are w ork ing as rootw h e n in t he t e rm inal . H e re 's a s im pl e w ay t o accom pl is h t h at . St artyour f il e m anage r as Supe rus e r (St art> Appl icat ions > Fil e t ool s > Fil e M anage r - Supe r Us e r M ode ). Nav igat e t o/ et c. Add t he f ol l ow ing t ot h e e nd of your / et c/ bas h rc f il e . Now your rootprom ptw il l be re d and your us e r prom ptw il l be norm al , according t o your sel e ct e d or de f aul tcol or s ch e m e .

# Set Root Prompt to Red function setprompt { local RED="\[$(tput setaf 1)\]" local RESET="\[$(tput sgr0)\]" if [ `id -u` = 0 ] # check if user is root then PS1="$RED[\u@\h:\W]$RESET " else PS1="[\u@\h:\W]$RESET " fi } setprompt
Enj oy.

34

Ne w Kid in Tow n
by s t e ph e nt ony
I 'v e us e d W indow s f rom 3.1 t h rough t o XP . I bough tt he ne w ope rat ing s ys t e m s , and in orde r t o run t h e m , in s om e ins t ance s , a ne w com put er . Th ings cam e t oa h e ad righ taround t h e h ol idays . I w as re ading t he s ys t e m re q uire m e nt s f or V is t a, and coul d notbe l ie v e w h atitne e ds t o run prope rl y. M icros of th as a re al rack e tgoing and pe opl e are t oo af raid t o dum p W indow s . W h ate l s e w oul dt h e y us e ? Th e y us e itatw ork and h om e and t h e y're af raid t h e re is no ot h e r w ay! Com bine d w it h t h e bl oat e d O S and al l t he bl oat e d s of t w are , and t h e ne v e r e nding s e curit y is s ue s , I de cide d t h ate nough w as e nough . It ol d m y w if e t h atI w as dum ping W indow s and s h e l augh e d f or about10 m inut es.I 'v e be e n s aying t h is f or t h e pas tf e w ye ars , butas s um e d t h atany L inux O S w oul d be t oo dif f icul tf or m e t o ins t al l . Th is t im e I de cide d t o putin a l it t l e w ork re ading about L inux, and dis cov e re d t h e w onde rf ul L iv e CD's . Af t e r m ore re ading, and CD burning, I de cide d t o go w it h w h atI t h ough tw oul d be t h e e as ie s tins t al l . I w e nt w it h Fre e s pire . I tw as e as y t o ins t al l and aut o de t e ct ed ev e ryt h ing, incl uding m y W iFi card. Th e probl e m w as t h ataf t e r s e e ing dis t ros l ik e Ubunt u, M e pis , and l as tbutnotl e as t , PCL inuxO S, I f el tl ik e I w as ge t t ing a bitofa w at e re d dow n L inux e xpe rie nce . Fre e s pire is gre at , butI w ant e d s om e t h ing e l se.I 'm not s ure ift h atm ak e s s e ns e . I j us tf el tt h atw it h al l oft he

35

pos it iv e s in m ov ing t ot he L inux O S, t he f actw as t h atin orde r t o re al l y appre ciat e it , I w as going t o h av e t o do s om e w ork . W h e n I de cide d t o go w it h PCL inuxO S (notan e as y de cis ion) I burne d t h e W indow s driv e rs f or m y Broadcom w ire l e s s card t o a CD. Af t e r al l oft h e h orror st orie s I re ad on dif f e re ntw e b s it e s aboutge t t ing a L inux O S up and running, I w as s h ock e d t of ind t h atit w as m uch e as ie r t h an I h ad re ad. Th e driv e rs l oade d f l aw l essl y and I h ad m y I nt e rne tconne ct ion up and running in l ess t h an 5 m inut es. I h ad t h e s am e e xpe rie nce w it h t h e Synapt ic Pack age M anage r . Th is w as a nigh t m are ? I unde rs t and t h atdif f e re ntf l av ors ofL inux pos e dif f e re nt ch al l e nge s , buts om e oft h is s t uf fyou re ad is l ik e urban l e ge nd ifyou as k m e . Anyw ay, I 'v e be e n running w it h PCL inuxO S f or w e e k s now and I 'm h av ing a bl as t ! If eel l ik e a k id on Ch ris t m as day. W indow s is of fbot h my de s k t op (I 'm running Ubunt u) and m y l apt op (PCL inuxO S), and I h av e no w antor ne e d t o go back . It h ough tI w oul d go t h rough s e rious W indow s w it h draw al , butith as noth appe ne d. I don'tne e d anyone t ot el l me t h aton e v e ry l ev el t h is is w h atan O S is s uppos e d t o be . I k now itin m y gut . Jus tl ik e I al w ays k ne w t h e re h ad t o be a be t t e r w ay t h an W indow s . M y w if e h as a M ac, buts h e w as v e ry int e re s t edwh enI s h ow e d h e r bot h ope rat ing s ys t e m s . Sh e l ov e d bot h and is notl augh ing anym ore . I 'm gl ad t o be h e re !

36

H ow t o Cont ribut e
by M e rl in W h it e w ol f
Cont ribut ing is a big partoft h e FO SS com m unit y. De v el ope rs cont ribut e t h e ir t im e and e f f ort s t ot he com m unit yt o de v el op appl icat ions and/ or an O S. Th e re as ons t h e y do s o m ay v ary, butt h e re s ul toft h e ir ef f ort s is a dire ctpre s e nt at ion t ot h e com m unit y. W it h out t h e m , w e , as us e rs , w oul d notbe h e re . W e w oul d notbe us ing PCL inuxO S or any ot h e r FO SS s ys t e m or s of t w are . I tis im port antt h atw e cont ribut e al s o. W e s h oul d not al l ow ours e l v es t o be j us tus e rs , butrat h e r w e s h oul d be com e f ul l m e m be rs oft h e com m unit y by our cont ribut ions . Th e re is no l ow e r l im iton cont ribut ing. Ev e ryone can cont ribut e s om e t h ing. H e re are a f e w s ugge s t ions : Donat e m one y - Th e re are al w ays f inancial ne e ds conne ct e d w it h any s of t w are or s ys t e m de v el opm e nt . Cont ribut e w h atyou are f inancial l y abl e t o giv e . St art w it h t h e O S you are us ing. I fyou h av e m ore f inancial re s ource s av ail abl e , cont ribut e t ot h e de v el ope rs ofyour f av orit e or m os tus e d appl icat ions . Th is is t he met h od by w h ich f urt h e r de v el opm e ntis m ade pos s ibl e and ne w e r h ardw are be com e s us abl e w it h t h is and ot h e r GNU/ L inux O Se s . Cont ribut e your t al e nt s -I fyou h av e t h e k now l e dge t o add t ot he ef f ort s t h atgo int o de v el oping PCL inuxO S, v ol unt e e rt o w ork w it h t h e rippe r gang. I fyou can cont ribut e t ot h e de v el opm e ntoft h is O S or any ope n s ource proj e ctby adding t ot h e code ofa program or

37

w rit ing an int e rf ace t o a com m and l ine program , you w il l h av e giv e n a cont ribut ion t ot h e com m unit y. Join a Proj e ct- V is ith t t p:/ / w w w .m ypcl inuxos .com /and s e e w h atproj e ct s are be ing de v el ope d. Th e re are m any proj e ct s t h atcont ribut e t ot h e com m unit yt h atare h os t ed t h e re . Th e m agaz ine proj e ct ,t h e be aut if icat ion proj e ct and ot h e rs w e l com e cont ribut ors . I fyou h av e no m aj or s k il l s,v ol unt e e rt o be a t est er .I fyou l ack e nough k now l e dge t o be an e f f e ct iv e t est er , giv e e ncourage m e nt . Ev e ryone h as s om e t h ing t o giv e. Act iv e Com m unit y Part icipat ion - A) I fyou k now , or t h ink you k now t h e ans w e r t o a ne w us e r's probl e m , re s pond t ot h e ir q ue s t ion. I ft h e ans w e r t h e y ne e d h as be e n pos t e d pre v ious l y, re s pond w it h al ink t ot h att h re ad and a s e nt e nce or ph ras e l ik e , " I be l ie v e t h is m ay h e l p." B) Th e f orum h as a s e arch f e at ure , butdon'tas s um e t h ate v e ryone k now s h ow t o us e a s e arch e ngine t o it s f ul l e s te xt e nt . As s is t ing s om e one w it h s e arch ing f or an ans w e r and in t h e proce s s giv ing t hem t h e s e arch t e rm s you'v e us e d w il l cont ribut e t ot h e ir k now l e dge . I nt urn, t h e y w il l h av e t h e k now l e dge ne e de d t o pas s on t h ese s ol ut ions ata l at e rt im e t o anot h e r ne w m e m be r oft he com m unit y. Encouraging ot h e rs in t h e ir at t e m pt s atl e arning s om e t h ing ne w or giv ing t hem t h e k now l e dge t o cont inue h as it s v al ue . M any t im e s t h e s im pl e actof e ncouraging s om e one t o cont inue in t h e ir s e arch f or k now l e dge is t h e gre at e s tcont ribut ion t h atcan be m ade . C) W e l com e ne w us e rs . A s im pl e " H el l o, nice t omeet you" can be v e ry im port ant .I tl et s ne w m e m be rs k now t h att h e y are not ice d and are notl os tin a crow d of st range rs . No one s h oul dev e rf eel inv is ibl e.Whet her t h e y are k now l e dge abl e and abl e t o m ak e an im m e diat e cont ribut ion or an abs ol ut e be ginne r ,ev e ry ne w m e m be r s h oul d k now t h att h e y are w e l com e . D) Be k ind. Be pat ie nt .Al it t l e k indne s s goe s a l ong w ay.

38

So, t oo, doe s im pat ie nce and crue l t y. Be ing k ind and pat ie ntcont ribut e s m uch m ore t ot h e com m unit y, bot h now and in t he f ut ure . I tbrings a m uch gre at e r ch ance ofcont inuing t o h av e a com m unit y ofus e rs , rat h e rt h an al is tofus e rs . Th e s e are m y ide as aboutcont ribut ing, in part icul ar aboutcont ribut ing t ot h e PCL inuxO S com m unit y. I nmy opinion, t h e s e m ay be appl ie d anyw h e re , butas a w is e m an once t ol dme," You al w ays s t artw h e re you are ."

Th e ot h e r day I w al k e d int ot h is l it t l e pl ace t h ats e l l s ol d s of t w are , ol d com put e rs , and s om e ne w s of t w are . I w al k e d up t o a s al e s cl e rk and s aid, " Do you guys carry L inux? "H e t ook one l ook atm e (I am 15 ye ars ol d) and, notk now ing w h atL inux w as , h e ch e ck e d t h e rack w it h gam e s . I s aid, " No, L inux is nota gam e -- it 's an ope rat ing s ys t e m ." H e l ook e d conf us e d, t h enst ut t e re d, " Uh h h ...ye ah ...w e l l ch e ck t h atrack , w e 'v e gots t uf fl ik e Quick e n t h e re ." H e re 's a s t ory w h e re s om e de gre e off aul tl ie s on bot h s ide s . I w as atm y l ocal l arge dis counts t ore , w al k ing t h rough t he el e ct ronics s e ct ion l ik e I of t en do. A young coupl e w as l ook ing ata com put er , as s is t e d by a s al e s pe rs on. I ov e rh e ard t he f ol l ow ing conv e rs at ion: * Sal e s m an: " You s h oul d re al l y ge tt he f ul l pack age , w it h t h e ne w m onit or and t h e ot h e r acce s s orie s ." * H us band: " Butw e al re ady h av e a m onit or and k e yboard f rom our ol d com put er ." * Sal e s m an: " You s h oul dst il l ge tt h e pack age , be caus e itcom e s w it h a f as t e r k e yboard." Th e coupl e conv e rs e d f or a m om e nt . * H us band: " Can w e putiton l ayaw ay and m ak e paym e nt s on it ? "

39

H ow t o M ak e R -base W ork
From t h e W e bs it e (ht t p:/ / w w w .r-proj e ct .org/): " R is a l anguage and e nv ironm e ntf or s t at is t ical com put ing and graph ics . I tis a GNU proj e ct(h t t p:/ / w w w .gnu.org/ ) w h ich is s im il ar t ot he Sl anguage and e nv ironm e ntw h ich w as de v el ope d atBe l l L aborat orie s (f orm e rl y AT& T , now L uce ntT e ch nol ogie s ) by Joh n Ch am be rs and col l e ague s . R can be cons ide re d as a dif f e re nt im pl e m e nt at ion ofS. Th e re are s om e im port ant dif f e re nce s , butm uch code w rit t enf or S runs unal t e re d unde r R." R is w ide l y us e d f or s t at is t ical s of t w are de v el opm e ntand dat a anal ys is , and h as be com e a de f act ost andard am ong s t at is t icians f or t h e de v el opm e nt ofs t at is t ical s of t w are . R is pow e rf ul s of t w are f or int e ract ing w it h dat a. W it h R you can cre at e s oph is t icat e d graph s , you can carryout st at is t ical anal ys e s , and you can cre at e and run s im ul at ions . R is al s o a program m ing l anguage w it h an e xt e ns iv e s e tofbuil t in f unct ions , s o you can, w it h s om e e xpe rie nce , e xt e nd t he l anguage and w rit e your ow n code t o buil d your ow n st at is t ical t ool s . Adv ance d us e rs can ev e n incorporat e f unct ions w rit t e n in ot h e rl anguage s , s uch as C, C+ + , and Fort ran. I ne e de d t h e st at is t ics ofR, butw as uns ucce s s f ul us ing t h e R-bas e av ail abl e f rom Synapt ic. I coul d ins t al l it , butw h e n I t rie d t o us e t he " ins t al l .pack age s " f unct ion in R t o ge tne w pack age s I ne e de d, itf ail e d. Th e pack age s dow nl oade d f rom t h e m irror as e xpe ct e d, butt hent heyf ail edt o

by acaz a

40

ins t al l on m y com put er . I w as l ef tw it h a bunch of us e l ess Z I Pf il e s in a TM P f ol de r .I 'm a L inux ne w bie (s e v e n days t ot al e xpe rie nce , as I w rit e t h is ), s o I m igh t h av e be e n doing s om e t h ing w rong. H ow e v er , Is t il l ne e de d R, and I m anage d t o ins t al l it dire ct l yf rom t h e s ource code . St e p-by-s t e p, I did t h is : Dow nl oad s ource f il e R-2.4.1.t ar .gz f rom : ht t p:/ / l ib.s t at .cm u.e du/ R/ CRAN/ Ext ractitby ope ning a t e rm inal , nav igat ing t ot he f ol de r w h e re you s av edt h e dow nl oad, and t yping:

tar xvfz R-2.4.1.tar.gz

Not e t h atyou m us tge tt h e nam e e xact , incl uding capit al iz at ion. O nce t he t ar h as be e n e xt ract e d, ope n K onq e ror in Supe r-Us e r m ode (Appl icat ions >Fil e T ool s >Fil e M anage r Supe rus e r M ode ) and m ov e t he f ol de r cre at e d w h e n you e xt ract edt he t ar (R-2.4.1) t o/ us r/ l ib/ Th e onl y de pe nde ncy notm e tin m y Big Daddy v e rs ion ofPL O S h ad s om e t h ing t o do w it h Fort ran77 com pil ing. I us e d Synapt ic t o updat e gcc-g77 and pe rl _ Ext Ut il s _ F77. Th att ook care ofit . Th e n I f ol l ow e d t h e dire ct ions f or ins t al l ing f rom t he CRAN s it e: ht t p:/ / l ib.s t at .cm u.e du/ R/ CRAN/ doc/ m anual s/ Radm in.h t ml in s e ct ion 2 (ins t al l ing R unde r UNI X-al ik e s ). Es s e nt ial l y t h e re w as onl yt wost e ps pe rf orm e d in a t e rm inal .

./configure make

41

Th e CRAN page giv e s s om e addit ional st e ps about m ak ing m anual s and h e l p page s and s uch , butt h e st e ps abov e gav e m e a w ork ing ins t al l at ion ofR. NO TE: " R" w il l notappe ar in t h e appl icat ion l aunch e r t he w ay itdoe s w it h a Synapt ic ins t al l . It h ink t h is is a good t h ing, be caus e t h e GUI t h atcom e s w it h t h e Synapt ic v e rs ion h as no s crol l f unct ion;you can'tl ook att h e e arl y part s ofl ong out put . W it h t h e ins t al l at ion f rom s ource , I s im pl y e nt e r" R" (w it h outt h e q uot e s ) in a t e rm inal and t he program runs righ tt h e re . M uch be t t e rf or m e . I h ope t h is m ak e s s e ns e , and t h atith e l ps anyone h av ing s im il ar t roubl e.

I n a s m al l com put e rs t ore ... *M e : " H i. I ne e d a 25 pin RS-232 cabl e ." * Sal e s Cl e rk 1: " W h atdo you ne e d itf or? " *M e : " I ne e d t o pl ug a V T100 int o a m ode m . I h av e bot h t he V T100 and t h e m ode m , I j us tne e d at25 pin m al e/ f e m al e cabl e w it h RS-232 conne ct ors ." * Sal e s Cl e rk 1: " L e tm e ge tm y m anage r ." H uh ? * Sal e s Cl e rk 1: in back ground: " I h av e a guy h e re w h o w ant s t o pl ug h is V CR int o a m ode m ." Th e s al e s cl e rk re t urne d w it h anot her . * Sal e s Cl e rk 2: " H el l o, s ir . You can'tat t ach a V CR t o a m ode m ." *M e : " Th atis notw h atI am t rying t o do. I ne e d a 25-pin RS-232 cabl e -- t h at 's al l . Do you h av e cabl es f or pl ugging int o m ode m s ? " * Sal e s Cl e rk 2: " W h atdo you w antt o pl ug int ot h e m ode m ? " *M e : " AV T100. I tis a t e rm inal . You pl ug itint o a com put e r ov e r a s e rial l ine , f re q ue nt l y a m ode m . I j us tne e d a 25-pin cabl e t o go f rom t h e unitt ot h e m ode m ." * Sal e s Cl e rk 2: (t o Sal e s Cl e rk 1) " H e doe s n'th av e aV CR. H e w ant s t o pl ug a V TR int o h is m ode m , s o itis al l righ t ." Sal e s Cl e rk 1 h ande d m e a cabl e. *M e : " Th is is a 9 -pin cabl e . I ne e d a 25 pin cabl e ." * Sal e s Cl e rk 2: " M os tPC's h av e 9 pins on t h e ir s e rial cards ." *M e : " I am notat t ach ing a PC. I am at t ach ing a V T100. Th e re are 25 pins on it-- itne e ds t o pl ug int o a 25 pin conne ct or ." * Sal e s Cl e rk 2: " Th e n us e t h e s m al l e nd t o pl ug int o your m ode m ." *M e : " Th e re are 25 pins on t h e m ode m as w e l l . Do you h av e any 25 pin cabl es? Al l I ne e d is a cabl e w it h 25 pins ate ach e nd." * Sal e s Cl e rk 2: " Th is is a 25 pin cabl e ."

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DI SCL AI M ER
1. Al l t h e cont e nt s ofPCL inuxO S M agaz ine (h t t p:/ / m ag.M yPCL inuxO S.com ), are int e nde d f or ge ne ral inf orm at ion and/ or us e onl y. Such cont e nt s do notcons t it ut e adv ice and s h oul d notbe re l ie d upon in m ak ing (or re f raining f rom m ak ing) any de cis ion. Any s pe cif ic adv ice or re pl ie s t o q ue rie s in any partoft h e m agaz ine is / are t h e pe rs onal opinion(s ) ofs uch e xpe rt s/ cons ul t ant s/ pe rs ons and are nots ubs cribe d t o by PCL inuxO S M agaz ine . 2. Th e inf orm at ion in PCL inuxO S M agaz ine (h t t p:/ / m ag.M yPCL inuxO S.com ), is prov ide d on an " AS I S" bas is , and al l w arrant ie s e xpre s s e d or im pl ie d, ofany k ind, re garding any m at t e r pe rt aining t o any inf orm at ion, adv ice or re pl ie s , are dis cl aim e d and e xcl ude d. 3. PCL inuxO S M agaz ine (h t t p:/ / m ag.M yPCL inuxO S.com ), and it s as s ociat e s s h al l notbe l iabl e , atany t im e f or dam age s (incl uding, w it h outl im it at ion, dam age s f or l os s ofany k ind) aris ing in cont ract ,t ort , or ot h e rw is e f rom t h e us e of , or inabil it yt o us e , t h e m agaz ine or any ofit s cont e nt s , or f rom any act ion t ak e n (or re f raine d f rom be ing t ak e n) as a re s ul tof us ing t h e m agaz ine or any s uch cont e nt s or f or f ail ure ofpe rf orm ance , e rror , om is s ion, int e rrupt ion, de l et ion, de f e ct , de l ay in ope rat ion or t rans m is s ion, com put e rv irus , com m unicat ions l ine f ail ure , t hef tor de s t ruct ion or unaut h oriz e d acce s s t o, al t e rat ion of , or us e of , inf orm at ion cont aine d in t h e m agaz ine . 4. No re pre s e nt at ion, w arrant ie s , or guarant e e s w h at s oe v e r are m ade as t ot h e accuracy, ade q uacy, re l iabil it y, com pl et e ne s s , s uit abil it y, or appl icabil it y oft h e inf orm at ion t oa part icul ar s it uat ion. 5. Ce rt ain l ink s on t h e m agaz ine l e ad t o re s ource s l ocat e d on ot h e r s e rv e rs m aint aine d by t h ird part ie s ov e r w h om PCL inuxO S M agaz ine (h t t p:/ / m ag.M yPCL inuxO S.com ) h as no cont rol or conne ct ion, bus ine s s or ot h e rw is e . Th e s e s it e s are e xt e rnal t o PCL inuxO S M agaz ine (h t t p:/ / m ag.M yPCL inuxO S.com ) and by v is it ing t h e s e , you are doing s o ofyour ow n accord and as s um e al l re s pons ibil it yf or s uch act ion.

M at e rial Subm it t e d by Us e rs
A m aj orit y ofs e ct ions in t h e m agaz ine cont ain m at e rial s s ubm it t e d by us e rs . PCL inuxO S M agaz ine (h t t p:/ / m ag.M yPCL inuxO S.com ) acce pt s no re s pons ibil it yf or t h e cont e nt , accuracy, and conf orm it yt o appl icabl e l aw s ofs uch m at e rial .

Ent ire Agre e m e nt

Th e s e it e m s cons t it ut e t h e e nt ire agre e m e ntbe t weent h e part ie s w it h re s pe ctt ot he s ubj e ctm at t e r h e re of , and s upe rs e de s and re pl ace s al l prior or cont e m porane ous unde rs t andings or agre e m e nt s , w rit t e n or oral , re garding s uch s ubj e ctm at t er .