December 2001 - openSUSE Edu - openSUSE Mailing Lists

SuSE 7.3 Network Problems
by Alistair Williamson 15 Dec '01

15 Dec '01

Hi All, I am running SuSE 7.3 on what is to be a network server for a school. My problem is, I can't get any network cards to work? I know the cards (I have 4) all work - and indeed in other flavours of Linux. I have now stripped the machine down to 1 card and reloaded SuSE. The card is auto detected and configured. I have set an IP address of 192.168.0.1/255.255.255.0, but I can't ping into or out of the machine (other machines on the same network have no problems pinging each other). I am able to ping localhost - and that works OK (should prove the card is working). All the hardware works correctly with other flavours of Linux (I have e-smith on another drive). I will buy (several) pints for anyone who can help me solve this one! Cheers, Alistair

2 1

Re: [suse-linux-uk-schools] Re: DMCA
by Frank Shute 14 Dec '01

14 Dec '01

On Thu, Dec 13, 2001 at 03:50:13PM -0000, Grainge, Derek wrote: > > > Microsoft are no longer primarily a tech > > company, they're a legal company. > > Since when were they primarily a tech company? About 10 yrs ago. > Most of their goodies came by acquisition. That's right, by using their combined legal & financial muscle and making offers to other firms that they're obliged to take if they don't want to end up unemployed. -- Frank *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Boroughbridge. Tel: 01423 323019 --------- PGP keyID: 0xC0B341A3 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* http://www.esperance-linux.co.uk/ "If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money it values more, it will lose that, too." -- W. Somerset Maugham

1 0

SuSE 7.3 questions....
by Matt Johnson 14 Dec '01

14 Dec '01

Folks, Some quickies for anyone who has used SuSE 7.2 and 7.3... 1) Reading up on SuSE 7.3, it mentions that YaST2 now sets up NIS servers. Does 7.3 handle NIS servers completely in YaST2? Sound easier for a NIS first timer like me. 2) Are there any other reasons to buy a copy of 7.3 if I have 7.2? I would be happy to spend my cash with SuSE if anyone could give me a good excuse! :) 3) How much is 7.3 Pro at Educational rates? 4) Is 7.4 (or whatever will come next) going to come out the day after I buy 7.3? (In other words, shall I hold fire 'cos it's round the corner?) Thanks in advance -- Matt __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Check out Yahoo! Shopping and Yahoo! Auctions for all of your unique holiday gifts! Buy at http://shopping.yahoo.com or bid at http://auctions.yahoo.com

2 1

Re: [suse-linux-uk-schools] DCMA act - Linux format xmas 2001
by Damian Counsell 14 Dec '01

14 Dec '01

> > >The law has historically been imposed as a means to protect property >and of course the more property you've got the more influence you >have in shaping what becomes law. > No problem with that. >Now it seems that the intelligence services have made a grab for more >law, not because they're interested in paedophiles, terrorists are >drug smugglers, but because they're interested in grabbing >intellectual property and more `jobs for the boys'. > Yeah, right, and the Jews were responsible for blowing up the twin towers. I'm very cynical about the authorities's motivations, but "grabbing intellectual property"? That's just tosh. I've heard so many daft conspiracy theories since 9/11 (as the Americans refer to it) that I'm thinking of writing a book. The slack security that led to the incident itself is support for the cock-up theory of disaster more than anything else. Subsequent proposals for new powers are just panicky efforts by incompetents at stable-door shutting. Here in the UK for example (see *The Observer*'s review of her autobiography) our very own Stella Rimington shut down the unit responsible for investigating al-Qaeda members in London years ago because she thought it was a waste of money. Sure, the security forces want more power and money, but most of them are inept plotters---unless it's some elaborate double-bluff, of course. The vast majority of such "security operatives" are bumbling bean-counters who just do what's required for a quiet life. They are civil servants---with all the images that creates; just like the half-wits who negotiate "bargain" deals with Microsoft. >Yay! The penguinistas should march on Menwith Hill, MI6 Vauxhall and >parliament in no particular order and kick the lot out - our taxes >would halve over night ;-) > Please, not the "small government" fetish---even as a joke. Most of the depressing aspects of life in Britain are nothing to do with high taxes and flabby administration; they're to do with people who have allowed themselves to be conned into believing they can have a proper health service (still considerably more efficient than most of the others in the World) without paying for it, or that they should be able to drive to work easily despite sitting one-to-a-jeep as they take their cars to school, to the newsagent and to the out-of-town shopping mall. We live in a democracy and the government pays most attention to the Daily Mail-reading voting bloc that is most likely to put a cross in the box. Increases in security powers are meant to please the "something-must-be-done" brigade and not the sorts of thoughtful iconoclasts who read this list ;-). They are very little to do with "intellectual property" or, indeed, "jobs for the boys"---about which most individual MI6 employees probably couldn't give a toss. (I told you I was cynical.) -- Damian COUNSELL http://www.counsell.com/

4 7

More Tyro questions!
by Alistair Williamson 14 Dec '01

14 Dec '01

I have received my 'official' copy of SuSE 7.3 and have installed it on the server machine. I have tried to configure a DHCP server. I have followed the instructions in the manual and get a positive response to the rcdhcp start command - but whenever a client machine logs on to the network, no IP address is issued. I must be doing something very basic incorrectly - even if I fix the IP address - I can't ping the server. (It isn't a hardware problem and I have tested all the hardware successfully. Similarly, I have tried (with the same lack of success) to configure a SAMBA server. Here I think the problem is establishing accounts for the client machines - I can't find out where to do it? Finally, I have attempted to use WEBMIN to configure SAMBA - but when I try to browse //localhost:901 The response is 'No file of that name'. As always, any pointers are really appreciated. Cheers, Alistair

3 2

webmin
by Phil Driscoll 13 Dec '01

13 Dec '01

I asked a few days ago if anyone knew of a good tool for creating/administrating user accounts, configuring samba passwords etc. A few people replied off list to say that they were using Webmin. Also, I remember from the Linux day at Silcoates that they were also using Webmin. I downloaded and installed Webmin yesterday ( http://www.webmin.com ) and it is a very comprehensive and impressive tool. Is anyone on the list using Tobias Brinkert's user and group management module? If so, have you sorted out the details for bulk user creation? My command of German - ordering a beer :) - cannot cope with the German instructions. Cheers -- Phil Driscoll

2 2

Linux in schools
by Paul Sutton 13 Dec '01

13 Dec '01

A while back someone mentioned on this group that they supply Linux networks to schools, plus server, I can't remember the details, can anyone help. thanks Paul Sutton

3 2

RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] DMCA
by Grainge, Derek 12 Dec '01

12 Dec '01

Most open source actually does have copyright attached to it for exactly the reasons you outline in this thread. The idea being that the author copyrights the work (by statement in the code) and then transfers rights to others, using vehicles like the GPL licensing. Open access doesn't necessarily mean complete lack of copyright. Ask Linus about that one. Linux developers usually go to some lengths to make sure code is protected. Microsoft have been down this road before. I'm thinking of the wars they have had with IBM over OS2, and with Apple. Joint developments which went awry, and resulting 'copyright infringements'. But these people were big enough to fight back. As far as I can see, someone can reverse engineer a product and develop something fairly similar. So longs none of the original code is used, the product can have a similar look and feel. Some software developers try to use the patent law to protect ideas. The law is not good at protecting them. As A software developer I would be very pissed off if someone else used my ideas to produce a new program , and then takes my market away from me. Fair enough: that's what the law's for. Except it doesn't work properly :-) Microsoft see a once only opportunity to deal with a competitor before he gets too big. I think much of that's going on in the States is smoke and mirrors, but it would cost the open source community serious money to fight it. That's the thing to worry about. Can someone point me at online references to the situation in the States? I'm out of date on developments. -- ******************************************************************************** All mail sent and received may be examined to prevent transmission of inappropriate attachments and certain obscenities. Wellington College does not accept responsibility for email contents. Problems to postmaster(a)wellington-college.berks.sch.uk. ********************************************************************************

2 1

RE: [suse-linux-uk-schools] Re: DMCA
by Grainge, Derek 12 Dec '01

12 Dec '01

> Derek raised some very important points in his posting re: DMCA and its > effects. I noticed that you (Derek) are a Software Developer, and you stated > in your posting that you would be very annoyed about someone using your > "ideas" and grabbing some of your market share from the use of such ideas > (perhaps in the form of a similar program etc). Actually I'm a teacher; this was a 'what if' question. However I do develop utilities for dos/windows and netware :-) Most developers aren't in it for altruistic reasons, they're trying to earn a crust. There's a world of difference between a joint venture like open source, and someone whose livelihood depends on selling a product. > You see- for a long time I have listened to copyright protectors > declaring to consumers that they need to copyright their software so that > all benefit. I agree that that's bollocks! No - were I to do this I'm protecting my personal income. But let's try another tack: Let us suppose Microsoft give away all their source for Windows XP (ahem). I download and compile it, and sell copies of XP. I would be on dodgy grounds, depending on what restructions Microsoft imposed. I download it and use the information to construct alternatives to crappy stuff like Windows Explorer. I tie that into the OS, using system hooks, and then I sell that. Fair enough, I'd have thought. Or I get a group of people to cooperate on this software, I whack it on freshmeat, and it's therefore publically available. Again, fair enough. But that's because I have a salary coming in. Then Microsoft see what I've done, like it, copy it and copyright it. Aargh. > Funny, I don't see any benefit from keeping back > what amounts > to "ideas" and "information" and making it "mine"--unless of > course you pay > the monies for me to give you a license to look at them/use them. > > Ideas simply should not be copyrighted or patented. Not that simple. I can't get people to pay for a licence for something I don't (at least in some sense) own. Redhat and Suse generate income from the 'value added' not from Linux itself. But how would Suse feel if I started copying and selling their CDs ? But Linux is open source, I say .... The open source community needs to protect code simply to ensure that control remains with the development group. This is nothing to do with restricting ideas, it's all to do with quality control. And it also prevents others (like Microsoft) from taking open source code and copyrighting/patenting it themselves. Now that would be a big issue, don't you agree? Ideas cannot be copyrighted. They can be patented. Maybe. Code should be copyrighted whether open source or not. -- ******************************************************************************** All mail sent and received may be examined to prevent transmission of inappropriate attachments and certain obscenities. Wellington College does not accept responsibility for email contents. Problems to postmaster(a)wellington-college.berks.sch.uk. ********************************************************************************

1 0

DMCA
by Paul Munro 12 Dec '01

12 Dec '01

If the DMCA act gets snuck in over here (which is highly likely), what will that mean for Linux in schools? Personally, I think that this whole copyright thing is weird. MS often use the "intellectual property" argument to support their licensing features etc--which translated means "protecting their profit". This is all very well, but where do consumer rights fit in here? What does the DMCA promise in the way of consumer protection? Another example of this question in action is the MSN network ISP service. When you sign up, you effectively give MS full control over any content you post. They say it becomes "theirs"!! Where's the consumer's "intellectual property rights" there then? Is there anything we can do to voice our concerns about this democratically (I don't like rubber bullets ;-) Paul

2 1