06/29 CSUA Politburo Meeting, 5:00pm Wednesday 6/30, 337 or 343 Soda

6/29    Are data on a CD or LD stored in concentric circles (like on a hard
        disk) or one spiral track (like on an LP)?  Thx.
        \_ They spiral outwards which means that you can get much higher
           data density on the outer tracks than you can on the inner ones.
           This is also one explaination why CD's are somewhat slower than
           hard disks are.
        \_ Spiral CD.  Dunno LD.
           \_ If it's spiral, how does an audio CD player jump between
              "tracks" (songs) or back and forth within a song so quickly?
              And how does a CD-ROM drive jump between and within files?  Thx.
              \_ redbook defines how audio track info is stored.  there is
                 generally a table on the inner part of the cd that tells
                 how far from the center any particular track is.
        \_ LD is analog.

6/30    Are cgi-scripts enabled on csua homepages?
        \_ Read 'man www'
        \_ Where is the man page located?  I need to add it onto my
           MANPATH...
                \_ unsetenv MANPATH and use the default
                   it will find all you need

6/30    I asked another host machine to install a ssh client so that I could
        telnet there and then ssh to soda.  Thing is, I can't connect
        because soda doesn't support ssh protocol v2.  Does anyone know
        about plans to change this?
        \_ there's a slightly easier way to do this and it doesn't involve
           asking someone else to install something for you.
        \_ when data fellows makes their ssh2 implementation less stupid
           about their license.
        \_ ssh2 is still in testing and not free for use.  Have them install
           ssh1 as well.
        \_ Ride BIKE!
        \_ Compile your own.
        \_ Interestingly (to me anyway), this only puts the security breach
           one step back.  Instead of a cracker sniffing your soda account,
           \_ the point is that soda's subnet is filled with lemurs.
           they can sniff your other telnet account, and then ssh from there
           to soda and wreak all sorts of terrible havok!
           \_ Telneting somewhere just to be able ssh to soda is a really
              stupid idea.  It not only defeats the security that the soda
              admins are trying to establish, but also compromises the other
              account as well.  Get off your ass and install ssh on your owm
              machine or explore the possibility of using s/key.
              \_ The soda admins are trying to protect against sniffers on this
                subnet.  Telnet->ssh is no dumber than purely telnet,
                and given the number of lemurs probably a bunch safer.

6/30    Is soda dying?
        \_ No, but it's been left out too long and gone flat.

06/30   ED!  ED!  ED is the STANDARD!  Text Editor.  Don't let those
        locking text editors fool you!  Protect your right to use ED
        on the motd!
        \_ Eat flaming death.
        \_ I edit with /bin/cat.  Down with so called more advanced editors
           such as ed!  Up with cat!  Down with ed!

6/30    Some time ago, there was a short that was a StarWars parody
        that you could download.  What is the name of it and does
        anybody know of a place that I could get it?  Thanks.
        \_ do you mean the South Park one?
        \_ or troops?  look around http://theforce.net.
           \_ Yes.  Thank you.
        \_ Do you mean TROOPS?
        \_ <DEAD>www.thumbtv.com<DEAD>
        \_ http://www.sagabegins.com
        \_ http://www.cdnow.com - Weird Al Yankovic, "Running with Scissors"

6/30    Anybody tried ordering out-of-print books from Amazon?  Are they
        any good at getting the books?  I order one 3 weeks ago and they still
        haven't gotten back to me.  Thanks.
        \_ July 1997, I figured, on a whime, to see if they can get
           that "Wormy" comic novel (basically, a collection of strips from
           that cartoon from Dragon Magazine. I submitted the request to
           Amazon, they found the ISBN, and requested a search. Then I
           forgot about it. Every now and then, I'd be amused to see that
                \-they seem to be a *lot* pricier --psb
                 \_ I'm never seen a out of print service that wasn't.
                    That is why I just like to prowl used bookstores
                    often and grab things when I can find them.
           I still had a request pending for it. Then, a month ago, I got
           an email saying that Amazon had tracked down the book, and asking
           if I were still interested. I sayd "Sure, why not", and, though
           it took another 2-3 weeks, I got it. Granted, this was a fairly
           mainstream graphic novel from 1987, so, if you want, say, a
           first edition George Bernard Shaw treatise on mathematics, you
           may want to wait a while, but, from this one limited example,
           I got results.
        \_ I waited 7 months and they finally got back to me, asking me to
           confirm if I wanted it. I confirmed. Three weeks later, they go
           "Ooops, we really didn't find it. We're still looking."
        \_ use http://www.alibris.com instead.   More pricy than finding it in a
           used bookstore but cheaper and MUCH faster than Amazon.
        \_ They found my book in 2 weeks but I found it on my own in 2 days.
           It's ok if you're not in a rush.  There's another out-of-print
           books place that does a much better job different than the url given
           above.  If I can find it I'll post it later today or tonight.
                \_ Try <DEAD>www.abebooks.com;<DEAD> they often have books I can't
                   find elsewhere. -- tabloyd

6/30    Telnet access to Melvyl and Gladis turned off for security
        reasons. ssh only.
        \_ I thought you did't need a password to get on the library
           database.  Is that true?  If so, why does it matter if it's
           secure or not?
           \_ Um, have you ever heard of sarcasm?  How about trying
              "telnet melvyl" yourself to see if this was accurate (it's
              not).
                \_ Imagine that!  Someone sniffing my melvyl login and doing
                   their own research!  Nefarious!

6/30    This may seem a bit unconventional but since csua is disabling telnet
        and people are complaining about firewall restrictions is it possible
        to have sshd also listen to port 23 since most firewall admins don't
        block that? --non-alum
        \_ It makes more sense to have it on the rlogin port, since ssh
           emulates that stuff securely. And yes, it works through a
           firewall that way, if it passes port 512. Or it would work
           on the telnet port too. However, some firewalls require use of
           PROXIES, to stop exactly this kind of shennanigans.

6/30    SOUTH PARK IS OUT TODAY! KICK BUTT!
                                 \_ that's 'kick - ass' you goddamn hippie
                                    ;)
                                    \_ your smiley is stupid
                                       \_ >:P
        \_ why do people make fun of Kenny?
                \_ because he is cmlee
                \_ Oh my god!  They killed Kchang!  Kick ASS!

6/30    If I decide to change to bash insted of tcsh on soda do I simply
        chsh or do I have add my own .bash* files, or does soda automatilly
        do the right thing?
        \_ chsh
        \_ What do you consider "the right thing"?  You want it to make
           soda customised .bash files for you?
           \_ the default soda shell is tcsh for which all the dotfiles
              are set up, as far as enviroment settings. But when I changed
              to bash one day  I noticed that a bunch of stuff wasn't right
              like my path, and I was simply wondering if there were any
              preconfigured  .bash* files I could copy, or if I had to port
              all the settings myself.
              \_ Most machines usually have default files stored in /etc/skel
                 but csua apparently doesn't have that.
                 \_ That's because most machines DON'T have /etc/skel you
                    moron.  That's a SysVR4-ism.  What soda has is
                    /csua/share/doc/FAQ which tells you where the default
                    dotfiles are.
                    \_ the FAQ sez to look in /usr/share/skel but see NO
                        .bash* files. How do other bash users configure
                        their env for soda?
                        \_ Look at dot.shrc & dot.profile bozo
                        \_ There's only a dozen other bash users and
                           presumably they all knew what they were doing
                           before changing their shell.  Maybe you should
                           try that.
              \_ The CSUA is not here to hold your hand on the path to Unix
                 enlightenment.  We've created reasonable defaults to get
                 you on your feet.  You are more than welcome to diverge
                 from the beaten path, but do not expect a personal guide;
                 The idea behind this is that you might actually learn
                 something by doing it on your own.