4/27    What's a good replacement for the Byte magazine? I want something
        more technical than PC Magazine, but less extreme than the art
        of computer programming.
        \_ Uhm, Dr. Dobb's? Maybe too technical? Are you doing only a
           software mag or do you want a hardware mag? If you want pure
           hardware, you can try circuit cellar (for ee in general, not
           only for computers).

4/13    If I buy Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 with 5 CALs,
        it comes with an exchange server I can run right?  Can
        I only run that for 5 users?  or can I run it for many many
        users ??

4/8     PLEASE HELP!  I work in a very linux friendly environment.  All of my
        servers are Unix/linux.  But some of the execs (including the ceo)
        use outlook and get a lot of use out of their blackberries.  Presently
        I am feeling pressure to get an MS Exchange Server!
        (blackberry edition).  This pressure is very likely to increase.
        Is there no linux based solution that well integrates mail and
        calendaring (blackberry integration would be nice too, but if I just
        had a good mail/calender server, I think I could stem the rising tide.
            \_ Are you talking client or server ?  If it is client:
        you could consider using kontact http://kontact.org
        \_ I'm guessing he's asking about the server.  How about Novell
           Evolution?  I don't know how far it has come, but I believe its
           goal is to replace Exchange Servers.
        \_ The 2/14/05 issue of InfoWorld has a review on linux mail server
           migration, where they review software that can serve Outlook
           clients. The stuff they reviewed are Gordano Messaging Server,
           Novell Suse Linux Openexchange, Scalix, and CommuniGate Pro.
        \_ We use Oracle Exchange Server. Unfortunately, I cannot
           recommend it. -ausman

3//31   http://flag.blackened.net
        \_ your point is?
           \_ Big to-do lately about subpoena of server logs.  Was on slashdot
              I think.  -John

3/7     Hello, just sort of wondering, when is the CSUA's IRC server
        going to come back?
        \_ Don't hold your breath.  You can use http://irc.ocf.berkeley.edu,
           though, which is on the same network.  --root
           \_ http://irc.csua.org has the ips of the three servers that are usually
              on the network (irc.ocf, irc.csua, http://irc.bushong.net)

2/2     I have a 7 year old PC (with display) that I'd like to get rid of. Can
        I just dump it outside of my house and expect it to be picked up
        by the Berkeley garbage service?
        \_ http://www.otxwest.org
        \_ No, it is hazardous waste. Take it here: http://www.accrc.org

2/2     is it possible for terrorist to set up fake websites to
        capture financial info, hijack the DNS servers and make
        them point to their fake websites?
        \_ "hijack the DNS servers" is the key point here. Not if
           the sites are designed properly.

2/2     What are the differences and pros/cons of POP3 vs. IMAP?  I'm asking
        both on the admin side and for the end-user.
        \_ Hm the nuker strikes again.  IMAP is good because it lets you see
           mails from several clients (including via CLI and web mail.)  If
           you're going to do imap, I recommend Dovecot/imaps + Postfix with
           TLS and SMTP AUTH.  I also run an openwebmail server over SSL, the
           whole combo works a charm.  -John
        \_ The most irritating aspect of POP3 is when you are migrating
           someone to another computer, and their new workstation downloads
           5,000 duplicate e-mails that weren't deleted from the mail server
           yet -- and each duplicate e-mail is re-filtered into separate
           folders in their e-mail client.
        \_ IMAP uses more disk space on the server, and pop is a pain for
           the end-user-side if they have more than one computer. POP
           is good if the user has one computer. overall IMAP is nice.
           \_ How much more?  One file per message vs. one file per user, or
              multiple copies of each message?  Are we talking 5% or 200%?
              \_ The number of messages per file varies depending on the
                 implementation, but with IMAP, mail stays on the server,
                 so that is a whole lot more disk space if you user keeps
                 a lot of mail, and the storage grows over time. I don't
                 think any sane email system would keep "multiple copies
                 of each message".
                 http://www.google.com/search?q=pop+versus+imap
                 \_ Disk size doubles every 12 (or is it 18 month).  Not using
                    IMAP because (shock and horror) users will store mail on
                    the server (kind of the point, now isn't it) is a) insane
                    and b) means you need don't understand exponentials and
                    should probably get out of this computery business...
        \_ IMAP is great if you have mail clients that do reasonable caching
           of messages after downloading them.  It also allows you to run
           a concurrent webmail service without problems.  I recommend trying
           dovecot imaps.  -John
        \_ The really sad thing is that IMAP as a protocol is a superset of
           POP3.  You can make IMAP act just like POP3 if you want.  In
           practice, people seem to write IMAP clients to tend to leave mail
           on the server and POP3 to tend to download it all every time.
           \_ POP3 is fucking deprecated.  Don't use it anymore.  The main
              (only?) benefit of POP3 is that it allows lazy fucking admins to
              do less set up and (short term) maintenance.  The main problem
              with IMAP is that because lazy fucking admins kept using POP3
              the immature, poor IMAP servers and clients haven't died the
              painful death at the hands of the market they deserve.  If
              you're going to run an open-source IMAP server, run Cyrus.
              Courier and UW-IMAP both suck hard if you throw a large number
              of users or a handful of users with large mailboxes at them.  If
              you want a good tool to extract messages from the clutches of
              your existing mailserver and transfer them via imap commands to
              your shiny new mailserver, dig up the uw-mailutils utility(ies?)
              which are part of the UW-IMAP package or available alone in
              debian (apt-get install uw-mailutils).

1/13    I need to buy 3 boxes 1 desktop 2 servers to send to Montreal.
        Where is a cheap/reliable place to order them from?
        \_ Dude, get a Dell!
            \_ Actually, i might.  Dells are cheap but it is annoying that
               to upgrade from a 40 to a 160 gig drive costs $60, but to
               upgrade to a 250 gig drive costs $410.  A 250 G drive doesn't
               cost anywhere near $410.  Damn.
               \_ So just buy some 250 gig drives and stick them in yourself.
                  It's not exactly hard you know.
        \_ You will get heavy duty levied by the custom, won't you?
           \_ NAFTA should save you if the equipment is made in the US.
              \_ When entering canada from US they hand out custom forms
                 that states an exemption of certain value (200 can $?).
                 There is no mention of NAFTA nor made-in-America exemption.
                 Besides, are there any computer boxes without some imported
                 elements?

11/28   soda back up.  took waaaaaaay too long due to incredibly awesome
        hardware problems and harddrives from a certain big blue company.
        as a result, plans to upgrade to storage were cut back to just
        upgrading /var/mail which is now about 4x as big and about 10x
        as fast as the old /var/mail.  quota upgrades could be on the way.
        root needs caffeine.  send caffeine.  lots of it.  and a love ewe
        for njh.  --root

11/8    is this supposed to work: open a WinXP remote desktop connection from A
        to B, and from B remotely open one back to A?
        \_ Probably not.  Why would you do this?
        \_ You want it to recursively draw the screen?
        \_ You can go A -> B- > C -> A.  Not sure why....
           \_ How does the screen look like???  Does it recurse infinitely?
              \_ It *very* quickly turns into a blur.  There's only so many
                 pixels.  Since the system has to reduce pixel count on each
                 iteration/display you very quickly get to the point where
                 it only uses a pixel to represent an entire screen.  I guess
                 you could go into full screen mode, get rid of the task bar
                 and other stuff that takes up a static amount of space but
                 I've never bothered.  Go get 3 machines and let us know.
                 \_ When you are sitting in front of A and have connected
                    A->B->C, and you try to connect A->B->C->A, shouldn't it
                    lock the whole screen as soon as you've entered the
                    password for A since A is now being accessed remotely from
                    C?
                    \_ But... but C is remotely controlled from A?? The
                       universe will explode! Actually I think I'll try this
                       experiment with my cubicle neighbors.
        \_ Dunno about remote desktop but VNC certainly will let you link a
          client to a machine listening to the client.  I did it once.  was a
          somewhat amusing ride. -ERicM
        \_ FYI: the reason I asked is because from home i wanted to make sure I
           could remotely connect from work through my firewall etc. So I went
           through the VPN and remote'd to work, from there remote'd to home,
           and it would get to the login screen and then my VPN died, every
           time. Something wasn't happy.
        \_ The remote desktop server in WinXP is a trimmed down of full-blown
           terminal services.  The main difference is that the WinXP RDS only
           supports one connection at a time.  If you connect to a computer,
           it locks the console and takes control of the desktop session.  If
           the system was already under the control of a remote desktop
           session, the new session will take over the old one.  Therefore it
           is impossible to create an infinite loop of desktops within WinXP.
           I'm pretty sure that the same goes for full terminal services
           (except that you can't kick off the console user, instead it creates
           a new desktop under terminal services control).

11/4    I'm have one set of thin black sheet-metal racking brackets
        that bolt to the side of my server and bolt to the rear posts
        of the rack.  Very simple - one piece of sheet metal.  Anyone
        know where I can buy 30 of those (hopefully cheaply)?
        \_ I have no idea what the hell you're talking about, but you might
           find this site helpful:
           http://www.mcmaster.com

10/9    Has anyone tried putting a dell p4 motherboard into a regular
        case? Is the dell motherboard standard size? I know their case
        does not fit regular power supply... thanks.

10/8    Dell recalls 900,000 AC notebook adapters.  If you have a Dell
        notebook, you should check if yours is affected, mine was:
        http://csua.org/u/9ds
        \_ Thanks for posting this... mine's plugged in at home right now.
        \_ Just what are we supposed to charge our notebooks with while the
           AC adapter is away?  Hopeful exuberance?
                \_ Well mine's been chugging away for 3 years now ... I'm
                   going to just keep hoping my house won't burn down.
           \_ What!? Your battery can't last for two weeks?
        \_ <DEAD>www.delladapterprogram.com<DEAD> service unavailable
           i hope they dont have outsourced firemen

9/28    I remember last week or so someone was talking about how IT gets
        no respect. I was too busy working at the time to get involved
        in the discussion, but I wanted to chime in now with the observation\
        that it really depends on where you work. If you work at the NYSE,
        yeah you get loads of money, but no respect. If you work at Amazon,
        you are regarded pretty highly. I think it is obvious why. Desktop
        support never gets respect, but let the mail server go down and
        see the sparks fly! And the animosity goes both ways. Where do
        you think the phrase "bean counter" and PSB come from?
        \_ PSB? I only know PHB ...
           \_ I know both tom and psb...
        \_ what's PSB?
           \_ !psb
           \_ Ooops, I meant PHB.
              \_ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHB
              \_ FYI that wasn't a typo, some monkey came along and changed it

9/21    What's an inexpensive way to add usb 2.0 to a computer?
        \_ USB 2.0 PCI card.  What you're deciding is which brand and how
           many ports and whether you want FireWire with the card or not.
           Browse through http://newegg.com or CompUSA / Best Buy.
           \_ Agreed, although unless you have a good reason, son't spend more
              than $15-20.
              \_ I used to think the same thing, but then my $15 USB 2.0
                 card broke one of its 4 sockets.
                 \_ My $15 USB card is just fine, and since both $15 and $40
                    cards are made in China by probably the same company, I'd
                    expect the $40 one to break too.
                    \_ You're right about them all being made in China, but
                       it's reasonable to assume they differ in quality, and
                       you can pick good ones.  I recommend op check http://newegg.com
                       and look for highly rated USB 2.0 PCI cards.  I see
                       one there now for $13.50, but it's out of stock.
        \_ If you're upgrading a system, don't overlook firewire if your
           device supports it.  It's specced slower but generally performs
           better in real life.
           \_ I am looking for possibily a usb 2.0 and firewire combo card.
              any specific recommendations? I guess I can also swap out my
              dell motherboard with an ASUS one that has USB 2.0 and firewire
              for around $100, but it seems troublesome... -op
              \_ I'd just get the $22 one and if it sucks get another brand:
                 http://csua.org/u/957 (newegg.com)

9/13    My apache server doesn't understand a url if it doesn't have a
        trailing slash. in other words it knows what to do with
        http://myhost.com/dir but not with http://myhost.com/dir
        how do I get it to understand url's of the second format too?
        thanks.
        \_ That functionality is implemented by the mod_dir module; if for
           some reason you don't have that loaded, Apache won't do the redirect
           it's supposed to do:
           http://httpd.apache.org/docs/mod/mod_dir.html  --dbushong

8/31    Any recommendation for a shop to buy 2U servers from in the east bay
        (oakland,emeryville,berkeley,albany - I want to buy local)?
        \_ what speed?  I have some dual 750/1 gigahertz 1U 2U
           i will sell you cheap, money back guarantee! - danh
           \_ Will you take a check?

5/25    If I have 2 webservers being load balanced behind a virtual IP,
        I only need one SSL cert that I can put on both of the "real"
        servers.  right?
        \_ 1 per FQDN
        \_ Do you own any verisign stock?
            \_ boy that sounds like a no.
               \_ I think it's more like, if it's not your money, and you hold
                  stock, buy two.  otherwise...
        \_ SSLs are not IP locked, yes, you need just one.
        \_ Depends on purchasing terms.  For example, GeoTrust charges per
           server, so you would need 1 certificate, but unless you paid for
           both, you couldn't lawfully put it on two.

5/25    I want to get gigabit ethernet for our network. We are currently
        running 100/10. If I upgrade my servers to run gigabit, is there a
        way to multiplex it out to 100/10 clients? Do I have to replace my
        switch?
        \_ If you want to go gigabit speeds, you will need to replace your
           switch (unless it is already 1000/100/10).  Your switch should
           then be able to multiplex a higher rate feed from your server
           to your clients.
           \_ I don't want to replace the switches since we have
              about 50 clients, but instead can I
              do the following, get a gigabit switch with say 5-10 ports,
              hook two of them to servers, and connect the rest to my
              100/10 switch? Would that at least multiplex out to N
              number of connections from the gigabit to the 100/10? I know
              I won't get optimal speeds, but at least I can get a speed boost.
              (My 100/10 switch has all RTX autodetect on all ports).
              \_ WTF are you thinking?  If you *need* GigE, you can afford to
                 get GigE.  If you can't afford it, you don't need it.  Do you
                 have some stupid cheapass PHB who wants to save a fucking
                 dime up front and pay out the ass later when this hokey shit
                 falls apart and some slave spends 30 hours debugging it while
                 half the net is down?
                 \_ I concur. If you're going to use gigabit right, get a
                    gigabit switch. It'll help you out later if you choose
                    to expand and makes dealing with possible network problems
                    much easier for everyone involved.
              \_ If you connect 1 5-10 port GigE switch to N 10/100 switches
                 the maximum bandwidth is N*100Mbit, and you will only achieve
                 that if you have a transacting client on each 10/100 switch.
                 Given that large GigE switches cost $$$, what you could do
                 is buy a 5-port GigE switch, and hook it up to some 8-16-24
                 port 10/100 switches that have a GigE uplink.  That way you
                 don't get capped by the link from the GigE switch and the
                 larger slower switches.

5/17    Some kitchenwares are marked "top rack dishwasher safe".  What's the
        difference between top rack and bottom rack?  The water is equally hot
        - it's the same water afterwall.
        \_ Heat and pressure. The stuff down low usually gets blasted a lot
           more than upstairs.
        \_ <foolish comment>
           \_ it's the drying, not the water.
              \- Makes more sense. I hearby retract my pointless comment.

5/14    Anyone have any experience using a modded Xbox as a "media center" PC
        and/or networked video jukebox?  Any pitfalls or suggestions?
        Can it mount external USB drives?  Can it act as a SMB server?
        \_ Don't know about the software featured on /. yesterday, but a lot
           of people use xbox as a frontend for mythtv, which is a linux
           based project, so yeah, you can do both of those with linux.

4/15    http://csua.com/?q=tom (118 results)
        http://csua.com/?q=psb (145 results)
        psb >> tom                                      -psb #1 fan
        \_ that's >, not >>
           \_ What sort of horrible Frankenstein would result from appending
              psb to tom?!
              \_ Partha T. Holubjee
              \_ Ride Cricket Bat!
                 \_ CHEESEBOARD!  CHEESEBOARD IS THE STANDARD!
                    \_ Cheeseboard IS the standard.  I miss it. -- ilyas
              \_ Welcome! I am Frau Blucher! <sound of horses rearing>
        \_ kchang has access to soda again?

3/31    Will a mini-ATX board fit in an ATX case?
        \_ I want to say yes, but I'm not sure.  If your google-foo is strong
           the specs for both standards are available online.  You can just
           open them side-by-side and compare.
                \_ Yes, my computer is set up this way. Not all the mounting
                   screws always line up perfectly though, so when installing
                   cards make sure the motherboard has some back support or you
                   flex it in less than ideal ways.
        \_ Yes. Also, I think Mini-ITX boards also fit in ATX cases.
           I'm running a Micro-ATX (cause it has 3 expansion slots)
           case    Antec KS280B Black ATX
           mobo    VIA C3M266-L Mini-ATX
           cpu     VIA C3 866Mhz ezra (i586tsc)
           cpu     VIA C3 866Mhz ezra
        \_ "Yes, but".  If its for anything you care about get the right case.

3/22    Time on soda is ~ 10 seconds faster than my pc, which takes time
        from some time server (although I am not sure if it actually works).
        So is soda's clock synchronized with some time server regularly?
        \_ man ntpd
        \_ soda%> ntpq -pn
     remote           refid      st t when poll reach   delay   offset  jitter
==============================================================================
*169.229.15.5    .GPS.            1 u  821 1024  377    0.783   -7.552   0.151
+192.6.38.127    .GPS.            1 u  535 1024  377   73.467   25.477   0.091
+204.34.198.40   .USNO.           1 u  534 1024  377   71.644   -4.707   0.020

3/18    Does anyone know of a library or someplace where one could take a
        look at the IEEE POSIX 2001 standard? Thanks.
        \_ Dunno about the library but I tried *very* hard to find it online
           last year.  I never got even close to a hint that it might be
           online somewhere.
           \_ well, it is certainly online, if you want to fork over
              something like $130 to the IEEE.
              \_ yeah, exactly my point.  it isn't online.
                 \_ sure it's online, but not accessible unless
                    you pay $130 to download it, or hack their site and
                    download a copy...
                        \_ duh.  enough, go away.

2/8     I have a few external drives that I accumulated over the years and
        still use occasionally, but they are too many to fit on my very
        limited desk space.  Are there cheap but sturdy desktop racks for
        them?  The stackable kitchen table racks found in target/walmart
        just isn't stable enough.
        \_ Since a brand new drive costs next to nothing, I'll bet the price
           of a rack to hold all your ancient soon-to-crash drives will cost
           more than buying a new one and moving all your data over.

12/19   There is interesting stuff in Craigslist's "Best of" section
        \_ Uh, ya.  Thanks for the tip.  Anyone want to visit the CL servers?
           They have a 4 rack cage where my company colos.
           \_ why the fuck would I want to do that? Ohhh look, a server!
              \_ Duh.  If I have to explain it....
                 \_ Looking at servers is dumb. It's not even 'geek'
                    it's just boring.
                    \_ Who said 'look'?  I said 'visit'.  Are you ESL?  I'm
                       not going to spell it out for you.

12/15   U.K. Sodans can get a free PC that comes with Adware until the
        sponsoring company goes bankrupt.  In other news, 1999 called.  They
        want their business plan back.               http://tinyurl.com/zc3a
        \_ sounds like you're stealing your wit from fark.

12/12   My computer just died. Power switch does nothing. Is it most likely
        the MB/CPU or power supply?
        \_ Disconnect the MB from the PS.  Try to turn it on.  If your drives
           do not spin up, it means the PS is faulty.  The MB could still have
           a problem, though.
           \_ how can you disconnect the PS from the MB and test it without
              buying a special ATX PS tester?  isn't an ATX PS dependent on
              the motherboard to turn it on?
              \_ Right.  Sorry, was thinking of the old AT days.
           \_ I think what the above person is saying is:
              Switch -> Motherboard -> Power supply
              If you remove motherboard from loop, you can't turn on power.
              Anyway, I would have a known good power supply and swap that in
              to distinguish between motherboard / power supply problem.

11/26   Dell to move corporate call centers back here:
        http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/biztech/11/24/dell.call.centers.ap/index.html

11/7    Can I upgrade motherboards in my Gateway computer or do they use
        some proprietary screw pattern?
        \_ Probably.  They tend to use standard parts to keep things cheap.
           It's likely you'll find at least 3 matching screw holes.

10/30   Any pointers on how to export addressbook from Exchange Server to
        openldap?
        \_ you can do ldap queries against an exchange server. i'm sure you
           can use that to import back into ldap later.

10/29   hello I need to purchase a couple of 2U rackmount intel
        compatible servers and I am low on funds.  suggestions
        of where to get such a thing? - danh
        \_ http://www.pricewatch.com
        \_ Work with a dot-bomb liquidator. You can prob pick one
           up on the cheaps. http://www.fireflysales.com http://www.ableauctions.com
           ebay, or craigslist.
        \_ I buy them (1U and 2U) from Western Scientific (wsm.com). I bought
           ~30 2U and ~30 1U systems from them with satisfactory results. They
           have the best prices anywhere (for me=govt). YMMV. --dim

10/14   Does a Mini-ITX Mobo fit an ATX case?
        \_ Sure.  It's smaller isn't it?
           \_ Yeah, but I mean will the holes line up?
              \_ Sorry, just being an ass.  I think so, but really, you
                 should check the specs on your motherboard for case
                 compatibility.
                 \_ Rad, the VIA EPIA is "Micro ATX Chassis Compliant"!
                 \_ Rad, just found: VIA EPIA "Micro ATX Chassis Compliant"!

10/7    photography people, what online gallery (other than your own machines
        do you use (if any) to display your work samples?
        \_ http://onedollarhost.net
           \_ http://onedollarhost.net/SERVICES.ASP
                The page cannot be found. er, uh...
            \_ works for me, though I clicked on services and got this page:
               http://www.onedollarhost.net/solutions.asp
               the site went down 2-3 times in one year. usually for less
               than a day. I guess you get what you pay for.
        \_ http://pbase.com

9/18    How does one prevent the motd from being truncated?  For example,
        cp /etc/motd.public ~/foo; mv ~/foo /etc/motd.public
        results in a permission denied error, even though the file is
        world-writable.
        \_ what are you trying to do?
           \_ rewrite /csua/bin/me to use diff and patch... minimize the
              amount of time holding an exclusive lock.
              \_ Hell, just use cvs...
                 \_ Yeah, but don't you need a server for this?
        \_ you can't do that with mv, use cp and then delete foo

9/11    Is there a commercial server colocation service somewhere in Berkeley?
        \_ There's something in Emeryville, and InReach in Oakland. --scotsman
        \_ Do you really want your computers on top a major fault that
           is predicted to rip open any minute now?
           \_ That's fine. It's just one server that's worth about
           $1000 when it's new.
        \_ winterlink, but i don't recommend them.  Why not just get a "dedicated
           server" somewhere? -crebbs

8/17    My company uses Micro$oft exchange server.  Based upon its
        functionality, it seems to be more than a simple mail server, as it
        got scheduling, and other functionalities which Outlook depend upon.
        Well... I hate outlook.  Is there any other open source alternative
        that contains most of the Outlook's functionalities? thanks
                        -kngharv

8/13    Q: Is there any special knowledge required to set up an
        exchange+IMAP server?  A friend of a friend wants to pay me to do
        it, and I'm wondering how much I need to know to look like I've
        done it before.  I've installed and dealt with qmail and sendmail.
        \_ Not really if you can click a mouse, navigate a gui and have
           half a brain for a standard setup.  Just don't let him stand over
           your shoulder.  You *do* charge extra for training, right?
        \_ if you want to be really cool, don't expose the exchange
           server to the public internet, put a unix box with a mta
           in front of it and have it relay mail to the exchange server
           for future processing so you don't get immediately hacked. - danh
           \_ no, that's a second and larger unrelated project which his
              client will have to pay extra for.  stop selling out IT on
              the cheap.
        \_ any monkey can set it up. that's the easy part. the hard part
           is support/maintenance/security. That's why you shouldnt even
           get involved, because it's a time-suck.
           \_ nonononono, the idea is you get more money each time he has to
              call for more help.  he's not doing this free.  it's for a
              small business.  as an FTE I don't *ever* touch any windows
              servers and the only WS I touch is my own.  as a consultant
              I ***loooooove*** microsoft.  nothing says "I love you!" to
              my bank account like repeat business from my MS using clients.

8/8     I know this has been asked before but what is a good place to get
        rid of a really really really old PC Case (not ATX)? BTW I'm keeping
        the power supply just cuz it's cool.
        \_ Sell?  Try ebay or CL.  Get rid of it?  CL, motd, or throw it out.
                              \_ CL?
                                 \_ craigslist
        \_ Alameda County Computer Resource Center http://www.accrc.org
           1501 Eastshore Avenue, near Gilman
           \_ Thank you for this.  It's the most useful thing I've seen
              on motd in at least a decade.  -pld

6/28    Ok, a break from politics.  I am attempt to use Xoops Content
        Management System.  I have encountered a minor problem.  A lot of the
        "contents" are in form of PDF format.  I would like to somehow index
        it.  I used ps2ascii to produce text file for each corresponding PDFs.
        I thought i can dump this unformated text file in the "index" section
        similiar to wikki so the search engine can look for it.
        But Xoops' default "download" module does have
        "index" sections. It has file URI, text description field.  I really
        don't want just put everything in text description field cuz it will
        display all the bloody text on the page.  Thanks
        \_ RACIST!!!!!

6/25    http://www.msnbc.com/news/931304.asp?0cm=c10&cp1=1
        So they find a barrel of beans in a warehouse and call it a bio
        weapons ingredient.  These people are nuts.  I'm tired of being
        lied to!
        \_ But they're CASTOR beans.  They could grind them up for their
           oil and give an entire city block the runs!  Imagine the chaos.

5/25    Getting a new PC, $500 range.  Is it a better deal to buy from
        Dell, Circuit City, or PC Club, etc?
        \_ Dude, get a Dell.
           \_ Is it because it's more reliable, has better customer service,
              better deal for the money, or just cuz they have a funny
              commerical?
              \_ too bad, someone erased my post
              \_ you think the commercials are funny?
                 \_ I think she is using this definition of "funny":
                        dict -
                        4: experiencing odd bodily sensations;
                        \_ Throwing up or feeling queasy isn't odd.  It is
                           unpleasant but not odd.

5/22    Outlook question.  If I send a piece of e-mail with a 1MB attachment to
        100 people in my company using the same Outlook server, does it take up
        100MB on the server or does it only take up 1MB?  Thanks.
        \_ There is no such thing as an "outlook server". Do you mean
           a MS Exchange mail server?
           \_ Oops, I guess so.
        \_ Yes.
        \_ I think that's considered one of outlooks major features (not
           replicating files for each member of an organization).  It's
           probably configurable, but most likely you've only got one
           copy of the message on the server.

5/14    BSOD in a Beemer:
        http://aardvark.co.nz/daily/2003/n051301.shtml
        http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/13May2003_biz12.html
        \_ As much as I hate M$, there's nothing in the articles that say the
           Beemer involved runs Windoze.
           \_ BMW's more up-market 7-series range uses a computer system
              called i-drive which has Microsoft's WindowsCE at its core.
              \_ the car that had the problem is an older BMW 520.. next years
                 5series will have iDrive too, however the only place WinCE is
                 used in iDrive is the display mechanism / gui mechanism which
                 most likely would barely touch the engine controls and things
                 like windows... etc. I would hardly say that counts as
                 "at its core."
              \_ Yeah I saw that, but the vehicle involved was a 520.
                 \_ I think that the 5 series and 7 series use the
                    same computer system.
                    \_ Perhaps you're referring to the old 7-series? The current
                       5-series is a five or six year old design while the
                       current 7-series is a brand new redesign.
                       \_ next year's 5-series will have the current 7-series
                          computer system.  be afraid.
              \_ While I don't remember anything about BSODs, there is a guy
                 who put videos online of his 740's win ce-based
                 computer system malfunctioning in a variety of situations.
                 \_ early release versions of iDrive firmware had problems.
                    a guy I know with a 745iL said after a couple updates it
                    finally works fine. this seems to be typical for newer cars
                    with fancy onboard computers. even my 2000 audi's computer
                    had annoying glitches at first.

5/13    http://www.click10.com/news/2198497/detail.html  This is work safe
        picture wise but might get caught by a text content filter if you
        work at a really tight place.  Everyone else, enjoy!

4/12    This sound stupid, but I want to make sure:
        If I don't have real IP, i can't really run server of any kind, right?
        This is in the context of I am running cygwin's x-server, behind
        a firewall / IP splitter, and trying to redirect my other
        account's display to my local x-server
        \_ You can't have the other machine connect to your local X
           server directly, but ssh's X forwarding (ssh -X) will still
           work fine -- and it's more secure, too.
        \_ if you control the firewall, you usually have an option to enable
           port forwarding.
        \_ I'd do the ssh thing, not the port forwarding thing.  More secure.

3/11    Dell was having a good deal on their PowerEdge servers so I ordered
        one yesterday, and this morning I got a call from them asking if I
        was going to use the computer in a home or a business. I told them
        'home' and they said something about how the computer I got (600SC)
        is meant for a business. I thought they were going to make me cancel
        the order but then the guy started talking about how the 600SC
        emits more radiation than a normal home computer and they just
        wanted to let me know that and confirm I still wanted it. I
        said I did, but now I'm really curious if there's any truth to
        what they were saying. I searched the web and found nothing about this.
        I guess I wasn't even aware that computers themselves emit much
        radiation (I always thought it was the monitors). I tried googling
        but couldn't find anything. Is this something I should be worried
        about?
        \_ FCC A versus B rating.
           \_ yeah he probably is referring to general RF noise.. etc.
              in certain circumstances they have to notify the consumer
              if the product is classified for business only or business /
              residential
           \_ any links for more info on this?
        \_ may be what he meant is in a "general" sense, i.e. heat
           radiation :p
           \_ so I don't have to worry about my computer giving me cancer? -op

2/27    To whoever was asking about virtual desktop software for windows: At
        my old job I got really used to Reflection's Virtual Desktop but my
        new job doesn't have it. It's a tiny, standalone utility so I found
        it pretty easily online... search for rvd.exe.

2/25    So I've heard of a couple windows programs now that allow you to
        sort of maintain several "virtual desktops"... can anyone recomend
        a good one? ... oh, it also has to play well with Exceed. Thanks.
        \_ I can tell you that one called Virtual Desktop only works "OK".
           In particular, it can't deal with PowerPoint.  I wasn't satisfied
           with it and now I'm not using it.  --PeterM
        \_ I have tried the really old version of VERN and recently
           Multi-Desktop and also MultiDesk of ATI.  I like Multi-Desktop more
           since it is really compact and that they also have the shortcut keys
           to switch between windows.
        \_ Norton's worked really well a few years back.
        \_ I always loved the one in Reflection X, but it isn't worth
           installing the whole suite for just that.

1/31    I find that http://terraserver.microsoft.com is not detailed enough. And
        I've been googling for another one.  Can't seem to find another free
        server that provide satellite photos.  I used another service before
        a few years back but can't remember the site anymore.  Anybody know?
        \_ Call your local congressman today, and ask them to approve funding
           for the Total Information Awareness program.  Soon, the server you
           seek will come into existence.  Though your access to it may be on
           the 'need to know' basis...
        \_ Yermom won't show up on any civilian quality sat. photos.
                \_ Unfortunately, yermom does.
                   \_ You're thinking of the military quality army boot sats.
                       \_ No, I'm thinking "Yermom is SO fat ..."
                          \_ her blood type is "crisco"
           \_ TIA program stillborn.  Just another random pentagon concept that
              went nowhere.

1/24    Does anyone have a cradle/cable they could lend me to sync a Palm V
        with an iBook (no serial ports, only USB)?  Alternatively, does
        anyone know of a way to import Palm databases from a Windows box into
        Palm Desktop v.4 for the Mac?  I've done the obGoogling, but haven't
        come up with anything useful.  I'm trying to transfer data from anx
        old, mostly dead Palm V to a new, USB only Palm Zire.  If all else
        fails, I guess I'll see if I can get the Zire to sync with my ancient
        Windows 98 box.
        -dans
        \_I would expect the file format to be the same on both platforms;
          just find the right folder to drop them in.
          \_ That was what I originally attempted.  I'm wondering if the
             problem may be that the format changed between palm desktop
             versions... -dans
             \_ Is there no export/import function for the db?
                There is for other stuff, like addressbook.
                \_ I could export to CSV, but there is some slight loss
                   of info that way, so I'd have to waste time massaging
                   things back into the original format. -dans
        \_ One way to do this is to buy/borrow a usb to serial converter
           and use that to sync the palm v with your iBook. Keyspan makes
           a decent one: http://www.keyspan.com/products/usb/pdaadapter
           Its about $30 at Fry's. If you are in the South Bay, I could
           let you borrow mine. --ranga
        \_ FYI, I solved the problem.  Ended up doing a clean install of
           Palm Desktop 4 on a Win2K box with both serial and USB ports.
           Flipped conduit settings to Palm overwrites desktop, synced
           Palm V via serial cradle, flipped conduit settings to desktop
           overwrites Palm, then synced the Zire via USB.  Finally, flipped
           conduit settings on my iBook to Palm overwrites desktop, and
           synced the Zire there.  Everything appears to be in order.  As
           an added bonus, (I'm guessing a feature of Palm Desktop 4),
           syncing also backed up and reinstalled all my add-on apps.  In
           the past, it was necessary to reinstall all apps when setting up
           a factory clean or hard reset palm.  Thanks to all who offered
           suggestions and help.

1/21    We should upgrade to 5.0
        \_ why?
           \_ Because the new threading system might be something some
              people might care about, or is hacking on stuff here verbotten?
           \_ bcuz y00z1ng D n00ist d1ng 1z kewl!!11
        \_ soda shouldn't, but I'm trying it.  Does anybody know which
           .ISO file is which?  There's nothing about it in the release
           docs.
           \_ use the cvsup, luke.

1/7     Has anybody had any luck reselling an unopened, unused,
        forced-down-your-throat copy of WinXP?  It came with a Dell that
        is now happily running FreeBSD, and never, even once, booted into
        WinXP.  I tried to sell it on Ebay/Half.com, but it was removed by
        the admins after MS complained.
        \_ try craigslist?
        \_ http://page.auctions.shopping.yahoo.com/auction/71508803?aucview=0x23
           Yahoo doesn't mind.
        \_ Get your money back from M$  http://www.linuxmall.com/refund
        \_ That sucks. Why the f*** should MS care?
                \_ microsoft got 40 billion in the bank by being the meanest
                   nastiest dudes on the block, they're not going to
                   stop now
                        \_ Right, so fight back, and demand a refund per
                           the End User License Agreement (EULA)
                           Call Dell, dude.
                                \_ has anyone seen the new dell "dude"?
                                   he's dull as hell.
                                   \_ as opposed to the old dell 'dude'?
                                      *boggle*

11/7    As expected, the pc thread was killed once I posted a history of
        the term that suggested 1) its origin was leftist-communist, and
        2) it was originally used in earnest by the lefties.  Well done,
        lads!
        \_ Uhh, I think the thread's demise has more to do with the fact
           that it was long and stupid.  It's not always about 'left' or
           'right' son.  Sorry, no cookie.
           \_ Your self-assuredness belies the meaninglessness of your
              existence.
              \_ Your engrish betrays the depth of your foolishness.
           \_ Maybe for other threads but not when it comes to *anything*
              politically on the motd.  As soon as the left starts looking
              stupid (takes about 6 minutes) the thread get purged.  This
              is 100% consistent over time but you already knew that.  Why
              pretend otherwise?  Truth is the enemy of the left.  --!op
              \_ You just keep telling yourself that. All those Freeper
                 posts make the left look silly and weak, too.
                 \_ The freepers are insane and not a part of any serious
                    political discussion.  If you want to call the freepers
                    "the right" then I'm going to dig up and post the idiotic
                    left's version of the same idiocy and pin that on you as
                    the typical left.  I think the freeper poster is some
                    lefty crank troll.  --conservative
                    \_ the main freeper poster is reiffin, who is a crank troll
                       but probably not a lefty.  -tom
           \_ Maybe.  However, the person who purged the pc thread also
              purged a howard stern reference in another post, which
              makes it more likely that the pc thread was killed for,
              well, pc reasons. -op
              \_ Maybe you are just a paranoid freak with a persecution
                 complex. Everyone has their posts occasionally overwritten,
                 hence the frequent requests for people to use "me" to edit
                 the motd.

10/28   Who's that Asian guy in the new Dell computer? He looks familiar...
        \_ actor in TV shows?

10/14   http://www.soldam.com for some interesting PC cases.  They're in Japan so I
        doubt you'll get free shipping.
        \_ the prism is definitely cool, in a really geeky sort of way
        \_ Other Pz+ case (which brings back fond memories of my first
           indigo2) all the others look like the crap you can buy at
           frys. I would by the Pz+, but alas they don't make it in
           aquamarine or purple.
           \_ "some interesting cases" not "all cases are interesting"
              \_ "some" implies more than one, I didn't see more than
                 one interesting case.
                 \_ A matter of personal preference.

10/2    Procmail question: I have a rule to sink all returned mail.  I ran
        a test by sending to an unknown user to generate a return mail to
        myself.  However it seems if I sink the returned mail (sending it
        to /dev/null), our mail server will keep trying to send me the
        return mail.  I see this behavior from procmail log, it kept process
        that rule as if it was in an infinite loop.  Was this procmail's
        fault?  or was this our Mail server problem?  As if the returned
        mail was not delivered to my inbox, the server will redeliver it.
        \_ Use verbose logging and check.
           \_ thank you very much that helped!
        \_ stop playing with stuff you dont understand, szs
           \_ Good point.  Scientists: give up studying the unknown.  If
              we don't understand it now, we weren't meant to.
                \_ sarcasm?
                \_ That's why I'm a scientific creationist.  Anything I don't
                   understand is easily attributable to God.  I sleep well at
                   night knowing the Universe is a solved equation.

9/8     Where can I buy compressed air in cans (for blowing off dust) within
        a walking distance from the campus? I have already checked in the
        campus computer store, ace hardware, and radioshack. They don't carry
        it.
        \_ Maybe the Used Computer Store on Shattuck?
           \_ *Never* go to the UCS on Shattuck.  They're a bunch of low life
              criminals.  I'd know because I (briefly) worked for them.  Do not
              support criminals.
              \_ Strong accusation. What did they do that was criminal? --dim
                 \_ Uhm, duh, ripped off their customers?
              \_ I worked there once too.  They certainly are kind of miserly
                 I wouldn't call them criminals though.
                 \_ Why? Would that be an insult to criminals?
                 \_ Did you see how the boss man and his ugly wife ran things?
                    Were they still stealling directly from, I mean dealing
                    directly with customers or did they hire a bunch of other
                    people to mind things so they wouldn't have to dirty their
                    hands coming into contact with the public?  --worked there
        \_ They are sold at darkrooms/photography stores.  Check the
           ASUC darkroom and Looking Glass Photo on Telegraph.  -- alice
           \_ Is putting a shopvac on reverse considered unprofessonal these
              days?
           \_ Looking Glass: 548-6888

9/8     What are some professional (or at least very high-quality) video
        editing programs, for a PC? I've heard lots about Adobe
        Premiere...is that powerful? thanks.
        \_ professional?  Avid.  Otherwise, a lot of people prefer Vegas
           Video over Premiere.
        \_ I got a Pyro firewire/Premiere bundle a few months back. If it
           wasn't for the included CDROM video tutorial, I don't think
           I would've really figured out Premiere. It's not very intuitive
           if you haven't video editin before and the manual is suck.

8/26    I obtained an SGI monitor that was being given away. I want
        to connect it to my pc, but its attachment isn't the typical
        computer monitor plug. Do they make adaptors for SGI cables
        so I can plug it into my pc...if so, where can I get one?
        \_ call sgi
                \_ SGI doesn't have any sort of tech support like that
                   and I don't think radio shack would even carry sgi
                   stuff.
                   \_ when's the last time a true geek actually went to and
                      found something they needed at radio shack?
        \_ if it is 13w3, try http://www.ultraspec.com  --jon

6/14  Anyone know of any free/publicly available shoutcast/icecast servers.
      (I'd run one myself but i don't have the bandwidth).
        \_ yes. http://www.shoutcast.com has a list of servers
          \_ I believe you are incorrect.  (though i'd love for you to
             prove me wrong...)

5/19    Seize the dell!
        \_ Carpe Dimension!

5/11    Netrek featured on Slashdot?
        \_ yes?
        \_ what is the differences between Netrek and the xtrek?
          \_ netrek used X protocol to display as an X client from the
          \_ xtrek used X protocol to display as an X client from the
             server to your display (workstation).  Needless to say since X
             protocol uses TCP and is pretty bandwidth hungry, it doesn't
             perform as well.  Netrek overcame this by doing all the X protocol
             graphics in a 'local' client program, and optimized all the
             network traffic in a really efficient combination of UDP packets
             and TCP sessions.  This enabled netrek to be played over great
             distances, and with fairly large network lag levels. -ERic
             \_ Thanks!  I remember eons ago I used to *HATE* people who
                play xtrek because they taken up all the resources while
                I was trying to do homework :)  --non-CS major geek
                \_ It is unlikely you're talking about xtrek.  No one's
                   played xtrek since 1988.  -tom
                   \_ oh right.  noone has been around longer or done
                      anything around here earlier than tom has.  all
                      bow to tom's 10cm ego.
                      \_ You're mad because he's right.  And tom's ego is huge.
                         \_ did tom ever graduate?

4/28    The future of Desktop Computing:
        http://msbetas.net/longhorn/files/longhorn.zip
        \_ The future of Desktop Computing is on my dick!  -tjb

4/24    Where's that URL to find a dot address's host/domain name?  Is there
        some server that shows the uptime of certain hosts?

4/6     Spring back.
        \_ fall foward.
                \_ summer both.
                   \_ winter neither.
        \_ That's "spring FORWARD."  Kids these days...
           \_ Hey Gramps, the original post was altered.
              \_ Back in my day, we didn't have humor.  We had treebark.
                 Whenever someone would tell a joke we'd throw treebark at
                 them.  And we liked it.  We loved it. -geordan
                 \_ I remember treebark.  That was great until the eco whacky
                    nut PC freaks came along and made us stop tossing bark.
                    "Save the bark for the children!" they said.  But we were
                    the children.  I'm still bitter about that.
        \_ lousy farmers.
        \_ Fall forward. That way you can stop your fall with your hands.
           If you fall back, you might crack open your skull.
        \_ Daylight savi--zzz--huh, uh what?

04/731  can someone post a url regarding that "queen mum dead" comment?
        \_ link from http://thetimes.co.uk
        \_ http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/03/31/uk.mourns/index.html

3/22    anyone about siemans solar panels. Running into big problems
        buying the panels. It seems the only resllers of the solar panel
        are installers. Asked for some quotes and they are giving me like
        20K which is just insane considering they snap togther like
        legos, The hardware cost is about 8K and they put in 12K for
        installation- which just sucks
          I am looking for someplace which will sell me just the panels and
        required hardware at a low cost, (it appears normally they go for
        $350/panel for the 75Watt panels and a typcial system has 12 or
        24 panels) I am looking at paying maybe around 300/panel but
        again as I noted I can only find bayside type guys who don't just
        sell the keys but require they install the lock personally and
        bill you up the ass
          also looking for alternatives to the siemans solutions. However
        the industry doesn't seem to be that well known. In other words
        its not like you canjust walk into the nearest home depot and buy
        solar panels. So if you know anyone who knows anything about this
        type of thing let me know what they think. - construction guy
        \_ would love to help you, but you didn't sign your post...

3/19    Interested in building a decent Linux box. How much are the
        following components nowadays?
        1.5Mhz CPU
        256 MB Ram
        120 Gig HD
        MB
        ATX chassis
        10/100 card
        cheap ass video card
        \_ http://www.pricewatch.com
        \_ no longer very economical to build a system from scratch.
           just get a cheapo prebuilt one from compusa, frys, etc.
           actually, if you only want a 1.5Mhz cpu, maybe you should
           try an antique store.
           \_ True that it isn't cost effective to build your own if it's a
              low end clunker.  Not true if you think compusa/frys/etc are
              worth walking into.  http://www.pricewatch.com
        \_ Even an 8088 runs faster than 1.5MHz.  You want a 6502?
           \_ My PCjr ran at 4.33mhz.

2/21    What kind of server crashes after receiving 16,000 mail messages?
        Are they seriously using Gateway HW for that? (gateway is one of the
        official equipment providers for the Olympic games)
        \_ telnet port 25 and see.  you'll let us know.
        \_ Shouldn't you be blaiming the software instead?
           \_ Or maybe "blaming" it.
              \_ Oops.
        \_ why, did http://nbcolympics.com crash or something?

2/20    How many people think that the Dell dude is similar to Stifler in
        American Pie (both are stupid and annoying)
        \_ Dell has to hire a spokesman who matches the quality of their
           computers.
           \_ They're better than Compaq's... for what that's worth.
           \_ What's wrong with Dells?
              \_ del happens to be one of my favorite differential operators.
        \_ Stifler in American Pie was pretty annoying, but I thought he was
           funny as hell in the sequel.  But the Dell dude is way more annoying
           than Stifler in the first movie.
        \_ Dell dude is just kinda quirky...like it or not the guy
           was useful. Stifler, now that guy's got character. Dude, you
           should've gotten a dell. And dude, where's my car?

2/12    Is there a good way to find all the HOSTS in an nis domain, assuming
        you have access to master and slave servers?  It would be better if
        there was a log file to parse, but I can dump network traffic too.
        \_ ypcat passwd
        \_ ypcat hosts
           \_ That doesn't do anything useful.
              \- maybe "snoop rpc ypserv" --psb

2/6     http://www.flashyourrack.com/flash.cgi?user=lissof2
        \_ eh?
           \_ looks like lila
              \_ Sure, until you actually look.
                 \_ None of my exs ever get on the net.  Even the slutty ones.
                    \_ That's your fault, then.
                        \_ How so?  They're my "ex"'s.  I have no contact with
                           them at all.  Get off drugs.

2/1     You should've got a Dell, dude!
        http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/01/31/dell.guy/index.html
        \_ what's funny is that until i went to that link just now,
           i thought that the phrase "dude, you should have got a dell"
           was entirely of motd origin.  that is how far out of touch i
           am, apparently.
                \_ shit, come to think of it me too.
           \_ yes, after all, for many of us, motd is the main form of
              social interaction.
        \_ that's awesome. he's hilarious...

1/29    How do I figure out what the DNS servers are?
        \_ as in what DNS servers this hosts is using or as in which servers
        \_ as in what DNS servers this host is using or as in which servers
           are authoritative for a domain? In first case, cat /etc/resolv.conf.
           In the second case, nslookup -quote=soa domainname.
           \_ The former. Thanks!
           \_ Or dig NS domainname

1/27    http://www.flashyourrack.com/flash.cgi?user=biggirl
        \_ Thank you danh!
           \_ Who says danh posted this?  -!danh
              \_ Hi reiffin. Haven't you heard? The MOTD gets logged; it
                 hasn't been really anonymous for many years.
                 \_ Aside from RCS log (which doesn't log the user) how
                    is the motd logged?
                 \_ Yes I know it's logged and not really anonymous.  And you
                    feel really smart posting about this?  Yes, you 'caught'
                    me posting a joke URL.  What's your point?
        \_ Did someone fix the flat tires on the car afterwards?

1/10    How do I get jove to display long lines as wrapped?
        \_ Esc-j does manually triggered auto-format and you want
           Esc-x auto-fill-mode to turn on auto word wrapping.
            \_ I want to insert text into a wrapped-line, and have jove keep
                wrapping (like in word processor). I don't necessarily want to
                have line-breaks inserted when the file is saved. Can I have
                jove display long lines wrapped, but not actually "wrap" them?
                \_ Not that I know of, sorry.  I've never looked though bc I
                   never needed this.  "Esc-x ?" will being up a list of all
                   the jove commands and options.  It might be in there.
                        \_ Thanks Mucho for you help!

        0.1 cannot be accurately represented in the binary format, and if
        so, how come adding 0.1 successively on my computer works?
$PREC=64;
$radix=1;
$target=0.1;
print("0.");
for ($i=0; $i<$PREC; $i++) {
    $radix/=2;
    if ($radix<=$target) {
        $target-=$radix;
        print("1");
    } else {
        print("0");
    }
}
print("\n");
        \_ have you taken 61c?  IEEE-754 floating point doesn't use all 64 bits
           for the significand, you know.  And no, 0.1 (decimal) can't be
           represented exactly in binary.  Try it on paper.
           \_ the point of the poster is that since it cannot be represented
              exactly in binary, why it works on modern processors.
                \_ Well we know that certain Intel cpus just ignore all that
                   precision stuff anyway.  :-)

1.3     to anyone out there doing board work: do you happen to know where
        i could buy some sort of rack to hold and easily dispense all
        my resistors, etc., or what i would even type into google to
        search for such a thing?  seen anything in the labs that
        might be useful that i could check out?  thanks for your help.
        \_  allied electronics probably has what you want.
            here is a relevant catalog page:
            http://www.alliedelec.com/catalog/pf.asp?FN=22.pdf
            they have pretty decent online ordering.
            for resistors, large numbers of small drawers with labels
            is probably your best bet.
            \_ This is exactly what I've seen in the hardware labs. --dim

1/2     What are the pros and cons of using dnscache (djbdns) vs bind for
        a caching name server?
        \_ I ran djbdns as a caching/primary server for a few weeks. I
           didn't like it at all. The thing was a pain to setup (dirs in
           all sorts of strange places, a bunch of support pgms, ets) and
           maintain (the files have strange syntax rules and there isn't
           enough debug/error reporting).
           In terms of its operation, I found that it didn't like using
           certain nameservers (namely those of my isp) as forwarders,
           cached the ips of dns round-robin hosts far longer than the
           records were valid for, and played poorly with recursive
           requests from mac's and win95/98.
           I gave up and I'm using OpenBSD's BIND 4 as a caching ns now.
           Its secure and it works for what I need.
           \_ I had a similar experience with djb's publicfile (anon
              ftp/http file server) It requires non-standard utilities that are
              installed in non-standard directories (that's easily changeable
              though) and it doesn't support certain ftp clients that people
              use, such as netscape.
                \_ if it doesn't work with my software, you shouldn't be
                   using it.  -djb

12/17   M$ Patents Secure PC:
        http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/23387.html

12/13   Dmitry Sklyarov is free!
        \_ big whoop.
        \_ urlP
        \_ Are any of us really free?
           \_ yermom is
              \_ Didn't you know she'll pay $50 for a soda geek to
                 "Install Linux on her server"?
           \_ Ah ui mon frere. L'homme est ne libre, mais tout les
              place il sont dans l'chain. (or something like that)
        \_ Yeehaa!  "Russian Computer Criminal Set Free!"  Whatever.

12/5    I know how to represent 0.5, 0.25, 0.125 in binary. However, how
        would you represent 0.1000? How about in IEEE floating representation?
        \_The way you get to 0.1000 is to do a summation from 1/2^n fractions.
                1/2 is 1/10 in binary.  amusing, yes?  which is .1, in binary.
        The answer therefore for 0.1 is 0.0000001010001111011.
         \_ Um, how did you derive that? Here's what I have:
            .5 .25 .125 .0625 .03125 .015625 .0078125
            0   0    0    1     1       0        0    X X X X X X (cont)
            Should say .0001100110011001101
            \_Sorry, gave you the answer for .01. Same rule holds though.
            Should say .00011001100110011001
        \_ thx. What are some float numbers that are easy to represent in
           decimal (e.g. 0.7?) but cannot be represented in binary?
           \_ Anything that can be written as a fraction with a denominator
              that's a power of 10, but cannot be written with a denominator
              that's a power of 2.
        \_ For IEEE:
           float f = 0.1;
           printf("%#08x\n", * (int *) &f);

11/28   Anyone know the best place to get a Dell?  Thanks!
        \_ http://dell.com
        \_ http://gateway.com
        \_ Fry's Electronics
        \_ http://notdell.com
        \_ Dude! Yer gettin' a Dell!

11/21   I recently switched out linux servers.  I gave the new server the same
        I.P. and turned off old server and turned on the new server.  At that
        time the new server could ping all of the other machines on its
        broadcast network EXCEPT one solaris box running FW1.  Unfortunately
        that one solaris box was my gateway.  I checked the ARP tables on that
        solaris box and it had the correct Ether for the new linux box.  After
        about 20 minutes i could ping the solaris box and use it as a gateway.
        What happened?  Why did it take so long to come on line? Why was it only
        that box?  Any ideas?
        \- did you ping the ip or the name. did you run a packet dumper
        and see the icmp echo request come in?
                \_ the i.p., no.
        \_ Is there a switch between the two? Maybe the switch had the
           arp info cached.

11/1    While we had a good art-making session this past Sunday, more  to be
        done to prepare for TOMORROW'S visual display on Sproul, "Made in
        the U.S.: A Legacy of Death and Warfare." The display will be 12:00
        to 2:00, around the SATHER GATE area, to get teh most attention.
        We will also resume the art display, and have performances, and
        spoken word, in the evening, from
        5:00 to 7:00 on Sproul. We have the PA reserved for the evening.

10/28   Is it possible to configure (x)ntpd to act as a ntp proxy? I want
        to have one machine for my local domain that recieves ntp request
        and then forwards them on to a real ntp server. I suppose I could
        write one, but I'd rather use a standard tool.
        \_ if you want that, just set up NAT.  But, ntpd is both a server
           and a client in one executeable.
        \_ To the best of my knowledge you cannot configure ntpd as an ntp
           proxy. Why don't you configure one (better two) computers in your
           local domain to be ntp servers and then have your clients get time
           from them. If you are paranoid you could block outgoing ntp traffic
           for computers other than your ntp servers. If you need some sample
           configuration files mail me. --twohey.
           \_ Can I just configure my system to be an ntp peer to a stratum 2
              server and serve that way, or do I need to get a gps etc?
              \_ Yes, but you want to get time from more than one higher
                 stratum server. Look at soda's ntpd.conf for examples.
                 --twohey

10/17   If you booby trap your computer and it blows up a phed trying
        to install a key trap on it, are you guilty of murder?
        \_ In CA yes.  AZ, unlikely.  You can kill criminals there.
        \_ Manslaughter at the very least; quite possibly murder 1.
        \_ If the guy doesn't survive and if you can convince people
           that it was an accident -- computers explode all the time,
           you know -- I think you'll be fine.
           \_ if the poster tries to put a bunch of explosives in his
            computer, who do you think is the most likely person to get
            blown up?  perhaps the "pheds" will find dumbass hackers
            the same way they find dumbass meth manufacturers.
        \_ You'll be found guilty of "something" and you won't like it.  There
           are several cases in recent years where someone trapped their home
           or even simply left something potentially dangerous sitting around
           and a burglar was injured, sued in civil court and won.  What do
           you think the Feds will charge you with besides the obvious "intent
           to inflict harm"/"murder"/"manslaughter" and a pile of explosives
           possession/terrorist related charges.  Then again, the odds of a
           CSUAer having *anything* on their computer worth looking at is
           about zero, so go ahead and put anything you want in there.  No Fed
           will ever run across it.
           \_ this is why you always kill a burglar
        \_ It's premeditated murder. You've built a trap to kill an
           unsuspecting person. Whether or not the act was legal or illegal,
           you've used deadly force in a non-defensive fashion. I'll see if
           I can dig up the statute on this one. Oh and if you kill a "phed"
           it's a "phederal" crime and "phederal" time.
              \_ But even burglars have wives and siblings that can sue.
                 We'll kill 'em all!
           \_ Sounds a lot like urban legend.  You have a source for an actual
              case?
        \_ isn't booby-trapping with dangerous devices, e.g. guns, explosives,
           punji sticks, etc. a specially treated crime?  having the
           computer erase itself is less serious, until they rack up the
           conspiracy, destruction of evidence, interference with federal
           investigation, etc. charges.
        \_ Depends if you have a clear indicator that your machine is
           booby-trapped.  If you put a big sign on your computer stating
           "This computer will self-destruct if tampered with, use at your own
            risk.", you will probably mitagate some of your liability.

9/6     My client desktop using xntpd cannot sync with the NTP server
        3 hops away. I increased the ttl on the NTP server, but using snoop
        on my desktop shows NO NTP broadcast info coming from the NTP server.
        But the server IS broadcasting to 224.0.1.1
        Looking on the network gear, I see this config:
             no ip redirects
             ip directed-broadcast
        Would that mess up NTP broadcast packets? thanks.
        \_ You're talking about multicast, not broadcast.  Probably one of
           the intervening routers isn't routing multicast, by design or
           omission.  multicast can be very twitchy.  -tom
        \_ use NT

8/16    I'm writing the tcp server and for simplicity I've chosen to
        write it as a concurrent server (call fork() for each client).
        I'd like to limit the max number of concurrent instances of my
        server that can run. I tried looking in Stevens Unix Network
        Programming, but this doesn't seem to be covered. Any ideas? TIA.
        \_ you know, you can't expect the answer to every fucking dumb
           question answered in a book. at some point, the book has to
           assume you have a brain. why don't you just fucking keep
           track of the count of children in the listening process?
           \_ Well, you have to decrement the count in the SIGCHLD
              handler and there is a small possibility that you might
              miss a signal while you are in the handler. I need something
              reliable.
              \_ A reasonable objection, but if this is really an issue,
                 you can store a list of all children, and poll all of them
                 once every {minute,hour,day,week,???} to see if they're
                 all still alive. This is admittedly a hack though. -alexf
                 \_ This is what it looks like I'm going to have to do.
                    Thanks.
              \_ um. no.
                 \_ Not all platforms support reliable signal
                    delivery. One of the systems I need to support
                    does not reliably queue signals.
                    \_ man wait[pid|3|4] this should be reliable, but of
                       course none of us can really help if we don't
                       know anything about the platforms you are using.
        \_ Looking at http://cr.yp.to/ucspi-tcp/tcpserver.html might help.
           It's fairly portable afaik, but djb's coding style is crazy.
                                                     -- misha.
           -c option does what you want.  -- misha.

7/20    I just put together this new system.  Tyan motherboard 266 fsb,
        \_ thanks guys, it was the motherboard. the
           new board had that hook piece for the heat sink clip
           torn off.  now i have to return THIS one.  i think
           i'll avoid fry's at all cost from now on.  http://buy.com is
           better.  maybe returning things is a pain but it's
           better than fry's.

7/19    I keep on hearing about computer hardware that used to belong to now
        bankrupt dotcoms that is now being sold for a song. Where can one
        find it?
        \_ articles on http://www.sfgate.com and auction specialists/firms

7/18    Dell is making bank off idiot corporate CIO's who were
        "consulted" into the current situation. Everyone went out and
        said- owning hardware bad- you are all going to need brand new HW
        every 2 years- Thus everyone went to DELL and setup multiyear
        agreements where they would lease HW from DELL. Now everyone is
        stuck with existing HW and simply can't upgrade until DELL allows
        them. ALSO FYI our service company charges $5/hr for computer/
        network/ support ( ie type ipconfig /renew - oh that didn't
        work??? ). Just sad.
          That comes out to $10,000/yr per employee just for basic computer
        service- sickening. There is huge money being made to tech- only
        problem is that is it all money being thrown around internally in
        huge multinationals who think they need to support ONE major
        computer image to standardize software upgrades. Thus they
        massively beef up central support- which really isn't "support"
        but simply 1000 people who constantly have to "upgrade" servers
        to meat the corp policies which are developed by another group of
        1000 people. Thus all this CRAP is billed to the end consumer-
        just sad. AND on top of this todays CIO are making bank because
        they all look so good with these cost effective agreements with
        DELL, and ORACLE, and MSFT, but interally the management sucks
        shit as no one will accept the possible risk. What manager wants
        to be known as the guy who didn't fund the tech to correct the
        corrupt version of office installed on the cEO computer. Of
        course no one cares about WHY the damn version was corrupt-
        because the damn legion of 1000 support techs maybe missed
        upgrading a server to the correct version.
          JUST BS ALL OF IT-
          I make 40,000 yr and can work from home using my computer and my
        apps. ( well be legal and I'll expense the one time charge for
        $1000 for all the user apps- and the $30/mn for broadband cable
        access )
        Give the employee the $10,000/yr instead of the bloody IT group
        Give the employee the $10,000/yr instead of the office.
          EVEN WORSE YET-
          This line of reasoning is permeating corp america too. Problem is
        the solution they have devised is sickening. We have spend 2M on
        a web interface to access our "standard server" called joshua.
        They are now spending millions teaching people how to use it and
        advertising it. The problem is that we can just setup a VPN
        connection ( which is a half page doc of instr to setup ) and
        bamm, remote computing FOR FREE. But no- they had to do the sexy
        expensive way and all the execs were all onboard because it was
        a web based app.... big frickin deal.
          SORRY FOR THE RANT
          actually had a good day- realized I don't have to use table joins
        using Oracle remotely. I just select what fields I want and bamm
        it does everything for me ( or course I do need to specify some
        crit - but no complex joins - which I have been ripping my hair
        out trying to map )

7/11    in a network behind a Novel Border manager server i am dowloading
        a medium size chunk of data.  If i am on a mac, i get it all.
        If i am on a PC it chops off the last 3/4 of it.  Any idea what
        could be going on?
        \_ someting is fux0red, d00d.

6/03    Calling all PC HW gurus:  Anyone have an EPROM programmer?  Last
        night I flashed my motherboard's bios while at the same time
        booting the machine with crap loaded into emm386.  During the
        flash, the machine hung, and is now totally toast.  This would not
        be such a big thing if it could boot up to the point where I can
        try the flash again, but for all intensive purposes the machine is
                                         \_ "intents and purposes"
        a paperweight at the moment.  So does anyone have a device that I
        can load up a (hopefully) good bios image onto?  Needless to say, I
        only have a floppy disk with the image, not a chip that can be
        copied...  Or...  Anyone have a summer EECS lab that can help out?
        Never mind the fact that the motherboard goes for about $15 on
        ebay nowadays-   Even better would be if someone knew the magic
        trick to resurrect a board with a nuked bios.  The flash should
        have written out a copy of the old version.  I can see a file on my
        floppy by the same name, but with a 0 length, I have some (foolish)
        hope that the image is still there..  All thanks appreciated - joshk
          \_ "all intents and purposes", sheeze
          \_ I think you're looking for UCSEE, not soda.
        \_ would it be that much trouble for motherboard manufacturers to add
           some kind of backup mechanism to keep things like this from
           happening?
           \_ no, but is it profitable for them to do so?
              \_ is it profitable for them to have improperly flashed
                 motherboards repaired?  and if they refuse to repair them,
                 they've most likely lost a customer.  I wouldn't mind
                 spending a few extra bucks for a secondary bios chip or
                 or something.
                 motherboards fixed?  and if they refuse to fix them and force
                 you to buy a completely new motherboard, they've most likely
                 lost a customer.  besides, I wouldn't mind spending a few extra
                 bucks for a backup bios chip or something.
        \_ if the motherboard maker is still around you may be able to contact
           them and beg them to send you a replacement bios.

1/8     Hmmmm. Soda crashed. What happened? Are we having some kind of hardware
        curse?
        \_ It's not a hardware curse.  The OS sucks ass.
                \_ "sucks ass": a phrase that makes black english sound good.
        \_ It's the ghost of Mark V
        \_ Tom's twink calculator overloaded the system
        \_ it was that SUID traceroute-lbl
           \- are you kidding? --psb@lbl.gov
                \_ After, therefore, because of.

11/21   I've got 64Kb ISDN connection to work.  Anyway I can get a heavy motif
        program to load any faster?  If I setenv DISPLAY, it takes roughly 10
        minutes to load the friggin' main screen.  I'm usually using vnc to
        control a local PC and run the GUI on that local PC.  Neither option
        is 'fun'. Any ideas? - mtbb
        \_ Try lbxproxy, it might or might not help.
        \_ It's been my experience that motif programs take many more ages
           to load than normal Xaw type stuff.  This was true even with local
           network.  Possibility: it could be that you're just SOL.  --sowings
        \_ You do realize 64Kb ISDN is a barely faster than a 56K modem right?
        \_ Turn on ppp compression. Maybe possible to turn on low level stuff
           ppp stuff like no acks or ack ahead or something. Best bet is to
           "convince" the other end that you have 2B+D, though you are only
           paying for 1B. Ciscos can be "convinced" unless your isp is draconic
           and used acls on the dialer map + speed + line.

11.6    http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/110600/wearable.sml

9/10    Is there any way to get around address bans on various irc
        servers? For instance, @home just got banned on most efnet
        servers last week..
        \_ you are a moron
        \_ Migrate to Undernet.
        \_ <DEAD>irc2.home.com<DEAD> you fucking dumbass.
           \_ I tried that before i even posted. Home has was down two
              weeks ago and was down today. Dont know about inbetween.

9/1     Alteon vs BigIp vs Localdirector vs Arrowpoint(cisco now).  Just
        want some basic functions and easy growth path. High speed and
        stability more important than featuritis.  Please post your
        experiences with any of these.  Thanks!
        \_ Had very BAD experiences with BigIP. They look/test cool, and have
           a good GUI, but their stability sucks. Brought down a cluster of
           20 servers. Stay away from BigIP!
           \_ ive seen them all bring down a "cluster" of servers..
              For performance and features a Foundry ServerIron is my
              recommendation.. tho they are pricey.. are you trying to
              do anything fancy like geographic load balancing or just
              load balance a bunch of servers? -shac
        \_ Are you trying to cluster servers or applications?  Have you
           looked at resonate/veritas/stonebeat?  I'm interested in whatever
           comes out, because I'm looking at Localdirector for some stuff
           I'm trying to do, and I'm kind of new to clustering.  -John
        \_ From original poster:  I'm load balancing appache web/app servers
           which then talk to a backend database (not important).  Need to have
           geographic load balancing about 9-12 months from now.

8/13    Is it worth upgrading an SS10 via the Cycle-UP UltraSparc upgrade?
        Should I just get the prom upgrade and a ross hypersparc instead?
        Cost is a concern to me.

4214 chug    100   0  1592K   348K RUN    804:57 87.78% 87.78% nethack
        \_ So buy an Ultra1 on ebay (they are sold on for less than $1000 on
           ebay) . Leave that poor SS10 alone..

8/5     Any recommendations for a place to colocate a low-bandwidth (<10GB
        monthly) and low-profile (1U rackmount) server? South bay preferred.
        East bay OK. Thanks.
        \_ My company uses Exodus and they seemed to have worked out well...
           they have a data center in Santa Clara.
           \_ exodus has several data centers in santa clara.. but the less
              space you want the less cost-effective they are.  1u is prob
              gonna be ridiculously expensive compared to others.  there
              are a ton of cheap colo's but exodus and uunet are prob the
              most expensive in south bay.  -shac
        \_ The only place that I know of that seems interested in offering
           small amounts of colocation space is http://dsl.net (formerly http://tycho.net),
           and the smallest they offer is a 3x3x3 cage.  It's still not cheap.

7/28    Hi-Tech and all the other cheap places in Berkeley have gone under.
        Where is a cheap, but decent in terms of service, place to buy
        a computer in SF (or Berkeley).
        \_ Central Computer has been our OEM of choice for a while. -nweaver
        \_ For a personal computer, buy parts from out of state and assemble.
           For your company, buy Dell.
           \_ God forbid a part doesn't work.  Ah, to live in L.A.
              near hundreds of OEM vendors.

7/20    http://www.securityportal.com/closet/closet20000705.html

7/17    I am new to Window (used to use mac).  I want to use wallpaper
        background and window asks me if I want to turn on Active Desktop.
        Is this something I can easily turn off if something goes wrong
        and if so how do I turn it off?
        \_ The option to turn it off is in Display Properties, which
           is accessible by right-clicking on the Desktop and hitting
           Properties.  I usually have Active Desktop off.
        \_ Active Desktop is dead.  Don't use it.  It was still born and a
           good thing it died fast.

6/28    Does CSUA still accept donations for hardware and so forth?
        If so please email me info, thanks   -- stevie
        \_ donations@csua

6/20    Any suggestions for SSH that would work under Win NT/2000 with
        a proxy server?  Thanks.
        \_ What kind of proxy server?

6/15    some guy i talked to claimed that all pc motherboards these days have
        built-in microphones, which could presumably be used to spy on
        anyone on a network with an insecure machine, i.e. any microsoft
        netowork.  is this true?  where is the mic?  how does one disconnect
        it without fucking up the motherboard?  how woudld one access it?
        is any evil organization that anyone knows of using such a device for
        their own purposes?
        \_ http://Www.gullible.com

4/2     Is there a program that will continually monitor when a file gets
        appended to and display it to stdout (like a security log monitor)?
        \_ simple way might be to use: tail -f FILENAME
           \_ might be?  That's _the_ way.  How much easier can it get?  No
              bullshit, no coding, no side effects, included in every *nix.
              Even Linux has it.

4/1    Anyone have experience setting up desktop systems for
       visually-impaired users?  Especially what types of software
       are recommendable? It is for an office worker in a heterogeneous,
       networked environment.  Any other aspects I should think about?
       The platform will be either a Windows PC or Sun Ultra-10 with
       Sun PCi card. Thanks much.
        \_ Answer the fucking question already, what are her exact
           impairments?  Are you too lame to understand that this
              i or probably you, uses them. I am thinking about some
              apps that use voice-control but am unsure what is good and
           has a bearing on the solutions?
        \_ If only Bill Gates had invested in the _other_ kind of PC years
           earlier... might've been *really* rich.  What's the value of having
           power over the entire English language and therefor the thoughts of
                \_ So she's blind *and* can't see very well?  YOU ARE FUCKING
                   STUPID.  You're so wrapped up in PC-ism you don't even
                   know what *you* said, much less what anyone *else* is
                   saying.
                   \_ Oh, okay, maybe I am wrong. Why cant someone be blind
                      *and* not see well?  I am not trying to be PC or
                      anything, I am just trying to help someone set up
                      a workstation so they can be productive. Sheesh.
              Do you *think* i am speaking about someone who just needs
              eye-glasses to drive? Come on. Get a girlfriend or whack off
              more so you can get rid of your misdirected frustrations.
                      I am sorry I asked for help. --samli
        \_ "visually impaired"??  Stop with the lame correct bullshit.  say
              then email me directly.  --samli
           what you mean.  the above reply is a perfect example of what's
           wrong with the PC shit.  No one knows wtf you're trying to say!
           If they're wearing coke bottle glass, say so.  If they're a blink,
           say so.  "Visually impaired", your politically correct ass!
           \_ what is your fucking problem asshole?
              I am not being "PC". I *am* using a more accurate term.
              Did you go to Berkeley? Are you educated? You know
              what I mean, but you still insist on being stupid.
              Do you *think* i am speaking about a user who just needs
              eye-glasses to see the chalkboard? Come on. Get a
              girlfriend or whack off more so you can get rid of your
              misdirected frustrations.
              If you have some experience/tips for my query, please post
              them.  If you want to discuss the term "visually-impaired"
              then email me directly. I find it quite ironic that *you*
              are the one who is telling me what is the "correct" term
              to use -- you are the one being PC, you are the one
              trying to control speech.   --samli
                \_ Very grade school.  "I know you are, but what am I?"
                   \_ This is not my term, I am using the term my employer
                      uses. I think the term "visually-impaired user"
                      is pretty clear and certainly more professional(not
                      that i am) and and short than what you suggest:
                   I was going to smash you for claiming clarity in your
                   speech even after the other person asked for clarification
                   of your idiotic PC-ism, but then you went off into stupid
                       My first comment describing you was clarity enough.
                   troll la-la fantasy land.  You're either a total retard
                   or one of the few trolls stupid enough to sign their name.
                   \_ You are just a nitpicking speech-nazi.
                      "visually-impaired" is not my term anyways, I am
                      using the term my employer uses.
                      "visually-impaired user" is not my term anyways, I
                      am using the term my employer uses.
                      But i still think the term "visually-impaired user"
                      is pretty understandable and certainly more
                      professional(not that i am) and and short than what
                       If they're a blink, say so." I do not think it would
                       be good of me to say "i have a coke bottle glass user"
                      you suggest:
                          "If they're wearing coke bottle glass, say so.
                           If they're a blink, say so."
                      I do not think it would be good of me to say
                      "i have a coke bottle glass user" at the office.
               \_  the level of arrogant immaturity is just simply appalling
                   here...the dear man just wanted to ask a simple question
                   about setting up something for a blind person and instead
                   the whole thread goes off into a wild tangent about
                   pc-verbiage.   hey, stupid fuckhead doing the nitpicking,
                   sign yer fucking name so that we can all rag on your sorry
                   ass!  -- [name withheld to protect the innocent]
           those speaking it?
        \_ windows 2k has some setting that translates text to spoken word
        \_ blind, or can't see very well?
                \_ I once worked for someone who was considered legally blind,
                   she couldn't see certain colors, and anything more
                   than a foot away from her face was a lost cause,
                   when i set up windows for her in some eye searing color
                   scheme like magenta, cyan and puce she could read
                   documents just fine - danh
                       \_ That's a clear violation of their rights.  They have
                          the right to see the same way you do if they so
                          choose.  Who are you to say the colors were eye
                          searing?  You have no basis upon which to judge
                          hir or any other huwoman being!!
           \_ yes, both. She is unable to use computers in the same way
              i or probably you, uses (sic) them. I am thinking about some
              voice-control software but am unsure what is good and
              what is well-supported/widely-compatible. I found some
              web-sites and also stuff specific for RSI people, but i am
              hoping to find someone who has done this before. thx. --samli
                \_ You mean to say that the individual in question has primary
                   access to an alternative sense set and associated motor
                   reflex abilities?  Or did you really mean the chick is
                   blind and crippled?

fumble fingered sloppy lazy emacs user was here

4/1    http://www.google.com "Some users unaccustomed to concentrated thought may
       experience side effects such as headaches, dizziness or flashes of
       brilliance. These will quickly pass."
       \_ Google rules (at least for 90% of the searches i do)
       \_ Hey, when i tried to use MentalPlex it gave me an error:
          Error 001: Weak or no signal detected. Upgrade transmitter and retry.
                \_ dumbass...

3/30    Is it possible to have multiple network interfaces for the PC?
        On UNIX I can just do /etc/hostname.XXX, but how about PC?
        \_ In Linux/*BSD/Solaris on a PC you can have multiple network
           interfaces, but probably not under Lose[95,98,NT,00].
                \_ how do I do that on Linux?
                   \_ Multiple ethernet cards:
                        ifconfig eth0 ...
                        ifconfig eth1 ...
                      Multiple addresses on one card:
                        ifconfig eth0 ...
                        ifconfig eth0:0 ...
                        ifconfig eth0:1 ...
        \_ You can have as many NICs in your PC as your motherboard will
           allow. "/etc/hostname.XXX", AFAIK, is a solaris thing per se
           and has nothing to do with sparcs or PCs.
        \_ you can do it under NT and 2k as well.
                \_ how do you do it in NT?

3/30    I want to use jsp on a production server, there are several
        implementations, does anyone have any recommendations?
        \_ IBM WebSphere.  Its one disadvantage is that it doesn't support
           jdk 1.2.
           \_ We use Netscape Enterprise Server 4.0 SP3 on Solaris and handle
              about 30M hits a month using JSP and servlets. But then again,
              I work for Netscape/AOL so we have to use it. -atom
            \_ what about opensource versions?
            \_ what about apache modules? -not that level of production
        \_ Bea Weblogic is the pretty much the coolest product I've seen.
           They support jdk2, and have a clustering server that you can throw
           as much hardware at as you want in order to scale.

3/12    http://www.networkice.com/Products/BlackICE/default.htm  this is just
        too funny
        \_ Hax0rz y00n1t3!!!11 D-str0i bl/-\k1c3!!!!!11
        \_ I can't remember... is the term from cyberpunk or shadowrun?
                \_ I've seen it in early works from both but don't know which
                   was first.  I'm guessing the cyberpunk stuff.
                   \_ William Gibson you illiterate idiots.
                        \_ Specifically, this was the big bad stuff that
                           attacks our hero, Case, in Neuromancer.
                        \_ WG is hardly the height of mandatory reading for the
                           educated individual.  Some of his stuff is amusing,
                           but he's not Shakespear.
                           \_ No, that was fair (I was the one who asked)
                              I've read neuromancer, but the earlier /
                              salient memory was of an rpg.
                           \_ Or Shakespeare either.
                                \_ Sorry.  I've read nothing but the best for
                                   the last 10 years.  Gibson all the way!

3/10    A basic question: when a server receive a GET request for some
        non-ascii file, say a .swf, .gif, or .jpeg, will it send out
        the binary stream, or in MIME base 64 format?  I realize my
        question might not make sense and would appreciate some url
        that quickly enlightens me.  Thanks.
        \_ telnet://localhost:80 (assuming that by "server" you mean "web
           server")
        \_ The server sends all of the interesting headers, including the
           Content-type: header, and then the file, as it exists on the
           disk.   --dbushong

2/7     someone was looking for the difference betwn 8,16,24,32 bits color
        setting on pc?  this might helps...
        http://www.pcguide.com/ref/video/modes.htm

1/26    http://totl.net/Eunuch/index.html        -=Aubie
        \_ 75MHz sustaining speed out of 25MHz chip.  Is the story real?
           \_ they almost had me believing it, except for two important
              details:
                1. They showed aluminIum cans resting directly on the open,
                   supposedly working motherboard
                2. They're British. And thus have a motto of;
                    "Let the Farce be with you".
                    cf: http://totl.net/BeerWitch
                \_ And aren't the glass beverage bottles going to be cracked
                   by the ice inside at -67 deg C?
                   \_ and how the hell would it really reach -67C, in a
                      rinkydink fridge like that?
                      \_ ... especially that the freezer door can't even close
                         completely when they have to run those cables from
                         the board to outside the fridge.

11/3    I've installed Director 7 Trial Version on my PC.  It will expire in
        30 days after the installation.  I have tried to uninstall the
        program and reinstall it.  However the expiration date is still the
        same.  Is there any way to remove the time stamp so that I can use
        it for a bit longer time?
        \_ UR s0 k00le pir8 b0y!!11  If you're going to rip off a program,
           don't be stupid about it with the lamer trial version.  Go get
           the fully cracked or serialed full version and get the fuck off
           the motd.  All other lamer resplies removed.   -reel pir8!!11@
           the motd.  All other lamer repl1es rem0ved.   -reel pir8!!11@
        \_ Use regedit to look for registry keys. Search for "Director"
           or "Macromedia". Or get a crack. or a serial #. Or buy the damned
           program.
        \_ Some programs write to the system.dat, user.dat files in Windows
                                        \_ aka: the registry. See above.
           95.  Good luck editing these system files.  I would suggest
           installing a program like Open Trap which captures all activity
           that takes place behind the scenes when installing a program, then
           you can see exactly what it does and what files it effects.

10/22   Whats a good book on client server architecture (how-to)? Need
        something fairly basic.
        \_ how about client/server for... dummies 3rd ed?
        \_ The Linux Network Administrator's Guide by O'Reily's is pretty good.

10/17   I'm on a linux box, logged into another linux box on the same
        network and want to run x-windows on the remote box in a way that
        will display on my local terminal.  Is it possible?  How?
        \_ xhost or ssh's X11 display forwarding.  And sign your name.  -John
           \_ As in
              on local computer:
              xhost + remotecomputer
              on remote computer:
              setenv DISPLAY localcomputer:0   (in tcsh) or
              DISPLAY=localcomputer:0; export DISPLAY  (in (ba)sh)
              or easier yet, just ssh -C and everything will fix itself.
              \_ <snip rant about xhost + being insecure; xhost + a single
                  host has no serious consequences whatsoever>
                        \-clearly a sloda new comer :-) --psb
                \_ uh, it does if anyone else can log on to that computer.
                   \_ well, alright, within bounds of common sense, that is
                                \- i havent looked at the x internals in a
                                while but as of 3-4 years ago there was a
                                sneaky way once you did a xhost + to not let
                                a later xhost - work ... this really isnt a
                                good idea. it's not a matter common sense but
                                ignorance of what is under the hood. --psb
                                \_ There's also the fun "xhost -" which will
                                   prevent further "xhost +" commands from
                                   working since you've also killed localhost.
                                   Please restart X or reboot to fix.  Depending
                                   on X config, logging out and in again won't
                                   necessarily 'fix' the xhost settings.
                        \_ Idiot.  DNS can be spoofed, moron. I *know* you
                           don't work at my company. You'd never have gotten
                           hired babbling stupidities like "'xhost + host' has
                           no serious consequences whatsoever".  You're a
                           complete and utter fool.  Do they still not teach
                           any sort of computer security class at Cal?
                                \_ Grad level only unfortunately.
                           \_ Only people who hang out with CSUA geeks ever
                              learn about this stuff by the time they graduate.
                              BS/BA != clue.
                                \_ The "it's harmless" person isn't spending
                                   enough time with CSUA geeks then.  It
                                   doubly pisses me off that this ignorant
                                   jerk went so far as to actually delete my
                                   completely true and correct comments about
                                   not doing this and was stupid enough to
                                   refer to said comments as merely ranting.
                                   I'm certain this fool has graduated yet,
                                   I'm certain this fool hasn't graduated yet,
                                   so maybe there's still some slim hope, but
                                   I doubt it.

10/9    Prof. David Huffman, inventor of the codes that bear his name, died
        Thursday. He was 74. See URL for more info:
http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/press_releases/archive/99-00/10-99/huffman.htm
        -brg
        \_ Oh good.  Thus begins the end of all this compression nonsense
           which is killing the drive to higher bandwidth and storage.
           \_ It may have actually encourage mass storage systems.
              Huffman encoding is behind MPEG encoding schemes.  If
              it weren't for MPEG we wouldn't even bother trying to
              store music and video at all creating less demand for
              mass storage.
           \+ throughput is everything!

9/30    anyone know of dsl specials with free installation and hardware
        going on right now?  (ones that don't require a 2-year
        commitment).  actually, any dsl recs would be appreciated.
        \_ Why the heck do you think a DSL provider is going to provide
           hundreds of dollars of hardware and equipment installation
           if you're not going to even commit to service for a long term?
           \_ "It's my right to have free everything so I can get high speed
              access to the free pr0n available only on the net!"
              access to the public information available only on the net!"
           \_ Because @Home is offering free installation, free hardware,
              no commitment, AND one month free.

7/5     I'm thinking about buying a computer from Dell-Outlet online. Has
        anyone had any experience buying refurbished computer from them?
        please email me for any input. -bkong
        \_ Buy DELL!  It's good stuff.  Think of used Dells as the
           certified pre-owned Lexus of computers.  They really clean it
           up and have it working.

7/02  Does anyone know if it is possible to get ms internet info server 4.0
        running on a regular NT 4 workstation (not server) without a great
        big hassle? My apologies for the ms factor; the office is
        entirely NT.
        \_Gee, wouldn't you violate your "workstation license",
          10 connections, yadayadayada?
          Besides, just install apache.
        \_ It's easier to install server than fuck around with WS.  So, no.

6/11    Thirdvoice again!  http://nototv.hypermart.net
        seems they have added some javascript, and put it into the
        public domain, that hoses thirdvoice's functionality.  they
        are using refresh loops (KLUDGE) to flush the notes every
        1000 milliseconds or something.  really screwey, and it
        has a tendency to crash things.  also, thirdvoices server has
        been hosed today.  i am thinking that with each flush, my
        client tries to get the notes from thirdvoice, then the
        connection gets abandoned and leaves a zombie http connection
        that their server takes x tens of seconds to flush out.  so,
        the hypermart people are, in a way, mounting an attack on
        thirdvoice.  probably a great time for any of you good hackers
        to get into hypermart and fuck shit up.  -caliban
        \_ can't you just hit the Stop button / Escape?
        \_ All I can say is kludges are just that, kludges.  -Judd
        \_ thirdvoice is really racking up the enemies.  Either abovenet
            died or someone threw a denial of service attack at them.
            \_ got any more info?  -caliban
                \_ I do.  Send a resume.  :-)   -Judd
                \_  it was just paranoia -- one of abovenet's cat5000'si
                    'got confused'.
        \_ apparently http://www.macosrumors.com has come out against 3v too -caliban
            \_ I'm tellin you, its all them snooty web designers, who dont
               want to hear someone making bad comments on their sites. -ERic
            \_ I'm against hatred and war.  Hasn't stopped hatred and war.

5/20    If your utmp entry ever gets messed up, please save a copy of
        /var/run/utmp and the output of "fstat" and mail mconst.

 CLEAN UP YOUR MAIL SPOOLS! /var/mail is at 93%. These are the top ten users:
  zryan    16.4 MB norby    15.8 MB andrea   15.7 MB rksoni   14.3 MB
  chiu     13.9 MB jimmyc   12.5 MB muchandr 11.3 MB katster  10.8 MB
  lolly    10.6 MB nesim    10.2 MB

5/17    MS Internet Info Server and Site Server vulnerable to hackers.
        http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2255919,00.html
        \_ Phew!  It's a good thing *I* run Apache and Linux, because I *know*
           that neither of *them* have *ever* been found vulnerable to
           hackers!  Never!  Ever!
Senator Palpatine is really Darth Sidious

2/18    This is pretty badass:  <DEAD>www.uk.research.att.com/vnc<DEAD>  -John
        \_ <DEAD>www.orl.uk.co<DEAD> for the original.
        \_ <DEAD>www.orl.uk.co<DEAD> for the original.  It's like PC Anywhere but free
           and puts a _huge_ load on the server, but it does work multi
           platform.  There's a client and a server for X, Windows, and a
           bunch of other whacky platforms.  Source available.
           \_ It seems like a replacement for your original X-server
              all together which would suck if you were running a commercial
              X-server like MetroX.  I'm not exactly sure how it displays
              apps using both X and VNC protocols at the same time.
                \_ It doesn't replace your X server.  Go read the docs, I'm
                   not going to explain to you what they already make very
                   clear.  The concept is extremely useful, the problem is
                   the server is piggy on certain OS's which shall remain
                   nameless.  But it _does_ work.  I use it when desperate.

1/29    Anybody know if there are "ultra-slim" notebooks with a large 15"
        display?  I've looked at ultra lights from Sony and Dell but they all
        have like 11" displays.  I want an ultra-slim with a large display.
        \_ if you consider 1.4 inches thick "ultra-slim" then the HP Omnibook
                4100 is for you. The display is 14.1 inches. There is nothing
                that slim with a 15" screen as far as I know.

1/18    What is the procedure for making a hardware donation to the csua?
        \_ drag it into the office when no one's looking and leave it there
           with no note

1/13    I'm thinking of buying a RedHat Secure Web Server (it only cost $61
        now at Frys). Here is my question. Must the secure server be on the
        internet (persistent connection)? Can I install it on multiple machines
        or is it single machine based (ie. I need a special certificate thingie
        from the trusted site for each machine)?
        \_ You can use one certificate for multiple machines provided that
                they each have identical IP and FQDN. Beyond that it gets
                pretty dicey. But this setup will allow you to round
                robin to a large number of machines.
                In general you want a web server to be persistantly
                connected otherwise people won't use it. --appel
        \_ You can use one certificate for multiple machines provided
           that they each have identical IP and FQDN. Beyond that it
           gets pretty dicey. But this setup will allow you to round
           robin to a large number of machines.  In general you want a
           web server to be persistantly connected otherwise people
           won't use it. --appel
           \_ Ah, gotcha, so if I purchase a secure server, I can't install
              it on many different servers because the secure server needs
              some special certificate thingie from certified RSA sites right?
              Why is the following server (with RSA license) so cheap $61????
   <DEAD>necxdirect.necx.com/cgi-bin/auth/ifilelnk_q?key=0000131917&nonce=guest<DEAD>
        \_ To use HTTPS you need to purchase a certificate from companies like
           Verisign/Thawte/etc. The RedHat secure server is really a FALSE
           ADVERTISEMENT. It is like advertising a new car that costs $5000.
           After you purchase it, the manual, with fine print, says you must
           purchase transmission and engine, sold separate for another $10,000.
                \_ Generate them yourself with SSLeay! The user will then have
                        add the CA (you) to the list of trusted CAs
        \_ is R.S.W.S. JUST a web server, or is it basically
          "install this CDROM, and you get a black box that does web serving"?
          (except technically, it's a clear box, but anyways...)

12/30   How do you trick a program that requires 8 bit color to run on a
        16bit X server?
        \_ Does the server also support some 8-bit visuals?  run "xdpyinfo"
           to find out.  If so, try specifing an 8-bit visual when you run the
           program.
           \_ the program I'm trying to run is magic which gives me a
              "Magic only works in 256-colour mode" message.

11/09   Last time someone posted where to look for servers on a remote domain
        like UCSF or someother school.  Does someone remember which file to
        look for?  Something in /etc/...?
        \_ What are you trying to find out?

9/27    How (where) do I find the subnet mask, gateway ... of a *nix machine?
        \_ reboot it and watch the startup messages.
        \_ netstat -rn
             \_ for most, 'cat /etc/hosts' for DNS server information
           \_ What about finding the local domain name server?
             \_ for most, 'cat /etc/resolv.conf' for DNS server information
                'ifconfig -a' for interface subnet masks  ( or  netstat -i to
                get an interface list, and then ifconfig on those interfaces,
                if you're so unfortunate as to be on a unix that doesn't have
                \_ /etc/resolv.conf for DNS servers
                a -a option to its netstat).
                'netstat -rn' for routes. -ERic

9/26    Whats a good web based PC place that lets you really configure
        your own PC? - seidl
        \_ Maybe a stupid question, but why do you want a web-based
           place? Local outfits like UC Computers or Hi-Tech USA do
           good work at great prices, with everything configurable
           from the ground up.
                        \_ Hi Tech USA?!?  MUahahahahhahaha.  Fool
                        \_ sHIt-TECH rewls!!!
                            \_  Sure if you don't really want to buy
                                computers or computer parts. They carry
                                empty boxes and, well that's it.
           \_ because in Colorado, where I am currently located, there
              are MANY fewer good places.  Last year when I went looking
              for an ATX power supply, I kept being told it didn't exist.
              - seidl
              \_ in Boulder, I asked some of the local undergrad CIS folk:
                 "Do you have computer shows... where do you get parts?"
                 Mostly mail order. -jctwu

9/15    Ok, I RFTM already, but I couldn't figure this out. How do I make
        emacs display lines that are too long for the screen onto the next
        line without it actually word wrapping? All I get is the $ at the
        end of a line.
        \_ "Fundamental" mode without any minor modes activated should
           work fine.  what kind of files are your editing/looking at?
           work fine.  What kind of files are your editing/looking at?
                \-this is not a mode issue, but depends on teh value of the
                truncate-lines variable in that mode. apropos truncate or
                do a C-hv truncate-lines. at least you know not to sign
                whenyou dont know what you are tlaking about. --psb

9/12    http://www.housecoats.com/play/cumonmonica

7/6  Yes I did a stupid thing-- installing Active Desktop just to see what it
     looks like. Now, how do I uninstall it? Please don't post anything like
     "format, install a real OS" or "install NT again". Thanks.
        \_ I think that formatting and re-installing Windows is your
           best bet.  Active Desktop leaves a lot of crap lying around
           and makes your computer much slower, even if it is uninstalled.
        \_ try hot sex on the carpet.
           \_ that only works if you're trying to make your roomate go
              away.  a m$ program is a lot harder though.
        \Nothing is as hard as I am when I think of psb -#1 PSB FAN
                \_ I always just recorded live video/audio and sold it on
                   the net.
        \_ Looks like you did the right thing.
        \_ Let this be a lesson to install linux.  Try finding someone
           \_ WTF does linux have to do with active desktop?
           who does have the IE4 uninstall option.  Then try copying the
           windows registry settings from their's onto yours.  It's a
           long shot but it might work.
           \_ Damn, if this isn't the most dumbshit advice I've seen on
              the motd in at least 24 hours....
        \_ you might want to try this because not only will it get rid
           active desktop but it will also give a you new clean registry
           which will make your computer go a lot faster.  Backup all
           your personal files and installs onto a zip drive.  Then
           reinstall windows and everything else you backed up.
            \_ He said none of that "install NT again".  He wants a real
               solution.
        \_ Yes, you can disable Active Desktop. - William Gates
        \_ Thanks for all the enthusiasm. Are there any real answer? Thanks.
           (btw I can't uninstall under Add/Remove option)
           \_ Do you have admin rights?  I assume you do.  Did you install
              it as another user?
        \_ I haven't personally tried this but coworker says to
           uninstall IE4 completely and then reinstall IE4 without
           the active desktop feature.  --paulwang
                \_ Just tried, can't find IE program in the Add/Remove menu.
                        \_ Go to "Product Updates" in the "Help" menu in IE4
                                it will bring up a menu of IE4 components you
                                can add/remove
                                \_ I can add but can't remove. Try it.
                \_ Just in case, you have looked for Microsoft Internet
                   Explorer 4.0 in the Add/Remove menu right?
                   I have it in my menu and I'm pretty sure I've uninstalled
                   IE4 before.  -- paulwang
     \_ open My Computer, choose View, then Folder Options and then click
        on the General tab. Select the Classic Style radio button and click
        on Apply. Now click on OK. Next, choose View As Web Page to
        deselect Web Page view. For all practical purposes, this puts you
        back to the Standard Desktop.
        \_ Yes, you can disable Active Desktop. - Jennifer Gates
           \_ Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. - Sun Microsystems
                \_ what do you guys know?  You are Sun Microsystems
                   that is going nowhere but down.
                \_ Sun Microsystems learned how to "go down" from yer mom
                   if you know what I mean.
                   \_ I don't know.  Please explain in blow by blow detail.
        \_ But this doesn't uninstall it.  You're still clogged full of
           shit all over your computer.  You've only disabled some of it.

6/23    I want to ethernet my computers together having one box as a
        linux gateway server to a ppp connection (using my HIP account).
        Is there a way I can do this?  How do I assign ip numbers to the
        other computers?
        \_IP-NAT/IP-MASQ (linux)

4/23    Where can I get a copy of emacs for PC? NT preferrably.
        \_ Check the FAQ (<DEAD>www.geek-girl.com/emacs/faq/93.html<DEAD> you
           amorous donkey: ftp://cs.washington.edu/pub/ntemacs/
        \_ ftp://ftp.freebsd.com/

4/16    Hello is there a little shell-based LDAP client that i can use
        to submit a known query to see if an ldap server is up. Something
        that will either return 0 + output on success and timeout and return
        not0 on fail? pointers appreciated. --psb
        \_ ldapsearch -t time -b basedn -s scope filter attributes
                \-i see this in the netscape tree, but is source avail for
                this or it is netscapes? tnx.  --psb
        \_ For Michigan/Netscape derrived LDAP servers, you can do a
           base search on cn=monitor, which is guaranteed to exist, even
           on an empty server. You can get the source for the ldapsearch
           client from the Michgan slapd. It's also in the LDAP book by
           Tim Howes. --atom

4/8     How do I set up an FTP server as a Network drive on my Windows 95
        desktop?  The server uses NSF, if that helps any.
                                   \_ national science foundation?
                                      \_ Maybe the server is on NFSNet?
                                         (If only it still existed...)
                                         \_ The shadow government keeps
                                            the NSFnet alive and well,
                                            but horribly corrupted to
                                            new and alien purposes. -freedom
                                            \_ Hey! I'm the resident wingnut
                                               here. Who's trying to steal
                                               my title? -wingnut #1
        (I want to edit web pages locally but write remotely
        without having to upload and download updates manually.)  --pcjr
        \_ Have they exported NFS read/write to your windows95 desktop?
           If so, there's a chance you can do what you want, and they will
           get what they deserve when some miscreant trashes the server with
           NFS attacks ...

03/12   Anyone know of a cookie server?  I was playing with eXceed
        and there is a part of it that will display cookies.Not the
        evil web things, but little quotes.  Thanks.
        \_ Oh god... give it up.  This is so stupid and trivial, it doesn't
           even belong on the motd, the home of the stupid and trivial.
           \_ Y3AH D00D!!!!1! L3TZ TALK AB0UT TH3 1MP0RTANT STUFF!!!!1!!!
              L13K R TH3R3 AN3 CUT3 CH1X 0N TH1S BB0ARD?????/?????//??
                \_ If you write the el8ist c00kie server, I'm sure they'll
                   start running.

02/20   Where can I find a good ssh client for the PC? Thanks.
        \_ Windows PC?  F-secure from Datafellows is functional.  What do you
           mean by "good"?  Since UCB EECS is buying a zillion licenses at
           $7 each, you could just grab a copy from someone.  Should be all
           over the place right now and more licenses are coming soon.
           (I mean "F-scure client licenses for Windows").
        \_ You can't.

5/14    Is there another news server than agate that we can use?
        \_ Can't find porn either, eh?
        \_ No dumbo, agate's been down a lot lately.
           \_ There is no other news server on campus.  You can look at
              http://www.dejanews.com or various others.
        \_ Is there a program that can keep retrying rn until agate is
         up again, sort of like a auto redial for rn?
         \_ while

9/28    Is there a way to get old Apple Laserwriters (like a IINT) to work
        with a modern PC?
        \_ Yes -- just hook your PC up to the LaserWriter's serial port.  You
           will have to flip some DIP switches or turn a knob (action taken
           varies according to model) to tell the LW which port and bit rate
           you want to use.  -- kahogan
           \_ If you have a truly modern "PC", just hook it up with LocalTalk
              boxes and select it in the Chooser.

3/6     For those experienced in the installation of Linux: My Xterm won't
        work for some display reason. Seems to think that I'm already using
        the display.
        \_ who the hell are you? it might be nice to know this, so that
           we can get more info/answer your question via email, etc
           I for one am not going to post an exhaustive treatise on how
           to get X running with at least some idea what's wrong --sowings

4/29    Anyone have access to a DG Aviion DG/UX workstation or server? -xxx
                \_why? has lurnix agreed to another contract that they
                are to cheap to get hardware for??
                  \- HEY WHO SAID LURNIX WAS CHEAP?????
               \- no, I'm doing _research_, not writing something. -xxx
         \_why? has lurnix agreed to another contract that they
         are to cheap to get hardware for??
           \- HEY WHO SAID LURNIX WAS CHEAP?????
               \- no, I'm doing _research_, not writing something. -xxx