Clutter Learns Linux

[Cluttermagnet]

I remember that drive from a few years ago. It was the only one of its kind, and since it does some weird stuff with the discs, it was likely never well tested and debugged under the linux kernel. I have an old HP ScanJet 4s. Runs off the serial port, if I remember correctly. Unfortunately, it was a very niche device, and there is no linux support for it whatsoever.Lesson learned. The truly obscure, one-off, only-of-its-kind hardware is likely not going to work well, if at all.Adam

I could just as well run it under Win98SE, I guess, Are you saying I should expect it to be better behaved in Windows?

[Urmas]

Are you saying I should expect it to be better behaved in Windows?

If you can find the drivers for the gizmo... yeah. Edited August 21, 2007 by Urmas

[Cluttermagnet]

Any recommendations for an acceptably good html editor for Ubuntu and a Gnome type desktop? (for web page editing)

[Bruno]

Any recommendations for an acceptably good html editor for Ubuntu and a Gnome type desktop? (for web page editing)

If you like Gnome and Firefox you will sure be a Nvu fan soon ;)Nvu should be available in your software manager. Bruno

[Cluttermagnet]

If you like Gnome and Firefox you will sure be a Nvu fan soon ;)Nvu should be available in your software manager. Bruno

Thanks, Bruno-I did find mention of Nvu from a search of the Linux forum. I may well try that one. I also found mention of quanta and, for gnome, bluefish. I did install bluefish 1.0.5 and have worked with it some as I did a little fiddling around with an alternative web page (mirror, sort of) of mine.BTW I write in raw html so I don't really need a WYSIWYG type composer like Nvu, just an html editor. But I'll probably try it anyway. My web pages are sooooo last century. I need to learn to utilize css better. I only use a little bit of css locally on a few of my pages. Some day I will completely redesign my clunky web site.I'm trying to stay focused on my problems with that problem pdf file. So far nothing has worked on my old servers. I'm almost finished with setting the file up on a couple of other hosts. Then I will see if it is a server problem. On one host, there seems to be a problem with pdf files. I uploaded it to that server, along with other files such as graphics, but the server won't download that pdf. Probably some security brouhaha. I need to talk to the server administrator to see what's up. Edited August 21, 2007 by Cluttermagnet

[Bruno]

BTW I write in raw html so I don't really need a WYSIWYG type composer like Nvu, just an html editor.

Ahaaa . . . .well, myself I use Kwrite( yep a KDE app ) for html . . it has syntax highlighting so you will know if you maybe forgot to close a tag ;)I am sure in Gnome there will be an editor with syntax highlighting ( in fact Gedit has it, change in the prefs to "html" ) Bruno

[V.T. Eric Layton]

...I write in raw html...

What a geek!

[Cluttermagnet]

What a geek!

Heh! Well, I'm more in awe of folks who compile their own OS.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Bah! Custom compiling a kernel for my Zenwalk installation was a breeze. I've had much more difficult times coding HTML for my biker club's website.

[Urmas]

What a geek!

Here:HTML HEAD Sterling Silver Earrings

Make sure you don't walk around without a properly formatted Head. While we cannot ensure that Google will properly index the contents of your brain, these earrings could help. Be W3C verified. Always close your tags!

[Cluttermagnet]

[Cluttermagnet]

I'm posting from a friend's Dell XPS-720 machine. He got a free upgrade from the 700 mobo. I just finished reinstalling XP Home 32 bit and XP Pro x64 for him, each on separate drives, then Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty on a 3rd drive with the grub bootloader tying it all together. I seem to have pulled it off. Five years ago, I wouldn't have believed I'd be doing this sort of stuff- partitioning drives, multi-booting and such. Heh! It's amazing. Real nice to see Feisty go on line effortlessly and update over a hundred files via cable internet in a few minutes. Bang! Done. Both XP's took longer than that, just to install 4 major drivers. No Windows updates have been attempted yet. I may leave that tedium to him.

[Urmas]

Five years ago, I wouldn't have believed I'd be doing this sort of stuff- partitioning drives, multi-booting and such. Heh! It's amazing. Real nice to see Feisty go on line effortlessly and update over a hundred files via cable internet in a few minutes. Bang! Done.

[Bruno]

I seem to have pulled it off. Five years ago, I wouldn't have believed I'd be doing this sort of stuff- partitioning drives, multi-booting and such. Heh! It's amazing.

great to see you making such progress Clutter Bruno@Urmas: Nice super penguin

[SueD]

Aww, he's cute! And he even has my initial on his chest.

[teacher]

ClutterI can't believe it. You have even more posts here than when I made the leap to Linux. Way to go!

[Guest LilBambi]

Way to go Clutter! :thumbsup:I knew once you made the leap, you'd be all over Linux like a wet suit! LOL!Julia! Great to see ya!!!

[teacher]

Thanks Fran! It is great to see Clutter doing so well.

[Guest LilBambi]

It surely is great to see Clutter doing so well!

[Cluttermagnet]

ClutterI can't believe it. You have even more posts here than when I made the leap to Linux. Way to go!

Heh! Well gawrsh... I've been having more fun than ever before with my growing computer farm. It's sort of like when I was learning desktop PC's and Windows, but without all the frustration and griping. I feel like a kid in a candy factory. So many distros, so little time...

It surely is great to see Clutter doing so well!

Thanks so much guys! A positive attitude (plus really good help) does it every time. You're the best! Edited September 22, 2007 by Cluttermagnet

[Cluttermagnet]

I have new-in-package USB crossover interface cable. It's supposed to bridge between two different computers via USB ports. It's supposed to be widely compatible with various Win and Mac OS's. It doesn't mention Linux (Ubuntu). I have it plugged between two boxes. Device manager can see it on both sides, I believe. There are 4 entries: USB 2.0 Data Link, USB Vendor Specific Interface, Networking Interface, and USB Raw Device Access.I strongly suspect there are some magic command line things I can do to make this pathway open up between the two boxes. Can anyone coach me as to how I would do that?I have a copy of DreamLinux sitting on my Dapper machine. Trouble is, I cant get k3b to turn out anything other than coasters, with that distro. I want to port it, all 700MB, to my Feisty machine. That box knows how to burn .iso CD's OK. I don't have anything else handy to move something that big. I've misplaced my little USB 2.0 external 3.5 in hard drive case and can't find it right now. My one, big, 1G flash drive is full of important litle files and I'm too lazy to go through moving all that stuff off the flash drive. So I'd really like to get some files moving with this USB crossover thingie.Thanks, Clutter

[Urmas]

While we're waiting for someone who's actually done this to reply...Do you have both boxes connected to your router? If you have... why the USB cable? I connected my two Ubuntu computers using Samba (when you go to Places -> Network Services for the first time and start playing with it, Ubuntu will ask whether to install NFS and/or Samba... no need to Synaptic/apt-get for it/them):http://forums.scotsnewsletter.com/index.ph...74&hl=samba

[Cluttermagnet]

While we're waiting for someone who's actually done this to reply...Do you have both boxes connected to your router? If you have... why the USB cable?

I remembered that thread, just now reread it. Kind of a MEGO reaction here ("My eyes glaze over"). The Samba/NFS setup sounded harder than simply hooking up a USB crossover cable. I was kind of hoping that each OS would simply recognize the other as a USB device icon popping up on the desktop like when you plug in a flash drive. Nope. Nothing happens, but you do see the "USB Vendor Specific Interface" in both Device Managers. I unhooked the cable, now the entry isn't in Device manager any more.In theory, this crossover cable was supposed to be easy to deploy under Windows, but did involve pulling drivers off of a CD to set up. I've never actually used it, so far. I'd say the cable is definitely working, however, based on the warmth of the electronics in the mid-cord 'lump', and the entry that appears in both Device Managers.Yep, I suppose I could just as well implement sharing over the LAN, I was just trying to avoid the difficulties of setting up 'networking' as I have very little experience doing that in any OS. The USB cable thing appears 'easier', from my perspective. But yes, up to 4 boxes at a time are connected to a common hardware router's LAN ports, and so far as sharing a single cable internet conection, they are doing that just great. The problem is indeed between the terminal and the chair- the operator doesn't know how to drive. Edited September 27, 2007 by Cluttermagnet

[ross549]

Just going to throw this out there, but I suspect that it is gonna take a lot (more than samba) to get something that would even work, much less easily. As I understand it, there is no set standard for a "USB crossover" cable that would enable sharing files between two computers.I think your best bet is to take a peek in Places -> Network, and see what is there. Setting up shares in Ubuntu should be pretty straightforward.Adam

[Bruno]

HI Clutter:I am afraid that the crossover USB cable will not be the right option in Linux . . . . get a crossover ethernet cable or use the network you have connected to the router.Networking and USB are ( like USB modems ) are a real pain in Linux. Bruno

[zlim]

zlim's guide: do the least possible work, LOL.1. Sell that cable to someone with windows boxes.2. Put the flash drive on the computer where K3b just works and burn a data disk (at some point in time, it's always good to archive all those valuable files). Check the CD to be sure it is readable.3. Now empty the contents of the flash drive so you can move some more invaluable files around.

[Cluttermagnet]

Thanks, Guys-Good advice from all concerned. When I find time to get back to this minor problem, I'll try several of the suggestions I received. I know one or more are going to work. I'll report back soon with my results.On another topic, I have downloaded the latest Linux Mint 3.1 Celena distro and am playing with it right now in a live CD session. I think it deserves an install, and I'll do that soon. I certainly have enough hardware to have several distros on simultaneously. I think I'll also play with PCLos again, as that distro seems to have a well- deserved good reputation. And I have a Debian net install CD I might also play around with in the coming few weeks to see how I can do with that.Bottom line is that having broadband cable internet causes the various distros to 'look different'. I found Ubuntu easiest to coax into working on dialup. I also liked that it waited to set up networking until after the OS has completely booted. I really appreciate that. It is a pain with the KDE oriented distros when they always make you walk through that setup in order to boot each and every time.So far as 'looking different', Linux Mint 3.1 is a breeze to boot into live CD session. It finds your ethernet and fires up Firefox and goes on line with no problems. As time permits, I'll be trying these and other distros this fall and winter. In time I'll learn some networking skills, and how to use KDE better. Ubuntu has been an excellent start for me. I've adapted pretty well to Gnome. I have a lot of respect for what the folks at Ubuntu have done with Debian.

[Urmas]

I've adapted pretty well to Gnome.

Gnome 2.20 coming soon to a theatre gutsyfied computer near you!

[Cluttermagnet]

I recently visited my friend with the Dell XPS-720 again. I think he's quite happy with the new multi-OS setup on that machine, the grub bootloader, the easy to understand partitioning of the drives I set up, and the backup imaging and such. He's also very favorably impressed with Linux based on his early experiences with Ubuntu Feisty 7.04. We set up his HP printer- the ultimate in simplicity with Ubuntu- and of course it worked perfectly. He's finding it easy to just jump in and use the OS for day to day work like web browsing, emailing, and downloading software, etc. including software destined for use in his Windows OS's. So now I think I can confidently say "here's my first convert to linux, and there will be more..."

Edited September 29, 2007 by Cluttermagnet

[Guest LilBambi]

Way to go Clutter!