LINUX NEWS
Resources & Links From CramSession.com
Thursday, February 28, 2002TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) Sean’s Notes
2) Linux News
Star Office 6 Not to be Free for Linux?
PHP Security Update
Sun's Blade Servers Coming This Year
CrossOver 1.1 Plugin Announced3) Linux Resources
How to Find What You're Looking For
Non-Programmers Tutorial For Python
Redefine The Fine Manual
Programming: The First Steps
Installing and Using AIDE4) App o’ the week
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1) Sean’s Notes
I’ve got to say that in the past week, I’ve evolved. Not in the Darwinian sense, but in the email client sense. After being a devoted PINE user for years, I decided to give Evolution a shot.
Evolution is an MS Outlook clone written by the GNOME project, with significant backing from Ximian. Since I already use Ximian GNOME for my desktop, a couple of clicks within red carpet was all I needed to get the software installed.
Running Evolution for the first time brings up a dialogue asking me information about my mail server. I’m using IMAP so that my mail remains on the server, and setting it up was very easy. But mail is only one part of Evolution.
Like Outlook, Evolution takes care of the calendar, contacts, and to do lists. One of the promises of this client is Palm Pilot support. This is where my evolution had to slow a bit.
Installing Evolution also installs the Palm Pilot conduits. Unfortunately, something is drastically wrong with Ximian’s control centre, as there is no way to enable the conduits once you’ve installed them. After a fair bit of searching, I found the following:
http://support.ximian.com/cgi-bin/ximian.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.ph p?p_sid=-8nzzT8g&p_lva=&p_refno0716-000009
In a nutshell, I have to downgrade my GNOME Control Centre to 1.4.x (I was running 1.5.x). Once I grabbed the 1.4 RPMs from rpmfind.net, I was in business. As an added bonus, I found that in the same place, I could use AvantGo to download web pages to my Pilot, and even tell my computer to synchronize my Pilot’s time on every HotSync. Did I mention these are all separate products (including the Outlook Sync) in Windows?
On the whole, I’m finding that I’m able to manage my email more efficiently than I was with PINE. One of the many features that helps is called “VFolders”. Rather than moving email to a folder (and out of my main INBOX), VFolders allow me to create a view of all my folders based on user specified criteria. By creating a VFolder of email addressed to swalberg@cramsession.com, any message in any folder (or just the ones I specify), destined to my CramSession account show up in one place while still being stored in the original folder. I can still sort email into folders after I’ve dealt with it, but with my VFolder, I can see the total picture.
Another handy feature is the Summary page. Like Outlook’s “Outlook Today” page, I can see how much email was backed up, or what appointments I have this week. What it also shows is the current weather and headlines for my favourite news sites. Customizing the content of this page is also very simple.
It hasn’t been all roses, though. I’ve still yet to find a good way to display my main inbox. If I put most recent messages first, deleting a message moves my cursor down (i.e., away from the new messages). If I reverse the order so that new messages appear at the bottom, it is difficult to see new mail because it won’t scroll the window when new mail arrives. Minor cosmetic things, but after having the ability to customize this behaviour in PINE, it is somewhat of an annoyance.
Minor imperfections aside, Evolution has handled my mail like a pro. Response is snappy, the GUI (and keystroke shortcuts) intuitive, and it has an all around pleasing look and feel. I’ve tried many GUI email clients but always ended back up in PINE. This time, I’ve evolved. I’ve got a new email client now.
Long live the Penguin,
Sean swalberg@cramsession.com <– Now powered by Evolution!
PS - Last week’s article on programming resources asked for recommendations on books for C programmers. A couple of readers wrote in to suggest K&R’s “The C Programming Language” (ISBN: 0131103628) is the definitive guide to the C language. While it’s not geared for someone just starting out, it is a valuable reference if you run into problems.
2) Linux News
Star Office 6 Not to be Free for Linux?
This article (long url, translated from German) says that SUN is going to charge money for the Linux and Windows versions of Star Office 6.0. No mention of the price, and SUN’s site seems to be silent on the issue. Not that I’m complaining, Star Office is a great product, but is the “business won’t use it because it’s free” issue really the reason?
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.heise.de%2 Fnewsticker%2Fdata%2Fdb-24.02.02-000%2F&langpair%7Cen&hl=en&prev=%2Flanguage_tools
PHP Security Update
If you’re running PHP, be sure to upgrade to the latest version of 4.1.2. There was a bug found in the way that the module handles uploads, and ranges in severity depending on the version being used.
http://security.e-matters.de/advisories/012002.html
Sun’s Blade Servers Coming This Year
“Sun will release two types of blades this year: those using Intel chips and the Linux operating system, and those using Sun’s UltraSparc chips and its Solaris operating system…”
http://www.msnbc.com/news/716793.asp?0si=-&cp1=1
CrossOver 1.1 Plugin Announced
Despite being compatible with Microsoft in many respects, Linux still has difficulty reading MS Office files, and playing Microsoft Media files. CrossOver is a plugin that uses WINE to run the Windows binaries for the Word viewer, and the Media Player. Though it is commercial, the price is small compared to what you get.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT4&STORY=/www/stor y/02-27-2002/0001677175
3) Linux Resources
How to Find What You’re Looking For
The “find” command is indispensable for keeping control of your filesystem. Not only can you find files based on name, but other criteria such as size, ownership, or modification times can also be used. This is one command every admin should be fluent with, and this article will help you get there.
http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/bsd/2002/02/21/FreeBSD_Basics.html
Non-Programmers Tutorial For Python
Many language tutorials out there assume you know how to program in one language or another. Since this is not always the case, I was happy to see this Python tutorial, made for people who have never programmed before.
http://honors.montana.edu/~jjc/easytut/easytut/easytut.html
Redefine The Fine Manual
Much like Linuxdoc, this site stores How-To files. This time, though, the files are concise explanations of single concepts, such as how to connect to a remote device with a serial connection, or do a particular task with X-Windows.
http://rtfm.dyndns.info/
Programming: The First Steps
“Many people seem to be wondering whether they should get into programming, and how they can do it. The truth is that programming itself is very simple - most people do it already, and don’t even know it.” A great article by CoolNameDenied, a Cramsession regular.
http://infocenter.cramsession.com/TechLibrary/GetHtml.asp?ID14&Get Des=&CatID76
Installing and Using AIDE
AIDE is an Open Sourced replacement for Tripwire, a program that keeps checksums of key binaries for verification in the event of a suspected break in. The syntax of the configuration file is quite cryptic, and like Tripwire can easily be set up improperly (thus removing any security benefit), so this step by step guide will be useful.
http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue75/maiorano.html
4) App o’ the week
A while back I set out on what I thought should be a simple task – find some software to create a Gantt chart. This was more difficult than I had thought, as each package was at various stages of development. Then, while looking for something else, I found MrProject. It’ll do Gantt charts, calendars, and track resources. I’m no project manager, but I think this is a pretty handy tool for those looking to get rid of MS Project.
http://www.gnome.org/gnome-office/mrproject.shtml
(C) 2002 BrainBuzz.com. All Rights Reserved.
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