Joe Block, jpb@gate.net, sez:
I want to run linux on this beast and would like some suggestions from the list - which of the linux CDs do you recommend?
Hi, I've got Linux. Linux comes in different "distributions" - collections of files that have been integrated into a coherent system. My distribution is sold by Yggdrasil, (408) 261-6630, (800) 261-6630, for $39.95. I like it because it comes with a single boot floppy, and will run off the CDROM once it boots, so you can check it out without even having a hard disk installed. If you've got time, patience, a good, fast net connection and a whole lotta floppies, the slackware distribution (and a couple of others) are available via anonymous FTP from sunsite.unc.edu. There are also several other distributions available on CDROM from various vendors. Check the ads in the Linux Journal (subs@ssc.com for subscription info, (206) 527-3385, or at one of the bookstores I mention further down). If you know about computers, and are willing to put some time into mucking around fixing little petty problems, you can get a very nice system. Mine is a 33 MHz 386 (this is a little too slow for me, but works well), with 8MB of memory (sufficient, should have more), and a nice fast 2.1 GB Fast SCSI-2 Quantum Empire 2100S hard disk. I invested in the hard disk as I felt it would be a lasting value in future computers. I'm skimping on ISA bus cards for the PC as I want to get a PCI bus machine, probably a 100MHz 486, in a few months. You will be able to install Linux, the compiler, basic utilities, and the kernel sources with the disk space you have. You'll want to get more hard disk. I would recommend installing Linux a couple of times, just to see how it goes, before committing to a permanent installation. If you can't get more disk space, you can leave the Yggdrasil CDROM in your drive all the time and run the programs off the CDROM. Slower, but it works OK. I highly recommend the Linux Bible, from Yggdrasil, whatever distribution you get. Read the "How To's" on the various hardware options _before_ purchasing any new hardware. There are many supported peripherals, but I understand many of them work only marginally. For example, the UART chips generally used in PC serial ports are quite inadequate for driving an internet connection, as your machine will spend all its time servicing one-interrupt-per-character interrupts, but a serial card with a 16 character buffer that works just fine is available quite cheaply. You can FTP the bible from ftp.yggdrasil.com, but you'll want the hardcopy as it is over 1000 pages. The cover price is less than the cost of the toner cartridge you'll burn printing it. The How To's, the Linux MetaFAQ and lots of other info are on rtfm.mit.edu and sunsite.unc.edu. I've used lots of Unix systems, from System V on a 286, to Sun workstations, Vaxes, and even a Cray running Unicos, and I can say that Linux is equal to or better than any of them as far as what the OS can do, in some respects much much better. (I removed SCO ODT from my hard disk to install Linux. I might reinstall it on a second drive just to test my programs). There are still lots of glitches, but you have the source code, and access to comp.os.linux.help, where everyone else has the source code too - it beats the Hell out of Sun's technical support, IMHO. With about two thousand dollars more hardware, I would have a machine I would enjoy as much as a fifteen thousand dollar Sun, with the source code to boot ;-). One thing I highly recommend: if you or anyone you know is planning on setting up a full-time Internet connection, use a Linux box as a router, running PPP or SLIP out a modem, and ethernet on your LAN. Even a slow 386 has enough performance to service a SLIP connection at 28 kbaud, and since you have the source code to the kernel and all the internet server software, you can implement a firewall any way you like. I'm contemplating preparing my own distribution, which would be a very stripped-down Linux kernel and OS utility set, on a small number of bootable CDROMs, to allow one to install a firewall router on a small hard disk. Don't hold your breath waiting for this though. There is a security enhancement I mean to try once I've set up my own full-time router (watch for http://crawford.sc.scruznet.com, in about two weeks, maybe a month). I want to remove the ability to set the setuid bit from the kernel. Trying to set the setuid bit on a file will abort the process. Of course you can't install system software if this is done - but I could boot off a different kernel to do maintenance. This would prevent the problem of a hacker breaking in and dropping a program in my path that the hacker intends me to accidentally execute as root. There would be ways to set the bit (writing into the raw disk special file) but it would require more effort to accomplish. Crypto enthusiasts in the US and Canada can get Matt Blaze's CFS - I just got the sources, and haven't tried them out yet, but I understand there is already a Linux port. Now here's a puzzler for you. The People's Republic of China is working very hard to modernize, but still lacks capital for much hardware investment, so you see banks using 386 boxes to run an entire bank, if the bank uses a computer at all. A couple of years ago I heard that the PRC signed a deal with some big Unix vendor to supply the nation with computers and software, for many millions of dollars. Why don't they use Linux? The PRC is certainly not lacking for educated people who could do all the development they need. You can get Linux books and CDROM's from the Computer Literacy bookstore on North First Street in San Jose, and Powell's technical books in Portland Oregon. Powell's does mail order, and has a Web page which allows you to search their inventory for books. They've got lots of crypto books too, 2600 Magazine and lots of engineering books. I think the URL is http:technical.powells.portland.or.us. Development versions of Linux are available for Macintoshes and MIPS machines. If I were to use a Linux Laptop, I would put it on a Macintosh Powerbook. Regards, Michael D. Crawford crawford@scruznet.com <- Please note change of address. crawford@maxwell.ucsc.edu <- Finger me here for PGP Public Key.