- jgs

Maxima symbolic algebra package

2007-02-16T08:17:21+00:00

Maxima is a free symbolic algebra program for Linux

The Maxima package provides symbolic algebra capabilities.

xmaxima

looks like this:

Both Linuxes emulate Windows XP

2007-02-04T22:58:57+00:00

Running LTspice with wine under both ubuntu 6.10 and Fedora Core 6

Both Linuxes emulate Windows XP

Christoph Maier, 04 February 2007

After downloading and installing wine under both ubuntu 6.10 and Fedora Core 6, I copied LTspice from my Windows XP partition to the disk shared by both Linuxes and ran

wine scad3.exe

on both installations.

Success! in both cases

Dabbling in GTK+ 2.0

2007-02-03T22:27:36+00:00

Now that I can compile and debug C in Linux, it makes sense to try using the GUI library.

Dabbling in GTK+ 2.0

Christoph Maier, 03 February 2007

After confirming that ddd also exists (and works) for Fedora Core 6, I am playing a little with GTK+ 2.0 under ubuntu 6.10 and Fedora Core 6.

RTFM: http://www.gtk.org/tutorial/index.html

Small variant on one of the examples:

/* third example from http://www.gtk.org/tutorial/x345.html 
   Transmogrified somewhat */

#include <gtk/gtk.h>

/* Our new improved callback.  The data passed to this function
 * is printed to stdout. */
static void callback( GtkWidget *widget,
                      gpointer   data )
{
    g_print("Wahrlich, ich sage euch: %s\n", (gchar *) data);
}

/* another callback */
static gboolean delete_event( GtkWidget *widget,
                              GdkEvent  *event,
                              gpointer   data )
{
    gtk_main_quit ();
    return FALSE;
}

int main( int   argc,
          char *argv[] )
{
    /* GtkWidget is the storage type for widgets */
    GtkWidget *window;
    GtkWidget *button;
    GtkWidget *box1;

    /* This is called in all GTK applications. Arguments are parsed
     * from the command line and are returned to the application. */
    gtk_init (&argc, &argv);

    /* Create a new window */
    window = gtk_window_new (GTK_WINDOW_TOPLEVEL);

    /* This is a new call, which just sets the title of our
     * new window to "Hamburg" */
    gtk_window_set_title (GTK_WINDOW (window), "Hamburger LUGnut buttons");

    /* Here we just set a handler for delete_event that immediately
     * exits GTK. */
    g_signal_connect (G_OBJECT (window), "delete_event",
		      G_CALLBACK (delete_event), NULL);

    /* Sets the border width of the window. */
    gtk_container_set_border_width (GTK_CONTAINER (window), 4);

    /* We create a box to pack widgets into.  This is described in detail
     * in the "packing" section. The box is not really visible, it
     * is just used as a tool to arrange widgets. */
    box1 = gtk_vbox_new (TRUE, 0);

    /* Put the box into the main window. */
    gtk_container_add (GTK_CONTAINER (window), box1);

    /* Creates a new button with the label "Hummel, Hummel". */
    button = gtk_button_new_with_label ("Hummel, Hummel");
    
    /* Now when the button is clicked, we call the "callback" function
     * with a pointer to "Hummel, Hummel" as its argument */
    g_signal_connect (G_OBJECT (button), "clicked",
		      G_CALLBACK (callback), (gpointer) "Hummel, Hummel");

    /* Instead of gtk_container_add, we pack this button into the invisible
     * box, which has been packed into the window. */
    gtk_box_pack_start (GTK_BOX(box1), button, TRUE, TRUE, 0);

    /* Always remember this step, this tells GTK that our preparation for
     * this button is complete, and it can now be displayed. */
    gtk_widget_show (button);

    /* Do these same steps again to create a second button */
    button = gtk_button_new_with_label ("-- --- .-. ... --..-- -- --- .-. ...");

    /* Call the same callback function with a different argument,
     * passing a pointer to "Mors, Mors" instead. */
    g_signal_connect (G_OBJECT (button), "clicked",
		      G_CALLBACK (callback), (gpointer) "Mors, Mors");

    gtk_box_pack_start(GTK_BOX (box1), button, TRUE, TRUE, 0);

    /* The order in which we show the buttons is not really important, but I
     * recommend showing the window last, so it all pops up at once. */
    gtk_widget_show (button);

    gtk_widget_show (box1);

    gtk_widget_show (window);
    
    /* Rest in gtk_main and wait for the fun to begin! */
    gtk_main ();

    return 0;
}

Compile with

# script to compile hamburch.c
gcc -Wall -g hamburch.c -o hamburch `pkg-config --cflags gtk+-2.0 --libs gtk+-2.0`

Works nice!

cmaier@DrEvil:/data/C/grafix$ Wahrlich, ich sage euch: Hummel, Hummel
Wahrlich, ich sage euch: Mors, Mors

Compiling and debugging C code in ubuntu 6.10

2007-02-03T16:39:26+00:00

Use ddd to debug C code.

Installfest That Technical Bookstore, 03 February 2007

Carl Löwenstein

Debugging C code

Download ddd with synaptics

Compile with -g option:

cmaier@DrEvil:/data/C/DeepShit$ cc -g -o braesenheimer linedraw.c linedraw_test.c

Invoke debugger:

cmaier@DrEvil:/data/C/DeepShit$ ddd braesenheimer

This is how it looks:

Update of nVIDIA and ipw3945 drivers for Fedora Core 6, kernel #2895

2007-01-24T00:32:28+00:00

Fedora Core 6 automatically updated the kernel to version #2895. The nVIDIA and ipw3945 drivers didn't follow suit, so I had to install them manually.

Installing nVIDIA and ipw 3945 drivers

Christoph Maier, 24JAN2007

After the automatic update of the Fedora Core 6 kernel to version #2895, I had to

update the master GRUB menu.lst

install the nVIDIA driver

Following the procedure suggested in http://www.mjmwired.net/resources/mjm-fedora-fc6.html

[root@DrEvil RPM]# rpm -ivh http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-6.rpm
Retrieving http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-6.rpm
warning: /var/tmp/rpm-xfer.5kDCLh: Header V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID a109b1ec
Preparing...                ########################################### [100%]
   1:livna-release          ########################################### [100%]
[root@DrEvil RPM]# rpm --import http://rpm.livna.org/RPM-LIVNA-GPG-KEY
[root@DrEvil RPM]# yum update kmod-nvidia
Loading "installonlyn" plugin
Setting up Update Process
Setting up repositories
livna                     100% |=========================| 1.1 kB    00:00     
Reading repository metadata in from local files
primary.xml.gz            100% |=========================| 111 kB    00:01     
livna     : ################################################## 367/367
Resolving Dependencies
--> Populating transaction set with selected packages. Please wait.
---> Downloading header for kmod-nvidia to pack into transaction set.
kmod-nvidia-1.0.9746-1.2. 100% |=========================|  18 kB    00:00     
---> Package kmod-nvidia.i686 0:1.0.9746-1.2.6.19_1.2895.fc6 set to be installed
--> Running transaction check
--> Processing Dependency: nvidia-kmod-common >= 1.0.9746 for package: kmod-nvidia
--> Restarting Dependency Resolution with new changes.
--> Populating transaction set with selected packages. Please wait.
---> Downloading header for xorg-x11-drv-nvidia to pack into transaction set.
xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-1.0.9 100% |=========================|  34 kB    00:00     
---> Package xorg-x11-drv-nvidia.i386 0:1.0.9746-7.lvn6 set to be updated
--> Running transaction check

Dependencies Resolved

=============================================================================
 Package                 Arch       Version          Repository        Size 
=============================================================================
Installing:
 kmod-nvidia             i686       1.0.9746-1.2.6.19_1.2895.fc6  livna             2.3 M
Updating for dependencies:
 xorg-x11-drv-nvidia     i386       1.0.9746-7.lvn6  livna             4.9 M

Transaction Summary
=============================================================================
Install      1 Package(s)         
Update       1 Package(s)         
Remove       0 Package(s)         

Total download size: 7.2 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
(1/2): xorg-x11-drv-nvidi 100% |=========================| 4.9 MB    00:11     
(2/2): kmod-nvidia-1.0.97 100% |=========================| 2.3 MB    00:05     
Running Transaction Test
Finished Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
  Installing: kmod-nvidia                  ######################### [1/4] 
  Updating  : xorg-x11-drv-nvidia          ######################### [2/4] 
  Cleanup   : xorg-x11-drv-nvidia          ######################### [3/4]
  Cleanup   : kmod-nvidia                  ######################### [4/4]

Installed: kmod-nvidia.i686 0:1.0.9746-1.2.6.19_1.2895.fc6
Dependency Updated: xorg-x11-drv-nvidia.i386 0:1.0.9746-7.lvn6
Complete!

install the Intel 3945 driver

[root@DrEvil ~]# yum list | grep ipw3945 | less
[root@DrEvil ~]# yum list | grep ipw3945
ipw3945.i386                             1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      installed       
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869.fc6.i686      1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      installed       
ipw3945-ucode.noarch                     1.14.2-3.1.at          installed       
ipw3945d.i386                            1.7.22-4.at            installed       
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869.fc6.i586      1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869.fc6PAE.i686   1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869.fc6xen.i686   1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869_0.99.fc6.cubb 1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869_0.99.fc6.cubb 1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869_0.99.fc6.cubb 1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869_1.fc6.cubbi_s 1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869_1.fc6.cubbi_s 1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869_1.fc6.cubbi_s 1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6.i586      1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6.i686      1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6PAE.i686   1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6xen.i686   1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895_0.99.fc6.cubb 1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895_0.99.fc6.cubb 1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895_0.99.fc6.cubb 1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895_1.fc6.cubbi_s 1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895_1.fc6.cubbi_s 1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895_1.fc6.cubbi_s 1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at      atrpms          
[root@DrEvil ~]# yum install 
[root@DrEvil ~]# yum install ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6.i686 
Loading "installonlyn" plugin
Setting up Install Process
Setting up repositories
Reading repository metadata in from local files
Parsing package install arguments
Resolving Dependencies
--> Populating transaction set with selected packages. Please wait.
---> Downloading header for ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6 to pack into transaction set.
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.289 100% |=========================| 4.1 kB    00:00     
---> Package ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6.i686 0:1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at set to be updated
--> Running transaction check
--> Processing Dependency: ieee80211-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6 >= 1.1.11 for package: ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6
--> Restarting Dependency Resolution with new changes.
--> Populating transaction set with selected packages. Please wait.
---> Downloading header for ieee80211-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6 to pack into transaction set.
ieee80211-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2 100% |=========================| 4.9 kB    00:00     
---> Package ieee80211-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6.i686 0:1.2.16-16.fc6.at set to be updated
--> Running transaction check

Dependencies Resolved

=============================================================================
 Package                 Arch       Version          Repository        Size 
=============================================================================
Installing:
 ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6  i686       1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at  atrpms             89 k
Installing for dependencies:
 ieee80211-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6  i686       1.2.16-16.fc6.at  atrpms             41 k

Transaction Summary
=============================================================================
Install      2 Package(s)         
Update       0 Package(s)         
Remove       0 Package(s)         

Total download size: 131 k
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
(1/2): ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.1 100% |=========================|  89 kB    00:01     
(2/2): ieee80211-kmdl-2.6 100% |=========================|  41 kB    00:00     
Running Transaction Test
Finished Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
  Installing: ieee80211-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895 ######################### [1/2] 
  Installing: ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.f ######################### [2/2] 

Installed: ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6.i686 0:1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at
Dependency Installed: ieee80211-kmdl-2.6.19-1.2895.fc6.i686 0:1.2.16-16.fc6.at
Complete!

And finally, the wireless transceiver connects to my wireless access point!

Remove the wrong kernel-devel libraries for Fedora Core 6

2007-01-23T23:58:39+00:00

The Fedora Core 6 installer erroneously installed a version of the kernel for i586. The kernel-devel package was also affected; I need to remove it. The correct package will be installed with the next automatic update.

Christoph Maier [myself], 13 January 2007

[cmaier@DrEvil ~]$ sudo yum remove kernel-devel.i586
Loading "installonlyn" plugin
Setting up Remove Process
Resolving Dependencies
--> Populating transaction set with selected packages. Please wait.
---> Package kernel-devel.i586 0:2.6.18-1.2869.fc6 set to be erased
---> Package kernel-devel.i586 0:2.6.18-1.2849.fc6 set to be erased
--> Running transaction check

Dependencies Resolved

=============================================================================
 Package                 Arch       Version          Repository        Size 
=============================================================================
Removing:
 kernel-devel            i586       2.6.18-1.2869.fc6  installed          14 M
 kernel-devel            i586       2.6.18-1.2849.fc6  installed          14 M

Transaction Summary
=============================================================================
Install      0 Package(s)         
Update       0 Package(s)         
Remove       2 Package(s)         

Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
Running Transaction Test
Finished Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
  Removing  : kernel-devel                 ######################### [1/2]
  Removing  : kernel-devel                 ######################### [2/2]

Removed: kernel-devel.i586 0:2.6.18-1.2869.fc6 kernel-devel.i586 0:2.6.18-1.2849.fc6
Complete!

Trying to get wireless to work with Intel 3945 under Fedora Core 6, part 2

2007-01-24T00:06:18+00:00

Last installfest, we uploaded a buggy ipw3945 driver, so NetworkManager crashed catastrophically. This time, things went a little better ...

Installfest 13 January 2007

Gus Wirth, mostly

Sequence of shutdown daemons: /etc/rc0.d
added myself to sudoers
Pirut goes crazy!
The pirut window comes up with the wrong drivers highlighted:
but as I move the pointer onto the entries, they change!
To verify what yum really installed, there are two possibilities:
- ```
cat /var/log/rpmpkgs
```
- ```
sudo yum list
```

It turned out that the ipw3945 driver I uploaded last time had a catastrophic bug. So I update it, using yum directly instead of going through pirut:

[cmaier@DrEvil ~]$ sudo yum update ipw3945.i386
Loading "installonlyn" plugin
Setting up Update Process
Setting up repositories
Reading repository metadata in from local files
Resolving Dependencies
--> Populating transaction set with selected packages. Please wait.
---> Downloading header for ipw3945 to pack into transaction set.
ipw3945-1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at 100% |=========================| 3.3 kB    00:00     
---> Package ipw3945.i386 0:1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at set to be updated
--> Running transaction check
--> Processing Dependency: ipw3945-kmdl-1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at for package: ipw3945
--> Restarting Dependency Resolution with new changes.
--> Populating transaction set with selected packages. Please wait.
---> Downloading header for ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869.fc6 to pack into transaction set.
ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.286 100% |=========================| 4.1 kB    00:00     
---> Package ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869.fc6.i686 0:1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at set to be updated
--> Running transaction check

Dependencies Resolved

=============================================================================
 Package                 Arch       Version          Repository        Size 
=============================================================================
Updating:
 ipw3945                 i386       1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at  atrpms             35 k
Updating for dependencies:
 ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869.fc6  i686       1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at  atrpms             89 k

Transaction Summary
=============================================================================
Install      0 Package(s)         
Update       2 Package(s)         
Remove       0 Package(s)         

Total download size: 124 k
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
(1/2): ipw3945-1.2.0-18.2 100% |=========================|  35 kB    00:00     
(2/2): ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.1 100% |=========================|  89 kB    00:00     
Running Transaction Test
Finished Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
  Updating  : ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869.f ######################### [1/4] 
  Updating  : ipw3945                      ######################### [2/4] 
  Cleanup   : ipw3945                      ######################### [3/4]
  Cleanup   : ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869.f ######################### [4/4]

Updated: ipw3945.i386 0:1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at
Dependency Updated: ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2869.fc6.i686 0:1.2.0-18.2.fc6.at
Complete!

It works!

[root@DrEvil ~]# iwconfig 
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

sit0      no wireless extensions.

eth1      IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:"kplug-netgear"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Access Point: 00:0F:B5:E2:DF:60   
          Bit Rate:1 Mb/s   Tx-Power:14 dBm   
          Retry limit:15   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=60/100  Signal level=-42 dBm  Noise level=-43 dBm
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:204   Missed beacon:0

[root@DrEvil ~]# ifconfig
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:15:C5:B8:F6:C7  
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:230 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:317 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:32391 (31.6 KiB)  TX bytes:42555 (41.5 KiB)
          Interrupt:185 

eth1      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:18:DE:8A:A7:3C  
          inet addr:192.168.10.103  Bcast:192.168.10.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: fe80::218:deff:fe8a:a73c/64 Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:266 errors:0 dropped:205 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:206 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:293801 (286.9 KiB)  TX bytes:38936 (38.0 KiB)
          Interrupt:177 Base address:0xe000 Memory:dcfff000-dcffffff 

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:8 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:8 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:560 (560.0 b)  TX bytes:560 (560.0 b)

How to check the IP address routing, with domain names (if available) and with numbers, respectively:

[root@DrEvil ~]# route 
Kernel IP routing table
Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags Metric Ref    Use Iface
192.168.10.0    *               255.255.255.0   U     0      0        0 eth1
default         192.168.10.1    0.0.0.0         UG    0      0        0 eth1
[root@DrEvil ~]# route -n
Kernel IP routing table
Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags Metric Ref    Use Iface
192.168.10.0    0.0.0.0         255.255.255.0   U     0      0        0 eth1
0.0.0.0         192.168.10.1    0.0.0.0         UG    0      0        0 eth1

Where the computer finds the name server:

[root@DrEvil ~]# cat /etc/resolv.conf
# generated by NetworkManager, do not edit!



nameserver 192.168.10.1

Trying to get wireless to work with Intel 3945 under Fedora Core 6, part 1

2007-01-24T00:02:48+00:00

We downloaded the drivers from atrpms.net. However, the driver had a bug, which resulted in core dumps and other unpleasantness.

Installfest 06 January 2007

Jim Sack, George, Gus Wirth

Today, we're trying to get the intel 3945 wireless adapter to work under Fedora Core 6

Google ipw3945 fedora
First hit: http://atrpms.net/dist/fc6/ipw3945/
From pirut, install
- ipw3945-kmdl-2.6.18-2869.fc6 - 1.2.0-18.fc6.at.i686 (verify kernel version matches output of uname -r)
- ipw3945 - 1.2.0-18.fc6.at.i386
In a terminal window,
```
su -
```
```
modprobe -l ipw3945
```
verifies whether the ipw3945 kernel module has been installed. The module is installed, but does not work.

Following the ipw3945 installation manual, create a file

# cat /etc/modprobe.d/ipw3945 
install ipw3945 /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install ipw3945 ; sleep 0.5 ; /sbin/ipw3945d --quiet
remove ipw3945  /sbin/ipw3945d --kill ; /sbin/modprobe -r --ignore-remove ipw3945

The regulatory demon ipw3945d does not get started at boot time, as is verified by
```
ps -C ipw3945d
```

After the instructions

# rmmod ipw3945
# modprobe ipw3945

the installation succeeds.
This is verified by checking the existence of /root/installbegin and /root/installend when using the modified file

# cat /etc/modprobe.d/ipw3945 
install ipw3945 touch /root/installbegin ;  /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install ipw3945 ; sleep 0.5 ; /sbin/ipw3945d --quiet ; touch /root/installend
remove ipw3945  /sbin/ipw3945d --kill ; /sbin/modprobe -r --ignore-remove ipw3945

In /etc/modprobe.conf, add a line
```
alias eth1 ipw3945
```

In /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts, create

#  cat /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth1 
# Hacked ipw3945 script
DEVICE=eth1
BOOTPROTO=dhcp
ONBOOT=yes
TYPE=Wireless

In /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist, add the lines

# Additions CM 06JAN1967+40
blacklist ipw3945

Now, the boot messages indicate [FAILED] when booting up; however,

# iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

sit0      no wireless extensions.

eth1      unassociated  ESSID:off/any  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency=nan kHz  Access Point: Not-Associated   
          Bit Rate:0 kb/s   Tx-Power:16 dBm   
          Retry limit:15   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:0 B   
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality:0  Signal level:0  Noise level:0
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:6085   Missed beacon:0

It is possible now to connect to an unsecured network through NetworkManager; however, a connection attempt to my encrypted wireless base station still fails...
disastrously:

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel: Oops: 0000 [#1]

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel: SMP 

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel: CPU:    1

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel: EIP is at ipw_wx_set_auth+0x63/0x19d [ipw3945]

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel: eax: 00000000   ebx: f7310ab4   ecx: f4ffaf44   edx: fffffff5

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel: esi: f7310400   edi: f4ffaf44   ebp: c0629458   esp: f4ffae0c

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel: ds: 007b   es: 007b   ss: 0068

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel: Process wpa_supplicant (pid: 4162, ti=f4ffa000 task=f49cab10 task.ti=f4ffa000)

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel: Stack: 00000000 00000000 00000000 0000013d 0000013d 00000004 000005c9 00000004 

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel:        00040000 0000013d 0000013d 00000000 f49cab10 00000000 00000000 00000000 

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel:        00000000 00000000 00000000 00000004 00000000 0000013d 0000013d c04c1075 

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel: Call Trace:

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel:  [] ioctl_standard_call+0x60/0x225

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel:  [] wireless_process_ioctl+0x57/0x328

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel:  [] dev_ioctl+0x432/0x46b

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel:  [] do_ioctl+0x1f/0x62

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel:  [] vfs_ioctl+0x24a/0x25c

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel:  [] sys_ioctl+0x4c/0x66

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel:  [] syscall_call+0x7/0xb

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel: DWARF2 unwinder stuck at syscall_call+0x7/0xb

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel: Leftover inexact backtrace:

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel:  =======================

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel: Code: 0f 00 00 83 f8 0a 0f 87 44 01 00 00 ff 24 85 28 7d ec f8 8b 86 c8 06 00 00 8b 9c 86 b8 06 00 00 85 db 0f 84 2f 01 00 00 8b 43 08 <83> 78 38 00 0f 84 22 01 00 00 8b 50 34 85 d2 0f 84 17 01 00 00 

Message from syslogd@DrEvil at Sat Jan  6 22:52:36 2007 ...
DrEvil kernel: EIP: [] ipw_wx_set_auth+0x63/0x19d [ipw3945] SS:ESP 0068:f4ffae0c

Installing an NVIDIA display driver for Fedora Core 6 ... and ending up reinstalling kernels

2007-01-06T18:22:05+00:00

While trying to install the nVidia driver for Fedora Core 6, we found out that the automatic installer for Fedora installed the wrong kernel. So the 16 December 2006 installfest became an exercise in reinstalling kernels [from .rpm files, that is]

Robert Donovan, 16 December 2006

Install nVidia driver for Fedora Core 6

open terminal window for root

edit /etc/inittab
The computer spits

(gedit:3424): GnomeUI-WARNING **: While connecting to session manager:
Authentication Rejected, reason : None of the authentication protocols specified are supported and host-based authentication failed.

back at me

change the line id:5:initdefault: to id:3:initdefault as a precaution if the X server gets messed up (this will not start up X at login, I need to start x with startx
establish access to the server that has the repository: http://rpm.livna.org
proceed to the index of packages
verify which kernel version I have:
```
[cmaier@DrEvil HTML]$ uname -r
2.6.18-1.2798.fc6
```
The kernel version needs to match the drivers to download.
Mismatch! We need to update the kernel

[root@DrEvil HTML]# yum update kernel

Loading "installonlyn" plugin
Setting up Update Process
Setting up repositories
Reading repository metadata in from local files
Could not find update match for kernel
No Packages marked for Update/Obsoletion

Go hunt for the kernel at http://download.fedora.redhat.com/, specifically at http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/updates/6/i386/

in the root window,

yum update kernel-2.6.18-1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm
Loading "installonlyn" plugin
Setting up Update Process
Setting up repositories
core                      100% |=========================| 1.1 kB    00:00     
atrpms                    100% |=========================|  951 B    00:00     
updates                   100% |=========================| 1.2 kB    00:00     
extras                    100% |=========================| 1.1 kB    00:00     
Reading repository metadata in from local files
Could not find update match for kernel-2.6.18-1.2849.fc6.i686
No Packages marked for Update/Obsoletion

Robert goes into emergency hack mode

[root@DrEvil HTML]# cd /etc/yum
[root@DrEvil yum]# ls
pluginconf.d  yum-updatesd.conf
[root@DrEvil yum]# less yum-updatesd.conf

Next try...

yum install kernel-2.6.18-1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm

On second thought, just try

[root@DrEvil yum]# yum install kernel
Loading "installonlyn" plugin
Setting up Install Process
Setting up repositories
Reading repository metadata in from local files
Parsing package install arguments
Resolving Dependencies
--> Populating transaction set with selected packages. Please wait.
---> Downloading header for kernel to pack into transaction set.
kernel-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6. 100% |=========================| 206 kB    00:00     
---> Package kernel.i686 0:2.6.18-1.2798.fc6 set to be installed
--> Running transaction check
--> Populating transaction set with selected packages. Please wait.
---> Package kernel.i586 0:2.6.18-1.2849.fc6 set to be erased
--> Running transaction check

Dependencies Resolved

=============================================================================
 Package                 Arch       Version          Repository        Size 
=============================================================================
Installing:
 kernel                  i686       2.6.18-1.2798.fc6  core               16 M
Removing:
 kernel                  i586       2.6.18-1.2849.fc6  installed          43 M

Transaction Summary
=============================================================================
Install      1 Package(s)         
Update       0 Package(s)         
Remove       1 Package(s)         

Total download size: 16 M
Is this ok [y/N]: 
Downloading Packages:
(1/1): kernel-2.6.18-1.27 100% |=========================|  16 MB    00:22     
Running Transaction Test
Finished Transaction Test


Transaction Check Error:   package kernel-2.6.18-1.2849.fc6 (which is newer than kernel-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6) is already installed
  package kernel-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6 is already installed
  file /boot/System.map-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6 from install of kernel-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6 conflicts with file from package kernel-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6
  file /boot/config-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6 from install of kernel-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6 conflicts with file from package kernel-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6
  file /boot/symvers-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6.gz from install of kernel-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6 conflicts with file from package kernel-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6
  file /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6 from install of kernel-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6 conflicts with file from package kernel-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6

first.
This is still very messy. Try...

a reboot
Since the primary GRUB configuartion is in ubuntu, the GRUB stanza for the new Fedora kernel needs to be imported into ubuntu manually. I wrote the procedure for this on 06Nov2006 [link!]
With the new kernel installed as a boot option, boot into it (now in text mode)
login as root and startx
Now we need to download exactly the right drivers from livna:
- kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6
- xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.lvn6
After downloading (save to file) ...

[root@DrEvil RPM]# rpm -ivh kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm 
warning: kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm: Header V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID a109b1ec
error: Failed dependencies:
        kernel-i686 = 2.6.18-1.2849.fc6 is needed by kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686
        nvidia-kmod-common >= 1.0.9631 is needed by kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686

get a sneak preview what is in the package

[root@DrEvil RPM]# rpm -qlip kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm 
warning: kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm: Header V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID a109b1ec
Name        : kmod-nvidia                  Relocations: (not relocatable)
Version     : 1.0.9631                          Vendor: (none)
Release     : 1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6           Build Date: Sat 09 Dec 2006 09:31:47 AM PST
Install Date: (not installed)               Build Host: plague-builder.livna.org
Group       : System Environment/Kernel     Source RPM: nvidia-kmod-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.src.rpm
Size        : 5396604                          License: Distributable
Signature   : DSA/SHA1, Sat 09 Dec 2006 09:39:27 AM PST, Key ID 71295441a109b1ec
URL         : http://www.nvidia.com/
Summary     : nvidia kernel module(s)
Description :
This package provides the nvidia kernel modules built for the Linux
kernel 2.6.18-1.2849.fc6 for the i686 family of processors.
/lib/modules/2.6.18-1.2849.fc6/extra/nvidia
/lib/modules/2.6.18-1.2849.fc6/extra/nvidia/nvidia.ko

Gus Wirth suspects that I run an SMP kernel, in which case things become more difficult

[root@DrEvil RPM]# uname -a
Linux DrEvil.MaierNet 2.6.18-1.2849.fc6 #1 SMP Fri Nov 10 12:36:14 EST 2006 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

Ok, this might not work. Try anyway:

[root@DrEvil RPM]# rpm -ivh --nodeps kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm 
warning: kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm: Header V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID a109b1ec
Preparing...                ########################################### [100%]
   1:kmod-nvidia            ########################################### [100%]

[root@DrEvil RPM]# rpm -ivh xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.lvn6.i386.rpm 
warning: xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.lvn6.i386.rpm: Header V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID a109b1ec
Preparing...                ########################################### [100%]
   1:xorg-x11-drv-nvidia    ########################################### [100%]
FATAL: Error inserting nvidia (/lib/modules/2.6.18-1.2849.fc6/extra/nvidia/nvidia.ko): Invalid module format

Turns out that yum installed a wrong kernel. We need to get rid of it again.

[root@DrEvil ~]# rpm -e xorg-x11-drv-nvidia
error: Failed dependencies:
        nvidia-kmod-common >= 1.0.9631 is needed by (installed) kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686
[root@DrEvil ~]# rpm -e --nodeps xorg-x11-drv-nvidia
[root@DrEvil ~]# rpm -e kmod-nvidia

[root@DrEvil ~]# rpm -q kernel
kernel-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6
kernel-2.6.18-1.2849.fc6
[root@DrEvil ~]# rpm -e kernel-2.6.18-1.2849.fc6

[root@DrEvil ~]# cd RPM
[root@DrEvil RPM]# mv ../Desktop/kernel-2.6.18-1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm .
[root@DrEvil RPM]# ll
total 22564
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 16658471 Dec 16 14:46 kernel-2.6.18-1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  1720096 Dec 16 13:37 kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  4669470 Dec 16 13:38 xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.lvn6.i386.rpm
[root@DrEvil RPM]# rpm -ivh kernel-2.6.18-1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm
Preparing...                ########################################### [100%]
   1:kernel                 ########################################### [100%]

reboot, verify that GRUB stanza is still correct, login as root, startx

[root@DrEvil RPM]# uname -a
Linux DrEvil.MaierNet 2.6.18-1.2849.fc6 #1 SMP Fri Nov 10 12:45:28 EST 2006 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
[root@DrEvil RPM]# yum list | grep kernel | grep installed
kernel.i686                              2.6.18-1.2849.fc6      installed       
kernel.i586                              2.6.18-1.2798.fc6      installed       
kernel-devel.i586                        2.6.18-1.2849.fc6      installed       
kernel-devel.i586                        2.6.18-1.2798.fc6      installed       
kernel-headers.i386                      2.6.18-1.2849.fc6      installed

[root@DrEvil RPM]# rpm -ivh kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm
warning: kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm: Header V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID a109b1ec
error: Failed dependencies:
        nvidia-kmod-common >= 1.0.9631 is needed by kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686
[root@DrEvil RPM]# rpm -ivh --nodeps kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm
warning: kmod-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.2.6.18_1.2849.fc6.i686.rpm: Header V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID a109b1ec
Preparing...                ########################################### [100%]
   1:kmod-nvidia            ########################################### [100%]

[root@DrEvil RPM]# rpm -ivh xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.lvn6.i386.rpm 
warning: xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-1.0.9631-1.lvn6.i386.rpm: Header V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID a109b1ec
Preparing...                ########################################### [100%]
   1:xorg-x11-drv-nvidia    ########################################### [100%]

Make Mathematica sound good in ubuntu 6.10

2006-11-18T23:33:47+00:00

Try to make sound work for Mathematica 5.2 under ubuntu

Follow the instructions from ubuntu forums

Install aRts:

$ sudo apt-get install arts
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
The following extra packages will be installed:
  libarts1c2a
Recommended packages:
  libarts1-akode
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  arts libarts1c2a
0 upgraded, 2 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 1029kB of archives.
After unpacking 4198kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]? y
Get:1 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com edgy/main libarts1c2a 1.5.4-0ubuntu1 [1024kB]
Get:2 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com edgy/main arts 1.5.4-0ubuntu1 [5460B]
Fetched 1029kB in 3s (315kB/s)
Selecting previously deselected package libarts1c2a.
(Reading database ... 150096 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking libarts1c2a (from .../libarts1c2a_1.5.4-0ubuntu1_i386.deb) ...
Selecting previously deselected package arts.
Unpacking arts (from .../arts_1.5.4-0ubuntu1_all.deb) ...
Setting up libarts1c2a (1.5.4-0ubuntu1) ...

Setting up arts (1.5.4-0ubuntu1) ...

Neither man arts nor man artswrapper yield any information, but

$ artswrapper -h
>> running as realtime process now (priority 50)
usage: /usr/bin/artsd [ options ]

server/network options:
-n                  enable network transparency
-p            set TCP port to use (implies -n)
-u                  public, no authentication (dangerous!)
-N                  use larger network buffers
-w               increase network buffers by factor of 

audio options:
-a   select audio i/o method (oss, alsa, ...)
-r    set samplingrate to use
-b            set number of bits (8 or 16)
-d                  enable full duplex operation
-V [dB]     set output volume
-D      audio device (usually /dev/dsp)
-F       number of fragments
-S            fragment size in bytes
-s         auto-suspend time in seconds
-f                  force starting artsd (if no soundcard is there, uses the null output device)

misc options:
-h                  display this help and exit
-A                  list possible audio i/o methods (for -a)
-v                  show version
-l           information level
  3: quiet, 2: warnings, 1: info, 0: debug
-m         application to display messages
-c         application to display crash dialogs

looks kind of helpful.

Now, try

$ artswrapper -s 2 &
[1] 15436
[user@hostname]:~$ >> running as realtime process now (priority 50)
Creating link /home/[user]/.kde/socket-DrEvil.
can't create mcop directory

[1]+  Exit 1                  artswrapper -s 2

Oops. aRts seems to need the KDE desktop.

Well then. Try splay instead. That's not it, either ...

... but play seems to do the trick:

:~/sounds$ play bacchanal.wav 

Input Filename : bacchanal.wav
Sample Size    : 8-bits
Sample Encoding: unsigned
Channels       : 1
Sample Rate    : 8192

Time: 00:05.00 [00:00.00] of 00:05.00 ( 100.0%) Output Buffer:  40.96K

Done.

... and to get rid of the text output ...

:~/sounds$ play bacchanal.wav > /dev/null

Clean up
- sudo apt-get remove arts
- sudo apt-get remove libarts1c2a
- uninstall splay in synaptics

Now try out play from Mathematica ... with partial success.

Create file /usr/share/Mathematica/Autoload/sound.m

(* 
Set up a $SoundDisplayFunction for the Linux version of Mathematica 
and potentially other unixes, too. 
*)

Begin["System`Private`"]

Unprotect[$SoundDisplayFunction]
Clear[$SoundDisplayFunction]

$SoundDisplayFunction = 
  Module[{playCmd, playPostamble, soundFileName}, Display[$SoundDisplay, #1];
      (*is there a way to get the sample rate, etc.from the audio stream?*)
      playCmd = "play ";
      playPostamble = " > /dev/null";
      soundFileName = "/tmp/" <> ToString[Unique["sound"]] <> ".wav";
      playCmd = playCmd <> soundFileName <> playPostamble;
      Export[soundFileName, #1, "WAV"];
      Run[playCmd];
      Run["/bin/rm -f " <> soundFileName];] &

Protect[$SoundDisplayFunction]

End[];

that is supposed to overload Mathematica's $SoundDisplayFunction

sound.m gets loaded into Mathematica, but doesn't play the sound.
Essentially the same function, called as a regular function from the Mathematica workspace, plays the sound:

Oops ... while play plays the .wav file that Mathematica produces quite adequately (for 8 bit resolution that is), Movie Player, which is the default application for playing it when downloaded from here, is very scratchy.
I will not buy this record, it is scratched!
When played with beep-media-player, the file sounds much better.

Attempted Arson

2006-11-18T13:00:00+00:00

Now that I have Firestarter, I try to set it up.

System→Administration→Firestarter
... asks me for my password to execute as superuser.
Firestarter Wizard shows up

Confusion...

Depending on whether I'm running wired or wireless, I use eth0 or eth1. What is the correct setup for both interfaces?

Tiny fonts ...

2006-11-18T12:43:09+00:00

... and how to enlarge them in ubuntu

System→Preferences→Font: change font sizes from 10 pt to 11 pt

Get Automatix ...

2006-11-18T17:57:49+00:00

Install Automatix to enable multimedia playing in ubuntu 6.10 ... and a few more nifty features.

Following George Vamos's advice (and this one, too), I install automatix into ubuntu Edgy Eft.

I try to follow the installation instructions, but I'm getting some hiccups ... maybe because I first try to import the key into synaptics, (which takes care of inserting

deb http://www.getautomatix.com/apt edgy main

into /etc/apt/sources.list) before finally ending up doing

wget http://www.getautomatix.com/apt/key.gpg.asc
 gpg --import key.gpg.asc
 gpg --export --armor 521A9C7C | sudo apt-key add -

After getting automatix2 by commandline instructions

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install automatix2

I get a bunch of errors when executing

automatix2

as simple user.

sudo automatix2

works somewhat better, but not quite without hiccups, either.

One of the problems I ran into was that I didn't figure out that you have to press the TAB key to select the OK in the auxiliary window with the license agreements for Java etc.

I had to run

sudo automatix2

several times; once, the computer crashed so badly that I had to press the power button for a long time to force the computer to shut down completely.

After installation, I look at /root/.gnupg:

root@[hostname]:~/.gnupg# ll
total 12
-rw------- 1 root root 9231 2006-11-17 18:27 gpg.conf
-rw------- 1 root root    0 2006-11-17 18:27 pubring.gpg
-rw------- 1 root root    0 2006-11-17 18:27 secring.gpg

and after executing the key import from a root terminal:

:~$ sudo su -
root@[hostname]:~# wget http://www.getautomatix.com/apt/key.gpg.asc
--22:35:11--  http://www.getautomatix.com/apt/key.gpg.asc
           => `key.gpg.asc'
Resolving www.getautomatix.com... 82.165.193.29
Connecting to www.getautomatix.com|82.165.193.29|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 1,730 (1.7K) [text/plain]

100%[====================================>] 1,730         --.--K/s             

22:35:20 (117.85 MB/s) - `key.gpg.asc' saved [1730/1730]

root@[hostname]:~# gpg --import key.gpg.asc
gpg: /root/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created
gpg: key 521A9C7C: public key "Justin Hayes (Automatix Repository Master) " imported
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:               imported: 1
root@[hostname]:~# gpg --export --armor 521A9C7C | apt-key add -
OK
root@[hostname]:~# less .gnupg/gpg.conf
root@[hostname]:~# ll .gnupg
total 20
-rw------- 1 root root 9231 2006-11-17 18:27 gpg.conf
-rw------- 1 root root 1202 2006-11-17 22:35 pubring.gpg
-rw------- 1 root root    0 2006-11-17 18:27 pubring.gpg~
-rw------- 1 root root    0 2006-11-17 18:27 secring.gpg
-rw------- 1 root root 1200 2006-11-17 22:35 trustdb.gpg

which I had in my user directory before. This may explain several complaints of automatix2 about unsafe ownership of signature files.

New features

An nVidia driver that speeds up ...
Google Earth such that it becomes useful
Annoyingly persistent cursor lines when moving the cursor are gone now
... but Mathematica starts acting up when scrolling now, and the characters are really tiny now.
I can listen to RealAudio now, e.g., German radio stations; however, I need to copy the address of the RealAudio stream into RealPlayer, click & play doesn't quite work
... and a lot more which I don't quite understand yet

synaptic complains that several packages are Installed (local or obsolete) ... I'll try to uninstall all of them in automatix2 and try to reinstall with the gpg in the root directory.

Fedora 6 update hiccup

2006-11-18T12:15:40+00:00

Software update couldn't update a package

... namely, pcsc. I solved this by uninstalling everything pcsc related, namely,

pcsc-lite - 1.3.1-7.i386
pcsc-lite-devel - 1.3.1-7.i386
pcsc-lite-libs - 1.3.1-7.i386

and dependencies, then reinstalling

esc - 1.0.0-16.fc6

and dependencies.

Ask the Experts: Where to find the ipw3945 drivers

2006-11-12T21:30:06+00:00

Before installing the drivers for my intel 3945 wireless adapter in Fedora 6, I asked for advice and went to the local bookstore.

At the bookstore, I got

in addition to the book about Ubuntu Hacks that George Vamos gave me as a present.

From the kplug-newbie and the SDLUG mailing lists, I got valuable advice:

Gus Wirth suggested:

Check out <http://atrpms.net>. The site has prebuilt rpms for various
systems. Be careful that you choose the right rpm (32bit vs 64bit etc.)

Other locations for rpms you might want are <http://freshrpms.net> and
<http://rpm.livna.org>. This is where you get things like mplayer, xine,
and plugins for xmms so it can play mp3 files.

Gus

Jay Grissom suggested:
[...]

Well ... you could try finding an RPM for your flavor... if you don't want to use Ubuntu (Ubuntu is better IMHO)
try http://rpmfind.net/linux/rpm2html/search.php?query=ipw3945d
or try googleing "fedora + intel 3945 + rpm" without the quotes...

[...]

Chris Rost remarked:

> My question now: Which is the best place to look for the intel 3945
> driver?
> I'm aware of http://ipw3945.sourceforge.net/ , but if possible, I would
> like to postpone the step of compiling a module from source for yet
> another while. 

The sourceforge page has links to precompiled rpms for Fedora.  Why
not use those?

Am I missing something?  (Usually I am.)

(My cluelessness, of course.)

It turns out that everybody pointed me in the same (eventual) direction, namely, here.

So, since all the experts agree, I need to

add ATrpms to the repositories that `yum` searches

Fortunately, there are installation instructions.

Install the signing key:

rpm --import http://ATrpms.net/RPM-GPG-KEY.atrpms

(works after su)

Try to configure yum (and pirut) to see the ATrpms repository:
Create a file

$ ll /etc/yum.repos.d/ATrpms.repo 
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 180 Nov 12 19:49 /etc/yum.repos.d/ATrpms.repo

containing

[atrpms]
name=Fedora Core $releasever - $basearch - ATrpms
baseurl=http://dl.atrpms.net/fc$releasever-$basearch/atrpms/stable
gpgkey=http://ATrpms.net/RPM-GPG-KEY.atrpms
gpgcheck=1

After the command

su -c 'yum list all'

(root privilege is necessary to create the list of packages for atrpms), the list of available packages contains ATrpms packages, and pirut knows them as well:

Install packets following the instructions in http://ipw3945.sourceforge.net/INSTALL:
- Install the latest ieee80211 package: ieee80211 - 1.2.15-14.fc6.at.i386; dependency: ieee80211-kmdl-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6-1.2.15-14.fc6.at.i686
- ipw3945 - 1.1.0-15.fc6.at.i386
- ipw3945-ucode - 1.13-2.at.noarch
- ipw3945d - 1.7.22-4.at.i386

Now I have:

$ ll /lib/firmware/
total 128
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 111572 Feb 24  2006 ipw3945.ucode
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2109 Feb 24  2006 LICENSE.ipw3945-ucode

Reboot, open terminal and su.
/sbin/iwconfig doesn't show the wireless adapter yet

Activate NetworkManager:

# /sbin/chkconfig --level 345 NetworkManager on
# /sbin/chkconfig --level 345 NetworkManagerDispatcher on
# /sbin/service NetworkManager start
Setting network parameters... 
Starting dhcdbd:                                           [  OK  ]
Starting NetworkManager daemon:                            [  OK  ]
# /sbin/service NetworkManagerDispatcher start
Starting NetworkManagerDispatcher daemon:                  [  OK  ]

The NetworkManager icon shows up in the top right taskbar.

No trace of the wireless adapter yet.

- jgs

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Update of nVIDIA and ipw3945 drivers for Fedora Core 6, kernel #2895

Fedora Core 6 automatically updated the kernel to version #2895. The nVIDIA and ipw3945 drivers didn't follow suit, so I had to install them manually.

Installing nVIDIA and ipw 3945 drivers

install the nVIDIA driver

install the Intel 3945 driver

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Trying to get wireless to work with Intel 3945 under Fedora Core 6, part 2

Last installfest, we uploaded a buggy ipw3945 driver, so NetworkManager crashed catastrophically. This time, things went a little better ...

Installfest 13 January 2007

Trying to get wireless to work with Intel 3945 under Fedora Core 6, part 1

We downloaded the drivers from atrpms.net. However, the driver had a bug, which resulted in core dumps and other unpleasantness.

Installfest 06 January 2007

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Confusion...

Tiny fonts ...

... and how to enlarge them in ubuntu

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Install Automatix to enable multimedia playing in ubuntu 6.10 ... and a few more nifty features.

New features

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Software update couldn't update a package

Ask the Experts: Where to find the ipw3945 drivers

Before installing the drivers for my intel 3945 wireless adapter in Fedora 6, I asked for advice and went to the local bookstore.

add ATrpms to the repositories that yum searches

add ATrpms to the repositories that `yum` searches