| Linux: Now ready for prime time!
By Bob Wallace
Preparing for any given newsletter usually begins with the end of the
previous issue. For
this May-June newsletter, that would mean watching the Business pages
of the San
Francisco Chronicle, and catching Chip Talk early in the mornings during
the week on
KCBS, and their afternoon visits with Larry Magid on Tech Talk.
This month, however, we go back to an issue just over four years ago
(March-April 1999)
discussing the subject "Not quite ready for prime time" story
of Linux, which is clearly
ready for prime time now, given recent experience with a very large book
on the subject,
including two CD disks with the installation data on them, a refurbished
IBM laptop
390X computer to install it on, and then putting it all together over
the past couple of
weeks.
This project began in mid-January with the purchase of Red Hat Linux
v8, a very large
book covering nearly every aspect of Linux; finding a web site with used/refurbished
laptop computers to purchase and install the operating system onto; then
finding the time
to put the two together and come up with a system that would also fit
into plans for a
Local Area Network (LAN) here in our office.
This IBM 390X laptop with Linux v8 installed on it will be the subject
of this month's
meeting. For most of us, this may be the first look at Linux of
any version.
There are some similarities to the Windows interface, but differences
to contend with as
well. Linux is a version of Unix, meaning many of the features and functions
of this
operating system, while similar to those of other systems, will have
their own names to
learn over the coming weeks and months. Between the on-line help files
plus that very
large index at the back of Red Hat's book, one can only hope that more
time is spent in
actually doing things than looking up what this or that program does.
While the IBM 390X is a laptop, this model comes with a Pentium III
processor running
at 500 MHZ, 128 MB of RAM, 12-Gig hard drive, and, aside from not having
its own
built-in network interface, otherwise has about all the bells and whistles
one could ask for in a somewhat older laptop. A trip down to Fry's located
both the NIC for the laptop, and
the cables to plug in three computers to the router.
Red Hat's Linux comes set up for installing in several configurations,
covering the bases
from laptop to server to custom install, with all the necessary files
available on the two
CDs included with Red Hat's book. Drivers for various and sundry are
included, or
pointed to within the book via one web site or another for the latest
driver upgrade, or to
give access to what may not have been available when the book went to
the printer.
One item not located but wanted for this "new" computer system
was a copy of
WordPerfect for Linux. Corel had made at least one version for Linux
(version 8) that we
were aware of (at least a second version has been found), so a
check on Dogpile was
made for a location where one might find a copy of WordPerfect, without
any luck. Next
step was to run a search on eBay to see if anyone might have a copy of
it available for
purchase.
That check of eBay located several copies of WordPerfect Office 2000
for Linux, one of
those closing within 24 hours of our search, or could be purchased immediately
by
clicking on a link on that page. The purchase was made, payment made
via eBay's PayPal
system, that WP 2000 for Linux somewhere between New York state and the
Bay Area,
arrival due within the next day or two, hopefully.
Adding WordPerfect for Linux to this laptop may mean a change of computer
for the
editing of the SFPCC Newsletter shortly. While OS/2 Warp 4 has served
very well over
the number of issues done here, it's time to get into a new operating
system, a computer
system able to go on the road when necessary, yet still tie in with the
other computers
here when we're at home.
Other subjects are included herein as well. As you will note from the
Table of Contents
for this issue, Steve Bass is back to detail how one might bypass Tech
Support to get
results with computer companies; and Alan Luber's piece explains how
to avoid computer
disasters. Both make for interesting reading as we wait for "winter" to
finally end here in
the Bay Area.
BASS SHOWS YOU ALTER-NATIVE WAYS TO GET HELP
By Steve Bass, Pasadena IBM Users Group
Having trouble getting tech support for the troubling crashes because
of your upgrade of
SimpleCD Copier? What about the tech people who refuse to replace the
failing hard
drive in your Zornac notebook (which failed the day after the warranty
expired)?
With tech support relying on $3 a day, third-world people, you may have
to work harder
and dig deeper in order to get the help you need. Fair warning, this
is a convoluted
process and full of dead-ends, and something only online researchers
are going to enjoy.
Hello? Public Relations?
Here's the trick I use when I have a problem with a product and can't
get the help I need
from tech support. I find the PR person, briefly plead my case, and hope
for the best.
Most times I get service that's far superior than when calling the company's
customer
service or tech support line-and often miraculous. (And yes, I even do
this anonymously
using an e-mail alias, so they don't know about my writing background.)
Here's how I do it. I head for the company's Web site and dig around
for the PR
representative. If they're listed, it'll likely be either on the "Contact
Us" or "About Us"
page.
If you can't find that specific page or there's nothing about public
relations, head for
Google. Try it: In Google's search field, type everything in bold.
site:www.microsoft.com
press. Substitute another company name for Microsoft and see what happens.
Google Experiments
Unfortunately, some companies refer to PR as Corporate Communication,
Media
Contact, or PR. (Oddly enough, few companies use "PR flack" or "PR
flak.") Well, kids,
Google is a powerful tool and if you know the right syntax, it can help
you find the PR
people, no matter where they're hiding. Try these Google combinations
exactly as you see
them:
site:www.microsoft.com pr
site:www.microsoft.com media contact
site:www.microsoft.com corporate communication
site:www.microsoft.com press release
There's no way around it-you'll need to experiment with Google's syntax.
If you use
quotes around key words, Google's forced to look for that exact string
of characters. In the
last example above, wrapping press release in quotes may get you different
results. Ditto
if you change press release to press contact. Try it.
As you begin honing in on your target, add a few more words and make
substitutions. For
instance, say you're looking for a press person to help you with SharePoint,
MS's online
collaboration tool. If you tried site:www.microsoft.com "press release" sharepoint,
you'd
get lots of hits from MS's office in South Africa. Substitute press contact
and you hit a
few jackpots.
Become a Social Engineer
As you play around, be prepared to hit lots of dead ends. For instance,
a buddy of mine
was having trouble with his Toshiba notebook. I volunteered to help and
used my Google
tricks on Toshiba's site. I was quick to find a page full of Toshiba
Press Releases.
Unfortunately, it showed only old press releases. But down at the bottom
was pay dirt: A
link that said "Back To Main Press Release Page." I didn't
find a PR person for notebooks
but did find two contacts that might lead me to the right person. The
first was a public
relations contact for another Toshiba division, LCD screens; the other
was a list of three
people at Toshiba's outside PR firm.
My next step was to write to each person and ask if they could connect
me with the right
PR person, someone who deals with Toshiba notebooks and laptops. I didn't
offer a
reason why I was asking-I didn't want to let them know I was about to
start kvetching.
And I wrote them individual e-mails because if I wrote to them all in
one e-mail, there's a
chance one person might write back and say that they couldn't help; I
didn't want
everyone to see that.
My first dose of bad news bounced right back at me: none of the outside
PR e-mail
addresses were any good. But the Toshiba LCD screen guy was pleased as
punch to
supply the name, e-mail address, and phone number of the right PR person
at Toshiba.
Case Pleading
The story ends pretty well. My buddy wrote to the public relations person.
He pleaded his
case and the PR person was able to get Toshiba to replace the hard drive.
The key
ingredients in his persuasive e-mail and phone call:
Don't threaten: Explain how you've tried your darndest to work with
customer service and
tech support. But they were adamant and refused your requests.
Show loyalty: In this economy, most companies will do their best to
get a new
customer-and keep an old one. Make sure you let the person know how much
you want to
remain a customer.
Try bargaining: If you're willing to help me make this right, you say,
I'll do my very best
to tell everyone I know how helpful and cooperative you've been. Of course
they know
the implication-you'll tell everyone what junky products the company
produces. But don't
say it. No matter how much clout you may have, bullying doesn't always
do the trick.
Beseeching: The product is what I rely on to do my work, you can say,
and I beseech you
(okay, they won't understand that-use implore, or even beg) to help me
get it fixed. Move
it Up a Notch: Often a PR person will tell you that their hands are tied.
Ask if you can
talk directly to the person who did the tying. Often you'll end up talking
to a product
manager who can make things right with a quick e-mail.
If you think about it, these methods will not only work with computing
and software
companies, but with practically any product. In the meantime, my dogs
are snubbing their
Science Diet kibble so I'm off to find a four-legged PR person.
Steve Bass is a Contributing Editor with PC World and runs the Pasadena
IBM Users
Group. He's also a founding member of APCUG. Check his Home Office columns
at
http://snurl.com/homeoffice and
sign up for the Steve Bass online newsletter at
http://snurl.com/signup
Doh! Avoiding Self-Inflicted
By Alan Luber
Author of PC Fear Factor: The Ultimate PC Disaster Prevention Guide
Alan Luber is an author, journalist, and technology consultant. His
new book, PC Fear
Factor: The Ultimate PC Disaster Prevention Guide, is all about defensive
computing. PC
Fear Factor teaches non-technical computer users how to prevent most
computer
disasters, and how to prepare for and recover from unavoidable disasters. For
more
information about PC Fear Factor, as well as additional disaster prevention
and recovery
information, visit Alan's web site, www.pcfearfactor.com or
visit
www.quepublishing.com.
Doh!
Avoiding Self-Inflicted Computer Disasters
"We have met the enemy, and he is us? "
-Walt Kelly
Who among us has not been the victim of a computer disaster at the hands
of a virus
writer, computer hacker, or some other factor beyond our control? We
tend to think of
computer disasters as having some external catalyst, but as they often
say, most accidents
occur in the home.
You are probably familiar with the old joke about the guy who walks into
the doctor's
office and says, "Doc, it hurts when I do this." The
doctor's sage advice is, "Don't do
that."
And so it is with one of the most common types of computer disaster:
the self-inflicted
computer disaster, also known as the Homer Simpson computer disaster.
Here are four helpful tips for avoiding self-inflicted computer disasters.
Slow Down!
Haste is a major cause of self-inflicted computer disasters. For example,
when installing
an application, you may receive a pop-up window asking if you wish to
overwrite a file
that is present on your computer with a different version of that file.
Similarly, when
uninstalling an application, you may receive a message asking if you
wish to delete a file
from your computer that may no longer be needed. For the record, you
should never allow
an installation program to overwrite an existing file with an older version
of that same
file, and you should never allow an uninstallation program to delete
a file if leaving it on
your computer will do no harm. The problem is that, depending on how
the question in
the pop-up window is phrased, you may need to answer "yes" or "no" to
effect the
appropriate action. If you proceed hastily with the install or uninstall
without carefully
reading the question and pondering the response, you are likely to answer
incorrectly and
precipitate a computer disaster, overwriting or deleting something of
vital importance.
Don't Be Overzealous
In the old days, we had to squeeze every ounce of performance out of
our slow computers
and every megabyte of space out of our puny hard disks. Although this
is no longer
necessary in a world of 3Ghz processors and 160Mb hard disks, many have
not
abandoned this mentality, and it gets them into trouble more often than
not. For example,
there are dozens of web sites offering thousands of Windows XP tune-up
tips. Most of
these tips make me shudder because they provide imperceptible gains in
performance at
enormous risk. My advice here is simple: if it ain't broken, don't fix
it.
And while there is nothing wrong with good housekeeping - keeping your
hard disk clear
of clutter and debris - I run into too many examples of bad housekeeping.
("Alan, I
deleted a lot of stuff off of my computer that I didn't need and now
my speakers don't
work.") If you are not absolutely certain whether something
can be safely deleted from
your system, leave it alone. As Dirty Harry said in Magnum Force, "A
man's got to know
his limitations."
Don't Be Gullible
Every few weeks I receive an email warning me about a new computer virus.
These
messages tell me that if I have certain files on my computer, my computer
has been
infected and that I should immediately delete these files. Such warnings
are always virus
hoaxes, intended to coax the gullible into deleting critical system files
from their
computers. Be suspicious of all such warnings. All antivirus software
vendors have a
section of their web site devoted to virus hoaxes. Before you take any
action, verify that
the virus warning you received was legitimate. (Hint: I have yet to receive
such a warning
that was legitimate.)
Unfortunately, antivirus software cannot protect us from ourselves.
But wouldn't it be
great if Symantec came out with Norton AntiGullible to compliment Norton
AntiVirus? I
can see it now. A virus hoax from a well intentioned but uninformed friend
arrives in my
inbox. Norton AntiGullible swings into action, throwing up a warning
message:
"Warning: you have just received an email message from an idiot
advising you to delete
critical files from your computer. This message has been automatically
deleted to prevent
you from shooting yourself in the foot, and a reply-all response has
been automatically
generated to help protect others on the message's distribution list."
Why, the very thought of it brings a smile to my face.
Don't Be Reckless
The easiest way to cause a self-inflicted computer disaster is to make
changes to your
computing environment with reckless abandon. Computers are unstable equilibriums,
and
change and stability are mutually exclusive concepts. You may not realize
this, but every
time you install an application on your computer, you are making four
implicit
assumptions:
1. The application will not conflict with your operating system, other
applications, or
hardware.
2. The application's install program will not cause problems by automatically
overwriting
or modifying files that are shared by other applications.
3. The application is well behaved and won't wreak havoc on your computer.
4. The application will uninstall cleanly without leaving any vestiges
of any problems it
caused on your computer.
Given that any change to your computing environment can disrupt its
tenuous, unstable
equilibrium, it always amazes me that some people think nothing of downloading,
installing, and trying dozens of software packages without regard for
the potential
disastrous consequences.
Here's a suggestion for how to avoid problems when trying new applications.
Suppose
you want to download and evaluate trial versions of six different photo
management
software packages. Before you download and install any of these applications,
I urge you
to make a complete backup of your hard disk using a disk imaging tool.
I recommend
Symantec's Norton Ghost for this purpose, and I provide detailed step-by-step
instructions
for backing up and restoring your hard disk in my book, PC Fear Factor.
After you have backed up your hard disk, download and install each of
the applications
and play with them to your heart's content. Once you are finished, instead
of uninstalling
the applications, restore your hard disk from your backup. This is the
only approach that
is absolutely guaranteed to get you back to the same point of equilibrium
that existed
prior to installing the applications. After you have restored your system,
purchase and
install the one package you have elected to use.
Copyright c 2003 by Que Publishing and author Alan Luber. Reproduced
with
permission. Article reproduction coordinated by Steve Bass, Pasadena
IBM Users Group.
Alan Luber is the author of PC Fear Factor: The Ultimate PC Disaster
Prevention Guide,
Alan Luber, ISBN: 0-7897-2825-7, US $24.99. For More Information
or to Order PC
Fear Factor: The Ultimate PC Disaster Prevention Guide or any other Que
Books visit
www.quepublishing.com.
Computer Disasters
By Bob Wallace
As suggested on the front page of this newsletter, use of WordPerfect
6.1 for Windows on
this desktop system running OS/2 Warp 4 may be on its way out by moving
editing and
printing functions to the IBM 390X laptop computer running Red Hat Linux
v8 and
WordPerfect 2000 for Linux. One additional change would also come into
play with that
change, that being no longer using the HP Deskjet 693C printer to print
each issue before
taking it to Kinko's for copying, collating and stapling prior to attaching
mailing labels
and stamps. The old HP 693C will be replaced with an Epson 880 that's
been nicely
broken in on the computer across the office from my workstation. Speaking
of mailing
labels, moving over to the Linux-based laptop may require one other change,
that being to
find a suitable replacement for the dBASE IV program on the OS/2 Warp
computer.
Some serious checking of Linux and what may run under Linux will be going
on over the
next weeks and months.
Additional changes may be needed with a move to Linux as well. Fetching
and sending of
e-mail can be done using either the Mozilla browser program under Linux,
or by changing
over to the Evolution e-mail program provided on the Red Hat CDs and
installed on the
IBM 390X laptop.
One other change has taken place in our office since the last newsletter.
The old fax
machine has been updated with HP's all-in-one d145 model that copies,
scans, faxes and
prints. In addition, this new machine also includes a pair of slots on
the front for getting
digital pictures copied from photo disk to hard drive, thereby saving
one of the USB ports
for other things. Next issue to resolve is whether there is any need
for attaching the
Visioneer scanner and SanDisk to the Linux laptop, or simply relegate
both of those items
to the closet. Mention of the Visioneer reminds that the Red Hat manual
notes that
Visioneer scanners have not had drivers written for Linux computers prior
to printing of
that manual, so off to the closet!
Since installing Linux on the laptop, several visits have been made
to Dogpile's search
engine with "linux" typed into the search window. It's amazing
the results that come from
that search, including links to applications that run under Linux, drivers
for all sorts of
devices that may work under Linux. In addition, a trip back to TUCOWS
will also find a
Linux link in addition to several for Windows-based software (both 3.x
and later), OS/2
and other operating system software. Now that I think of it, wonder if
any site exists for
Linux systems similar to the Hobbes site for OS/2? Another reason
for making another
visit to Dogpile.
As has been the case for a handful of years now, this issue of the SFPCC
Newsletter has
been edited using WordPerfect 6.1 for Windows, running on an OS/2 Warp
4-based
computer. (To contrast this desktop computer with the IBM laptop, this
desktop runs
AMD's K5 processor at 133 MHz.) Pages are sent to the HP Deskjet 693C
printer which
are then taken to Kinko's for printing, collating and stapling before
having their mailing
labels placed on the outside with labels made using dBASE IV's database
program.
Calendar
May 8: Introduction to Linux
Location: 4003 Branson Drive
San
Mateo
June 12: TBA
Location: TBA
July 10: TBA
August 14: TBA
Meeting location is available on the club's web page, www.sfpcc.org
and is updated each
month.
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