Answers to these questions should be sent directly to the e-mail address of the inquirer with or without a copy to gazette@linuxgazette.net. Answers that are copied to LG will be printed in the next issue in the Tips column.

This section was edited by Michael Williams <iamalsogod@hotmail.com> aka. "Alex".

Before asking a question, please check the Linux Gazette FAQ to see if it has been answered there.

Wed, 31 May 2000 10:48:35 +0100
From: "Anne Parker" <alp30@admin.cam.ac.uk>
Subject: kppp playing up

I'm running RedHat 6.0, with KDE as my user desktop and fvwm as my root
desktop.
I have set up ppp and can activate it successfully through the Network
Configurator when logged in as root. When I go to my user desktop, I can dial up my ISP (ClaraNET) and collect email, surf, etc - providing I have already started the relevant apps. Once I have logged on, I can't start new apps because kppp has (I think) started playing with resolve.conf. If I go to a terminal and log on as a different user, it says that my hostname is, e.g. du-208.clara.co.uk, which is presumably my dynamic IP address. It doesn't even reset it after I've logged off - I have to su root and type
"hostname localhost"
before KDE will talk to me again. I'm know I've successfully set up kppp in the past, but the various examples I've seen in books tend to assume that your machine has its own name and IP address, so I may have chosen some incorrect settings in kppp this time. Can anyone help with the correct kppp settings for a plain standalone box (localhost, 127.0.0.1) dialing on a regular phone connection to an ISP that assigns a dynamic IP address?
Thanks

Anne

Thu, 1 Jun 2000 09:15:38 +0530
From: "karthik subramanian" <karthik_subramanian@grabmail.com>
Subject: HELP!!! Keyboard Problems

Hi,
i'm running Red Hat 6.2 on a Pentium-MMX(233MHz.). i get crazy problems with my keyboard... after i work with my computer for about 20 minutes or so, i start missing keystrokes and sometimes keystrokes are duplicated. then Linux throws this error at me:
"Keyboard: too many NACKs -- noisy keyboard cable?"
if i'm running X (i use KDE), and i exit, i see this message too:
"QGDict: Look: Attempt to insert null item"
it's so bad that i can hardly get any work done on my PC...
the typematic rate setting option in BIOS is disabled - enabling it and fiddling with the rates does not help either. i don't know what's happening, could somebody please help!!!!

thanks,
karthik

Fri, 2 Jun 2000 10:01:38 +0530
From: "Karthik" <kartjeevs@yahoo.com>
Subject: Startx Blues

I am a LINUX newbie. I have installed it on a Pentium II 233 Mhz machine.I have a S3 TrioV2 DX/GX video card and Samsung Samtron 4Bni (14") monitor. I can boot up an login into root but when i issue the command the command startx to get into X, my screen flashes and I get a blank screen. Can anyone please help me with this problem.

Thanks.

[Have you tried running 'Xconfigurator' (remember, it's case sensative)? Did you set up your graphics card properly during setup? It sounds to me that you've made an error during the X setup section of your installation. -Alex]

Fri, 23 Jun 2000 06:25:22 GMT+08:00
From: "Michael Smith" <mwdsmith@singnet.com.sg>
Subject: RH Upgrade Problems


Dear Sir/Madam,
I am having a problem with my computer...
I did an upgrade installation of Redhat 6.2 on my machine; which now,after booting and loading Linux, would reach the text login prompt, then supposedly Linux would start X11, but X11 never appears, my screen is blank with some fuzzy, jagged white lines flashing across my screen every
few seconds. Ctrl+Alt+Backspace and Ctrl+Alt+F1-6 don't seem to work as
they normally do. Before I upgraded, I was happily running Mandrake 6.0 (which is a beefed
up version of RH as I understand) on my 166 Mhz, 64 MB Ram home PC. If you know what the problem is and how to fix it, great, I would like to hear from you! But even information on how to stop X11 (if it is X11) from loading would be appreciated. Any other ideas?
Thanks,
Michael Smith (mwdsmith@singnet.com.sg)

P.S. Pls keep in mind that I have only been using Linux for 3 or so months so am not an expert at everything.

Fri, 23 Jun 2000 04:43:01 +0530
From: "Dipankar Mitra" <sunres@vsnl.com>
Subject: how to use wav file on diskless linux.

hello,
I want to put a diskless linux m/c & want to use wav file on those diskless m/c
Can any one help me how to do that , giving me step by procedure for
that.

Tue, 20 Jun 2000 14:24:48 +0100 (BST)
From: Paul Nettleship <paul_nettleship@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: The answers gut - File formats!!!

Hello,

I was just having a quick look through your magazine and the 'answers guy' sections really intrested me,
and prompted this question....
So, I've always wondered about file formats for exe and obj files. I guess there is all sorts of
intresting data hiding away in there. Symbol tables, mark up info and god knows what else.
Is there some standard for these! Or is it completely compiler dependant?

Just out of interest, Paul.

[Well, it's not strictly a Linux question, but yes, there are [obviously] standards for all executable files and object files. The compiler couldn't just throw together a load of rubbish now could it? -Alex]

Mon, 19 Jun 2000 21:07:47 -0400
From: "Gary R. Cook" <grcook@erols.com>
Subject: Signaling application running in xterm window of mouse click event

If I am running an application in an xterm window (e.g., xterm -e myapp) and I click on that window, making it my active window, how can I notify my application of that event?

Thanks!!

Mon, 19 Jun 2000 11:16:34 +0200
From: "Angus Walton (EEI)" <Angus.Walton@eei.ericsson.se>
Subject: Grep

Hi,
I'm quite new to Linux, but I want to learn as much as possible. Here's my question (not really a problem, it would just be interesting to find out how to do this):
Lets say I do a 'finger' and heaps of users are spewed up onto the screen. I only want to see the users which are preceeded with the text 'potatoe'. So, I do the command 'finger | grep "potatoe" ' .But, some users, for example tomatoe_man, are connected to the computer 'potatoe.shellaccount.mycomputer.com', which means that they come up
aswell. Without making finger not display the 'Where' column, how would I weed out these users?

Keep up the good work on the gazette.

Aengus Walton

Sat, 17 Jun 2000 22:10:27 -0500
From: Ivan Gauthier <igsys@telcel.net.ve>
Subject: linux crash

dear sir,

i would like to know if there is solution for the following problem:
when Linux crash due for example to an electric blackout, on the next boot it tries to repair the file system (in this case the hard disk has 2 partitions, on the 1st. the complete operating system is installed, including boot, home, root etc., the 2nd. partition is used for user programs files and database data. Linux is RedHat 6.0 and Mandrake 6.0 (nad 7.0) but most of the time it cannot repair and give a message like:

** e2fsck cannot automatically repair file system. please do e2fsck
manually without the -a or -p options. **

(type control-d to continue or type root passwd ..)

here my questions:
1- if one types control-d nothing happen (well linux tries to repair but it finished as before..)
2.- when manually repairing the file system a LOT of files are lost, including important ones like inetd.conf, and not only on this partition but on the 2nd. one. is this normal? . and what can be done..

this question is not really a problem but an option i would like to have. do you know how to get the "hour clock" or "glass clock" on KDE after doble clicking an icon on the desktop. (like Corel Linux is doing with KDE )
many thanks

ivan gauthier
venezuela

Thu, 15 Jun 2000 16:25:23 +1000
From: "Nick Adams" <unitedusers@yahoo.com>
Subject: Port 80 Telnet

Hello,
Quick question.
I want to change my port to accept telnet connections to port 80. This enables me to connect from behind my proxy at work. How do I do this?
Thanks,

Nick Adams

Wed, 14 Jun 2000 17:05:20 +0100
From: David Whitmarsh <david@sparkle.local>
Subject: Second X server and Redhat 6.2/gdm

Following up on Bob Hepple's tip on running a second X server, I tried to to the same on my Redhat 6.2 box. I found that I could start a new X server on the command line, but it gave me only the basic X-server screen (fine grey check with the X cursor), and no login screen. Same problem with Xnest.
I could however run two X servers at once by placing a second entry in the gdm.conf file and restarting gdm.
It would be nice to only have the overhead when I want the second server though. Any thoughts on how to get the login screen?
Regards,

David Whitmarsh

Tue, 13 Jun 2000 11:03:17 +0800
From: "michaelkwan" <michaelkwan@mdr.com.hk>
Subject: Sendmail Question

Hi,
I have setup the RedHat6.1 with sendmail 8.9.3. All the clients use IMAP4 to connect to the server using Outlook Express 4.
The problem I found is, there will be several processes for the same user running the [imap]. As a result, the user cannot receive or delete any mail in their mailbox. I have to 'kill' the 'extra' processes otherwise the mailbox will be read only. Is there any thing I can do with this?
Thanks!

Michael Kwan

Mon, 12 Jun 2000 11:32:28 -0300
From: Eduardo Spremolla <lalo@terminus.dtdantel.com.uy>
Subject: Pentium III boot problem

I have here a Pentim III machine and when it boot ~= 4 out of 5 times it
locks with a mesage:
387 failed, traying to reset.
I comes from the bugs chequing module. Is there some issue with PIII and the check? or did I got a faulty CPU ?
Thanks in advance.

Eduardo Spremolla
Montevideo,Uruguay

Sat, 10 Jun 2000 01:12:02 +0200
From: "almighty" <mightyfredy@wanadoo.fr>
Subject: Graphics card setup

hi i'am a new lunix user but i want to know how can i make lunix set my graphic card:
(intel (r) 810 Chipset graphics driver pv1.1)
it's could be fun if you can send me a solution to enjoy linux
thanks a lot

P.S:sorry for my english because i'am french

Fri, 9 Jun 2000 10:20:33 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Timothy McPherson" <a9958@asl.bc.ca>
Subject: TERM Variable

Hi,
Hoping someone might have an solution for me. I have a Solaris system
with a number of Wyse 60 terminals connected to it. I have a Corel Linux PC on a LAN with the same Solaris box. I believe I have compiled the terminfo wyse60 entry correctly on the Linux PC (as it did NOT have one originally).
Basically I took the output from the command "infocmp wy60" on the
Solaris box and used "tic" to recompile it on my Linux PC. So far so good. The entry is now in /etc/terminfo/w/wy60 and "infocmp wy60" is identical to the Solaris one. I set my TERM variable to wy60 but it doesn't look to healthy either through an xterm session, a console text login or a telnet on either. Any ideas? Am I going about this the wrong way? Basically if I can get this working properly I can scrap Windows in favour of Linux on all PCs on the LAN:) Thank you for any help you can offer.
-Timothy

Wed, 07 Jun 2000 12:11:48 -0500
From: Brian Finn <nacmsw@airmail.net>
Subject: Linux Webserver and AS/400 Database?

Hi,
I was just curious if any good readers have any success stories about using a Linux server running the Apache web server as a front end for a DB2 database on an IBM AS/400? I'd like to know what solutions there are (or should be) for accessing DB2 data from a Linux box.
Thanks!

Tue, 6 Jun 2000 10:46:13 -0700
From: "Christine Rancapero" <crancapero@nationalsecurities.com>
Subject: hi

Do you have an issue regarding the advantages and disadvantages of migrating linux mail server to an MS exchange? Your help is gratefully appreciated....thank you very much =)

Mon, 05 Jun 2000 14:34:43 -0500
From: Noah Poellnitzh <noah.poellnitz@ssa.crane.navy.mil>
Subject: linux booting

I was wondering if you have ever heard of anyone booting up a system with a linux boot floppy. The system previously lacks the ability to boot from a CD , but after installing linux, uses the CD drive to install another operating sytem which at teh same time will write over the Linux system.

Sun, 4 Jun 2000 09:09:23 +0100
From: "Graham" <smiffy10@email.com>
Subject: mother board help desperately needed

Hello there,

I have added a video card and sound card to a GMB-P56SPC mother board (ESS I think) I have managed to disable the sound chip ( both sound and video were both onboard with SIS 5596 video and SiS 1868 sound chips) with jumper JP13 unfortunately I cannot find a video jumper.
Please help how do I disable the onboard video?
Many thanks in advance

Sat, 03 Jun 2000 12:04:54 -0400
From: James Dahlgren <jdahlgren@netreach.net>
Subject: modprobe: can't locate module ppp-compress-21

First I want to thank you and all the people at Linux Gazette for all
the fine work you are doing. Many of the services running on my Linux box wouldn't be running without the help I've gotten from your fine site.

I'm assuming this is trivial, but it still bothers me. I've usedSlackware, RedHat, and Mandrake distributions of the 2.2.x kernel. I'm not sure which pppd version the Slackware and Mandrake had but the RedHat has pppd 2.3.7. Iv'e use the 2.2.5,10,13,14,15 kernel revisions. With all of them I get error messages when pppd starts:

Jan 15 17:54:40 paxman modprobe: can't locate module ppp-compress-21
Jan 15 17:54:41 paxman modprobe: can't locate module ppp-compress-26
Jan 15 17:54:41 paxman modprobe: can't locate module ppp-compress-24

Fri, 2 Jun 2000 11:48:21 -0600
From: "Doug" <doug@springer.net>
Subject: IPX, RH 6.2, socket: Invalid argument

I am a sorta newbie on Linux. I have Red Hat 6.2, am running Samba and DHCP and ftp server on a peer-to-peer Windoze network with ethernet. All of the above works fine. I am trying to get netbios working over ipx for a port I am doing from DOS. My initial install was RH 5.2, then I upgraded to 6.2. My linuxconf does give me a Segmentation fault (core dumped) message when I try to run it, which it didn't do before I upgraded to 6.2. My main problem is this:
When I try to run 'ipx_interface add eth0 802.3', I get the following:

'ipx_interface: socket: Invalid argument'

Any clues as to what is going on? How to fix it? Places to go for more
info
on netbios over ipx?

Thanks,
Doug

Fri, 2 Jun 2000 11:48:21 -0600
From: "Allen Tate" <allendtate@yahoo.com>
Subject: Getting Linux to see my network card during bootup

I have recently installed Phat Linux (which by the way is an excellent Linux distribution for beginners) and for the life of me, I can't find which boot script I need to edit to get the system to see my network card during bootup. Can someone point me to the correct boot script or the correct HOWTO file? The strange thing is that the KDE System tool can see the Ethernet card and tells what the IRQ and I/O are. Please email me privately at allendtate@yahoo.com and I'll explain in better detail about what I'm talking about.

Alan wrote back and said:

Never mind, I figured it out. I transposed 3c509 for 3c905. That didn't work so I used the 3c59x driver and it came right up. I love it when I figure it out on my own.

Fri, 2 Jun 2000 11:48:21 -0600
From: Tom Russell
Subject: How to run Windows programs on Linux

Whether or not Microsoft is successful in their appeal to the US High Courts on technical grounds, the facts remain that after a lengthy and involved legal process, they were found guilty of breaking the laws of their country, and secondly of using their monopoly powers to hold up innovation in what is still a developing industry.

As a believer in religious principles, and the laws and morals of my country, I find it unethical and personally abhorrent to continue to use or recommend products and services produced by Microsoft.

I recently read that Corel are using a Linux Windows emulator to enable their Windows office suite to operate successfully in the Linux environment without the need for any Microsoft products or services.

Could you please let me and other concerned readers know how to do this for other non Microsoft products, so we are no longer forced to be immoral and unethical by association with a guilty party.

31 May 2000 18:24:10 +0200
From: Jan-Hendrik Terstegge <webmaster@jhterstegge.de>
Subject: Re: Linux Gazette - German Translation [LG #54, General Mail]

Hi guys!

In LinuxGazette 54 you printed under General Mail my eMail from 29 Apr 2000, concerning my question for a german translation of LinuxGazette. Today the new issue came out and I created a translation of the article "Building a Secure Gateway System". Hoping that more Linux guys will help me to translate more articles, I copied it to my webpage. The german LinuxGazette Mirror-Page can now be found under http://www.linuxgazette.de.

I hope that after my call someone will help me to get more and more articles online.

[We also have a Spanish translation now at http://gaceta.piensa.com. -Ed.]

Mon, 26 Jun 2000 08:49:51 -0700
From: Heather Stern <star@betelgeuse.starshine.orglg@ssc.com>
Subject: Kudos to our translators

Pass my thanks to our translators everywhere. It's a tough and usually unsung job.

[And as an amateur translator myself, I'll add that it's quite time-consuming. -Ed.]

Wed, 14 Jun 2000 01:05:46 +0300
From: Charles Kibue <ckibue@mailafrica.net>
Subject: Thanks!

Hi! Here's from a very happy Linux user in Kenya...... Your magazine is very informative as well as interesting to read. I got some issues on my disk from the SuSE installation of the LDP and I sure look forward to reading more issues from you. Thanks to you all and you sure will be hearing a lot more from me. Cheers.

Composed on a Digital HiNote VP562 Series Laptop...powered by... SuSE Linux 6.3!

Tue, 20 Jun 2000 17:22:37 +0100
From: Steve Emms <sde@linuxlinks.com>
Subject: Who controls the Linux Media ?

I run LinuxLinks.com - a linux portal and recently we added a personalised calendar service to our web site. We submitted an article to LinuxToday (owned by internet.com) and it was published only to be pulled almost immediately. The reason given was that website enhancements are no longer news. However a similar service offered by another website was published. And who owns that website ? Why internet.com of course.

OK, this calendar isn't state of the art - but it is a free service and it does complement the existing facilities on the site. And sure, it is up to LinuxToday what they think is newsworthy and so post. But wait a minute, this sort of thing has made the news before - linuxstart announced a similar calendar service - take a look at

http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn99-07-13-015-10-PR

What's the difference ? Well, Linuxstart are owned by internet.com

This opens up a number of questions about how we judge the news we read. Linux is becoming big business and there are vested interests. Web sites are merging and being taken over by large conglomerates. Who determines the impartiality of the news we read ? Who determines what is news and what is advertising ?

LinuxToday is one of the major daily linux newsites and they determine that enhancements to major Linux websites like LinuxLinks is not important. But LinuxLinks is independent - it isn't owned by internet.com and it isn't owned by VA Linux. Is it and sites like it being penalised because they don't have a monopoly in the Linux media ? And is this really in the spirit of the Linux movement ?

Wed, 14 Jun 2000 23:37:41 +0530
From: Vikrant Dhawale <vkdhawale@vsnl.com>
Subject: subscription info.

I have read the current issue of the linux gazette and found it very interesting and informative. Is it available as a e-mail letter which I can subscribe and recieve in email since reading it online wastes a lot of online time as it is spread over pages.

[See the LG FAQ, questions 2-4. The Gazette is too big to send via e-mail. To minimize online time, download the FTP version of each issue and read it from your hard drive rather than via the web. -Ed.]

Sun, 4 Jun 2000 19:24:00 +0530 (IST)
From: LUG Account <ilug@hbcse.tifr.res.in>
Subject: Claims of First Indian OS: Aryabhatt Linux

Press Release
in response to articles on `Aryabhatt Linux' as
the first Indian Operating System.

We introduce ourselves as the Linux Users Group, Bombay Chapter (ilug-bom.org.in). We are a non-profit voluntary organisation actively involved in promoting open source software. Our activities include mailing lists for users, training, workshops, open source projects etc. Our group constitutes more than 400 man years of Linux experience vested in its members.

We draw your attention to the following articles which have appeared in the publications mentioned below.

1. "Made-in-India Linux to go global", Express Computer dated 29/05/2000, page 1.

2. "Linux Technologies launches Aryabhatt Linux", Times Computing dated 31/05/2000 page 5.

3. "Aryabhatt Linux", PC Quest dated June 2000 page 174.

... and several others.

In these articles there are numerous inconsistencies, false claims and trademark violations made by the company Linux Technologies Pvt. Ltd. We have evaluated their Linux distribution Aryabhatt Linux and compared it with other currently available distributions such as Red Hat, SuSE, Mandrake etc. Listed below are some of the findings:

1. RedHat Trademark Violation?: The packaging of Aryabhatt Linux distribution mentions that it is "Based on RedHat Linux 6.1", but fails to comply with RedHat's Licensing policy, as is evident from the following excerpt taken from http://www.redhat.com/about/trademark_guidelines.html

" C. You may state that your product "is based on Red HatŪ Linux X.X," but you must do so in a fashion that indicates that "Red Hat Linux" is not the name or brand of your product and that Red Hat is not a source or sponsor of your product. Some guidelines to follow on this point include:

" You must clearly indicate how your product differs from Red HatŪ Linux. This includes listing the packages that you deleted from Red HatŪ Linux and those that you added to your product, as well as indicating any and all other changes you made. This information must be clearly and prominently presented in all packaging, advertisements and other marketing materials for your product in a typeface no smaller than the typeface you use for the words "Red HatŪ Linux."

" The use of "Red HatŪ Linux" must be in a typeface (which includes appearance, size and color) no larger than one-third the size of the typeface used for the name of your product.

" The typeface you use for the words "Red HatŪ Linux" must be the same typeface you use for other written text to describe your product. You may not use a unique typeface for "Red HatŪ Linux" in order to set it off from the other text included on your product.

" You may not do anything at all to state or imply that your product is an official product of Red Hat, Inc. and may not do anything else to create confusion in the market between your product and the products of Red Hat, Inc.

" You must include the following statement in a prominent place in your product packaging and in all marketing and promotional efforts for your product:

"Red HatŪ is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc. This product is not a product of Red Hat, Inc. and is not endorsed by Red Hat, Inc. This is a product of [name of publisher] and we have no relationship with Red Hat, Inc."

2. Linux trademark violation?: Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds who was the original developer of the Linux kernel. He has permitted use of this trademark subject to an explicit mention of his ownership. Neither their web site nor the product packaging mentions this fact.

3. It is not an original Indian Linux distribution: The Aryabhatt Linux is a distribution based on another Linux distribution viz Red Hat Linux 6.1 as mentioned on the product packaging.

4. Misrepresentation of License: Most of the programs distributed in Red Hat Linux are licensed as GPL (General Public License). This licensing policy permits anybody to go through the source code and modify as per their requirements. It also explicitly requires the GPL to be mentioned clearly. Arybhatt Linux does not seem to have been licensed under GPL since the GPL copy on the CD is issued by Red Hat and not by Linux Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

5. GPL requires distribution of source code as well as free download of source code: Under GPL it is mandatory to distribute source code FREE OF COST either on CD's or on ftp sites. As on date Linux Technologies has not made any provisions for the same. The company also does not have any ftp sites.

6. The Graphics Driver for SiS6215: Graphics Drivers for SiS6215 card were developed by SuSE GmbH (suse.com) and XFree86 (xfree86.org) and copyrighted under GPL. Linux Technologies Pvt. Ltd. falsely claims to have developed the same.

7. Misuse of Linux Logo: The Linux logo which depicts a penguin has been affectionately referred to for a long time as Tux by the entire Linux community. It also appears on most of the web sites, publications and articles pertaining to Linux. Other Linux distributions also feature Tux on their packaging. By writing Peggy across the penguin and registering it as their own trademark, Linux Technologies Pvt. Ltd. has attempted to cash in on the popularity of Tux and deeply hurt the sentiment of Linux users.

8. The picture on product packaging box: The product packaging box as well as the step by step User Guide of Aryabhatt Linux depict a picture of peggy surrounded by networked computers. This picture was designed and copyrighted by Jassubhai Digital Media and was published in the August 1999 issue of CHIP magazine, CHIP Linux special and Network Computing.

9. Most of the applications in any Linux Distribution are developed by GNU (www.gnu.org). Linux Technologies Pvt. Ltd. does not acknowledge the same.

10. Though Aryabhatt Linux is claimed as "customized for the Indian user", as on date, it does not support any Indian Language. And the claimed hardware support for the locally assembled hardware already exists in other distributions of Linux.

11. On going through the step by step guide, we found numerous inconsistencies and wrong information.

As Indians we would love to have an Indian Linux distribution but we are thoroughly disappointed and disgusted with Aryabhatt Linux's blatant attempt to hijack the efforts of the open source and free software community. This ruthless exploitation of free, open source software will tarnish the image of the Indian software industry. We therefore urge you to set the record straight as regards the claims of Linux Technologies Pvt. Ltd., if you have published articles related to Aryabhatt Linux. For others who have not published any reports, pleas consider this as information.

This message is released in public interest, and in the interest of Open Source Software by the following active members of the Indian Linux Users Group, Bombay Chapter:

Aditya Kulkarni adityak@linuxfreak.com Apurva Shah apu@freeos.com G.Sagar sagarg@bol.net.in Kiran Jonnalagadda jace@radiolink.net Kishor Bhagwat kishorbhagwat@usa.net Mitul Limbani mitul@mitul.com Nagarjuna.G nagarjun@hbcse.tifr.res.in Parag Mehta linuxadmin@softhome.net Philip Tellis philip.tellis@iname.com Prakash Advani prakash@freeos.com Prakash Shetty info@maxlinux.net Rajen Parekh rajen@softhome.net Rakesh Tiwari rakesh_tiwari@jasubhai.com Sandesh Rao sandeshr@vsnl.com Terrence D'Souza jtdesouza@yahoo.com Vikas Pawar vpawar@usa.net

Contact Address: GNU/Linux User Group of India, Bombay Chapter ilug@ilug-bom.org.in http://www.ilug-bom.org.in

Mailing Address: Dr. Nagarjuna G. Homi Bhabha Center for Science Education TIFR, V.N. Purav Marg, Mankhurd, Mumbai 400088 INDIA Phones: 091-22- 556 7711, 555 4712, 555 5242 Fax: 091 - 22 - 556 6803.

Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> replies:

It sounds like this company is violating the GPL in the use of some FSF-copyrighted software. If that is true, we can try to enforce the GPL. Would you please double-check for us that FSF-copyrighted programs are included on their CD and on their ftp site, and send us the names of the specific programs you identified? We also need to know the URLs and the official name of the product.

Also, could you tell me how to contact them? We need the company name, snail addresses, email addresses, etc. With this information, we can have lawyers contact them to object.

Meanwhile, one more item you can add to your list is that they're calling the whole operating system "Linux". Linux is actually the kernel, one of the important pieces of the system. That is what Linus wrote in 1991.

At that time, we had been working on the GNU operating system for almost a decade, and it was almost complete enough for self-hosting; the only major piece missing was the kernel. Combining Linux with GNU produced a complete free operating system, versions of which are now integrated by Debian, Red Hat, and others. Everyone is free to redistribute it, but they ought to call it GNU/Linux and give us a share of the credit. It isn't a legal requirement, but it is the right thing to do.

See http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html for more explanation.

Regarding the idea of an "Indian operating system": I think that kind of nationalism is not a good thing for world peace.

But India should not feel left out. The GNU system has been an international project since the very beginning; no single country originated it. Humanity originated it. And India is part of humanity.

This page written and maintained by the Editor of the Linux Gazette. Copyright © 2000, gazette@linuxgazette.net
Published in Issue 55 of Linux Gazette, July 2000