Very Computer

          ============================================================

                           TABLE OF CONTENTS - PART 5

          5.0   Part 5, Undeveloped Material

             5.1.0.0      Get a REAL Operating System!
             5.2.0.0      Pretty Pictures
             5.4.0.0      Some linux-specific implementations or
                             technologies
             5.5.0.0      The GNU Tools
             5.5.0.0      Potpouri

          ============================================================

      Copyright (c)  2002.  This document is copyright by the individuals
      named in the credits, section 1.4.0.0.

      Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
      under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1
      or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
      A copy of the license can be viewed at:

                      http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl.txt

          ============================================================

5.0  Undeveloped Material

  This section of the FAQ contains suggestions, comments, and so forth
  that have yet to be developed into actual finished material.

  The sections here were originally numbered, and some still are, but it
  is not really possible to maintain the numbering system as we pull
  out topics and move them elsewhere, so do not expect the numbering
  system to make any sense.

5.x.x.x  The GPL Attacks Intellectual Property.

  ITEM:  We have some coverage of MS's attacks on the GPL, but
         it seems we might develop it further and put it into
         the "Common Misconceptions" section.  Points to cover:

         -> What is IP?  Point out US Consitutional and legal
            definitions.  

         -> Distinguish copyright, patent, trademark, etc.

         -> How the GPL protects copyright holders.

5.x.x.x  Linux really is not that secure (for Common Misconceptions
         part of the faq).

  ITEM:  This link is a good source for some of the nonsense
         we have been hearing:

         http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/2/12/61225/8865

5.1.0.0  Get a REAL Operating System!

#
#  Very exciting!  Edgar Allen has provided text to several points
#    here, so some of the items have been moved into Section 2.
#
#  this section now maps to section 2.8.0.0 of Part 2, as items
#    are developed, they will be removed from here and put there.
#

  A section generally describing the unix nature of Linux, and
  why this is good.  

  ITEM:  Total Control at the CLI

  ITEM:  Text configuration files

  ITEM:  Pipes

  ITEM:  Logs

  ITEM:  Security.  Simple and powerful.

  ITEM:  CRON

  ITEM:  Combinations.  Pipes + CLI = command-line emailing

  ITEM:  GUI is optional.  (maybe as a subset of layered architecture)

  ITEM:  scripting shell, like bash

  ITEM:  regular expressions

  ITEM:  Clusters and their types, such as high availability vs
         high performance, beowulf, etc.

5.2.0.0  Pretty Pictures

  More nifty discussion of KDE, GNOME, the whole X system,
  and how Linux has got enough eye-candy to give you
  eye-tooth-decay (or something like that).

5.4.0.0  Some linux-specific implementations or technologies

  ITEM:  iptables and ipchains

5.5.0.0  The GNU Tools

#
#  this section now maps to section 2.9.0.0 of Part 2, as items
#    are developed, they will be removed from here and put there.
#

  An ode to the GNU implementations of some old unix standards

  ITEM:  tar, gzip

5.5.0.0  Potpouri

#
#  this section now maps to section 2.99.0.0 of Part 2, as items
#    are developed, they will be removed from here and put there.
#

  Uncategorized things that are cool about Linux

  ITEM:  Humor.  You'll never see a commercial shop improve a program
         called "more" and name the result "less".  You'll never see them
         call the improved  Bourne shell the "Bourne-Again Shell."  Or
         naming the mail alerting program 'biff' because the guy who wrote
         it lived in the dorm at Berkeley and the dog which barked only at
         the mailman, no one else, was named Biff.

  ITEM:  Community.  Can't be beat.  Even with the god-awful antics on
         COLA, you meet some really good people.

  ITEM:  Real alternatives to conventional thinking.  Why replace Office?
         Why not deconstruct needs and get proper tools for the things you
         are trying to squash into Word?  

ITEM: CLI (Again)

#
#  We've got below the makings of a good reply on CLI.  We also
#  have a CLI entry already, and these two are very different.
#  Will leave this here for now.
#

Quote:>> No, Mike, we wonder why you [have to] use the command line to do
>> ordinary everyday things on your computer, like daily backups,
>> burning CDR's copying files,etc, etc, etc.....

> I don't have to. I choose to.

> There's also the convenience factor; I can easily log into my
> machine from somewhere else and do pretty much anything I can
> do while I'm at the computer itself. I often use this to adjust
> the volume on my PC from the computer on the other side of the
> house (usually upwards, of course); or to skip a song in XMMS's
> playlist that I don't feel like listening to (aumix and xmms --fwd,
> respectively).

> So, there's a few reasons. I don't hate GUI's completely -- they're
> great for many things -- but they have their limits, and I find that
> I hit those limits more often than I'm comfortable with.

>> OTOH why do something manually like typing commands on the
>> command line, when the computer can do it for you with a few mouse
>> clicks?

> Why move the mouse back and forth, clicking on little buttons, when
> you can type a short command and have the computer do it for you?

--
Ken
Linux: the more you learn, the more you love