From: adam@address.invalid
Moe Trin wrote:
> On Thu, 18 Oct 2012, in the Usenet newsgroup alt.os.linux.mandriva, in
article
> , Adam wrote:
[LSB]
>>> This is the reason it's ALWAYS recommended to use apps from your
>>> distribution/release in preference to other releases or
>>> distributions never mind (semi-)generic packages offered by authors.
>
>> Always??? Mozilla's own site now has Firefox and Thunderbird 16.x,
>> while some distro repositories are only up to 10.x, and these are
>> obviously apps where security and updates are important.
>
> So, you're taking over the security and compatibility _responsibility_
> rather than the distro?
As you've noticed, this started its own very helpful subthread, with
reasons for and against both approaches. I finally had to make a
sysadmin-type decision, and will revert to the Mandriva repositories'
versions of Firefox/Thunderbird/Seamonkey RSN. I haven't decided yet
about VirtualBox. That's for my "production" system, where security
(and stability) are more important to me than any new features. I
haven't decided about my test system yet. I think having at least one
distro on that with the latest vendor versions might be helpful.
> Those older versions on the
> distro repositories - are they old, and unpatched for recent security
> updates? If that's the case, you may want to be looking at a different
> distro
That's what I have a test system for. :-)
> is your kernel up to date? (3.0.46, 3.2.31, 3.4.14, 3.5.7 and 3.6.2
> were _all_ released by kernel.org last week, 3.2.32 on Sunday.) ;-)
Actually, before I sent "stolid" off for repair, I was using the latest
kernel (3.2.x) in the Mandriva 2011.0 repositories, which is essentially
a generic version. Since it's come back, I've stayed with the latest
Mandriva-customized kernel which ATM is 2.6.39.4-5.1. I'm not sure what
features the newer kernels offer.
[HP computer mouse]
>> So as the mouse gets moved farther away, the cable has an increasingly
>> sharper angle upward to get over that "backstop" on both our setups.
>
> Not really - I rarely move the mouse beyond about 8" from the front
> edge, and that still leaves the cable essentially flat. The cable is
> getting more side-to-side motion than anything else.
That probably explains why your mice last longer. My drawer came with a
wrist rest and I've added another, higher one for the mouse, so mine is
often close to the far edge.
[slow dialup connections]
> I don't know if it would
> show up in 'lsusb -v' or not, but you might compare what eris and
> stolid report.
No difference in what they report for the USB-RS232 adapter, except for
what's due to the two different versions of 'lsusb'.
>> I should (someday) look into why the HP winmodem & Linuxant driver
>> only got 31200 downstream.
>
> One obvious point would be to look to see if the driver does v.90 or
> v.92
I tried some of the "AT+" and "AT-" settings, and actually got one v.92
connection at 52000/21600. That showed it's possible. I haven't been
able to get that driver to compile under 3.x kernels yet. It /is/
working under CentOS with kernel 2.x. A next step would be to try the
precompiled packages for earlier releases and kernels, both 64- and
32-bit versions (all OSs there are 64-bit).
>> I doubt it would do much better than the other external modem.
>
> True, but you'll never know until...
Okay, I tried it. It's a USR 5686-05 with v.92. I had it working
(through a RS232-USB adapter) on stolid for a little while, under
circumstances I wasn't able to duplicate. Connection speeds were
45333/ARQ to 50666/ARQ, so I don't think it's any improvement over the
external ModemBlaster, the new USB modem, or eris's Compaq winmodem with
Linuxant drivers.
>> The phone lines seem OK for voice and 3mbps
>> DSL, but just mediocre for dialup. I think "leave well enough alone"
>> is the best strategy here.
>
> I suspect you're correct.
So about the only thing left is to get eris's winmodem using v.92 more
consistently, or move the USB modem from stolid to eris when necessary.
Looks like both external modems go back to my box of computer pieces.
There's another PCI winmodem in there that I might try on eris.
What with having to do new installations of the NetZero and Juno
software because of the new distros on both boxes, I found out a few
more things, so I revised netzero-juno.txt to include those and posted
the new version on my home page. I expect this to be the last revision.
[WECO 500]
> At work of course, the phones are larger because they're multi-line
> digital monsters from Nortel with extra bells/whistles/shiney-stuff
> you absolutely can't live without (it says on the sales literature).
Do they include choice of ring tone? Very helpful with cubicles.
>> Can you think of any other industrial product that was produced
>> unchanged for such a long time?
>
> How much of that was the monopoly that the phone company had? There
> was little incentive to create new models.
They could charge extra for newer designs, or for "designer" colors.
Status symbols.
> Recall the phones were
> owned by the phone company (you paid a monthly rental fee) and you
> were prohibited from using non-phone-company stuff
I remember! Dad and I wired the house for extra phones before that was
allowable. The hard part was getting the phones. :-)
>> I think I have one 500 (beige with dial) in my closet as a spare --
>> it must be a late one as it has a modular cable and plug.
>
> Is that the large 4 pin plug about 1 1/2 inch square?
No, the small plug used nowadays. When we wired the house in the
mid-late '70s, those 4-pin plugs and jacks were standard so we used
them, but over the years most have been replaced by modular jacks.
In other news, my parents offered me some of their bookcases, as they're
gradually trying to get stuff out of their house. They're all about
36"H x 42"W. I actually have room now for about three of them, but am
trying to restrain myself and not take more than one or two.
Adam
--
Registered Linux User #536473
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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