What's New
Local Disk Space
Available Software
Software Issues & Tips
Choosing Your Desktop
 

SUBMM Group Linux Workstations
 

What's New
 

• Backups

All home directories and mail is backed up daily (as of November 2001), going back about a month or so at all times (older backups are deleted to make space for the newer ones). Considering the extraordinarily high security of the backup computer, you will need to ask one of the sys-admins (presently Attila Kovacs or Darek Lis) to recover any lost files.
 
• New software includes


• GAIA (for viewing and analyzing FITS images) [11/19/02]
• fv (a FITS Viewer) [11/19/02]
• Eclipse (a powerful Java IDE) [11/19/02]
• Java SDK 1.4.1 p11/18/02]
• Some useful Java API's
• Wine (run Windows apps under Linux) [10/10/02]
• OpenOffice (read/write all Microsoft Office formats) [10/9/02]
• Netscape 7 [10/8/02]
• Adobe Acrobat Reader 5 [10/8/02]
• Updated SuperMix libraries
• DS9 (an improved SAOImage)
• IBM's Java 2
• MP3 rippers
• Doxygen (C++ documenting tool)
• xv
• Mathematica

 
• CD Burning Capability

You can now burn CD's on entwood (331), fangorn (317), woodhall (313) or on tenaya (419).  For more information check out the CD Recording Page .

Local Disk Space

Those of you using machines with RedHat 6.2 or RedHat 7.1 installed, you may (or may not) have a /home/local directory. If there is such a directory available then feel free to use it to store anything you like in there (e.g. backups of your important files or your entire home directory). To see how much disk space you have available there, use df, or use du -hs after cd /home/local.

Note, that these directories are not part of the daily backups. Do not put anything so important in them whose possible (though rather unlikely) loss will make you pull your hair out!!!

Software available on the RedHat 7.1 machines
(in addition to standard Linux packages)
 

If there is a piece of software that is not (yet) available on these machines, but you would like to use and think it may be useful for others in the group as well, please let me (Attila) know about it, and I will install it promptly. If it is some other software that may not have wider appeal in the group (e.g. your favourite games) you can install them yourself (or ask me for help) in your home directory.

Software Issues & Tips
 

• IDL on 24 and 32-bit screens

After starting idl, type:


device, direct_color=24
device, decomposed=0.

Choosing a Desktop

There are a number of desktop choices available under the RedHat 7.1 machines . Some are very simple but you may like them if you are used to the simple X desktops, others are fancier with lots of features that make them compete with Microsot's Windows or SUN's CDE. You should experiment with them to see what works best for you. (If your computer has limited graphics capability, you are probably better off with a simpler desktop that uses less colors.)

To change your desktop, you will have to

1. Move your .Xclients file in your home dir (type mv .Xclients .Xclients.old in your home dir).
2. create/edit .Xclients and .wm_style files in your home dir. The contents of these files determine your desktop choice. (To see what entries are valid, refer to the table below.)

Changing Your Screen Resolution and/or Color Depth

If you are not satisfied with the settings choosen for you by your sys-admin (and why should you be?), you can change these setting yourself according to your personal preference by editing the file /etc/X11/XF86Config-4, which is writable by the owner of the computer only (apart from root). Be extremely careful though. If you are in doubt, ask the sys-admin, or someone knowledgable on how to do it.