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I got home from work around 5:30 last night. By 5:45, I'd pulled the old CD-ROM, installed the new, and started the rebuild of Libranet. Boy oh boy - I seriously missed some packages in the original install. Not only did this install take both discs to complete an identical configuration, but it took a good sized chunk of the packages from Disc 2. That disc didn't even make it into the drive the first time around. The package install took quite awhile, even with a brand spanking new 56k drive, but I can feel confident that it's complete.

I mentioned on Wednesday that the package selection was broken out into package types, without the option to customize those groups. In other words, take the whole group or none. That was accurate, but it didn't really tell the whole story. In fact, the number of package groups is pretty large with only a few apps per group. That means you can tailor Libranet pretty closely to your needs without a need to pick and choose from within each group. As I went through the install last night, I realized that this is as effective a system as any other and, once again, probably a bit better for new users.

So what does Libranet offer in the way of package groups? I kept a list just for you.

• PCMCIA Software
• Laptop software
• Chat software
• Dictionaries
• Documentation
• Text and programming editors
• File management software
• Financial software
• Games
• Gnome Desktop Environment
• Graphics software
• KDE Desktop Environment
• E-mail software
• Office software
• Personal management software
• Printing software
• Shells and terminal emulators
• Audio software
• Toys
• System utilities
• Picture and video viewing software
• Internet software
• Window Managers
• Java 2 runtime environment
• OpenOffice.org Office Suite
• Math software
• CD-R/RW recording software
• KDE language packages
• Emulators
• EMACS
• LaTex Software
• Development software and libraries
• GTK/GNOME development environment
• QT/KDE development environment
• Networking software
• DNS server
• MySQL database
• NFS
• FTP server
• SAMBA clients
• SAMBA server
• Apache webserver
• PHP4 MySQL modules
• OSNDN utilities
• WordPerfect 8 compatibility

That's a pretty sizable list, providing nearly any software you'll need on your system. And, as you'll see in the GnomeTWEAK section, Libranet's Debian base provides you with an intelligent system for adding packages after the install. I liked the package selection the first time we looked at Libranet, and I like it even better this time around.

At one point in the evening, I felt like the picture of geek multitasking. Simultaneously, I was installing Libranet, testing and configuring a telescope remotely, watching a live video feed of the test, writing Penguin Shell, and chatting on Yahoo! Messenger. The smoke cleared a bit when the Libranet install finished. When the 'scope testing was finished, I felt like I should be doing at least three other things ...

The weekend is here, as well. It's probably a good one to spend some time away from the computer, I think. That's not too tough when I've got a hankering to make a huge batch of firehouse chili. Right now, the weather's perfect for it. Make it, eat it, then sleep it off. Sounds like a good weekend to me. I hope your is just as good.

See you Monday.

Happy just sittin' here in my tux,              
Tony Steidler-Dennison       

GnomeTWEAK

Apt-Getting

Libranet, as you know, is based on Debian. One of the great strengths of Debian and, by extension Libranet, is the apt library. It makes it possible to do all sorts of software upgrades and installs online. It's also possible using apt to upgrade your entire distribution with a single command. apt finds all necessary software and dependencies and installs automatically.

The element of the apt library most used is apt-get. apt-get relies on an index of packages on your machine and a list of online sources. There are some options for apt-get that fundamentally do comparisons between your local index and the files on a server. apt-get update, for example, synchronizes your local list with the servers listed in your /etc/apt/sources.list file. apt-get upgrade takes update a step further, installing the newest versions of all software installed on your system. Again, the comparison between your local index and the server list is critical. Any packages on your machine for which newer packages exist on the server are upgraded. Finally, apt-get dist-upgrade takes upgrade to another level, paying attention to all the packages on your system. dist-upgrade resolves conflicts in dependencies that may have changed with newer versions, as well.

apt-get install is easily the most often-used command in the apt system. Followed by a package name, apt-get install searches the servers in /etc/apt/sources.list, finds the package, retrieves any additional dependencies, and installs everything on your machine. In a word, it's slick.

apt-get also include some functionality for removing packages. apt-get remove followed by a package name will, indeed, remove that particular package.

If you're one who simply must see the source before installing a package, apt-get source would be your tool. Again, appending a package name to the command will download the source version of the requested package.

apt-get check performs diagnostic tasks on your local package cache, updating the cache and checking for broken dependencies.

Finally, if you feel the need to clean house, apt-get clean will remove all packages from your local cache. This is useful for freeing up disc space.

apt-get is a fine system for package maintenance and installation. It makes it possible to update, upgrade, install, and remove packages with but a few quick keystrokes.

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GnomeCORE

Get your favorite Linux flavor on CD: Pick your favorite Linux flavor and get it on CD for as low as $1.95. Find Linux gear, books, and software for Linux at Linux Central . Check out the selection today!

Today, we'll begin a look at some common commands in Emacs, the "other" text editor in Linux.

First up are some useful tips for new emacs users. Emacs functions primarily with the use of the Ctrl and Meta keys. If your keyboard isn't equipped with a Meta key, Escape serves the same function. Ctrl+H drops you into the help system, while Ctrl+H+i brings up the interactive help mode complete with hyperlinks. To start emacs enter the command emacs. If you'd like to edit a specific file, use emacs file.

For starters, here are some emacs file handling commands. In the following commands, Ctrl is notated with C. Letters following the C character are the letters used to activate the command. For example, C-X C-F is a combination of Ctrl+X and Ctrl+F, one following the other.

Command	Action
C-X C-F	open a file
C-X C-S	save a file
C-X C-C	exit emacs
C-X C-R	view a file
C-X C-W	write a file, specifying filename
C-X C-Q	toggle view mode
C-X I	insert file
C-X K	kill buffer
C-X S	save all buffers

You can see that the emacs syntax takes some getting used to. You could guess from these commands that C-X is a sort of warning to the system that a command follows. Specifically, C-X commands control windows, buffers and files. C-H serves the same purpose, prefixing the help commands. So, you can narrow it down a bit: Ctrl starts a command, X notifies the system that the command to follow deals with windows, buffers, and files, and the letter or combination that follows is the actual command.

Monday, we'll look at some commands in emacs for searching text and moving around in a document.

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GnomeFILE

MondoRescue 1.61

http://www.microwerks.net/~hugo/

"Mondo Rescue archives Linux and Lin/Win systems to tapes or CDs, which may be used to restore some or all of your OS and data in the event of catastrophic data loss. The emphasis is on stability and ease of use. Currently, ext2, ext3, (v)fat, minix, ReiserFS, XFS, and JFS filesystems are supported, as are RAID and LVM."

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GnomeVOICE

Desktop Switching
Scribbled by Mike Escutia

"Just wanted to say thanks for talking about one of my favorite features, switching between desktops. I'm a big fan of keyboard shortcuts, as moving the mouse takes me much more time. In other words, my typing skills are better than my hand-eye coordination. :)

"Anyway, I just wanted to point out one that you didn't include, and which I myself use: Control-Tab to cycle between desktops. Red Hat 8.0 comes with this already set, as well as the standard Alt-Tab for cycling between windows on the same desktop (a shortcut I've been using since my early Windows days). Control-Shift-Tab does the same thing, only in the opposite direction.

"I think Mandrake might also have this feature, but I'm not sure."

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GnomeCLICK

Dave's Desktop
Unearthed by LeRoy Archer

http://www.virtualsky.net/daves/index.htm

"Hi Tony,

"I have been reading the shell for a couple of months now, in preparation for my 'conversion'. i have also been visiting forums and such, and when i found Libranet was Canadian, well I had to find out more! Anyhow, the forum is great, but the people are better! My point is, a guy named Dave pm'ed me about helping me out. I checked out his web site and low and behold, his site is about Linux!. You gotta check this place out, I'm sure you'll like it."

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