System Stuff
The Engin department realized that it does not have enough staff to do some
of the things that are necessary to keep the Suns running happily. So
they hired me because I've done some unix stuff before (for my high
school) and wanted to help. There are plenty of things I've noticed need
fixing (~ss/stufftofix) but I am looking for feedback from the users in
general. So communicate with me one way or another.
Mail me!
Post to brown.engin.feedback!
Old Suggestions of the moment.
Suggestion of the moment: Any time you ftp files
into the system, check their permissions to make sure they are only
writable by you. chmod 644 for data files and chmod 755 for exectuable
programs/scripts is ususally appropriate. It lets people read the file
without letting them change it.
Coming soon: Soren's guide to file permissions.
/u1/ss/bin
/u1/ss/bin is my persanal executables directory. Because I have insanely
large quota, I have installed and will install many useful programs and
scripts for everyon's use.
- lw: This script will give you a picture of the lab
with usernames for who is logged in where. lw -h for the options.
- xdvi: Several Latex users wanted xdvi so I installed
it. I know it works for the sample dvi file in /u1/ss/samples, but I'm
not sure if all the font paths are right. See my post to
brown.engin.feedback for dotfile modification instructions.
- swrite: This handy script (which I hope to make
faster soon) allows you to send instant messages to any user(s) in the lab
regardless of which machine you are on. It makes the message one discreet
element which removes the wait-time involved in write or talk so you can
send messages and get work done at the same time.
- skey is the program you need to get through the CS
firewall (not that you are taking any CS courses...). Please use it
instead of your personal copy if you have one.
- ph will let you query the EAB. It is used by the
/u1/ss/bin/phone script to get phone numbers of people on the Brown
campus.
Coming soon: a complete list of supported scripts and such.
Cool Stuff:
- Everyone can have a web page! Make a directory called www, put your
files in it (preferably an index.html) and make sure that your home
directory is world executable and the www directory world readable.
- We have fvwm and fvwm2. See /u1/ss/bin or /eng2/en160/bin (I just
made links). Thanks to Dan GoldWater, we have a sample .fvwm2rc file in
/u2/ss/samples. Sample .fvwmrc files will be available in /u1/ss/samples
sometime soon.
Problems:
- I have heard from several people that PowerView is on
crack and needs to be reconfigured. I have heard from the admins that it
is not so much configuration as poor software to start with...
- Printing is not what it should be in the lab. I am
looking into the print software...lack of paper is another issue. Please
don't print more than you need to. We're discussing a print quota system
which will deny you printing priviledges if you have printed more than
your quota of pages for a semester.
- finger could use an upgrade to be multi-machine. ie.
it will tell you the last login to _any_ machine and if logged in the
machine that the person is using. I'm working on it pending permission
from Jim.
Current Work:
- Broadcasting for the CAD class (this means that
you have one xsession broadcast to multiple workstations). I've got it
working but it still has some bugs that have yet to be worked out.
- A waitlist. When the lab is full this will serve
as a mechanism for sharing the time when work cannot be done and
kicking off those who have been there the longest. I have the source
code to the CS department's waitlist and about to start coding to make
it work with the Prince lab setup.
- I got a request for elm from a consultant who said
some people had asked for it. elm is now available in /u1/ss/bin and
the man page is in /u1/ss/man. These directories will contain any
additions I make to the system which cannot be installed in the usual
places. Note that /eng2/en160/bin has many nice utilities which I
would have installed in /u1/ss/bin had they not already been here.