Hi Don,
Yes, that is the version of GIMP that I have installed. I think it's
version 1.2. I found it more stable and faster than every copy of
version 2 that I could find.
The version which I am running (from an earlier Solaris 10
distribution) is 2.0.2
I think 1.2 was the last version which Sun distributed with Solaris 9,
unless it has been updated in the last year or so, and I don't think it has.
But sadly it won't write PNG or GIF files.
Yet I'm sure that there was a version of GIMP 1.2 that could write those
files.
2.0.2 will save both.
As would one version of GIMP 1.2, or possibly 1.x, which I had from
http://www.blastwave.org/ in 2004. And it was stable. But I can only use
it now if I use all the software dating from 2004.
I wish I could find a version of GIMP 1.2 which would save GIF and PNG
and was not dependent on shared libraries. Even if I can find a stable
version of GIMP 2, it was seriously slow when I tried it. Any idea where
I might find a later version of GIMP 1.2?
I would not expect earlier versions to handle saving as GIF,
because GIF uses a compression algorihtm which was patented, and there
was no provision for licensing for an open source program. The license
needed a fee paid for each copy released, and when people were free to
make their own copies from t he sources, there was no way to handle the
collection. And GNU would *not* use any software which required a
license fee. It was against their policies. However, the patent has
expired, so it now shows up.
PNG was developed as a work-around for the fact that no open
source programs could save GIF files. (Actually, early versions of 'xv'
*did* write GIF files -- until the owners of the patents started
enforcing it.
Was it Compuserve's patent? I'm trying to remember. I seem to remember
that at one time there was an anti-GIF movement and banners which said
"This is a GIF-free site", etc. But I haven't seen one in a long time.
Both standards seem to be in common use.
I often get the feeling that shared libraries aren't such a great idea.
They are normally a *good* idea -- in that they make programs
more portable between systems.
The biggest problem I've had is when you try to install a new piece of
software months after installing everything else. The new piece of
software requiries the latest shared libraries, so you have to update
everything. At least that's the way it works with the
http://www.blastwave.org/ packages.
That is because you are downloading pre-compiled packages, which
have (of course) been compiled against the most recent packages.
Normally shared libs are backwards compatible, and you will often find
several shortened names of shared libs which are symlinks to the current
name, so the program can call for it by any of a number of version
names. The links are not created where a newer version introduces an
incompatibility with an older one.
If you were to download the source for the packages, and compile
it locally, you would (usually) be able to compile it to use the shared
libs which you already have.
The one place where I would like to get rid of shared libs and
go for fully static programs are shells and security tools which you
don't want to risk being compromised by a modified shared lib which does
more than the function call is expected to do.
Now -- I would suggest that if you are re-installing, you should
actually install Solaris 10 instead of Solaris 9. If you do, ask me how
to turn off programs which you may not want to run, such as the
"R-commands" and ftpd and the like.
It is quite different from earlier versions.
I would, except that I use the GNOME desktop environment, and the
version of GNOME shipped with Solaris 10 is aesthetically disgusting and
quite unstable :-).
So -- get the GNOME source from the earlier version which you
like, and compile it under Solaris 10 after pkg removing the current
version.
I would, but right now I feel there are more urgent things I should do.
I can live with Solaris 9 a bit longer.
I would not know about its stability, since I don't like the
interface and thus won't run it -- in *any* version. There is a
temptation to drop back to tvwm instead -- but as long as they keep CDE
running I'll stick with it.
[ ... ]
Nope -- it is a coin cell -- and those are typically not
rechargeable.
[ ... ]
I thought ST would have been smart enough to use one of these
rechargeable types in the NVRAM chip, but it seems not.
Physical size, what to do with the hydrogen from charging the
cell while it is potted in epoxy, wrong voltage, and not available when
the chip was first designed and made.
You get hydrogen from those little button cells? I'm surprised.
From *any* rechargeable battery while it is being recharged.
Does it come from water in the battery? If so, does it eventually cause
the battery to dry out?
Arrggghhhh! The phone company started wire-wrap -- using larger
pins and heavier gauge wires. They consider a wire-wrapped connection
to be "permanent", and a soldered connection to be "temporary", so
putting solder over a wire-wrapped connection is bad news. :-)
Strange. Intuitively I would have thought of the wire-wrapped connection
as being more temporary, but I haven't tried to dismantle one.
The reason it is so reliable is that it has forty gas-tight
connections -- four for each wrap of the ten total. The sharp edges of
the square post bite into the wire, and the tension of the wire during
wrapping keeps them from coming unhooked.
There is a special tool for undoing the connections -- sort of a
backwards hollow auger which catches the end of the wire and loosens it
as you turn backwards.
With soldered connections, there is a point where the wire
exits the solder blob where it is going to flex the most, and where it
is most likely to fail in the presence of vibration.
That makes sense, but surely you've got to have some pretty serious
vibration to fatigue the wires, haven't you?
And what do you think happens in a telephone exchange, with
relays of all sizes vibrating the frames all the time.
I don't know. I've never been in a telephone exchange. But many of the
relays are solid state now, aren't they?
Same for circuits in aircraft or automobiles.
Presumably it's only a problem in the high vibration regions such as on
the engine itself, isn't it? Cars still have a fair number of soldered
joints, particularly on printed circuit boards.
But if you enter a HOSTID and MAC address which are incorrect for the
particular machine, but start with the right characters (I forget how
many) that'll work, won't it?
It will work for the *system* -- as long as there is no conflict
with another system to which it talks. (Put two machines on the same
subnet with the same Mac address -- or allow them to connect through
however many routers with the same Mac address, and things go crazy.
The Mac address is *supposed* to be unique for each system.
Got it.
Not as much as you would if you *tried* it. ;-)
I hope I won't have to anytime soon. I hope this machine will last me a
while.
snip
You're losing me here a little. You mean that libc.a links to several
other libraries, in order to make itself smaller?
Actually -- I mis-stated. It is fully *static* linking which is
not possible with Solaris 10 -- because the only version of libc is a
shared lib, not a static one. (The static one would be simply "libc.a".
[ ... backwards compatibility ... ]
snip
Hmm ... "rare and expensive". Try an ebay search for:
Toshiba DVD-ROM SCSI M1401
1) $14.99
2) $49.00 (In a Sun UniPack external chassis)
3) $9.99
4) $25.00
5) $49.99 (five drives not just one)
6) $39.99
Sorry, I made a mistake. At the time I was searching for a SCSI DVD
writer, as I wanted to have just a single drive in the machine. At the
time, those were rare and expensive.
I would think that some of those would be cheap enough to use
for the task. It saves a *lot* of CD swapping, and of waiting around
for the right time to swap when loading Solaris 10 (5 CD-ROMs or one
DVD-ROM. :-)
I even put a spare into an ancient SGI Indigo 2, and it works
fine with CDs and DVDs.
What do you think of the Indigo 2? I love the colour. It looks
remarkable, especially the genuine indigo-coloured R10000 machine. I
almost bought one in 2003, but then I got a Sun Ultra 2 for nothing instead.
Best wishes,
Chris