Article: 572 of comp.os.linux.announce
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Path: pavo.csi.cam.ac.uk!warwick!uknet!mcsun!news.funet.fi!hydra!klaava!wirzeniu
From: sanjuan!pmacdona@sol.UVic.CA (Peter MacDonald)
Subject: SLS release: 1.01
Message-ID: <1993Apr18.153535.29139@klaava.Helsinki.FI>
Followup-To: comp.os.linux
Keywords: SLS 1.01
Sender: wirzeniu@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Lars Wirzenius)
Organization: University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, CANADA
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1993 15:35:35 GMT
Approved: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu (Lars Wirzenius)
Lines: 51

The latest release of SLS 1.01 (Softlanding Linux System) is now 
available on tsx-11.mit.edu.   The kernel is .99p8A with a (large)
number of patches applied.  I have reverted back to the practice
of providing the unpatched kernel source, but to alleviate the
problem of rebuilding, I provide a shell script to apply the
patches in the correct order.   See dopatch in /usr/src/patches.

The aforementioned patches include:

	ipc: 	   Interprocess communication
	selection: cut and paste on VC's
	national:  keyboard and vga font patches (also fixes X11 font smear)
	ifs:       Werners Inherited File System
	loop mount:allows a file to be mounted as a file system (Werner again)
	mcd:       Support for the mitsumi CD
	ramdisk:   a few of my hacks to get things rolling

The biggest feature of this release of SLS is a new install procedure.
Lilo is now used, and there are two different boot disks: a1.3 and a1.5.
The 3 inch disk has more room and so contains vi, ping and telnet.
The upshot is that you can install from: Floppy, Hard Disk, NFS, Tape
or CDROM (the SLS one, of course).   You can just boot as before, or
hold down ALT when you see LILO, for instructions.  The other advantage
is that it can also act as a recovery disk.  

Also, all packages have been renamed to .tgz from .tpz as FSF requested.
Sysinstall, will support both for the time being (well, also .taz and .tar).

All disks now contain short one line descriptions of each package on the
disk.  This is displayed, if you ask for prompt with install

This release should also fix a lot of the reported problems and
add a few new things.  These include, among other things:

	libc 4.3.3
	menu fixed
	Workman incl.
	ncurses and panel added
	xdm with shadow passwords
	tcpip upgraded and moved to /etc
	gdb with libreadline and shared libs
	upgraded mount, less, smalltalk, newspak, dosemu
	added xxgdb, Xtexcad, xhextris, mines, vgaset, strace, wdsetup
	xview upgrade (nice to have the development stuff works again)

I will be away for the next 4 days.  So please mail me with any problems,
and expect a delay.  Do not post it if you can help it, cause I may
never see it :-).

Peter
pmacdona@sanjuan.uvic.ca

Article: 611 of comp.os.linux.announce
Path: pavo.csi.cam.ac.uk!warwick!uknet!mcsun!news.funet.fi!hydra!hydra!not-for-mail
From: sanjuan!pmacdona@sol.UVic.CA (Peter MacDonald)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: SLS update: SLS 1.02 / 99p9 kernel
Followup-To: comp.os.linux
Date: 28 Apr 1993 10:50:04 +0300
Organization: University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, CANADA
Lines: 10
Sender: wirzeniu@cs.Helsinki.FI
Approved: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu (Lars Wirzenius)
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NNTP-Posting-Host: hydra.helsinki.fi
Keywords: SLS update

SLS has been updated to 99p9 on tsx-11.  The only changes are:

	a2/image.tgz: new 99p9 image
	b4/lx99p9.tgz: new kernel source
	b4/lxpatch.tgz: revised patches to raw kernel sources

With it, the SLS version has been bumped to 1.02.  This is really
more a book keeping thing for to track bug reports.

Peter

Article: 731 of comp.os.linux.announce
Path: pavo.csi.cam.ac.uk!warwick!zaphod.crihan.fr!univ-lyon1.fr!
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hydra!hydra!not-for-mail
From: sanjuan!pmacdona@sol.UVic.CA (Peter MacDonald)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: SLS update: getty, sysvinit, and emacs X11
Followup-To: comp.os.linux
Date: 1 Jun 1993 10:41:41 +0300
Organization: University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, CANADA
Lines: 272
Sender: wirzeniu@cs.Helsinki.FI
Approved: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu (Lars Wirzenius)
Message-ID: <1uf17lINN1t7@hydra.Helsinki.FI>
NNTP-Posting-Host: hydra.helsinki.fi
Keywords: SLS update

A few changes and updates to SLS are now on tsx-11.mit.edu:

930531: a3/etc.tgz: update sysvinit to 2.4 (and man), new profile
	a3/getty.tgz: update to gettyps 2.07b (with man page)
	a4/zafix.tgz: add news to passwd/group, remove root from most groups
	b2/emacsbin.tgz: update emacs to the x11 version
	s1/ssysvini.tgz: source to sysvinit
	s1/sgettyps.tgz: source to getty

[ Moderator's note: the following is from an update sent in later by
  Peter.  I took the liberty of combining the two.  --liw ]

	x9/zxfix.tgz: Xconfig

	It has been replaced with the sample one, modified for linux.
	The last time I updated X11 in SLS, I mistakenly included
	the one I use.  Some say there were errors in it, but it
	worked for me just fine.     Nevertheless, the official
	one is now in its place.

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank all the people
who send in bug reports, good ideas and just letters of encouragement.
All of it is appreciated.

Peter

------------- README --------------------------------------------------------

	SLS (SOFTLANDING LINUX SYSTEM)

		INTRODUCTION

Welcome to release 1.02 of SLS (SoftLanding Linux System).  Linux is a 
free 386 unix like operating system similar to System V, and developed
by Linus Torvalds, plus a few hundred big hearted programmers on the
Internet.   SLS is NOT just an image dump of some ones Unix system.
Instead it is a distribution whose primary purposes are:

0) provide an initial installation program (for the queasy).
1) utilities compiled to use minimal disk space.
2) provide a reasonably complete/integrated U*ix system.
3) provide a means to install and uninstall packages.
4) permit partial installations for small disk configs.
5) add a menu driven, extensible system administration.
6) take the hassle out of collecting and setting up a system.
7) give non internet users access to Linux.
8) provide a distribution that can be easily updated.

SLS contains 400-500 utilities designed to provide a relatively
complete computer operating system for the sophisticated user. It
includes programs for compression, text processing, communications,
Xwindowing system, program development (Assembler, C, C++, Fortran, 
Pascal, Lisp, and Perl),  mail, spreadsheets, and word-processing.  Also 
supported  are DOS files, a DOS emulator, SCSI, CDROMs, and TCP/IP. A
387 coprocessor is emulated by the kernel if you don't have one.  Full
source code for the kernel is also provided with SLS.

The development environment includes libraries for unix and Xwindows, a
debugger that does full screen (via emacs) with support for core dumps.
Shared libraries make the most miserly use of RAM and disk space. FAQ and
Manual pages document most of the Linux utilities.  SLS requires at least
12 Meg of disk for the minimal install.  90 Meg or more is required for the
full system (not including TeX or Interviews).  You will need at least 2
Meg of RAM, 4 meg if you want to compile programs, and 8 Meg to run
Xwindows.  Note that sometimes you can get by with less, but usually with
noticeable performance limitations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

		INSTALLATION

Before you can install Linux on your hard drive, you must partition your
drive, and put a file system on it.  Roughly, this entails:

 - Write protect all disks (do or die).
 - Boot Linux from disk a1
 - Create a Linux/Minix partition with "fdisk" on your hard drive and reboot.
 - Make a file system on the partition with "mkfs" (or "mke2fs", see below).
 - Use "doinstall /dev/PART": PART is your partition (eg "doinstall /dev/hda2"
   or "doinstall /dev/hda2 /dev/hda3 /usr /dev/hdb1 /usr/spool" if you wish to
   have multiple partitions, with say /usr on a different partition.

Also "doinstall" will execute the script "doinst.sh" if it is found on PART.
The final step will ask you to put a formatted floppy in the drive so the
BOOT DISK can be prepared for you.  Have one ready ahead of time.  When the
installation is complete, and you reboot from this floppy, you will be using
Linux from your hard drive.   Later, you may wish to play with /usr/src/lilo
to boot from your harddrive.  Note that if you have less than 4 Meg of RAM,
you will likely not have enought memory to do the installation.  But you can
try to make and activate a 4 Meg swap partition, prior to installation.
For example, using /dev/hda3 for swap: "mkswap /dev/hda3 4096; swapon /dev/hda3"
Before you begin, however, you may wish to type "menu" and browse the
Instructions sub menu.  But make sure you exit "menu" before you start the
install process.  You can also print files from there using "P", or you can
use "cat README > /dev/lp1" or "cat README > /dev/lp2".

Your first task after the base install is done, should be to make backup
copies of all of your disks  (Look in the "User Commands" menu). In fact,
you should make sure all disks (except a1) are write protected before you start 
the installation.  After the install, you can log on as "root".  Note the new
Extended FS type 2, it is now the recommended file system to use, although
the old minix fs can be used and is still the default.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

		EXAMPLE PARTITIONING PROCEDURE

... Put disk a1 in drive A: and reboot computer, 

/# fdisk
 
Command (m for help): n
Command action
   e   extended
   p   primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 2
First cylinder (500-977): 500
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (500-977): 977
 
Command (m for help): t
Partition number (1-4): 1
Hex code (type L to list codes): 81
 
Command (m for help): v
Command (m for help): p
 
Disk /dev/hda: 5 heads, 17 sectors, 977 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 85 * 512 bytes
 
   Device Boot  Begin   Start     End  Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1           1       1     499   20000    4  DOS
/dev/hda2           1       1       7   30000   81  Linux/MINIX

Command (m for help): w
reboot now before doing anything else
/#
...< after the reboot>
/# mke2fs /dev/hda2 30000
/# doinstall /dev/hda2
... Follow prompts, and insert disks as requested, then login as root.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

		ADDITIONAL SLS INFORMATION

A menu interface allows the user to see what commands would be executed if
an option was selected.  Unix newbies who use SLS don't have to always stay
newbies. SLS is a binary mostly distribution (except for the kernel), and is
broken into multiple parts, or series, each of which is denoted by a letter
followed by the disk number as follows:

	a1-aN: The minimal base system
	b1-bN: Base system extras, like man pages, emacs etc.
	c1-cN: The compiler(s), gcc/g++/p2c/f2c
	x1-xN: The X-windows distribution (+idraw and doc)
	t1-tN: TeX (document processing)
	s1-sN: Source code for critical system components
	d1-dN: Documentation for various things

This scheme allows new disks to be added to the distribution without
changing the disk numbering.  Also, the sysinstall program doesn't have to
be changed when new disks are added as the last disk is marked by the
presence of the file "install.end".  And when interviews is added, say as
a new series "t", it can be installed with:

	sysinstall -series t

Highlights of the base are:  gcc/g++, emacs, kermit, elm/mail/uucp, gdb, sc
(spreadsheet), man pages, groff, elvis, zip/zoo/lh and menu.  Highlights of
X are: X, programmers libs, 75 dpi fonts, games (spider, tetris, xvier,
chess, othello, xeyes, etc) and utilities like xmag, xmenu, xcolormap and
ghostscript.  Approximate usage is as follows:

Tiny base system:       15 Meg  (Series 'a')
Main base system:       45 Meg  (Series 'a', 'b' and 'c')
Main base system + X11: 70 Meg  (Series 'a', 'b', 'c' and 'x')
Full system:            90 Meg  (Series 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 's', 't' and 'x')
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

		LINUX SPECIFIC INFORMATION

Linux supports multiple VC's (virtual consoles).  You can switch from one 
to the other using the "LEFT-ALT-FN" keys.  The right ALT key will not work.
The console in linux more or less emulates a VT100.  So you can usually
just use kermit to do your remote logins (even while doing the install :-).
If you have a color monitor, you can even use color using the "setterm"
utility, or just execute the "/etc/startcons" script to have all VC's set
to default values.  If your screen gets garbled, you can use "reset".
Up arrow recalls previous commands.   Use the "man" command to read the
Linux manual pages, and the "man -k X" to list commands with the keyword
"X" in the command description.  The system editor is "vi" but you might
find "joe" easier to learn.

Never just power off your Linux system.  Instead type "sync", wait a sec,
then powerdown or reboot.   If your disk gets in trouble (or every
couple of weeks anyways) you may wish to run "fsck -av PART" where PART
is your partition, to try to fix any problems.

Dos files can be accessed in one of two ways.  The first uses the mtools
commands (mdir, mcopy, mtype, ...).  The file "/etc/mtools" may need
some tweeking, especially if you use mformat.  The second method is to
mount the dos disk/partition onto a directory.  eg: 

	mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /user

Swapping can be set up of size SIZE, to a partition or to a file using:

	mkswap file SIZE
	swapon file

Linux can be booted without the floppy using /usr/src/lilo.  Important 
directories include:

"/etc"		- System configuration information
"/usr/src"	- Miscellaneous packages.
"/usr/X386/*"	- Xwindows stuff
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

		CONFIGURING X-WINDOWS

Getting X-windows to run on your PC can sometimes be a bit of a sobering 
experience, mostly because there are so many types of video cards for the PC.  
Linux X11 supports only VGA type video cards, but there are so many types of 
VGA's that only certain ones are fully supported.  SLS comes with two Xwindows 
servers.  The full color one, X386, supports some or all ET300, ET400, PVGA1,
GVGA, Trident, and ATI plus.  Others may or may not work.

The other server, X386mono, should work with virtually any VGA card, but only 
in monochrome mode.  Accordingly, it also uses less memory, and should be
faster than the color one.  But of course it doesn't look as nice.

The bulk of the Xwindows configuration information is stored in the directory
"/usr/X386/lib/X11/".  In particular, the file "Xconfig" defines the timings
for the monitor and the video card.   By default, X windows is setup to use
the color server, but you can switch to using the monochrome server x386mono, 
if the color one gives you trouble, since it should support any standard vga.
Essentially, this just means making /usr/X386/bin/X a link to it.

Just edit Xconfig to set the mouse device type and timings, and enter "startx".
To figure out the clock timings to put in Xconfig.  README.modegen explains
how you can use the spreadsheet to figure out your clock timings based upon
your monitor specifications.  More information can be found in the directory
/usr/X386/lib/X11.  But be prepared to fiddle.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

		AVAILABILITY

SLS is available from the address below for a $3.50/disk US ($4.50/disk 
Canadian) copying charge.  Add $1.00/disk for 3 1/2" disks, and $15.00 for
shipping and handling.  Mail payment, either cheque or money order, 
in advance, to Softlanding.   Visa and Mastercard are now also accepted,
albeit with a 4% surcharge.  Because people keep asking about prices,
Softlanding has provided this commonly ordered configurations price sheet:

NAME #DISKS  SERIES 	     5 1/4 DISKS               3 1/2 DISKS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TINY  4      a             US $29.00 (CDN $33.00)     US $33.00 (CDN $37.00)
BASE  17     a,b,c,d,s     US $74.50 (CDN $91.50)     US $91.50 (CDN $108.50)
MAIN  24     a,b,c,x       US $99.00 (CDN $123.00)    US $123.00 (CDN $147.00)
FULL  30     a,b,c,x,d,s,t US $120.00 (CDN $150.00)   US $150.00 (CDN $180.00)

When ordering, ensure that you specify the bootdisk type (3 1/2 or 5 1/4).
Softlanding is also now offering support subscriptions for SLS.
Individual support, (one user, one machine) is $100.00 per year.
Group support, primarily for resellers and corporate sites is 
$1000.00 per year.  CDROM ($99) and QIC-150 tape ($150) also available.

	Softlanding Software               
	910 Lodge Ave. 
	Victoria, B.C., Canada             
	V8X-3A8            
	(604) 360-0188,  FAX (604) 385-1292

See Softlanding for a gentle touch down from a DOS bailout.

Path: gmd.de!ira.uka.de!howland.reston.ans.net!wupost!uunet!mcsun!
news.funet.fi!hydra!hydra!
not-for-mail
From: sanjuan!pmacd...@sol.UVic.CA (Peter MacDonald)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: SLS Announce: CDROM shipping
Followup-To: comp.os.linux
Date: 14 May 1993 19:09:00 +0300
Organization: University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, CANADA
Lines: 97
Sender: wirze...@cs.Helsinki.FI
Approved: linux-annou...@tc.cornell.edu (Lars Wirzenius)
Message-ID: <1t0g6sINN3t4@hydra.Helsinki.FI>
NNTP-Posting-Host: hydra.helsinki.fi
Keywords: SLS, CDROM, commercial

Softlanding Software announces the SLS CDROM, will be shipping next 
week.  Here is a partial list of what it contains:

- the SLS 1.02 packages (features 99p9 kernel and libc 4.3.3) 
- SLS 1.02 unpacked and pre-installed
- the SLS source tree
- Werner's Inherited File System (IFS)
- mit and contrib X dists 
- misc X windows srcs (like interviews and the TK X tool kit)
- sources for non-SLS things (like snd-kit and rlab)
- unsupported Linux patch src (like Xenix fs and kdebug)
- two boot disks (3 & 5) 
- at least 1 patch floppy (contains updates)
- the booklet, Using SLS

In  short, as much as could be  crammed  into about 550 Meg on the CD.
Things  such as multimedia  (sound and graphics  support) are a given.
Just a few words about a couple of the above items:

The first item, the SLS 1.02 distribution, is included  in both packed
and unpacked form.  The unpacked form, of course, allows access to all
the distribution  contents without having to install the entire system
onto  a hard drive.  Infrequently  used man  pages and executables may
best be used directly from the CD.

Inclusion of the packaged release serves several purposes.  It  allows
installing from the CD.  It also permits the floppy distribution to be
easily generated from the CD, even from DOS!  This means that each SLS
CD  is  a  miniture  floppy  distribution  producing  facility.   More
importantly, it also means that, even if Linux does not currently have
a device driver for your particular CDROM drive, you can still install
and use SLS on your  hard drive,  just by copying the files  either to
DOS floppies or to a DOS  hard drive  partition,  and then  installing
from  there.  All that is required is  a  DOS device  driver for  your
particular CDROM drive.  As with the floppy distribution,  the boot
disks can be used to install from HD, FD, Network, CD or Tape.

The inherited file system, IFS, is the key to the effective use of the
online source and data for read-only media such as CDROM.  It allows a
read-only directories to be mapped over by a  writable directory, such
that only the modified files occupy space in the  writable  directory.
Gross  networks of symbolic links  are unecessary.  Complete directory
heirarchies are mapped  at a  stroke, rather than just the contents of
one directory at a time.

The booklet,  Using SLS, has several parts.  The  first, describes the
various installation  procedures and  options  at  your disposal,  and
gives example installs.  The second section is of the format "A Day In
The Life  Of  The  Linux Hacker".   It depicts  a  somewhat  contrived
session that attempts to take  the user on as  complete a tour through
the SLS system  and it's facilities as  possible.  Pains are taken not
only  to describe what kinds of problems  are  met,  but also  how and
where answers to these problems are found.  We end up with a survey of
the major subsystems of SLS, touching briefly  on topics such as using
GhostScript,  GCC, term  and TeX.  The goal of this guide  is  brevity
rather  than  comprehensiveness, which  is better  handled  by  online
documentation.

The  SLS  CDROM is available for $99.00 US, plus  $15.00 shipping  and
handling from.

        Softlanding Software
        910 Lodge Ave.
        Victoria, B.C., Canada
        V8X-3A8
        (604) 360-0188,  FAX (604) 385-1292
 
Quantity pricing for resellers is also available.


FLOPPIES:

Someone pointed  out that the  SLS  readme  had the  wrong prices  for
floppies.  Thus, here is the corrected extract, now updated on tsx-11:

SLS  is  available  from  the  address  below   for  a  $3.50/disk  US
($4.50/disk  Canadian)  copying charge.  Add  $1.00/disk  for  3  1/2"
disks, and $15.00 for shipping  and  handling.  Mail  payment,  either
cheque  or  money  order,  in  advance,  to  Softlanding.    Visa  and
Mastercard are now also accepted, albeit with a 4% surcharge.  Because
people  keep  asking  about  prices,  Softlanding  has  provided  this
commonly ordered configurations price sheet:

NAME #DISKS  SERIES 	     5 1/4 DISKS               3 1/2 DISKS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TINY  4      a             US $29.00 (CDN $33.00)     US $33.00 (CDN $37.00)
BASE  17     a,b,c,d,s     US $74.50 (CDN $91.50)     US $91.50 (CDN $108.50)
MAIN  24     a,b,c,x       US $99.00 (CDN $123.00)    US $123.00 (CDN $147.00)
FULL  30     a,b,c,x,d,s,t US $120.00 (CDN $150.00)   US $150.00 (CDN $180.00)

When ordering, ensure that you specify  the bootdisk type (3 1/2  or 5
1/4).  Softlanding is also now offering support subscriptions for SLS.
Individual support,  (one  user, one  machine)  is  $100.00 per  year.
Group support, primarily for resellers and corporate sites is $1000.00
per year.  CDROM ($99) and QIC-150 tape ($150) also available.

See Softlanding for a gentle touch down from a DOS bailout.

Article: 832 of comp.os.linux.announce
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Path: pavo.csi.cam.ac.uk!pipex!uunet!psinntp!dg-rtp!bounce-bounce
From: sanjuan!pmacdona@sol.UVic.CA (Peter MacDonald)
Subject: SLS quarterly CD-ROM
Sender: usenet@dg-rtp.dg.com (Usenet Administration)
Message-ID: <1993Jun26.195815.2157@dg-rtp.dg.com>
Approved: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu (Matt Welsh)
Date: Sat, 26 Jun 93 19:58:15 GMT
Reply-To: sanjuan!pmacdona@sol.UVic.CA (Peter MacDonald)
Organization: University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, CANADA
Followup-To: comp.os.linux
Keywords: SLS CD-ROM quarterly distribution
Lines: 34

Softlanding Software announces: The SLS Quarterly CDROM.
 
The SLS CDROM, which was released about a month ago, has proved to
be successful.  However, the number one question seems to be:
what about updates?  To that end, Softlanding is announcing
the SLS Quarterly CDROM for $199 US.  This yearly subscription
provides 4 CDROMs, at roughly 3 month intervals.  Actual release
dates are/will be dictated by the status of developments.  For holders
of SLS's current CDROM, don't worry, an upgrade to subscription
status is available for only the price difference.
 
As with the current release, the CDROM's will continue to contain
the SLS distribution, the SLS source tree and extra software source.
Also the 50 page user manual, "Using SLS", is included with the package.
The initial CD also includes boot disks to bootstrap the system.
Additionally, customers in ITAR nations (such as Canada and the US)
will receive the DES encryption option. 
 
As always, add $15 for shipping and handling (and yes, that is
to anywhere in the known world).  Mail payment, either cheque or money
order, in advance, to Softlanding.   Visa and Mastercard are also
accepted, albeit with a 4% surcharge and are billed in Canadian dollars.
 
 
        Softlanding Software
        910 Lodge Ave.
        Victoria, B.C., Canada
        V8X-3A8
        (604) 360-0188,  FAX (604) 385-1292
 
See Softlanding for a gentle touch down from a DOS bailout.

--
Send submissions for comp.os.linux.announce to: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu

Article: 731 of comp.os.linux.announce
Path: pavo.csi.cam.ac.uk!warwick!zaphod.crihan.fr!univ-lyon1.fr!
ghost.dsi.unimi.it!batcomputer!munnari.oz.au!uunet!mcsun!news.funet.fi!
hydra!hydra!not-for-mail
From: sanjuan!pmacdona@sol.UVic.CA (Peter MacDonald)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: SLS update: getty, sysvinit, and emacs X11
Followup-To: comp.os.linux
Date: 1 Jun 1993 10:41:41 +0300
Organization: University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, CANADA
Lines: 272
Sender: wirzeniu@cs.Helsinki.FI
Approved: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu (Lars Wirzenius)
Message-ID: <1uf17lINN1t7@hydra.Helsinki.FI>
NNTP-Posting-Host: hydra.helsinki.fi
Keywords: SLS update

A few changes and updates to SLS are now on tsx-11.mit.edu:

930531: a3/etc.tgz: update sysvinit to 2.4 (and man), new profile
	a3/getty.tgz: update to gettyps 2.07b (with man page)
	a4/zafix.tgz: add news to passwd/group, remove root from most groups
	b2/emacsbin.tgz: update emacs to the x11 version
	s1/ssysvini.tgz: source to sysvinit
	s1/sgettyps.tgz: source to getty

[ Moderator's note: the following is from an update sent in later by
  Peter.  I took the liberty of combining the two.  --liw ]

	x9/zxfix.tgz: Xconfig

	It has been replaced with the sample one, modified for linux.
	The last time I updated X11 in SLS, I mistakenly included
	the one I use.  Some say there were errors in it, but it
	worked for me just fine.     Nevertheless, the official
	one is now in its place.

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank all the people
who send in bug reports, good ideas and just letters of encouragement.
All of it is appreciated.

Peter

------------- README --------------------------------------------------------

	SLS (SOFTLANDING LINUX SYSTEM)

		INTRODUCTION

Welcome to release 1.02 of SLS (SoftLanding Linux System).  Linux is a 
free 386 unix like operating system similar to System V, and developed
by Linus Torvalds, plus a few hundred big hearted programmers on the
Internet.   SLS is NOT just an image dump of some ones Unix system.
Instead it is a distribution whose primary purposes are:

0) provide an initial installation program (for the queasy).
1) utilities compiled to use minimal disk space.
2) provide a reasonably complete/integrated U*ix system.
3) provide a means to install and uninstall packages.
4) permit partial installations for small disk configs.
5) add a menu driven, extensible system administration.
6) take the hassle out of collecting and setting up a system.
7) give non internet users access to Linux.
8) provide a distribution that can be easily updated.

SLS contains 400-500 utilities designed to provide a relatively
complete computer operating system for the sophisticated user. It
includes programs for compression, text processing, communications,
Xwindowing system, program development (Assembler, C, C++, Fortran, 
Pascal, Lisp, and Perl),  mail, spreadsheets, and word-processing.  Also 
supported  are DOS files, a DOS emulator, SCSI, CDROMs, and TCP/IP. A
387 coprocessor is emulated by the kernel if you don't have one.  Full
source code for the kernel is also provided with SLS.

The development environment includes libraries for unix and Xwindows, a
debugger that does full screen (via emacs) with support for core dumps.
Shared libraries make the most miserly use of RAM and disk space. FAQ and
Manual pages document most of the Linux utilities.  SLS requires at least
12 Meg of disk for the minimal install.  90 Meg or more is required for the
full system (not including TeX or Interviews).  You will need at least 2
Meg of RAM, 4 meg if you want to compile programs, and 8 Meg to run
Xwindows.  Note that sometimes you can get by with less, but usually with
noticeable performance limitations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

		INSTALLATION

Before you can install Linux on your hard drive, you must partition your
drive, and put a file system on it.  Roughly, this entails:

 - Write protect all disks (do or die).
 - Boot Linux from disk a1
 - Create a Linux/Minix partition with "fdisk" on your hard drive and reboot.
 - Make a file system on the partition with "mkfs" (or "mke2fs", see below).
 - Use "doinstall /dev/PART": PART is your partition (eg "doinstall /dev/hda2"
   or "doinstall /dev/hda2 /dev/hda3 /usr /dev/hdb1 /usr/spool" if you wish to
   have multiple partitions, with say /usr on a different partition.

Also "doinstall" will execute the script "doinst.sh" if it is found on PART.
The final step will ask you to put a formatted floppy in the drive so the
BOOT DISK can be prepared for you.  Have one ready ahead of time.  When the
installation is complete, and you reboot from this floppy, you will be using
Linux from your hard drive.   Later, you may wish to play with /usr/src/lilo
to boot from your harddrive.  Note that if you have less than 4 Meg of RAM,
you will likely not have enought memory to do the installation.  But you can
try to make and activate a 4 Meg swap partition, prior to installation.
For example, using /dev/hda3 for swap: "mkswap /dev/hda3 4096; swapon /dev/hda3"
Before you begin, however, you may wish to type "menu" and browse the
Instructions sub menu.  But make sure you exit "menu" before you start the
install process.  You can also print files from there using "P", or you can
use "cat README > /dev/lp1" or "cat README > /dev/lp2".

Your first task after the base install is done, should be to make backup
copies of all of your disks  (Look in the "User Commands" menu). In fact,
you should make sure all disks (except a1) are write protected before you start 
the installation.  After the install, you can log on as "root".  Note the new
Extended FS type 2, it is now the recommended file system to use, although
the old minix fs can be used and is still the default.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

		EXAMPLE PARTITIONING PROCEDURE

... Put disk a1 in drive A: and reboot computer, 

/# fdisk
 
Command (m for help): n
Command action
   e   extended
   p   primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 2
First cylinder (500-977): 500
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (500-977): 977
 
Command (m for help): t
Partition number (1-4): 1
Hex code (type L to list codes): 81
 
Command (m for help): v
Command (m for help): p
 
Disk /dev/hda: 5 heads, 17 sectors, 977 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 85 * 512 bytes
 
   Device Boot  Begin   Start     End  Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1           1       1     499   20000    4  DOS
/dev/hda2           1       1       7   30000   81  Linux/MINIX

Command (m for help): w
reboot now before doing anything else
/#
...< after the reboot>
/# mke2fs /dev/hda2 30000
/# doinstall /dev/hda2
... Follow prompts, and insert disks as requested, then login as root.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

		ADDITIONAL SLS INFORMATION

A menu interface allows the user to see what commands would be executed if
an option was selected.  Unix newbies who use SLS don't have to always stay
newbies. SLS is a binary mostly distribution (except for the kernel), and is
broken into multiple parts, or series, each of which is denoted by a letter
followed by the disk number as follows:

	a1-aN: The minimal base system
	b1-bN: Base system extras, like man pages, emacs etc.
	c1-cN: The compiler(s), gcc/g++/p2c/f2c
	x1-xN: The X-windows distribution (+idraw and doc)
	t1-tN: TeX (document processing)
	s1-sN: Source code for critical system components
	d1-dN: Documentation for various things

This scheme allows new disks to be added to the distribution without
changing the disk numbering.  Also, the sysinstall program doesn't have to
be changed when new disks are added as the last disk is marked by the
presence of the file "install.end".  And when interviews is added, say as
a new series "t", it can be installed with:

	sysinstall -series t

Highlights of the base are:  gcc/g++, emacs, kermit, elm/mail/uucp, gdb, sc
(spreadsheet), man pages, groff, elvis, zip/zoo/lh and menu.  Highlights of
X are: X, programmers libs, 75 dpi fonts, games (spider, tetris, xvier,
chess, othello, xeyes, etc) and utilities like xmag, xmenu, xcolormap and
ghostscript.  Approximate usage is as follows:

Tiny base system:       15 Meg  (Series 'a')
Main base system:       45 Meg  (Series 'a', 'b' and 'c')
Main base system + X11: 70 Meg  (Series 'a', 'b', 'c' and 'x')
Full system:            90 Meg  (Series 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 's', 't' and 'x')
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

		LINUX SPECIFIC INFORMATION

Linux supports multiple VC's (virtual consoles).  You can switch from one 
to the other using the "LEFT-ALT-FN" keys.  The right ALT key will not work.
The console in linux more or less emulates a VT100.  So you can usually
just use kermit to do your remote logins (even while doing the install :-).
If you have a color monitor, you can even use color using the "setterm"
utility, or just execute the "/etc/startcons" script to have all VC's set
to default values.  If your screen gets garbled, you can use "reset".
Up arrow recalls previous commands.   Use the "man" command to read the
Linux manual pages, and the "man -k X" to list commands with the keyword
"X" in the command description.  The system editor is "vi" but you might
find "joe" easier to learn.

Never just power off your Linux system.  Instead type "sync", wait a sec,
then powerdown or reboot.   If your disk gets in trouble (or every
couple of weeks anyways) you may wish to run "fsck -av PART" where PART
is your partition, to try to fix any problems.

Dos files can be accessed in one of two ways.  The first uses the mtools
commands (mdir, mcopy, mtype, ...).  The file "/etc/mtools" may need
some tweeking, especially if you use mformat.  The second method is to
mount the dos disk/partition onto a directory.  eg: 

	mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /user

Swapping can be set up of size SIZE, to a partition or to a file using:

	mkswap file SIZE
	swapon file

Linux can be booted without the floppy using /usr/src/lilo.  Important 
directories include:

"/etc"		- System configuration information
"/usr/src"	- Miscellaneous packages.
"/usr/X386/*"	- Xwindows stuff
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

		CONFIGURING X-WINDOWS

Getting X-windows to run on your PC can sometimes be a bit of a sobering 
experience, mostly because there are so many types of video cards for the PC.  
Linux X11 supports only VGA type video cards, but there are so many types of 
VGA's that only certain ones are fully supported.  SLS comes with two Xwindows 
servers.  The full color one, X386, supports some or all ET300, ET400, PVGA1,
GVGA, Trident, and ATI plus.  Others may or may not work.

The other server, X386mono, should work with virtually any VGA card, but only 
in monochrome mode.  Accordingly, it also uses less memory, and should be
faster than the color one.  But of course it doesn't look as nice.

The bulk of the Xwindows configuration information is stored in the directory
"/usr/X386/lib/X11/".  In particular, the file "Xconfig" defines the timings
for the monitor and the video card.   By default, X windows is setup to use
the color server, but you can switch to using the monochrome server x386mono, 
if the color one gives you trouble, since it should support any standard vga.
Essentially, this just means making /usr/X386/bin/X a link to it.

Just edit Xconfig to set the mouse device type and timings, and enter "startx".
To figure out the clock timings to put in Xconfig.  README.modegen explains
how you can use the spreadsheet to figure out your clock timings based upon
your monitor specifications.  More information can be found in the directory
/usr/X386/lib/X11.  But be prepared to fiddle.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

		AVAILABILITY

SLS is available from the address below for a $3.50/disk US ($4.50/disk 
Canadian) copying charge.  Add $1.00/disk for 3 1/2" disks, and $15.00 for
shipping and handling.  Mail payment, either cheque or money order, 
in advance, to Softlanding.   Visa and Mastercard are now also accepted,
albeit with a 4% surcharge.  Because people keep asking about prices,
Softlanding has provided this commonly ordered configurations price sheet:

NAME #DISKS  SERIES 	     5 1/4 DISKS               3 1/2 DISKS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TINY  4      a             US $29.00 (CDN $33.00)     US $33.00 (CDN $37.00)
BASE  17     a,b,c,d,s     US $74.50 (CDN $91.50)     US $91.50 (CDN $108.50)
MAIN  24     a,b,c,x       US $99.00 (CDN $123.00)    US $123.00 (CDN $147.00)
FULL  30     a,b,c,x,d,s,t US $120.00 (CDN $150.00)   US $150.00 (CDN $180.00)

When ordering, ensure that you specify the bootdisk type (3 1/2 or 5 1/4).
Softlanding is also now offering support subscriptions for SLS.
Individual support, (one user, one machine) is $100.00 per year.
Group support, primarily for resellers and corporate sites is 
$1000.00 per year.  CDROM ($99) and QIC-150 tape ($150) also available.

	Softlanding Software               
	910 Lodge Ave. 
	Victoria, B.C., Canada             
	V8X-3A8            
	(604) 360-0188,  FAX (604) 385-1292

See Softlanding for a gentle touch down from a DOS bailout.

Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Path: pavo.csi.cam.ac.uk!warwick!pipex!uunet!haven.umd.edu!
darwin.sura.net!udel!news.intercon.com!psinntp!dg-rtp!bounce-bounce
From: sanjuan!pmacdona@sol.UVic.CA (Peter MacDonald)
Subject: IMPORTANT: SLS status
Sender: usenet@dg-rtp.dg.com (Usenet Administration)
Message-ID: <1993Jun24.014336.11115@dg-rtp.dg.com>
Approved: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu (Matt Welsh)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 93 01:43:36 GMT
Reply-To: sanjuan!pmacdona@sol.UVic.CA (Peter MacDonald)
Organization: University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, CANADA
Followup-To: comp.os.linux
Keywords: SLS legal status GPL copyright
Lines: 26

It seems there are some resellers of SLS that are misrepresenting
(intentionally or otherwise) their status.  To wit they are claiming
to be one of Softlandings outlets.  While it is true that there are
some valid resellers, Linux Laboratories or some outfit in Michigan
is not one of them.  Softlanding does not offer support for their
clients, and frankly, is getting a little peaved at explaining
this to bewildered customers with problems.

The Linux kernel is copyrighted Linus Torvalds.  SLS is copyrighted 
Softlanding Software.  I thought this was made clear that in the 
attendant files.  While redistribution is an important aspect of
SLS, there is no room deception.

So, starting with the next release, the SLS copyright will be 
enhanced to be a superset of GNU.   In addition, both the
Linux and SLS copyrights will be required in solicitations
or advertisments.  Finally, the terms of support must be
made clear, in writing to the recipients.  This means also
explaining that Softlanding does not support them, unless
purchased from a valid Softlanding reseller.


Peter

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From: sanjuan!pmacdona@sol.UVic.CA (Peter MacDonald)
Subject: SLS testing release
Sender: usenet@dg-rtp.dg.com (Usenet Administration)
Message-ID: <1993Jul11.201241.23476@dg-rtp.dg.com>
Approved: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu (Matt Welsh)
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 93 20:12:41 GMT
Reply-To: sanjuan!pmacdona@sol.UVic.CA (Peter MacDonald)
Organization: University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, CANADA
Followup-To: comp.os.linux,comp.os.linux
Keywords: SLS release, testing, distribution
Lines: 47

A testing version of SLS is now available on tsx-11.  This is
not for general distribution, as the changes have been rather
nastily large.  Essentially, only the changed packages have
been provided.  They are located in the directory SLS/test.
INSTALL contains a procedure for upgrading the current SLS 1.02. 

Note: This upgrade contains the new networking kernel that has not
been deemed wholly stable yet.   Essentially, it mostly offers 
SLIP to those who really need it.  1.02 has not been replaced by it
because from a stability standpoint, the 99p9 kernel in SLS 1.02 is
superior and generally rock solid. 

Features of this upgrade include:

 - A single unified boot disk (again)
 - Linux 99p11 alpha
 - libc 4.4.1
 - net 2 support
 - XFree 386 1.3 (with shadow xlock and xdm)
 - Tcl/Tk  (this replaces the IV libs)
 - First cut of Windows3 API (based on Tk)
 - mailx
 - Quotas
 - Eric Youngdale's ELF support for SVR4 binaries
 - national video font support
 - the new mitsumi driver
 - ifs and loop fs
 - selection
 - enhanced installation

Also a set of boot time configuration options have been to the kernel, such 
as forcing the hard drive params (for PS/VP) and forcing the net card,
and busmouse params.  The install program automatically sets up lilo
with these parameters at install time.  Lilo now uses the root partition 
rather than the boot partition.

The SLS install program, doinstall, now fully automates installs, including
setting up swap, running "fdisk", and using "mke2fs" automatically.

The syssetup script has been extended so that it now sets up your tcpip
for your hostname, ipaddr, nameserver, etc.  Mail is now setup with
this info, for internet based nodes. 

Peter

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From: pmacd...@sanjuan.UVic.CA (Peter MacDonald)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: ANNOUNCE: SLS 1.03 is now available
Followup-To: comp.os.linux
Date: 5 Aug 1993 11:14:23 -0400
Organization: None
Lines: 134
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Message-ID: <23r84f$4h4@theory.TC.Cornell.EDU>
Reply-To: pmacd...@sanjuan.UVic.CA (Peter MacDonald)
NNTP-Posting-Host: theory.tc.cornell.edu
Keywords: SLS distribution, new version

The new version of SLS (Softlanding Linux System) is now available on tsx-11.  

Features of this upgrade include:

 - Linux 99 alpha p11
 - libc 4.4.1 and gcc 2.4.5
 - net 2 support
 - XFree 386 1.3 (with shadow xlock and xdm)
 - Tcl/Tk  (this replaces the IV libs)
 - rebuilt versions of idraw and doc
 - First cut of Windows3 API (based on Tk)
 - mailx
 - Quotas
 - Eric Youngdale's ELF support for SVR4 binaries
 - national video font support
 - the new mitsumi driver
 - ifs and loop fs
 - selection
 - clean up of man pages and duplicate binaries, etc
 - fixed version of bash
 - enhanced installation

Also a set of boot time configuration options have been to the kernel, such 
as forcing the hard drive params (for PS/VP) and forcing the net card,
and busmouse params.  The install program automatically sets up lilo
with these parameters at install time.  Lilo now uses the root partition 
rather than the boot partition.

The SLS install program, doinstall, now fully automates installs, including
setting up swap, running "fdisk", and using "mke2fs" automatically, if you
omit the parameters.

The syssetup script has been extended so that it now sets up your tcpip
for your hostname, ipaddr, nameserver, etc.  Mail is now setup with
this info, for internet based nodes. 

Peter

---------------------------------------------------------------------
	Softlanding CDROM Info:

The SLS CDROM is $99 for the single, or $199 for the Quarterly subscription.
Add $15 for S&H (all prices in US funds).  It contains:

- the SLS 1.02 packages (features 99p9 kernel and libc 4.3.3) 
- SLS 1.02 unpacked and pre-installed
- the SLS source tree
- Werner's Inherited File System (IFS)
- mit and contrib X dists 
- misc X windows srcs (like interviews and the TK X tool kit)
- sources for non-SLS things (like snd-kit and rlab)
- unsupported Linux patches (like Xenix fs and kdebug)
- two boot disks (3 & 5) 
- at least 1 patch floppy (contains updates)
- the booklet, Using SLS

The  above  list is not  meant to  be comprehensive.   Things  such as
multimedia (sound and graphics support) are a given.  Just a few words
are in order for a couple of the contents:

The first item, the SLS 1.02 distribution, is included  in both packed
and unpacked form.  The unpacked form, of course, allows access to all
the distribution  contents without having to install the entire system
onto  a hard drive.  Infrequently  used man  pages and executables may
best be used directly from the CD.

Inclusion of the  packaged release serves several purposes.  It allows
installing from the CD.  It also permits the floppy distribution to be
easily generated from the CD, even from DOS!  This means that each SLS
CD  is  a  miniture  floppy  distribution  producing  facility.   More
importantly, it also means that, even if Linux does not currently have
a device driver for your particular CDROM drive, you can still install
and use  SLS  on your hard  drive, by  copying the files either to DOS
floppies or to  a DOS hard  drive partition, and then  installing from
there.   All  that is  required  is  a  DOS  device  driver  for  your
particular CDROM drive.

The inherited file system, IFS, is the key to the effective use of the
online source and data for read-only media such as CDROM.  It allows a
read-only directories to be mapped over by a  writable directory, such
that only the modified files occupy space in the  writable  directory.
Gross  networks of symbolic links  are unecessary.  Complete directory
heirarchies are mapped  at a  stroke, rather than just the contents of
one directory at a time.

The booklet,  Using SLS, has several parts.  The  first, describes the
various installation  procedures and  options  at  your disposal,  and
gives example installs.  The second section is of the format "A Day In
The Life  Of  The  Linux Hacker".   It depicts  a  somewhat  contrived
session that attempts to take  the user on as  complete a tour through
the SLS system  and it's facilities as  possible.  Pains are taken not
only  to describe what kinds of problems  are  met,  but also  how and
where answers to these problems are found.  We end up with a survey of
the major subsystems of SLS, touching briefly  on topics such as using
GhostScript,  GCC, term  and TeX.  The goal of this guide  is  brevity
rather  than  comprehensiveness, which  is better  handled  by  online
documentation.


-------------------------------------------------------------

		AVAILABILITY

SLS is available from the address below for a $3.50/disk US ($4.50/disk 
Canadian) copying charge.  Add $1.00/disk for 3 1/2" disks, and $15.00 for
shipping and handling.  Mail payment, either cheque or money order, 
in advance, to Softlanding.   Visa and Mastercard are now also accepted,
Because people keep asking about prices, Softlanding has provided this 
commonly ordered configurations price sheet:

NAME #DISKS  SERIES 	     5 1/4 DISKS               3 1/2 DISKS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TINY  4      a             US $29.00 (CDN $33.00)     US $33.00 (CDN $37.00)
BASE  17     a,b,c,d,s     US $74.50 (CDN $91.50)     US $91.50 (CDN $108.50)
MAIN  24     a,b,c,x       US $99.00 (CDN $123.00)    US $123.00 (CDN $147.00)
FULL  30     a,b,c,x,d,s,t US $120.00 (CDN $150.00)   US $150.00 (CDN $180.00)

When ordering, ensure that you specify the bootdisk type (3 1/2 or 5 1/4).
Softlanding is also now offering support subscriptions for SLS.
Individual support, (one user, one machine) is $100.00 per year.
Group support, primarily for resellers and corporate sites is 
$1000.00 per year.  CDROM ($99) and QIC-150 tape ($150) also available.

	Softlanding Software               
	910 Lodge Ave. 
	Victoria, B.C., Canada             
	V8X-3A8            
	(604) 360-0188,  FAX (604) 385-1292

See Softlanding for a gentle touch down from a DOS bailout.


-- 
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From: sanjuan!pmacdona@sol.UVic.CA (Peter MacDonald)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: SLS 1.04 CDROM Announcement
Date: 21 Oct 1993 14:46:35 GMT
Approved: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu (Matt Welsh)
Message-ID: <2a67cb$rhj@samba.oit.unc.edu>

[]
         Announcment of the SLS 1.04 CD-ROM

The second SLS CDROM begins shipping this week from Softlanding.
Quarterly holders and preorders should be receiving their copies within
the next 10 days or so.  Following is a description of what
SLS 1.04 contains:

 - Linux 99p13 (with SB and Panasonic CD, ifs, quota, and loop)
 - sound and joystick patches
 - gcc 2.4.5
 - libc 4.4.2
 - XFree86 1.3

Whats New
---------

Aside from a great many updates, additions and bug fixes over the last 
release, this new version of SLS has enhanced the number and types of 
installation and operational configurations.  This is due, in part, to 
recent changes in the Linux kernel.  These changes mean that binaries run 
from NFS or CD mount points can now make use of the same memory saving features 
of the kernel (such as shared text and demand loading) that harddisk
resident software enjoys.  Even shared libraries can now be executed from such 
mount points.

Consequently, as of release 1.04, the SLS CDROM supports execution
from the CDROM, either in whole or in part, directly or indirectly.  
In the same vein, the 'a' series in SLS now forms a small 
stand alone system of about 12 Meg that includes the networking stuff.  
This allows a local minimal installation to use a remote mount,
(either NFS, CDROM or a local partition) while having all of the features 
of a full installation.  Contents of the minimal installation
include enough so that the user is not crippled if the mount point
is not available (say the CD is not available because you are listening
to Bach, or due to a network outage).

The core of SLS is still comprised of the collection of packages which fit 
onto 30 - 5.25 inch (or 25 - 3.5 inch) disks.  

Structurally the major change is to the /usr directory, whose contents can 
now be considered to be read-only.  Writable components have been
moved to /local, and soft links to /local established in their place.
For added flexibility, /usr/local has been left empty, so that locally
installed packages can be maintained separately from the SLS distribution.

Installation Options
--------------------

As before, SLS can be installed using a number of methods.  The presence
of the floppy distribution not only ensures installability from unsupported
CD drives, but also aids in sharing and redistribution.  Installation 
options now include:

 a) Install directly from CDROM
 b) Install from CD, over the network (3.5 boot only)
 c) Install /install/* packages, over the network (from 3.5 boot only)
 d) xcopy /install directory to a DOS hard drive for installation
 e) Copy the /install/* packages to a DOS floppies
 f) tar the /install/* packages to Tape for installation
	
The directory /install contains the directories of packages, organized
for 5 1/4 inch floppy: one directory per floppy.   The directory
/install.3 contains the same, except organized for (25) 3 1/2 inch floppies.
Additionally, /install.all contains all packages, not organized into
subdirectories at all. (Note: contents of install.3 and install.all are
all just links so as to not waste CD real estate.  In fact, this uses
only around 5% of the space on the CDROM).  The procedure for floppy installs 
is simply to copy the contents of each directory to a floppy.  The exception 
being a1, which not a directory, but rather a boot disk.  This can be 
put on floppy using RAWRITE.EXE under DOS.

Primary Operational Modes
-------------------------
The primary operational modes include:

 1) bootdisk as root and mounting CD on /mnt
 2) CD as root, with no writable file space
 3) CD as root, with a small (600K+) ramdisk
 4) CD as root, with a partition mounted on /local
 5) mini install (~12 Meg) and mounting CD on /mnt
 6) mini install and NFS mounting remote CD on /mnt
 7) mini install and NFS mounting remote SLS on /mnt
 8) full install

To use 1 above, the bootdisk now includes a demo login, that sets 
up a few things for you, mounts the CD (or partition or NFS mount),
and then drops you into X windows (either Xview or FVWM) where you can run
most anything you like, from Andrew to flight simulator, picked off
of menu selections.

Although options are pretty restrictive in 2 above (simple things such as
vi, syslogd and df won't work without a writable filesystem),  3 provides 
a functional CD based operating environment that requires no disk space, 
and uses less than half of the RAM for ramdisk that the bootdisk install does.

Despite the freedom from disk commitments of the above, it is likely
many will decide to use installation options 4 or above, partially
because a network or CD is not always available, but also to 
avoid giving up any any RAM to ramdisk requirments.  There is also
the need for some swap space.  

Swap space aside, the minimal
install can easily be reduced to far less than 12 Meg by some judicious 
pruning (although this will increase dependency upon the server).
But since the definition of essential will vary from individual to individual, 
a more likely scenario is that often used packages may end up being copied from 
the server to the local partition.  For example, having vi and the user files on
the local partition means that work need not stop if the network/CD goes away.
The process of upgrading can also be far less traumatic.


CDROM Contents
--------------

The binaries on the CDROM are a superset of the SLS 1.04 floppy installation
(with some modifications peculiar to the CD environment, in some cases).  
The standard SLS install comprises: 

	Programs such as spreadsheets, drawing, LaTeX, and doc (a WYSIWYG).
	Language support: Assembler, Lisp, Pascal, Fortran and Perl.
	GNU compilers: C and C++ with development libraries.
	Communications: uucp, mail, news, tcp/ip and nfs.
	Source code: for kernel and other important components.
	Documentation: Megs of man pages and info files.
	X-Windows: X11R5, XView/OpenLook and Tcl/Tk.
	Over 600 utilities.

The total system weighs in at just over 100 Meg of disk space, not
including swap and user file space.  

Given it's greater capacity however, the CDROM contains additional
binaries, including things like ObjectBuilder/Object Interface, 
Andrew, image processing software like ImageMagick, Objective C, 
Postgres, and a dozens of games like Flight Simulator and Xtank.

For source code, a listing of the two main source directories, 
/usr/src and /usr/src/Xapps, which contain the bulk of the source 
on the CD, is appended to the end of this message.

Availability
------------

SLS is available on floppies, or QIC150 tape, or with full source on CDROM,
for $99 US plus $15 shipping and handling.

	Softlanding Software               
	PO Box 48054 - 3575 Douglas St
	Victoria, B.C., Canada             
	V8Z-7H5            
	(604) 360-0188,  FAX (604) 385-1292
   [or  (604) 592-0188,  FAX (604) 595-5820 after October 31, 1993]  

The CD includes two boot disks, and all systems ship with the 70 page user 
manual, Using SLS.  Quantity discounts are also available, as is
a quarterly CDROM.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/usr/src:
7plus		      BETA		    Bin
FElt		      Fudgit_2.31	    Games
Icons-0.1	      ImageMagick	    Patches
Ports		      TeX		    Wine0.4.4
Xapps		      acu		    adagio03
admutil-1.4	      ae		    agrep-2.04
amd920824upl61	      at-1.2		    atp1.40
autoconf-1.5	      backflops		    bash-1.12
bbs		      bc-1.02		    bibcard
bigloo1.3	      bin86		    binutils-2.2.1
bison-1.21	      bms-0.06		    bootsys-0.4a
bootutils	      bpe		    bt302PL10
bwBASIC-1.11b	      byacc		    cal
calc-2.02a	      calendar		    calls
cawf2		      cdplayer-0.1	    cdrom
clisp-1993-03-19      cops_104		    cperf-2.1
cpio-2.3	      cproto		    crack-4.1
cron-2.0	      cvs-1.3		    cvw
dc-0.2		      defrag		    dejagnu-1.0.1
deliver		      diff-2.3		    diku-linux
dirent		      dis86		    diskback
disksplit	      dld-3.2.3		    doas0.0A1
docs		      dos_utils		    doschk-1.1
dosemu0.49	      duonly		    e2fsprogs-0.3b
ecc-1.2.1	      ecu3.24		    efax
efsprogs	      elib-0.06		    elisp
elle		      elvis-1.6		    elvis-1.7
emacs-19.19	      expect-0.4	    f2c-1993.04.28
faq		      fax-3.2.1		    fdformat
fdisk-1.4	      fgrep-1.1		    file-1.25
fileutils-3.6	      find-3.8		    finger-1.37
fips08		      flex-2.3.8	    floptools
fly8100-src	      fm		    fontutils-0.6
freeze		      fsutil		    ftpd-diku
fvwm		      fvwm.old		    fwhois-1.00
gas-2.1.1	      gawk-2.15.2	    gcc-2.4.5
gdb-4.8		      gdbm-1.5		    gems
getty_ps	      glib19		    graph-1.00
grep-1.6	      groff-1.06	    gzip-1.2.3
hm--html-menus-1.1    hm--lemacs-menus-1.0  icmake-5.00
idleout		      ingres-04		    inn-1.4-linux-0.1
ipc		      ipctut		    ipmon
ispell-4.0	      joe		    jove
jpeg		      k3		    ka9q-1.4
kdebug		      keytables		    latex
ldd-1.1		      less-177		    lha-1.00
libc		      libg++-2.4	    lilo-12
linux		      loop		    lost+found
lpd		      lpr		    lwp
m4-1.0.3	      magic-filter-0.3	    mailpak-1.3
mailx-5.3b	      make-3.63		    man-1.1
matlab		      mbase		    mdm-2.06
memacs		      menu		    menu-new
metamail	      mftp		    mgetty
mgetty+sendfax-0.13   mgr		    minicom
mkisofs-0.97	      mm-1.07		    modules
more		      morphine-1.0	    mp02
mslaved-0.06	      mst		    mtc
mtools		      mumail-2.3b	    mxterm
national	      ncompress-4.2.4	    ncurses
nenscript-1.13++      net		    net-old
netdate		      nfs-server-1.5	    nfs-server-1.5.7
njsml.93	      nxm0.05a		    octave-0.74
oleo-1.5	      origami1.5.8	    p2c
panel		      party		    patch-2.0.12u8
patches		      pbbs-1.9		    pbmplus10dec91
pcl		      pcomm12s		    pdksh-4.8
pine3.05.1	      pinfocom-3.0	    poeigl
procps-0.8	      prolog		    protoize
ps-0.99.10	      ps2ascii		    psmisc-3
pwdutils	      pwrm		    qpl-init
quota		      rc		    rcs
rfmail.0.5.01a	      rlab-0.75		    rpc-0.9
rxvt1.3		      rzsz		    sag-alpha-1
scm		      screen-3.5.0	    sdbm
sed-2.02	      selection-1.5	    setfdprm
setserial	      settime		    seyon
shadow		      shar		    shellutils-1.8
smail		      smalltalk-1.1.1	    sndkit
song		      src		    ssh.v1.7
strace		      su1		    suit
svgalib		      syslog		    system-0.98
sysutils	      sysvinit-2.4	    tape
tar-1.11.2	      tarsplit		    tcl
tcsh-6.04	      tcx		    term-1.07
test_suites	      texinfo-2.16	    textutils-1.4
time		      time-1.4		    tin-1.18
tn3270-src	      tools		    tools-2.7.5
tools7		      tput-1.0		    traceroute
tracker		      trn22-nntp	    tunelp
ue311		      uniq		    unzip
update		      uqwk1.4		    user
usermount-0.2	      utila-1.3		    utilb-1.0
utile-1.5	      utree		    uucp-1.03
vgalib.old	      view		    wavplay
wdsetup		      xtiff		    zgv1.2-src
zip10c		      zoo		    zsh2.3.1
zxc

/usr/src/Xapps:
WorkMan-1.0	 Xaw		  Xlock Xpool	   Xtank	 appres
babaya		 bitmap		  ctwm-3.0	   cxhextris
dclock		 diamond	  editres	   fgrabber-1.0
ghostview-1.4.1	 gnuplot	  gs261		   ico
interviews-3.1	 listres	  maze		   mpeg-1.2
neko		 oclock		  puzzle	   rayshade406
s3		 spider		  twm		   usr
vgaset		 viewres	  x11perf	   x3270
xanim		 xantfarm	  xauth		   xbbs-linux
xbiff		 xboard-2.1.pl11  xboing	   xbombs
xc-4.1.2	 xcalc		  xchomp	   xclipboard
xclk		 xclock		  xcmsdb	   xcmstest
xcolormap	 xcolors	  xconsole	   xcsetroot
xdesktop	 xditview	  xdm		   xdos
xdpyinfo	 xdvi		  xearth	   xedit
xev		 xeyes		  xfd		   xfilemanager
xfm1.2		 xfontsel	  xfractint	   xgas
xgc		 xgks-2.5.5	  xgopher.1.2	   xgosh
xgraph-11	 xgrasp.1.7d	  xhost		   xinit
xkeycaps	 xkill		  xlander	   xload
xlock		 xlogo		  xlsatoms	   xlsclients
xlsfonts	 xlyap		  xmag		   xmahjongg
xman		 xmelt-xflip	  xmenu		   xmessage
xmh		 xmodmap	  xmris		   xms-0.06
xpat-0.6	 xpipeman	  xpm-3.2g	   xpr
xprompt		 xprop		  xrdb		   xrefresh
xroach		 xset		  xsetroot	   xspread
xstdcmap	 xsysinfo	  xterm		   xtetris
xtrek		 xvgr-2.10	  xvgr_bin	   xvier-1.0
xview3L5	 xvsol-1.0	  xwd		   xwininfo
xwud