From: dep <dep@westnet.com>
To: caldera-users@rim.caldera.com
Subject: 2.2 impressions at the end of day 1
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 1999 01:03:58 -0400

this is from a note sent to an interested friend a few minutes ago:

i've played with the new caldera install for a little while, and my
thoughts are mostly positive -- and anyone who has endured me with
new software will realize that this is high praise indeed.

the installation went pretty smoothly. the new graphical install is
pretty nice, but it is also limited. they don't tell you what you're
getting in each of the four predetermined options; if i had it to do
over, i'd select "everything." i didn't, because i didn't want, for
instance, the web server. too bad -- got it anyway. and didn't get
some compiling stuff i need.

the XF86 configuration was worse than useless. this could be because
i have a riva128 card with 8 megs that works at 32bpp but not at
24bpp, so x crashed instead of starting. i ran XF86Setup and solved
the problem, but the 24bpp setting shouldn't be allowed with this
card, and a 32bpp setting should be provided in the initial install
program. someone new to linux would have been dead right there.

one cool thing about the install: you can do it from windows, and if
you have a big drive it'll run partition magic and make a place for
linux, as well as installing a boot manager. this would be very cool
if it also let you choose some things useful in such an arrangement,
but it doesn't -- you need to do a kernel recompile for that.

in fact, i was recompiling the kernel within a couple of hours of
installing, in hope of regaining sound and my printer. it compiled,
but the resulting kernel didn't work, making me wonder what version
of egcs they're using, because 1.1.1 compiles the kernel just fine.
now i'm back to the original one until the people i know who know
stuff caldera-specific get back from comdex or get their copies of
2.2.

the product is shipped with star office 5 and word perfect, as well
as a good commercial backup-restore program. and it has kde-1.1 as
its gui which is, of course, fine with me. with kde-1.1.1 due within
days, i'll need to scramble to get my compiler in order, because i'll
switch to it -- i was using the beta under redhat and i liked it very
much.

the install also includes the newest dosemu and dr-dos-7, so it is
possible to run dos apps. i don't know how; never did it.

the version of XF86-3.3.3 included has built-in truetype support,
which is good. sadly, the whole typeface thing in linux and its apps
remains so murky that i've never been able to have anything much
useful come to pass with it.

but it is a solid thing, and it's perfectly stable. i'm pleased with
it, though i will be more so when i have everything working.
--
dep__________________________________________________________________
                2000 is a number that breaks computers.
                01-01-01 is when the millennium begins.