Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!iuvax!uxc!tank!phd_ivo@gsbacd.uchicago.edu
From: phd_ivo@gsbacd.uchicago.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Backups, ps4014, TeX, and a DSP...
Message-ID: <3775@tank.uchicago.edu>
Date: 11 Jun 89 23:22:28 GMT
Sender: news@tank.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Graduate School of Business
Lines: 55

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			       BACKUPS

I just tried to do my first backup from  my harddisk  to the OD. After
unsuccessfully playing  with  dump  for a  while  (this is   my  first
self-administrated machine), I decided  to  just copy all files  using
browser windows  from the workspace.   My copying included  such funny
files as those in /private and /dev. What bad could happen?

Anyway, the computer froze (maybe it didn't like copying  /dev/od0a or
/dev/sd0a). Upon plug-out (power off didn't work), the computer didn't
boot anymore from the SCSI.  Well, eventually I found  in  the release
notes how to reboot  from  an OD  (the SCSI harddisk was set  as   the
startup disk).  Turns out that a lot  of nasty things  happened to the
file system.

To  make a long   story short, I  highly  recommend  including a shell
script or other utility that allows a  novice to backup modified files
(since date yymmdd below subdirectory /x/y/z) to an OD.

Incidentally,  the  mounting of  inserted  disks  is   a bit  erratic.
Sometimes,  I find myself  unable  to unmount (from  the workspace)  a
disk, simply  because upon   insertion, it is  nowhere attached  to my
directory structure.  The way to get rid of it then (real ugly!) is to
click on mount  (which  ejects the inserted  OD and  asks for  another
one).

			    OTHER PROBLEMS

Among other problems I found, I would like to mention the inability of
a combination of ps4014 and the 2 postscript viewing programs  to deal
with some  SAS/Graph and Speakeasy generated  files.

I also   tried the  phone number given    for TeX  problems   in   the
documentation, but it was false.  My  problem here was a  shortage  in
the default size of the TeX  distribution's main memory  from  the 65K
words (or so).

Incidentally, does  the gnu cc license   allow  me to  write  and sell
commercial   software developed    with it?   (Compiled  programs will
obviously include copy-lefted library routines.)

			     SUGGESTIONS

Please, please, please: include g++ and gcc sources.  And, if you find
some time, please give non-sound oriented users  some use for the DSP.
I bet a  majority of NeXT  users  play music  to  show  off  their new
machine to their friends,  and then never  bother again with music.  A
9600-baud V.32 modem (another $1,000 argument for purchasing a NeXT!),
a  fast  numerical  library  (eg.  eispack  or   linpack), or optional
employment of the DSP in the screen manager could be quite useful  for
a larger audience.

/ivo