GeekTimeLinux

An interesting thing happened on the way to the computer the other night. I ran across an old friend. He was wearing his Fedora and it caused me to remember the many hours we had spent together. I had been using FEDORA CORE 1 when the announcement of CORE 2 was made and I couldn’t wait to download the new .iso.

I rushed to www.redhat.com. Picked the FEDORA site and after a couple of attempts, was able to get on a mirror and get the download to my hard drive. I then transferred them to cds and within a half hour, I was up and running FEDORA CORE 2.

As I began to think about the hours that had been spent with Red Hat and later Core 1, I opened the cd-rom on one of my machines, dropped in Disc 1 and rebooted. There it was, the familiar markings of the Anaconda installer. As the install began, I realized that I had answered some of the questions without even reading them. Keyboard-English…Language-English…Remove all Linux Partitions-Yes. Simplicity would dictate that the default install be performed, but I chose CUSTOM. The reason was to install the KDE desktop during the initial installation. In addition, I wanted to be able to do some Windows file sharing on our home network. Selections made, it was time to settle back and watch my old friend work.

About 15 minutes later, the message flashed that it was time to remove any install media and reboot. The install was just about complete.

Upon rebooting, another couple of questions ; time, sound card detection and test and I was ready to log in. Simple, complete and without a hitch.

Once logged in, I immediately logged onto the internet and went to www.freshrpms.com. Once there, I selected “APT”. For those not familiar with “APT” it is a program, that provides updates for everything available for Core. My download was to my home directory. While there, I also downloaded “SYNAPTIC.” This is a GUI that can be used for installing and removing selected packages.

Once both packages were in my home directory, I opened a console (Red Hat>System Tools>Console). With console opened, I changed to Root User. (su..enter..and password) Once I had Root privileges, I did an ls. (ls is to Linux what dir: is to DOS)

If you have never used the RPM (Red Hat Package Manager) before, you will find it quite simple. From root, type: rpm -i (name of package). For simplicity, highlight the package in the directory by moving your cursor over it with the left button depressed. Copy this to where the package is called for on the above line. Press enter and the Package Manager will begin installing the program.

Once installed, type: apt-get update. (all lower case) This will give you several messages and return you to root. Next, type: apt-upgrade. At this time, you might as well go to the refrigerator and get a soda as this is going to take a little while. What is happening is the apt package is scanning all programs in your system and upgrading them (as needed).

When this is complete, your system should have the latest and greatest. One of the upgrades was Mozilla. After running apt-get, I was on version 1.7.2. Previously, I had 1.6.

Next, if you intend to spend time on the internet, it is good to download Java. First, before leaving the console, type exit. This should take you from root to standard user. Once there, type mkdir (make directory) java. Hit enter and when you do ls (remember…checking directory) you should see a new directory called java.

While there are dozens of places to go to download java, I usually use: www.pikeus.freeserve.co.uk. Once there, you will see “download java for mozilla” listed on the right side. Once selected, you will be given two options…a zip file and a java file. I usually pass on the zip file, although it should install java in your mozilla directory. Sometimes it does…sometimes it doesn’t!!!

I click on the download, am taken to another screen, select downloads and then am ask if I would like the rpm or self extracting. I have always used the self extracting and will work with it here. Once selected, your program manager will ask where you want the file to appear. Double click on java, which should put it in a directory as: /home/(dir name)/java.

Once this is downloaded, close the browser and go to the console. At the console, type: cd /home/(dir name)/java.

This is where you will find your downloaded material.

Again, su to root.

Next you will see the file, however there are some changes to make prior to having a working java installation. First, type: chmod a+x (file name). Again, simplicity dictates that you copy the file name. Now you will have a file with a .bin extention. Use the following combination: ./(file name). This should start the install process. Use the space bar (after you see the agreement start printing) and at the end, you will be ask: YES or NO. Type yes and the install will take place.

CONGRATULATIONS: You have now made it to the bonus round! This is where your hard work pays off. We not create a symlink that will put java in the plugins directory of your browser. Ready? Here goes.

Do ls (enter.) You will see a directory highlighted in blue. Now type the following and I am going to use Sam as the name of the home directory for illustration purposes.

ln -s /home/sam/java/(insert file directory)/plugin/i386/ns610-gcc32/libjavaplugin_oji.so /usr/lib/mozilla-1.7.2/plugins/libjavaplugin_oji.so. If you have everything alright, you should be able to type exit twice and be returned to your background screen.

Click on your browser, as if to go on the internet. In the tool bar (where the address to your home page is displayed) delete the address and type: about:plugins and enter.

This will display the plugins in your browser and you should see java prominently displayed.

While this seems quite difficult the first time, it is a very easy install.

Give it a try. There are dozens of places for help, if you need it, including this site. The Red Hat FEDORA project is growing rapidly and FEDORA is on the cutting edge of Linux technology.

As for me, I’m going to sit back with the guy in the FEDORA and enjoy some stable Linux computing!

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