Re: What so special about PostgreSQL and other RDBMS?

From: Howard J. Rogers <hjr_at_dizwell.com>
Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 17:13:26 +1000
Message-ID: <40ac5a87$0$1583$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au>

Dusan Bolek wrote:

> "Howard J. Rogers" <hjr_at_dizwell.com> wrote in message news:<40abd701$0$1583$afc38c87_at_news.optusnet.com.au>...
>

>>Dusan Bolek wrote:
>>I have to install a driver for my 802.11g network card on Windows XP, 
>>too. You know what the vendor said when I asked about Linux support: 
>>"there is a generic driver, but you'll need to recompile your kernel 
>>before it works". And that was the hardware vendor talking!!

>
>
> <snipped>
>
>
>

>>Well, people may well confuse it, but I don't. Provided a simple driver 
>>installation is all that's required, to me that counts as 'working first 
>>time every time'. If it involved registry hacking, different story (but 
>>it rarely does). If it involves kernel recompilation, forget it!

>
>
> It seems to me that we hit the point. For me, a kernel recompilation
> is a normal task to be done, but for some people (probably including
> you) recompiling of linux kernel still has some aura of an advanced
> hacking.

That is absolutely true. But just to show I'm not timid, I have printed out your mail and am going to try it tomorrow.

However, whether it counts as advanced or not, I would say it's a tad more inconvenient than supplying the vendor's drivers!!

> It was true in old days (five years before), but now it is an
> extremely easy task, almost anyone can do this. Really, try to
> reconfigure and recompile some of new 2.6 kernels and you will see
> that there is no problem at all. Just:
>
> 1. download, untar <- no big deal
> 2. run make menuconfig and you will get GUI (well it is in text mode,
> but it behave like GUI, however X-Win version is also available),
> where you can select and unselect anything including drivers (probably
> also for your wireless card).

Now just you wait a cotton-pickin' minute right there!

*This* is the tricky bit, don't you think!? "Just select or unselect anything" makes it sound like the dessert counter at Wendy's. But we've not talking varieties of Bavarian Cheesecake, but indecipherable options with unfathomable implications.

Well, we were last time I ever tried this.

Oh. And also the last time I ever tried this, I was there for a good hour working my way through all the options before giving up.

What you've done here is a bit like the pope saying to Michelangelo, "Well, I was thinking of a bit of a paint job".

> 3. make <- compilation starts
> 4. make modules_install <- instalation of modules, nothing to be worry
> about, no option just run
> 5. make install <- on advanced distributions with GRUB this will also
> copy a new kernel into /boot, create initrd file and update your
> configuration so your brand new kernel is already in GRUB menu after
> reboot!
>
> That's all. Maybe I'm weird, but for me this is much easier than
> making my eight year old FDD work (as I remember according to MS and
> Intel five years before should FDD alredy be a part of history).
>
> --
> Dusan Bolek

I will give it a go, nonetheless. It's been at least 7 weeks since I re-installed my laptop (with XP), and I get a bit stir-crazy after that long.

One of the things I actually like about Linux is that it is so awkward to use, I tend not to muck around with it much once it's working, and as a result, things don't continually and progressively 'degrade' over time. Accordingly, my Linux installs last *much* longer than my Windows ones.

:-)
HJR Received on Thu May 20 2004 - 02:13:26 CDT