If you find that gzip complains when you try to uncompress a file, you probably downloaded it in ASCII mode by mistake. You must download most things in binary mode: ``get,'' to download the file.

Q: What Does VFS Stand For?

A: Virtual File System. It's the abstraction layer between the user and real file systems like ext2, Minix and MS-DOS. Among other things, its job is to flush the read buffer when it detects a disk change on the floppy disk drive.

VFS: Disk change detected on device 2/0

Q: What is a BogoMip?

A: ``BogoMips'' is a combination of Bogus and Mips. MIPS stands for (depending on who you ask) Millions of Instructions per Second, or Meaningless Indication of Processor Speed.

The number printed at boot time is the result of a kernel timing calibration, used for very short delay loops by some device drivers.

According to the BogoMips mini-HOWTO, the rating for your machine will be:

Common BogoMips Ratings Processor BogoMips Comparison --------- -------- ---------- Intel 8088 clock * 0.004 0.02 Intel/AMD 386SX clock * 0.14 0.8 Intel/AMD 386DX clock * 0.18 1 (definition) Motorola 68030 clock * 0.25 1.4 Cyrix/IBM 486 clock * 0.34 1.8 Intel Pentium clock * 0.40 2.2 Intel 486 clock * 0.50 2.8 AMD 5x86 clock * 0.50 2.8 Mips R4000/R4400 clock * 0.50 2.8 Nexgen Nx586 clock * 0.75 4.2 PowerPC 601 clock * 0.84 4.7 Alpha 21064/21064A clock * 0.99 5.5 Alpha 21066/21066A clock * 0.99 5.5 Alpha 21164/21164A clock * 0.99 5.5 Intel Pentium Pro clock * 0.99 5.5 Cyrix 5x86/6x86 clock * 1.00 5.6 Intel Pentium II/III clock * 1.00 5.6 Intel Celeron clock * 1.00 5.6 Mips R4600 clock * 1.00 5.6 Alpha 21264 clock * 1.99 11.1 AMD K5/K6/K6-2/K6-III clock * 2.00 11.1 UltraSparc II clock * 2.00 11.1 Pentium MMX clock * 2.00 11.1 PowerPC 604/604e/750 clock * 2.00 11.1 Motorola 68060 clock * 2.01 11.2 Motorola 68040 Not enough data (yet). AMD Athlon Not enough data (yet). IBM S390 Not enough data (yet).

If the number is wildly lower, you may have the Turbo button or CPU speed set incorrectly, or have some kind of caching problem (as described in (``Why Does the System Slow to a Crawl When Adding More Memory?'')

For values people have seen with other, rarer, chips, or to calculate your own BogoMips rating, please refer to the BogoMips Mini-HOWTO, on ftp://metalab.unc.edu/. (``Where Is the Documentation?'')

[Wim van Dorst]

Q: What Online/Free Periodicals Exist for Linux?

A: There are a number of recent additions to the list of periodicals devoted to Linux and free software:

geek news. http://geeknews.cjb.net/. Headlines for articles about Linux, like the comp.os.linux.announce and Techweb postings, and general interest, like Associated Press stories.
Linux Gazette. http://www.linuxgazette.com/. This is the longest-running of the on-line periodicals, and the only one that publishes source code.
LinuxToday. http://www.linuxtoday.com. News and opinion related to the Linux community, updated daily.
Linux Weekly News. http://lwn.net. News about the Linux community, updated weekly.
Slashdot. http://www.slashdot.org. News about the free software community and culture.
Freshmeat. http://www.freshmeat.net/. Notices of new and updated software for Linux and other free OS's.

Please send additions to this list to the FAQ maintainer. [David Merrill, david@lupercalia.net.

Q: How Many People Use Linux?

A: Linux is freely available, and no one is required to register with any central authority, so it is difficult to know. Several businesses survive solely on selling and supporting Linux. Linux news groups are some of the most heavily read on Usenet. Accurate numbers are hard to come by, but the number is almost certainly in the millions.

However, people can register as Linux users at the Linux Counter project, which has been in existence since 1993. In August, 1998, the project counted more than 70,000 users.

Visit the Web site at http://counter.li.org/ and fill in the registration form. If you don't want to use the Web, send E-mail to counter@counter.li.org with the subject line, ``I use Linux at home,'' or ``I use Linux at work.''

The current count is posted monthly to comp.os.linux.misc, and is always available from the Web site.

[Harald Tveit Alvestrand]

A: In 1999, International Data Corporation released its first commercial forecast of Linux sales. The report quantifies Linux vendor sales in 1996, 1997, and 1998, and forecasts through the year 2003.

To obtain the report, contact IDC at ctoffel@idc.com. Their Web site is http://www.itresearch.com/.

Q: What Is the Best (Distribution

A: The ``best'' of anything depends on your particular needs. Discussions like these frequently occur on Usenet. Most often they're flame bait. Answering is generally a waste of time. Free software licensing is unrestrictive enough, that, with a little experience, you can perform your own testing on your own hosts.

A better way to phrase a specific inquiry might be: ``Where can I find....''

Q: How Does One Pronounce Linux?

A: This question produces an outrageous amount of heated debate.

If you want to hear Linus himself say how he pronounces it, download [english.au] or [swedish.au] from ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/Linux/PEOPLE/Linus/SillySounds/. If you have a sound card or the PC-speaker audio driver you can hear them by typing

$ cat english.au >/dev/audio

The difference isn't in the pronunciation of Linux but in the language Linus uses to say, ``hello.''

For the benefit of those who don't have the equipment or inclination: Linus pronounces Linux approximately as Leenus, where the ``ee'' is pronounced as in ``feet,'' but rather shorter, and the ``u'' is like a much shorter version of the French ``eu'' sound in ``peur'' (pronouncing it as the ``u'' in ``put'' is probably passable).

Prev	Home	Next
How To Do This or Find Out That...		Frequently Encountered Error Messages

8. Miscellaneous Information and Questions Answered