SYSTEM NEWS 020418

*** Converting Word documents (.doc) - JMB/OC/OM 020418                        
To view and convert a Word document in a standad form (ASCII, HTML, LaTeX),     
several programs exist (here demonstrated with the Word file Gkz.doc):          
  wordview Gkz.doc                                                              
to view and save it as ASCII file, or                                           
  word2x -f latex Gkz.doc                                                       
  wvHtml Gkz.doc Gkz.html                                                       
  wvPS Gkz.doc Gkz.ps                                                           
  wvLatex Gkz.doc Gkz.tex                                                       
One should note that no conversion is free of errors.                           
The best result may be achieved with 'wvLatex' - but the result is ugly to      
edit and should be converted to dvi via 'latex -interaction=nonstopmode Gkz'    
due to the occuring errors and warnings - but it gets through.  :)              
We may be able to use OpenOffice (the derivate of Sun's StarOffice) for this    
task in near future - a Debian package is on the way.                           
                                                                                
*** Plotting A0 posters with TeX/LaTeX - OM/JMB 020407                         
We have installed the style/class files of the A0-poster project                
(mainly 'a0poster.cls' and 'a0size.sty').                                       
Documentation for the files can be found locally, see the URL:                  
  file:///usr/share/doc/texmf/newhelpindex.html                                 
where the related files are linked under the topic 'a0poster'.                  
                                                                                
*** Info about the Local System and its TeX Installation - JMB 020407          
As introduced long ago, the installed TeX base can be seen at the URL:          
  file:///usr/share/doc/texmf/newhelpindex.html                                 
where also some of the system info (for the computer running the browser)       
is given. These pieces of information comprise many version numbers like        
those of the kernel, libc6, make, bash, modutils, X, FVWM etc.                  
If the URL above gives the document "teTeX: A Documentation Guide" instead      
of "The TeX System at StwUB", which may be caused by a teTeX update, or         
the document is quite old (see the script running date), please ask one         
of our local system administrators to run './install_tex.sh' from within        
the installation directory '/aibn75_1/install/tex'.                             
[It ran on all 25 machines today.]                                              

SYSTEM NEWS 020110

*** Emacs 21 - OM 020110
On all Linux machines except aibn77 Emacs has been updated to the new
version 21. This update has "features" which some of you might not like.
So, to remove the icon toolbar just below the main menu, insert in your
~/.emacs file a line
  (tool-bar-mode -1)
Also, to revert the changes in the behaviour of the  and 
key (they now are jumps to begin and end of the line, originally they
were jumps to the begin or end of the text), insert in this file the
text block:
  (when (eq emacs-major-version 21)
    (global-set-key [home]    'beginning-of-buffer)
    (global-set-key [end]     'end-of-buffer)

*** LaTeX Euro Symbols - OM/JMB 020110
In '/usr/share/doc/tetex-eurosym/testeuro.dvi.gz' you will find a description
how to use the Euro symbol in LaTeX.
In short the package 'eurosym', which is embedded like the package 'german':
   \usepackage{eurosym}
provides the Euro symbol in different styles via the commands:
   \officialeuro{}, \geneuro{}, \geneuronarrow{}, or \geneurowide{}.
Maybe it's even easier to only use the command \euro{} or \EUR{amount}
and define its style (official, gen, gennarrow, genwide) and the place in
relation to the amount (left [normal default], right [default if used with the
'german' package]) as options to the package, e.g.:
   \usepackage[official,right]{eurosym} .
See the GIF image grabbed from the PS result of LaTeX at the URL:
   http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~sysstw/Pic/euroexamp.gif.
Full support of the Euro symbol, also in X and on the text consoles, requires
some more work on the system and will (hopefully) come in the future.

SYSTEM NEWS 010728

***  New Phaser colour printer - JMB/OM 010727
The new Tektronix Phaser 850 DP (1200 dpi colour PostScript printer) in 2.04
is installed and accessible from all our Linux machines.
Just print via 'lpr -Pxxx filename' with 'xxx' replaced by:
  phaser8  [= phaser2 = phaser8sp]: single sided paper (from bottom tray),
  phaser8d [= phaser8dp]: double sided paper (from bottom tray),
  phaser8t [= phaser8st]: transparencies (upper tray).

***  2nd X server - OM/OC/JMB 010716
We should mention this again, because some of you seem to forget or still do
not know it (now it is written down and can be found on the system website
(see below), so don't tell us you did not know... ;-)
People are habitually just locking the display of their computer instead of
logging out (you may use'xlock -mode blank' not to waste CPU time).
However, even when the display is locked the machines are not blocked but
fully available to everyone since a second user is allowed to start another
independant X server. This can be done as follows:
- Change to a text console by pressing 'CTRL'-'ALT'-'F1'..'F6' (there are six
  different text consoles)
- log in
- start the X server:  'startx -- :1 -depth 8 &' (with any valid colour depth,
  i.e. 8, 16, 24 in the 'depth' parameter [32 is not generally available])
- logout the text console (otherwise you may forget it and everyone can change
  your files - even without purpose)
- change to the new X server by pressing 'CTRL'-'ALT'-'F8'
- do whatever you want to do with it ...
On some machines, two X servers are started by default to provide different
color depths (you can get the colour depth and resolution by 'xwininfo -root'),
so you may first check for a free server by just switching with
'CTRL'-'ALT'-'F8' and 'CTRL'-'ALT'-'F7'.
To log out [after finishing all programs], exit your window manager as usual,
switch back to the text console (if this does not happen automatically) and
log out there (if not done already).
Be so kind and switch back to the old (locked) X server afterwards by
'CTRL'-'ALT'-'F7'.
In some cases, the 2nd X server is started, but no window manager will appear.
If this happens to you, go back to the text console and start it manually:
  'fvwm -d :1 -f /etc/X11/fvwm/system.fvwm2rc &'
To log out, you will then have to kill the X server by pressing
'CTRL'-'ALT'-'BACKSPACE' - exiting the window manager would do just this and
keep the X server running ('CTRL'-'ALT'-'BS' works, by the way, always and on
every X server. Be careful with it...).
Then, as described above, switch to the console, log out (if you haven't done
so already), and switch back to the locked X server.

***  Colour Inkjet printer - OC/OM 010607
The colour inkjet printer (HP Business Inkjet 2250TN) in the "Schlauch"
(3.23) is now accessible from all STW linux machines as 'cp3' (i.e. print
by 'lpr -Pcp3 '). The printer accepts standard postscript files
as well as various graphics formats. Also on all machines available are
the additional printing queues 'cp3raw' (for pure PostScript or ASCII)
and 'cp3s2' (for printing two pages on one sheet, also 'cp32').
Inkjet transparencies are available from Mrs. Danne (3.09).

***  ssh-agent - OM/OC/JMB 010522
When we switched to ssh remote logins some time ago, it got neccessary on
some machines to enter the password during the login process (actually, a
fully secure configuration would require a password for every remote login).
To avoid giving a password every time, you can use the ssh-agent, which
manages any password authentification in the background.
To use the agent, you first have to generate your own personal ssh key via
  'ssh-keygen'
(using the default settings should work). You will have to define a
(of course secret) passphrase, which can be, in contrast to a password,
a longer sentence including spaces etc. The keygen program will then
generate two files in your '~/.ssh' directory: "identity" and "identity.pub".
"identity" is the so called secret key, readable only by yourself,
"identity.pub" the public key which can be shared with others and copied
to other computer systems (each of the two keys is useless without the
other one, thus keeping only the private key unreadable for others is
secure).
The next step is to copy (or concatenate, if the file already exists)
"identity.pub" into a file "authorized_keys":
  'cp ~/.ssh/identity.pub ~/.ssh/authorized_keys'
This way you allow ssh logins using your above defined passphrase from all
machines on which the secret "identity" keyfile exists, i.e. from all
machines within the AIUB system. If you now make your personal ssh key
known to the ssh-agent via
  'ssh-add'
(you can, after that, print a list of all keys known to the agent using
'ssh-add -l'), all further ssh logins will be managed by the ssh agent,
no longer bothering you with any passwords to type.
The ssh-add procedure has to be repeated for every new X session, i.e.
after each logout or after (physically) login into a different computer.
Thus, for your convenience, you might want to add a line
'/usr/bin/ssh-add &' to your '.xsession' file, right below the
'xset b ...' line. You will then be automatically prompted for your
ssh passphrase once on each login.

***  New style files - JMB 010511
To the LaTeX system at StwUB GNU/Linux computers, additional style files had
been installed, see the URL:
  file:///usr/share/doc/texmf/index.html
with new LaTeX entries 'elsevier' (for New Astronomy, IFAC Proceedings etc.)
and 'an' (Astronomische Nachrichten).
The AAS style file AASTeX v5.1 is still [27th July] not available - quite long
status of 'final testing' ... see URL:
  'http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/AAS/AASTeX/'.

SYSTEM NEWS 010427

[Please note that some system information are quite old, as we did not consider them important enough to bother you by a separate mail!   ;-) ]

***  Debian GNU/Linux at StwUB - OC/OM/JMB 010427
In 2000 we started using Debian (http://www.debian.org) as our GNU/Linux
distribution of choice on the Sternwarte Intel/AMD workstations.
We are currently using the stable release (potato, 2.2) and are
successively moving to the more up-to-date testing (woody) and on
dedicated machines to the unstable release (sid).
Besides updates for nearly all program packages and a large amount of
new packages, which cannot be listed here, there are some changes
which should be mentioned.
The most important change is in the C library version, which is now
glibc2 (formerly called libc6) instead of the old libc5 on the former SuSE
systems. Due to this change, your self-compiled binaries might not run any
more and possibly need to be recompiled.
For changes in the fvwm windowmanager configuration, see below.
One may also note that we got three new workstations in March, 'aibn81',
'aibn97', and 'aibn98' - please look at the updated system page at:
  http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~sysstw/
and report any mistakes / changes to this site to 'sysstw'.

*** Style files and fonts - JMB 010411
To the LaTeX system at StwUB, additional (see also 010206 entry) style files
for the ESO proposals and Kluwer Astrophysics (incl. Astrophysics & Space
Science) had been installed and AASTeX (AJ, ApJ) had been updated (to 5.02;
5.1 will be installed when available).
To expand the font choice in TeX, I installed fonts for moonphases
(see URL:  file:///usr/share/doc/texmf/latex/moonphase/moonphase.gif)
and calligraphic font (similar to hand writing, see the URL
file:///usr/share/doc/texmf/latex/calligra/calligra.gif).
All information are accessible at the newly (27.04.2001) built page
  file:///usr/share/doc/texmf/index.html
available on all StwUB GNU/Linux computers (aibn35, aibn36, aibn37, aibn38,
aibn39, aibn42, aibn43, aibn44, aibn45, aibn46, aibn71, aibn72, aibn75, [uff]
aibn76, aibn77, aibn78, aibn79, aibn80, aibn81, aibn97, aibn98, and aibn99).

*** Working on new MIDAS release - JMB/OC/OM 010402
We downloaded the latest version of MIDAS, 01FEB (no release in 2000).
The patch-level 1.2, only available in source code, still has many problems
(e.g. no graphics output, so it's not ready for use; old IUE package),
but compilation, basic functions and image display are all working.
The new release is (as reported) absolutely independent from display
colour depth, so beneath the old 8-bit compatibility mode, reasonable
use with 16, 24, and 32 (if supported by X) is now possible.  ;-)
We already sent in some bug reports, so we hope to install a usable version
soon.

*** Digitized Sky Survey on CD - OC 010423
The CD version of the DSS is back on our Linux workstations - at least on
those running the new version 2.4 kernel (type 'uname -r' to see whether
your machine belongs to this group... and bite into your keyboard
otherwise :-) ). Use the program 'getimage' to extract data from the DSS
CDs.

*** Dedicated burner workstation - OM/OC/JMB 010323
The old 'aibn39' has been moved to room 3.22 ("Schlauch", see room plan at
  http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~sysstw/Pic/stw_ggr3.gif
for overview) and has got the fast burner/DVD combination previously
installed in aibn76. Please preferably use 'aibn39' to burn CD-R(W)s as
nobody is disturbed there. Just log in from remote and create your image
via 'burncd' in the local directory '/aibn39_1/burner/username' (with your
username, of course). Please don't forget to delete your files on the 9 GB
burner partition '/aibn39_1/burner/username' afterwards.
(If it is occupied, use the burner at 'aibn75' and in case of emergency
 [JMB: and only then :) ] the burner in 'aibn76'.)
For burning we usually use 700 MB (80 min) CDs, but 800 MB (90 min) and
also 650 MB RWs (which can be deleted and rewritten several times) are
available on demand. [Note that the RWs can not be read in standard laptop
CD drives.]

*** New Browsers: Netscape 6 + Opera 5 (beta) - OM 010305
I have installed the WWW browsers Netscape 6 and Opera 5 on all Linux
machines for those who like to try an alternative to Netscape 4.7.
The new Netscape version is started with 'ns6' (there is no distinction
between a Communicator and a Navigator version any more), Opera with 'opera'.
To make Netscape 6 your default browser (i.e., the one which is chosen
when you just run 'netscape'), change the 'NSlinux' environment
variable in '~/.cshrc' and/or '~/.login' to 'ns6'.
In case you played with Netscape 6 or Mozilla (the non-commercial variant
of Netscape 6) before, you might have an old .mozilla directory which
should be removed if Netscape 6 does not start.
The activation dialog (which appears only once normally) can be aborted.
The easiest way to use your old Netscape bookmark file also in the new
version is to create a link
  (> cd ~/.mozilla/default;
   > rm bookmarks.html;
   > ln -s ~/.netscape/bookmarks.html
  Eventually, 'default' has to be replaced by your login name).
Netscape 6 does not look very nice at low 8 bit colour depth, which is
still the standard on most of our computers due to problems with some
IRAF tools and the older MIDAS versions at higher colour depths. This
might be a reason for you to stay with version 4.7.
Java is available in Netscape 6. Encryption is also said to be present,
but I observed problems using it. So for online banking or other security
relevant tasks you should stay with (or step back to) Netscape 4.7
at the moment (you can check your browsers encryption e.g. at
http://www.fortify.net/sslcheck.html). I also observed problems with CSS
(cascading style sheets) implementations on some websites which makes
some functions on these sides unusable.
Opera is currently not capable of Java, but encryption is available.
The import of your Netscape booksmarks file has to be done manually for
Opera (choose "File/Insert Netscape Bookmarks" in the bookmarks section
of the "Hotlist" window).
Plugins like the Macromedia Flash are currently not available for any of
these browsers. Also, we currently cannot provide the Mozilla browser,
which is in a slightly more advanced state of development compared to
Netscape 6. Right now it only runs in a user installation, not in a
system-wide installation.

*** TeX styles + astrosym-fonts installed - JMB/OM/OC 010206
We have updated the installed (La)TeX style files at Stw on all machines.
In that course we changed the A&A class file namings:
  'aa.cls' is equal to 'aa5.cls', the current A&A style,
  with the old Springer original accessible as 'aa4.cls'.
The documentation can be reached with the browser (e.g. 'ns45') at URL:
  file:///usr/share/doc/texmf/index.html
at subject "latex".
There you can also find information to "astrosym" - a font providing
astronomical symbols (incl. all planets) for LaTeX. Its use is shortly
given by the file 'astrosym.txt'.

*** VMware installed - OM/OC 001028
The BIOS emulator VMware has been installed on aibn75 (obelix) to make
an original Windows 98 environment available. Available under Windows
are e.g. the Internet Explorer, CorelDRAW, and MS Office.

*** FTOOLS installed - OM 000814
The FTOOLS package, mainly for analysis of high energy astrophysics
data but also for generic FITS data analysis (see
http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/software/ftools/), has been installed
(On most machines, at least. If it is missing on your computer and you
need it, tell me). To get all neccessary environment variables set
automatically, include a line "setenv LHEAuser" in your '~/.login' file,
above the line where '/usr/local/rc/login' is sourced.

*** Karma installed - OM 000427
The Karma package for data visualisation is available now. The HTML
documentation can be found at URL:
  file:///usr/astro/karma/www/index.html
To use Karma, insert a line "setenv KARMAuser" in your '~/.login' file,
above the line where '/usr/local/rc/login' is sourced.

*** New fvwm version for Debian machines - OM 000427
Together with the Linux upgrade we have changed the structure of
the user's fvwm configuration. The main reason is that we now can
apply system wide changes to the configuration (e.g., adding software
to the menus) without touching the user's files themselves. In the
new configuration, all fvwm config files are located in the directory
'~/.fvwm', in form of small hooks, which just contain the user's
modifications to the system wide layout.
You should copy (if you did not do that already) the '.fvwm' directory
from '~sysstw/skel' and modify its contents according to your needs.
You also should copy the '.xsession' file from '~sysstw/skel'. You must
no longer have a '~/.fvwm2rc' file (this would be used instead of the
'~/.fvwm' directory). If you have this file, move it to '~/.fvwm2rc.Linux'
(or somewhere else, if '~/.fvwm2rc.Linux' already exists).

*** stw_locate - OC 000427
We now have a system wide locate program, called stw_locate, which
searches all (readable) StwUB data disks for a given filename.

*** Scanner under Linux available - OC/OM/JMB 991313
The scanner at 'aibn75' (Obelix) is now available for all people at
our domain. It can be accessed with the image manipulation program
'gimp'.
Those who have used gimp before should have a look at the program's
directory configuration (File -> Preferences -> Directories). For reasons
of speed the swap directory should be set to '/tmp'. Mind to press
the save button in the Directory dialog box.
For those who never used gimp before, the correct path will be set at
the first usage.

SYSTEM NEWS 990702

***  pgp4pine 1.56 installed - OM 990629
To ensure a clean implementation of PGP (see the note below) in pine,pgp4pine was installed.
Using pgp4pine is a comfortable way to encrypt/decrypt and sign mails
with PGP.
To install pgp4pine in pine, do the following steps:
- Copy the configuration file /usr/astro/bin/pgp50i/config/.pgp4pinerc into
  your home directory ~/.
  You will possibly want to do some modifications in this file, especially
  enter your email address. (However, this is not necessary if you don't
  do any other modifications.)
- In pine, go into Setup, then Configuration
- Set display-filters (near the bottom) to
      _LEADING("-----BEGIN PGP")_ /usr/astro/bin/pgp4pine -d -i _TMPFILE_ -t /tmp/pgp4pine.tmp
  (!!only one line!!)
- Set sending-filters to
      /usr/astro/bin/pgp4pine -e -i _TMPFILE_ -t /tmp/pgp4pine.tmp -r _RECIPIENTS_
  (!!also only one line!!)
- To use pgp4pine as default filter when sending mail, under
  Setup/Configuration turn on compose-send-offers-first-filter

***  PGP 5.0i installed - OM 990629
On both Linux and Alpha systems version 5.0i of the encryption tool
PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) was installed.
For detailed information on public key cryptography see the manpage
pgp-intro(7), for the usage of PGP see pgp(1) and the manpages listed
therein (or ask your system administrator ...).
After having generated a key pair (pgpk -g), you should copy the
configuration file /usr/astro/bin/pgp50i/config/pgp.cfg into your ~/.pgp
directory and modify it according to your needs (however, in most cases no
modification will be necessary).
PGP can be directly implemented in pine. See the note above on pgp4pine.
As far as I am informed, no implementation of pgp for the Netscape Messenger
exists.

***  Netscape 4.61 installed - OM 990628
The latest Netscape version 4.61 has been installed on all systems in both
the full Communicator and the standalone Navigator version.
These versions replace the 4.51 (and the temporarily installed 4.6)
versions.
Remember: To run the 4.61 versions of Netscape on the Linux machines,
you have to set NSlinux to ns45 or ns45c in your ~/.cshrc. NSlinux
set to ns4 and ns4c will start version 4.08.
In both programs strong US 128-bit encryption is now enabled instead of
the weak export grade 56-bit encryption. This will, however, only affect
you if you plan to visit websites which support encryption or to send
encrypted email via the Netscape mail program.
For further information on this topic see e.g. http://www.fortify.net.

***  Mozilla M5 installed - OM 990601
On Obelix the free Netscape successor Mozilla was installed in the
Milestone 5 (M5) preliminary version. A final version is expected to
be available at the end of this year. Mozilla is only available for
'glibc' and therefore will only be available on Obelix until the
general system update.
This browser is not complete in its current state. Some functions are
not yet implemented, so for your daily web usage you should keep using
Netscape.

***  Amaya installed - JMB 990517
On Obelix the latest Amaya version 2.0a has been installed.
As this is a pure 'glibc' version, it will not be generally available
till all machines have been updated to Debian GNU/Linux.
The Amaya manual will soon be updated (until now it gives just the changes
to the new release).
See system mail ``JMB 990118/21'' at our StwUB WWW Computer System site for
further information.
P.S. (990702): Now the new version 2.1a is ready, but as changes are minor
but affect the system and personal configuration files of Amaya, it will not
be installed till the update of all Linux workstations at StwUB is done.
We will do our best to shorten this time to run new software relying on
the new standard C library ('glibc' = 'libc 6') like MIDAS 98NOV or MOZILLA
(see note above).

***  Burner moved - OC/OM/JMB 990514
As mailed before the well known CD-Burner has moved from 'aibn35' to 'aibn75'.
At Obelix it can now be used freely with the script 'burncd' (see the URL
  http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~sysstw/softlin0.html#burncd
for a short description how to burn Data- and Audio- CD ROMs).
We want to stress the importance to use one of the SCSI harddisks (until
now only the 5.9 GB 'aibn75_4' is available for this purpose) to enable
people working with the eIDE disks at Obelix without disturbances.
For those keen on burning Audio-CDs one should notice the short magazin cut
(PC Prof. 06/99) at the blackboard near our printer ('lps3'):
It is legal to copy Audio - CDs for friends, i.e. small ammounts (about 5),
and without payment.

***  New Computer named Obelix - OC/OM/JMB 990507
Today we have got the new computer 'aibn75' or ``Obelix'', a dual
Pentium (2 x 450 MHz) with 512 MB RAM, 3 x 15.4 GB eIDE HDDs,
SCSI adapter and Scanner (its general configuration and usage will be subject
of a note to a future system mail).
We will install the Burner (see above) and some of the large Alpha SCSI HDDs
there.
The system will stay a little in testing mode (several weeks), cos we will
now install Debian ``Potato'' there (new Kernel 2.2.x, 'glibc' support etc.)
and adjust the configuration.
After Potato will have become a stable release (2.2 ?; end of July ?) and
we have adjusted all programs and example configuration files (these things
are in progress), we will change the installed S.u.S.E. Linux Distribution
to Debian on all machines.
So stay tuned for further achievements.  ;-)

SYSTEM NEWS 990419

***  Tidy installed - JMB 990418
On all Linux workstations of StwUB (aibn35-39, 42-46) the new version '15apr99'
of the program tidy, an `HTML Parser and Pretty Printer' of the W3C, had been
installed.
On our old Alphas running OSF/1 v. 4 ('aibn31', 'aibn33', and 'aibn34')
the compilation resulted in errors - so there only the old version
(see ``JMB 990219'' for this '22jan99' release) is available.
The new release supports the use of a config file; to start using it, you
may do the following:
  * Add the following lines to '~/.login':
       # ** Tidy configuration script location:
       setenv HTML_TIDY ~/.tidyrc
  * Copy a special template configuration from my account, which is adapted
    to create 'good old' HTML code:
       cp ~jbraun/.tidyrc ~/.tidyrc
  * For only getting error messages (i.e. displaying the suggested correct
    HTML file), you can set in your '~/.alias' file:
       alias tidy "tidy -e"
    (making it easy to see the markup by first typing 'unalias tidy') or
    change the appropriate line in '~/.tidyrc' to
       markup: no
After typing 'source ~/.login', these settings are active (in that 'xterm')
and you can change to a directory with HTML files and check them by
    tidy filename.html
For further help look at the fresh HTML help page in our local and freely
accessible collection of WWW manuals or type
    tidy -help
(only command line options, no description of configure file) or
    man tidy
(to get a new helptext describing all options).
For those interested in HTML 4.0 entities and other modern standards
we have to rely on W3C Amaya (a new version should be available this month)
or wait for Netscape Navigator Version 5.x (see next entry about 4.51).
This nice release is announced to be available in July.
For further references about HTML, browsers etc. see the WWW manual:
     http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~webstw/w3_man.html

***  Netscape update - OM 990401
A minor bugfix from version 4.5 to 4.51 (in standalone and communicator
version). On the Linux machines, the versions 1.12, 2.02, 3.04, 4.08,
and 4.51 are installed, the latter two also in the full communicator
version (including the netscape mail program). netscape is started via
'ns1', 'ns2', 'ns3', 'ns4', 'ns45' respective or 'ns4c' and 'ns45c'
for the communicator package. The 'netscape' command is defaulted to
'ns4' or the appropriate command specified in the NSlinux environment
variable ('setenv NSlinux nsxy' in the '~/.login' file)
On the Alpha machines, versions 3.04, 4.51 and 4.51c are installed,
'netscape' defaults to version 4.51.

***  Pine update - OM 990330
The pine mail program has been updated to version 4.10 on both Linux and
Alpha machines. The update provides some minor changes which are
documented in the program's help section (press 'R' in the main menu).

***  Gnuplot update - OM 990323
gnuplot version 3.7 has been installed on the Linux and Alpha OSF/1 4
machines. This version is a replacement for the old version 3.5 beta.
A documentation in both HTML and Postscript format can be found at
'/usr/local/doc/gnuplot' (on the Linux machines only), a printed version
of the PS file also in my room (3.11) and in the manual folder in
room 3.08.

***  New member of the system group - JMB/OC 990315
We are happy to welcome a new guy in the sysops' group - Ole Marggraf (OM),
who will try to help us (Oliver and Jochen) to fill the gap left by
Georg Drenkhahn (GD) now working at 'MPI fuer Astrophysik' in Garching.

SYSTEM NEWS 990219

***  Harddisk problems - GD 990219
The crashed system disk of 'aibn31' had been replaced and a new system
had been installed (DEC Unix|OSF/1 4.0, like 'aibn33' and 'aibn34', see
``OC/GD 990113'').
The noisy external disks are now connected to 'aibn31', thus minimizing the
noise of the other Alpha workstations.
In this procedure some harddisks had been `renamed' (i.e. mounted at different
mount points) and some files had to be moved.
Explicitly:
    /aibn31_8   -->  /aibn31_1
    /aibn31_9c  -->  /aibn31_13c
    /aibn31_9d  -->  /aibn31_13d
    /aibn32_1   -->  /aibn37_2/aibn32_1
    /aibn32_4   -->  /aibn32_1
    /aibn33_1   -->  /aibn31_10

***  Tidy installed - JMB 990219
On Linux and OSF 4 ('aibn31', 'aibn33', and 'aibn34') workstations the program
tidy (22jan99 release), an `HTML Parser and Pretty Printer' of the W3C, had
been installed.
You may use this tool to get authorized information about the quality
of your webpage (see also the W3C browser Amaya, ``JMB 990118/21''), e.g.
     tidy -e index.html
It is worth-while playing with it (but be careful with the option '-m' which
will overwrite the existing page).
For further help look at the HTML helppage in our local and freely accessible
collection of WWW manuals or type
    tidy -help
or
    man tidy
Additionally this program is very useful to update HTML texts to ``Voyager''
(modularized HTML DTD compatible to the next generation of web languages: XML).
For further references see the WWW manual:
  http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~webstw/w3_man.html

SYSTEM NEWS 990125

*** Use of transparencies with 'phaser2' / paper supply - JMB 990125
The new sort of transparencies used for hand written sheets MUST NOT
be used for colour transparencies created by the 300 dpi colour printer
'phaser2' in room 2.04 (this may damage the printer - or at leat urges to
clean it).
Please use only Xerox transparencies with the known red line at the rim for
printing or copying (except the special transparencies for the ink jet
printer).
Paper for the printer at the Sternwarte is stored in room 3.24.
Remember that the copying machine should be refilled by Xerox automatically and
that no sheets of paper should be taken from there for any other purpose!

***  Amaya 1.4a installed - JMB 990118/21
The latest version of the web editor & browser Amaya (1.4a, dated 12th Jan.)
by the W3C had been installed on all Linux machines at the STW.
For simple browsing Netscape Navigator is recommended, but for constructing
own HTML documents some Amaya features are nice (e.g. the structure view by
'view', 'show structure'; additionally it is much less error tollerant than
Navigator).
Please note that I would not use it as an editor, so you may swith the editing
capability off by clicking on the pencil icon (5th icon in the icon bar called
'editor/browser').
For further information see the local HTML manual at the WWW URL:
   http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~webstw/cm/w3c_amaya/stwmanual.html
which is a composite of all help texts (inbuilt and at the W3C server).
Just start Amaya 1.4a by typing
   am14
(or an older version by 'am11' [1.1c incl. Java], 'am12' [1.2a] or
 'am13' [1.3b]).
Amaya had also been installed fully (incl. English/French dictionary)
for DEC Alphas with DEC Unix / OSF/1 ver. 4.0 (currently only the 'aibn34')
and can be run by:
  /usr/local/bin/amaya
Just have a try!

***  New operating system for the Alphas - OC/GD 990113
The OSF/1 (i.e. DEC Unix) version will be updated to 4.0 on all Alphas.
To test the new system and the newly installed software, this has been done
only on 'aibn34' yet - and this procedure is still in progress.
All new software packages for v4 will be available in '/usr/local'
(exported from 'aibn31', but "normal users" do not have to care ...).
If you are interested in the progress, look at the actual list of all new
software packages already installed:
  '/stw_sys/local.OSF1/doc/install.osf'.
The installation of the astronomy software, e.g. IRAF, MIDAS etc., is
also still in progress. IRAF had been installed but have not been tested yet.
MIDAS has not been successfully installed. This will be done in a few weeks.
The Alphas 'aibn31-33' are running with the original system, but due to
changes to the ancient Alpha server 'aibn20', some problems may occur.
These problems will be gone when all machines had been updated to v4 and
all the software for this system had been installed.
Please note that on all Alphas ('aibn31-34') and 'aibn70' the old C-shell
'csh' had been replaced by the new 'tcsh' (standard on all Linux workstations)
in October '98; thus the old prompt settings may be wrong.

SYSTEM NEWS 990118

***  Introduction of a new computer system mail scheme - JMB 990118
In the directory '/aibn38_1/sysstw/sysmail', where all people of the 'users'
group have write access, the actual system news 'sysnews.txt' and all old
system mails 'sysnews_??????.txt' (from now on) should be stored.
All contributions carry a title with 3 leading asterisks '***', initials of
the engaged SysOp(s) [devided by slashes '/'] and the date in YYMMDD format.
The file should have the latest item at the beginning and the oldest item
at the end of the file (inverted order compared to the scheme of the MIDAS
NEWS, which has a similar style) and all texts, structered by double '**' and 
single asterisk '*' when needed, should be written in English language
(both for convenience to make WWW infos fast and easy available for everyone
in the STW, including forein visitors).
Every change to the computer system should be documented here at once, and 
a topic may be added to the 'Subject:' line.
The mail will be sent to 'stw@astro.uni-bonn.de' if the information is
sufficient (to minimize the mail amount and maximize the information status).
After mailing the latest system news 'sysnews.txt', the file should be renamed
by adding the date of sending (also in YYMMDD format), so this first mail 
(even not sent to all, but later to be enclosed in the WWW info) is 
'sysnews_990118.txt'.
Every mail will be added to the WWW document for cumputer system mails at:
  http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~sysstw/sysnews.html
(this page).

***  Computer News - GD/OC/JMB 981119
** 1) New printer in room 3.22:
We got the new printer, as most people may have noticed.
As announced it can print on both sides of a paper sheet.
To switch this capability on and off, several printer names had been installed.
The form of these names are:
        lps3xy  with  x in { ,s,d,k} and y in { ,1,2}.
x determines the numbers of sides for a sheet of paper and how it is
aligned. This means if the paper sheets should be stuck together at the short
or long margin.
x=s : single sided, paper is printed on one side (similar to old printer)
x=d : double sided or douplex, both sides are printed, the pages may
      be stuck on the long side [default]
x=k : duplex, but with short side alignment
y specifies how many virtual pages are printed on one side.
y=1 : normal print, one 'page' per side [default]
y=2 : two Postscript 'pages' on one side, like the old 'lps3nup'.
      This is convenient for some papers in 'Referee' style.
So one can use one of the following names, with some double specifications:
        lps3   = lps3d   = lps3d1  [default]
        lps3d2
        lps3s  = lps3s1
        lps3s2
        lps3k  = lps3k1
        lps3k2
In all cases one can print the general formats ASCII Text, pdf, dvi, gif,
jpg, ... due to the filter program (automatic detection and conversion to PS).
For 'dvi' files (device independent format used by TeX) the document must
be one piece. Otherwise one has to print via:
        dvips -f <dvi-filename> | lpr -P<Druckername>
All people can create own aliases for convenience, e.g. giving in '~/.alias':
        alias lprs 'lpr -Plps3s'
or
        alias lpr2 'lpr -Plps3d2'
Thus one can simply print one sided pages or sheets with four PS pages
(2 per side).
But please save paper whenever possible.
Printing Manuals or Paper one should always print or copy on both sides.
** 2) New Browser / Editor of the W3C: 'Amaya 1.3b':
On Linux Workstations (aibn35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46) the
new browser (14th October, 1998) of the World Wide Web Consortiums
had been installed.
One can call it via 'am13' (or by typing 'amaya' if one has set the environment
variable, e.g. 'setenv AMAYAlinux am13' in '~/.login' or '~/.cshrc').
For simple browsing Netscape is to be preferred, but for checking web pages
(via 'structure view') and testing new HTML 4.0 entities (e.g. ∼) this
browser is the choice.
The two available dictionaries had been added - but the spellchecker may not
be useful for normal purposes.
Personal settings are given by the file '~/.thotrc', which is created on first
call automatically.
The browser is quite nice, but one has to get accustomed to it (e.g. one hat
to double-click to follow a link).
Further hints are available by the inbuilt help or the online manual at:
   http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~webstw/cm/w3c_amaya/stwmanual.html
Have fun with it!
** 3) 'aibn38' is pop server:
To read mails offline, we have installed a pop server running on 'aibn38'.
It works like similar servers by T-Online or the RHRZ.
The adjustments depend on the used pop client, but the necessary settings
'server name', 'user name', and 'password' should be easyly found.
** 4) procmail:
'procmail' is a mail filter. It can be installed to sort mails according to
sender or subject. Every user can configure it individually, see the
web page for Linux Software Installation and System Administration.
** 5) Announcements for Kolloquia via e-mail:
One can get reminding mails about Kolloquia via e-mail in our building which
have entries in the plan of Kolloquia on 
  http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/kolloquium
This service can be activated by creating the file 'calendar' in the
home directory '~'.
This should only have the following line:
#include </local/kolloquium>
** 6) Fonts in A&A papers:
Springer (publisher) uses Postscript fonts for A&A.
Thus the finally printed version will look different than the version printed
with standard TeX font, e.g. by different line breakings.
Using LaTeX2e (this can be seen by the first LaTeX command '\documentclass'
instead of '\documentstyle' used in the old LaTeX 2.09 version) one can
activate Postscript fonts by adding the line:
      \usepackage{times}
in the TeX file.
This should result in the same look-and-feel as the printed version.
Note that this will only work with new TeX/LaTeX systems as installed on
all our Linux workstations.
If you encounter other font trouble in LaTeX2e documents, you may add the lines
      \tolerance800
      \emergencystretch2em
      \doublehyphendemerits5000
      \hfuzz0pt
      \leftskip0pt minus 1pt
      \rightskip0pt minus 1pt
to work around some frequent problems.

***  Changes to the computer system - GD/OC/JMB 981022
** 1) 'tcsh' on Alphas:
On Alphas (of the StwUB) and on 'aibn70' we have replaced 'csh' by 'tcsh'.
This shell is fully compatible to 'csh', but has many additional features.
On Linux PCs 'tcsh' is already the default, so the environment is more similar.
With old configuration files one may come across problems with the prompt.
** 2) webfilter for WWW browsers:
On commercial web-pages one can frequently see blinking and annoying
advertisement banners. Mostly these can be identified by their names, e.g.
'banner.gif', and can thus be filtered.
On 'aibn38' such a filter programm is running, which can be activated by giving
'aibn38.astro.uni-bonn.de' with port '8000' in the proxy specification
entry of the used browser.
Because of the advertisement pictures not beeing called from the web-server
the transmission gets faster. Additionally to the filtering function the
proxy of the Uni Bonn is used, who is a web cache wich should also speed up
browsing.
Some sites, like e.g. 'www.journals.uchicago.de' (ApJ), may suffer from problems
with this proxy.
   Adjustments for Netscape 4:
      Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Proxies
       -> manual proxy configuration (view) -> HTTP proxy + port
          [just type in the above information]
   Adjustments for Netscape 3:
      Options -> Network preferences -> Proxies
        -> manual proxy configuration (view) -> HTTP proxy + port
          [just type in the above information]
For administrating junkbuster, additional information is available at the Linux
Administration Homepage.
** 3) Duplex printer at 1st floor:
At 1st floor there is a new PostScript printer which can print on both siedes
of a paper sheet with 1200 dpi.
It can be called via the name 'ps4d'.
There are no filters installed (like the one for 'lps3'), so other formats
have to be converted to PS manually.
The StwUB has ordered a similar printer (with an additional paper tray).
** 4) SExtractor:
The photometry software SExtractor is now installed (latest release 2.0.15).
On Linux PCs one may find them as '/usr/lib/sextractor' and on Alphas as
'/aibn31_0/sextractor'.

***  General STW Computer News - OC 981016
** 1) MIDAS:
MIDAS has been optimized and is now also available for the Alphas
'locally' at 'aibn31'.
There are now 4 programs for MIDAS:
  - inmidas      starting a normal MIDAS session
  - helpmidas    starting standalone help program for MIDAS
  - gomidas      re-starting old MIDAS session
  - gccmidas     special change to 'gcc' for compiling programs using the MIDAS
                 libraries
The following version should now be available
    95NOV   (only on Linux machines)
    96NOV   Linux and Alpha
    97NOV   Linux and Alpha
which can be started directly by typing e.g. 'inmidas97' or 'gccmidas95'.
Using the programs without version suffixes, the system variable 'MIDASVER'
will determine the version, so you may give the following lines in your
configuration file '~/.login':
    setenv MIDASVER 97NOV
    setenv MIDOPTION PARALLEL
The old system variables 'MIDASHOME' and 'MIDVERS' are no longer necessary and
'MIDASlinux' is no longer supported.
Using 'gccmidas' and programs using MIDAS libraries the following line should
be added to '~/.login':
  setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH $LD_LIBRARY_PATH":/usr/lib/midas"$MIDASVER"/"$MIDASVER"/lib"
The result may be tested by 'ldd program', 'libmidas' and 'libgmidas' should
be found. 'ldd' should print something similar to:
        libgmidas.so.5.1 => /usr/lib/midas96NOV/96NOV/lib/libgmidas.so.5.1 (0x4000c000)
        libmidas.so.5.1 => /usr/lib/midas96NOV/96NOV/lib/libmidas.so.5.1 (0x4003f000)
        libm.so.5 => /lib/libm.so.5 (0x40185000)
        libc.so.5 => /lib/libc.so.5 (0x4018e000)
** 2) Netscape (only Linux):
We have installed new Linux versions of the 'standard browser' Netscape,
in standalone-version (called 'Navigator') and additionally since version 4.0
also a suit (called 'Communicator', including e.g. a mail programm).
We have installed the following versions [updated - JMB 990414]:
    ns1    (release 1.12)
    ns2    (release 2.02)
    ns3    (release 3.04)
    ns4    (release 4.08)
    ns4c   (release 4.08c)
    ns45   (release 4.51)
    ns45c  (release 4.51c)
which seem all to be stable (note that version 5.x may come in July '99).
The names given above are valid values for the system variable 'NSlinux',
e.g. you may add the following line for Netscape Navigator 4.51 in '~/.login':
  setenv NSlinux ns45

***  General STW Computer News - JMB 971202
To inform all people at our Institutes I will summarize the latest changes
to our Computer System:
** 1) Getting help:
If you have trouble concerning the Computer System (or the Xerox machine),
you may address one of the following persons:
  * 3rd floor - StwUB:
     J.M. Braun, Room: 3.08, Phone: 9398 [or 02622/81476], E-Mail: jbraun
       General System, Homepages (WWW), MIDAS, TeX
     O.-M. Cordes, Room: 3.05, Phone: 5656, E-Mail: ocordes
       General System, C programming, Linux/OSF/Ultrix/Solaris installations
     G. Drenkhahn, Room: 3.05, Phone: 5656, E-Mail: gdrenk
       IRAF
  * 2nd floor - IAEF:
     G. Lay, Room: 2.23, Phone: 3678
       General System, Network, Account for the copy-machine
     U. Nass, Room: 2.22, Phone: 3647
       General System, Network
     H. Scherer, Room: 2.06, Phone: 3661
       General System, Account for the copy-machine
  * 1st floor - RAIUB:
     P. Kalberla, Room: 1.06, Phone: 5769
       General System
  * basement:
     A. Boedewig, Room: K08, Phone: 3654
       Maintenance of the copy-machine (Toner, Paper)
Only the people responsible for the 'General System' (i.e. root permission)
have the right to switch off and/or move the computers.
Additionally one of them should be informed in case of a break-down; adding
a sign "defect" is not sufficient - the problem should be solved as soon as
possible.
** 2) New Computers:
The new Linux workstations aibn38 and aibn39 are fully installed,
with a new Zip drive attached to aibn39 (100 MB floppy disk).
Furthermore the installation of all Linux machines (by now: 38, 39, 42,
43, 44, 45) was adjusted.
In future we can not garantee the support for the Ultrix (70 and 71) and
the Alpha machines (31, 32, 33, 34), so make sure that all important programs
are running on the PC workstations.
** 3) Computer books and manuals:
On the left, next to my desk (Room 3.08) you can see new books and manuals
concerning the computer system, e.g. the new LaTeX books by Kopka.
Please use them as normal books from the library (fill in a replacement card
and bring them back immediately after reading).
** 4) Storage media:
For people of the Sternwarte the storage media (DAT, EXABYTE, Zip, 3.5" floppy
disks, MOs) are kept below the above cited books (behind the doors with the 2
Disks and CDs).
Please note your name and number of picked media in the lists.
** 5) The "moved" user 'sysstw':
Files of general interest can be found in the directories of the user
sysstw which is now available via '/aibn38_1/sysstw', but which should always
be referred to by '~sysstw'.
There you can find programs (MIDAS, IRAF, Shell, Fortran), TeX examples, PS
templates (e.g. door labels), and scripts to install and configure the Linux
workstations for the Sternwarte entirely.
The latest information about the computer system can be found in our web
         http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~sysstw/
and current examples of the configuration files can be found in '~sysstw/conf'.
** 6) MIDAS (Munich Image Data Analysis System):
a) Today I realized that MIDAS programs (and single operations) are slowed down
   by a factor of 30 when using a working directory on another machine.
   To avoid this you should move the midwork directory (normally from user3)
   to your data disk and insert an appropriate line in the $MACH == "pc" branch
   of the file '~/.cshrc', e.g. 'setenv MID_WORK /aibn??_?/username/midwork_lin'
b) On Linux workstations the current version is 96NOVp2.1 (adapted to reduce
   2000 x 2000 pix^2 CCDs with DAOPHOT II),
   on the Alphas 95NOV (with the Default: 1600 x 1600 pix^2).
   WARNING:
   i)  The format of images and tables (*.bdf und *.tbl) have changed (2000
       adaption etc.), so the old version can not access the new files.
   ii) Reading FITS files (e.g. created by IRAF) can fail on the new 96NOV
       version.
       After corresponding to the ESO staff via E-Mail I convinced them that
       this is a new bug, and now it is solved - not in our version but in
       the new 97NOV version, which will be installed on the Linux machines
       and the Alpha (aibn31) as soon as it will be shipped officially.
c) Using the Linux version one should have the following line in the
   '~/.cshrc' file (giving the version - by now only 96NOVp2.1 which will be
   kept in future):      setenv MIDASlinux 96NOV
===> For solving MIDAS related problems please ask Jochen Braun (see 1).
** 7) IRAF (Image Reduction and Analysis Facility):
The IRAF installation was standardized on the Linux and Alpha machines.
More than one user can now run IRAF/SAOimage on a given machine.
In future the following directory structure should be kept (via links):
  ~/iraf
    working directory with login.cl
  ~/iraf/dev.linux
    directory with Linux pipes for SAOimage.
    This has to be created on a Linux disk.
  ~/iraf/dev.linux/graphcap
  ~/iraf/dev.linux/imti1
  ~/iraf/dev.linux/imto1
  ~/iraf/dev.alpha
    directory with Alpha pipes for SAOimage.
    This has to be created on an Alpha disk (e.g. /user3/$HOME ).
  ~/iraf/dev.alpha/graphcap
  ~/iraf/dev.alpha/imti1
  ~/iraf/dev.alpha/imto1
  ~/iraf/imdir
    directory for IRAF pictures, should be a link to a data disk.
The script 'mkiraf.stw' will do most of these adjustments.
One has to create some directorys/links/pipes manually, cos the pipes
for the Alpha version has to be created on an Alpha on an Alpha disk - and
the same is true for Linux.
'mkiraf.stw' describes these steps.
The command 'iraf' changes to the directory '~/iraf', starts 'cl' and SAOimage.
By now 'mkiraf.stw' and 'iraf' are not running correctly on the Alpha machines.
This will be corrected soon.
Entering '/usr/bin/iraf' should work on all machines!
===> For solving IRAF related problems please ask Georg Drenkhahn (see 1).
** 8) Netscape 4:  [old, see 2) of ``OC 981016'']
On the Linux PCs of the Sternwarte we have installed the Navigator version
(without Mail support) and the full Communicator.
To use these, please insert the following lines to the '$MACH == "pc"' branch
of your '~/.cshrc' file:
    # For the new Netscape Navigator 4.04
    setenv MOZILLA_HOME /usr/lib/ns4
    # For the new Netscape Communicator 4.04
    setenv MOZILLA_HOME /usr/lib/ns4c
and the following lines to your '~/.alias-linux' file:
    # For the new Netscape Navigator 4.04
    alias ns4 "ns4 -install"
    # For the new Netscape Communicator 4.04
    alias ns4c "ns4c -install"
After this you can start the Navigator via ns4 and the Communicator via ns4c.
** 9) Isochrones:
On the disk '/aibn31_9d/sysstw/isochrones' (normally entered by the alias
'cdisoch', see '~sysstw/conf/.alias') one can find the complete sets of
isochrones for the 3 systems:  johnson - stroemgren - washington !
After the death of the MO /j29a with Eva's collection of isochrones, we have
found a backup and installed it on the specified disk.
Please don't use the MO jukebox like a hard disk. We have enough disk space
to avoid problems caused by dying MOs - and do not forget making a backup.

***  New 'user3' and thus changed homepage location - JMB/OC 970916
We have added two new 6.4 GB SCSI harddisks, one mounted as new 'user3'.
The users don't have to bother - for them the login directory stays on
the '/user3', which is a dump of the old '/user3' at the 'aibn70', with
5 times the available disk space.
I would like every person of 3rd floor with a login directory on the '/user3'
and who has stored the own website files on a data disk to delete his/her link
to the personal web directory "old_dir" (if such a link to a datadisk was made)
by the command
    rm ~/public_htm
and to put the files in the freshly created directory '~/public_html' by
    mkdir ~/public_html
    cp -R old_dir ~/public_html
(replace "old_dir" by your old web directory, on Linux systems use '-Rd'
 instead of '-R' for copying symbolic links as symbolic links).
In future it is not sure that the WWW server mounts any data disk!
Please look for information about creating homepages, HTML tags & entities,
further web languages, browsers, WWW organizations and special webinfos for the
AIUB in HPAM, a WWW primer for the AIUB, available at the URL:
          http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~webstw/w3_man.html
which will be updated fluently in future.

• Computer System's Homepage of the Sternwarte
• HTML helpfiles for Computer Programs
• StwUB Computer Link Page
• the Sternwarte Bonn Homepage