A.P. Lawrence

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Originally, this was a "SCO Unix site". Or so the title page said, anyway. However, that wasn't really ever true, because I've been interested in Linux and other Unix-like OSes for years. There's also a lot here that isn't necessarily strongly Unix: it's just computerish or techy. I also write a little about Windows. But you will still find quite a bit here that is SCO Unix related. There's also lots of Linux, and a bit of OS X and other things Unixy, resources for people making web sites, for people interested in making money from web sites, for the self-employed, and little bits of other things too..

I started this site simply as a repository for things I needed to remember. I found that writing things up in an explanatory style helped me to understand them better myself, and also served as a refresher when I needed it. I was also very active on the newsgroups, and used articles here to point to rather than posting the same explanation over and over.

The design of this site is a little spartan. My reasoning is that this is mostly a help site - it should work for you even if everything you own is broken and all that works is lynx or worse a telnet to port 80. Most pages are going to load quickly even if you are temporarily stuck behind a 1200 baud modem. Function is more important than form for that reason.

This is not a heavy "geek" site. It's more like "help for the power user". I'm not a guru and don't even pretend to be. I'm just a fairly ordinary person who has struggled with this stuff for years. Too many times my innate confusion has been made worse by poorly written explanations that make assumptions that happen not to be true. There are some fairly techy articles here, but most of it is written with the assumption that you probably aren't heavily technical.

This is a BIG site. There's a lot here, and it can be confusing. That's why the best, really the ONLY way to find what you want is to use our search tools. If you really are the sort who needs to see things ordered by date, see Index by date for a complete listing.

If you are looking for free help, please see Answers for suggestions of ways to find what you need. If you are looking to hire me to help you, see Rates.

You can post at our Site Forum also.

If you need help with Unix or Linux right now, you can get email or live

There is also a Consultants List that has Unix/Linux consultants from all over the world. If you are a consultant, you can add yourself to that list at no charge.

The best way to find anything you need here is to use one of the Search engines. One of them uses a number of hand maintained indexes in addition to automatically generated content. The hand maintenance can give a more intelligent response to your queries, but there is also a plain old dumb search (the typical sort of search engine). The quick links at the side of each page can also help you move around, but really: search is the very best way to find things. There's just too much here, and too much activity, to do it any other way. So try it out; I think you will like the results. Even I use it, because I can't remember where everything is here. The Start Here pages can also help you if you don't know where to start.

No matter where you wander in the site, look for the A.P. Lawrence Logo (the guy in the boat at the top of this page). Clicking that will always bring you back to the beginning. If you get completely frustrated and can't find what you want, please see Answers for suggestions on ways to find what you need.

The FAQ is full of help for Unix administrators and users. FAQ questions and answers are integrated into the Search tool, so that's an easy way to find what you are looking for. Many people contribute to the FAQ; if you have something you'd like to see added, just drop me an email. Some of the FAQ articles would apply to any Unix or Linux, but please keep in mind that Unix and Linux distributions do vary; sometimes commands take different syntax or produce slightly different results.

New to SCO is a mini-faq of information you need to know if you are just starting to use a SCO Operating System (or working to convert it to Linux)- even if you are experienced with other Unixes, you need to read this- it will give you a quick start on where to find the resources you'll need, what some of the specific SCO Unix commands are, and where to find patches.

Some resources for those moving SCO systems to Linux or just trying to keep them running for a while:

• Self defense for SCO users
• SCO/Linux Transition Guide
• Time to dump SCO?
• How can I mount a SCO file system in Linux or vice-versa?
• How can I transfer SCO accounts (passwd information) to Linux?
• Can Linux run OSR5 binaries?

If you are not familiar with Unix at all, look at the New to Unix page. SCO News is recent patch updates and other news of interest to SCO and Linux users.

The Unix Articles, Unixware, Mac OS X and Linux pages are indexes to articles or how-to's. Many different topics are covered here, so browse around or use the Search engine. Every article ends with a list of related articles, links, Books reviews and FAQ items to help you find what you need.

The Code page has shell, Perl and C program source code for a number of small projects, including things covered more fully in the Articles pages.

There are selected Newsgroup postings at Best of C.U.S.M. All of these are indexed by my search engine, and none of them are in any sensible order or otherwise cataloged, so let the Search do the work for you.

The Tests are a fun way to test your knowledge of Unix, Mac OS X and Linux. They can also help you learn about features and commands you may not have been aware of. There's no scoring; the answers are always given. We try to add new questions every month, so if you haven't tried a test in a while, you'll find new challenges! While not intended to specifically help with certification exams, many people have told me that they have used these tests for that quite succesfully.

We even have Crossword Puzzles and Cartoons for a break from work.

Links are Unix and Linux related links to other peoples pages. Should your pages be there? Just send me an email and I'll add them.

The Books section gives short reviews of Unix and Linux related books. Reviews is longer product reviews, both hardware and software. Opinion is the editorial pages, where I and other folks rant on about various things.

If you are looking for a consultant, the Consultants page lists Unix and Linux technical help world-wide. If you are a consultant, your listing is free.

We support and sell SCO and Linux as well as most associated hardware and software. ACE certified, over 23 years of experience. See the Consulting Rates and Services pages for more information. If you just need to contact me, see Contact Info.

If you are curious about my background, see No Wizards Here. See My Certifications if that sort of thing is important to you.

If you want to run your banner ad here, see the Advertising Rates page.

I always welcome suggestions for improvement, and am happy to publish your articles or opinions.

Thanks for visiting, and don't forget that you are supposed to have a life, too. Computers and operating systems are necessary, sometimes fun, sometimes how we earn our living, but your family and friends are a lot more important. That's one of the reasons I'm self employed- I do spend a lot of time doing this geekish stuff, but I have a whole other life, too, and I make darn sure I have the time to live it and enjoy it. If you aren't enjoying your life, you need to change things. If your job is making you miserable, you especially need to change that (if it's just Unix that is making you grumpy, I hope these pages can help).

Good luck, and I hope you find what you need.

Learn more about Unix, Linux or Mac OS X!

Disclaimer

This site contains information and resources intended to be helpful.

SOME OF THE MATERIAL AT THIS SITE IS RELATED TO SCO OSR5. OSR5 is Unix, so that may still be useful if you are running Unixware, Solaris, Linux or whatever, but if your specific OS is not specifically mentioned, take whatever you read as being POSSIBLY WRONG FOR YOU.

In general, you need to be very careful when applying any suggestions or ideas gleaned from this or any site. First, there may be typos or even actual errors in what you read. Secondly, software changes all the time: what may have been correct a year ago may be very wrong today.

Therefor, take everything with a grain of salt and do whatever you can do to confirm that whatever you are about to do is appropriate and not dangerous. If you aren't confident that you can do that, please find someone with more knowledge and rely on their judgement.

Program code on this site is particularly dangerous for unsophisticated users, and should never be used unless you fully understand it. Most code published here is intended to be illustrative rather than functional.

Some material here is quite old and therefor may be outdated. How do you know what's old? Everything within the past few years has a copyright notice at the bottom; if there is not one, what you are reading is older than 1997. I do try to revisit these articles and make notes about things that have changed, but I don't always get to everything.

Privacy

There are areas of this site where you can sign up for newsletters or other information.

We won't sell your name, email or web information. We will contact you with important information related to this site only. You will not be added to anyone else's mailing lists.

"the BEST site I've seen for Unix":   http://www.itcmagazine.com/issues/jan02/dept_to olkit.cfm

"The information here is surprisingly detailed and of obvious value to general UNIX system administrators as well as those working with SCO UNIX systems":    http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00220000117eje02.htm

"full of how-tos, support tips, book reviews, programs, and a neat SCO Unix skills test":    http://www.stokely.com/unix.sysadm.resources/faqs.s.html

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This is a Unix/Linux resource website. It contains technical articles about Unix, Linux and general computing related subjects, opinion, news, help files, how-to's, tutorials and more. We appreciate comments and article submissions.

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