[Samba] Beginner with a beginner's question..

[Mark Butcher]

Hi Jerry

Thanks Jerry.

Would you believe it, the thing started working just after sending the last
mail. I am not sure whether I really had a password issue or not but it was
probably because a LAN cable was loose in a hub and some one moved it just
as it was getting interesting. Anyway I realised sometime then that I could
no longer ping the Windows PC and after ensuring all was secure it worked.

I can now see and transfer data between PCs like there's no tomorrow.

My only restriction is that it doesn't work between Linux and NT PCs (they
can see each other but seem to hate having anything to do with each other).
My Win 98 PCs and Linux get on just fine. Maybe I can live with this for
the mean time and then while I'm learning Linux may find the utility I'm
missing....


Since things are communicating, I have started work on my second goal -
getting the Apache web server installed and operating. Thankfully this
worked first try and I have tranfered my HTML files to Linux and we can all
surf on to it locally. Once the wire wall issue is checked it should go
able to go public.

Next step is an Email server, which I understand is somewhat trickier -
we'll see.


By the way I see the mounting commands in the viewer software log files and
may well also do things by hand now that I know them and know that they
work - the viewer software is however useful because it works like it did
in Windows and delivers the command needed without the frustration of
sifting through (for me) complicated literature with a million options
(great for experts) but a jungle for newbies.

I also have nothing against learning Linux. I did learn a lot last year
when I compiled GNU software under CYGWIN (Bash shell for windows) - then I
had to learn enough to write script files and understand make files and
some of the utilities (does take some time...). One learns more every day
and has pleasure learning it - but the point is that a computer is there to
be useful and not just to be studied. SuSE and Red Hat seem to be doing
good jobs at making things simpler to use - the normal user probably
doesn't need to know any command line stuff to do things which he/she wants
to do (office, games, Internet etc.) I can imagine telling my little
daugher that she must first go away and read a book about bash, vi etc. and
then I will let her install her "Spelling program" - probably wouldn't go
down too well and wouldn't help anyone.

Cheers

Mark