Re: keyboard key assignment in Linux

[Paul Breeze paul.breeze@xxxxxxxx]

Dear Harry

I agree, Linux does quickly get a little less than user-friendly. I fear this is, and will always
be a problem. As soon as the going gets tough, you have to drop down to the command prompt and
start tinkering. I'm not sure if there is any way round this except to get stuck in.

I am using Mandrake Linux 9.0 which will boot from its own CD and will install itself relatively
simply into its own partition on my hard disk in about thirty minutes. I am using it to test
various options and since it can be quickly replaced I am not too worried about making some
dreadful mistake. I have a dual-boot system running Win98se and the default and Linux when I
choose it. It has proved a reasonably robust arrangement so far.

Editing dosemu.conf is not too difficult -- once you can actually find it; I do find the file
system conventions used by Linux a complete maze and if there is a logic, it has so far evaded me
-- think of it as tinkering with STARTUP.INT. Mandrake comes with a text editor called KWrite and
I have been using that to play around with dosemu.conf.

In order to get Dosemu and XY running, I created a new directory on my Win98se partition called
DOSEMU -- you can call it anything you want. Into that I put copies of command.com, msdos.sys and
io.sys from the root of my windows partition. I then added some XY directories and copied XY4 over
as well. This directory becomes the file system that doesmu will see so you need to put everything
you might want into it.

Now, as dosemu for dummies says, you must make a couple of changes in Linux. First you need to
create link in Linux that dosemu can find so that it can boot from the new directory. This link is
placed in the same directory on the Linux partition as the freedos.ro image. The syntax for
creating the link is in Dosemu for dummies. This link is a bit like a windows shortcut and looks
to Dosemu like a hard disk image but the image is exactly the directory you have just created on
your windows disk.

The link has to have a name. If you call it mydos, then you now have to use a text editor in Linux
to make that change in dosemu.conf so that dosemu will now boot from the directory you have just
created. After that it should work fine.

I felt like you did when I first approached this but the only way forward is to try it and see what
happens.

I like the idea of Linux and the freedom it offers to take only the components you need instead of
being force fed all sorts of useless applications as happens with Windows. Sadly it does not yet
offer anything like the ease of use and slickness of the Windows environment. XY4 under Linux is
useable if you need to process files but I would not be prepared to sit in front of it for hours
every day writing. Compared to Win98se, it is far too uncomfortable. I think it can probably be
improved but that is going to take a lot of work.

Best wishes

Paul

On Mon, 24 Feb 2003 00:17:37 -0500, Harry Binswanger wrote:
<
<>You should get a copy of DOSEMU for Dummies. It explains how to do this
<>in fairly simple terms.
<>
<>Paul
<