Slashdot Mirror

It has nothing to do with the brand of network adapter, but rather a network protocol, BOOTP. BOOTP allows a diskless client machine to discover its own IP address, the address of a server host, and the name of a file to be loaded into memory and executed. See RFC 951 (1985) and the Diskless Nodes HOW-TO if you want to know how to implement this under Linux.

TLDs are necessary because of the way DNS works. Basically a dns request for jack.spanner.example.com goes to the root name servers, asks for the holder of .com records, queries that server for the holder of example.com info, queries that server for either the record for jack.spanner or the dns that holds the spanner.example.com records. If there were no TLDs the root servers would have to hold every domain record for the whole inet, which would be like a return to the hosts file infrastructure. More info (which is undoubtedly more accurate than my fuzzy mumblings above ) here.

I find that Hogan Books (http://hoganbooks.com/freebook/webbooks.html) lists quite a lot of free books on the Web. The search engine makes it even more useful.

Many of the entries come from InformIT (http://www.informit.com/), which has a pretty good free library.

Then there's the Linux Documentation Project (http://www.linuxdoc.org) for Linux-specific things.

Of course there's also all the other documentation on the Net. Search engines are wonderful.

Not quite computer-related but also worth checking out are Project Gutenberg (http://promo.net/pg/), the Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl.org/reading/books/index.html) and the UPenn Digital Library (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/lists.html ). Mostly classics and other things whose copyrights have expired, but you have a couple of new books here too. General reading material - bookworm fare. =)

Yes, I know, you were looking for paper copies, and a lot of interesting information isn't available online. But it's worth checking out anyway. =)

I find that Hogan Books (http://hoganbooks.com/freebook/webbooks.html) lists quite a lot of free books on the Web. The search engine makes it even more useful.

Many of the entries come from InformIT (http://www.informit.com/), which has a pretty good free library.

Then there's the Linux Documentation Project (http://www.linuxdoc.org) for Linux-specific things.

Of course there's also all the other documentation on the Net. Search engines are wonderful.

Not quite computer-related but also worth checking out are Project Gutenberg (http://promo.net/pg/), the Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl.org/reading/books/index.html) and the UPenn Digital Library (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/lists.html ). Mostly classics and other things whose copyrights have expired, but you have a couple of new books here too. General reading material - bookworm fare. =)

Yes, I know, you were looking for paper copies, and a lot of interesting information isn't available online. But it's worth checking out anyway. =)

They play great, too! I've had some problems getting hardware accelleration working in Quake II but other than that all of these run great.

Check out the Linux Quake HOWTO, and the Linux DOOM FAQ.

Peace.

Claim your namespace.

It helped me make my X-windows usable!

-Bruce

For five years, I've read the same articles over and over again. "Linux needs to be simpler to install, and there needs to be more documentation, or it won't survive."

Yet it's still the fastest-growing OS in the world. I don't get it. Have the installs gotten simpler? Well, okay, maybe. Has the documentation gotten better or easier?

Okay, maybe.

But Linux is still going to die! Trust me.

Yes, the graphires are good. I'm not sure about their resolution for writing small signatures though. They apparently work under Linux too, but it seems a bit painful to setup. I haven't tried it yet.
dufke
-

... multicast. An Internet where anyone can stream live multimedia to an unlimited number of users is the Internet that I want to be a part of. The lack of deployment of multicast on this Internet is shameful.

That was one of the concerns which lead to the creation of the Open Content License back in 1998:

http://www.opencontent.org/opl.shtml

It's commonly used for books which are released both in print and on a free basis on-line, eg., Linux Administration Made Easy, and all the content at Linux.Com.

linux can support drives up to 8.4 gigs now?! whoop scrub!

Er, that's referring to a problem with this beta recognising WD HDDs of > 8.4GB

AFAIK there are no capacity limits. Besides, it's an OS without so much bloat, you only need the space for MP3s. So go and slag off someone else's OS.

(did I just feed the troll?)

Most importantly: Anonymity!

I really wouldn't want my fellow /.ers to know that I hang around Britney Spears chat rooms, or subscribe to Dear Abby.

For my part, I'd be willing to pay a reasonable amount for qualitycontent. There are really valuable resources and it's sure nice to get them for free. But for the contents dear to me (say Google or a huge repository of Linux documentation I see absolutely no problem to shell out a couple bucks a month, if this is necessary to maintain those resources without a streaming video showing a car commercial.

Implementation should be on a broad scale. So that spammers could be charged for their crap and small transactions can be handled transaprently, securely and anonymously.

Anonymity is probably the killer criteria, but I'll have to leave this problem to cryptographically far more competent folks.

Napster gave me no problems. Since I'm using IP Masq I don't think Napster even hiccupped. If you use the FTP proggie that comes with Windows, you'll need to load the "ip_masq_ftp" module. I do that via a very simple (one line + comment) SysVinit script: "/sbin/modprobe ip_masq_ftp". You have to have the module compiled and available though. I don't use Netmeeting or ICQ, but I think that there is an ICQ mod, I know there is a Quake mod. I set it up using the template provided in "Securing and Optimizing Linux: Red Hat Edition", look here. It was well commented on what each line in the template did, and why. Starting from there, I modified it to meet my needs; Napster, HTTP, FTP. Very simple needs. Keep in mind that I am running kernel 2.2.14 at home, so that's ipchains, NOT netfilter. Using the 2.4.x kernels are a diferent ballgame. Last I looked, ~month ago, many of those modules did not exist yet, or could be done by netfilter itself.

Regarding your statement about Netmeeting, this may help. Look for H.323 programs.

--

Napster gave me no problems. Since I'm using IP Masq I don't think Napster even hiccupped. If you use the FTP proggie that comes with Windows, you'll need to load the "ip_masq_ftp" module. I do that via a very simple (one line + comment) SysVinit script: "/sbin/modprobe ip_masq_ftp". You have to have the module compiled and available though. I don't use Netmeeting or ICQ, but I think that there is an ICQ mod, I know there is a Quake mod. I set it up using the template provided in "Securing and Optimizing Linux: Red Hat Edition", look here. It was well commented on what each line in the template did, and why. Starting from there, I modified it to meet my needs; Napster, HTTP, FTP. Very simple needs. Keep in mind that I am running kernel 2.2.14 at home, so that's ipchains, NOT netfilter. Using the 2.4.x kernels are a diferent ballgame. Last I looked, ~month ago, many of those modules did not exist yet, or could be done by netfilter itself.

Regarding your statement about Netmeeting, this may help. Look for H.323 programs.

--

Hi,
I have lately been using kernel 2.2.x with IPChains and the patch advertised in the "Bridging+Firewalling" mini-HowTO.
So what I want to know now is: How can I do something similar with kernel 2.4.x and IPTables?

Are there any patches for this or does kernel 2.4.support the same thing natively?

RFC :)

Unlike Linux, freebsd has a standard documentation place. Whereas in Linux you must go and find the documentation for the specific distribution, in freebsd its all there.

Ok, first off you're going to need some sand. Lots of sand.
Next get some bauxite ore and some copper ore. We're going to use aluminum interconnects, so the copper will only be used for the motherboard.
First off, take the sand and use it to form a silicon wafer 12 inches in diameter. (Note, previous versions of this howto specified 8 inch wafers - these will work, but your cost/chip will be much higher.
Next, purify the bauxite ore to create an ingot of pure alluminum.
Ok, now we're ready to create the general purpose microprocessor at the heart of our set top box. Using the alluminum, the wafer, a magnifying glass and a laser pointer, create a 6 issue wide superscalar 64 bit microprocessor with at least 256 KB of l2 cache. For best results, try to keep the feature size at .18 microns or below. You may have to try a few times to get this right.
Be sure to have a very clean environment for this as microprocessor cores are very succeptible to dust. Your garage is not suitable unless you give it a thorough cleaning first.
Now that you have the microprocessor, the next step is to package it. It is important to use a pin grid array rather than a ball grid array as you may wish to upgrade the processor later.

*rest of guide clipped for space reasons, but you can get the latest version from the linux documentation project.*

--Shoeboy

Setup was easy, the only tweak needed was with X11 and it was well documented here. The Yamaha sound card was not supported when I installed, but it is now.
There is an excellent site with information on all sorts of laptop setups here and a HOW-TO at LDP.

I recommend reading Scott Wunsch's excellent Chroot-BIND HOWTO for instructions on setting up BIND in a jailed root. I sleep better at night (really) thanks to this how-to.

-Waldo

If you want to know more about the Linux kernel, but are hard up for cash to buy a book on it, check these links out. They might help...

Concrete Architecture of the Linux Kernel
http://plg.uwaterloo.ca/~itbowman/CS746G/a2/

The Linux Kernel Hacker's Guide
http://khg.redhat.com/HyperNews/get/khg.html

The Linux Kernel
http://www.linuxdoc.org/LDP/tlk/tlk.html

Analysis of the Extfs Filesystem
Analysis of the Extfs Filesystem http://step.polymtl.ca/~ldd/ext2fs/ext2fs_toc.html


________

Specifically, read the partition howto, the man pages for fdisk, and the lilo/grub man/info pages. A good documentation reference point for Linux in general (including links to all the HOWTOs, etc. is the Linux Documentaiton Project.

Specifically, read the partition howto, the man pages for fdisk, and the lilo/grub man/info pages. A good documentation reference point for Linux in general (including links to all the HOWTOs, etc. is the Linux Documentaiton Project.

Now, of those three manuals none of their spines have barely been creased. The Php is creased a bit because I read (skimmed) it over a couple of pints one night.

I think GOOD online documentation is a much more useful tool for techies. I used the PHP, postgres docs a lot for a recent project but the browser interface leave soemthing to be desired. Good indices, table of contents, search, and a nice consistant interface would be a Good Thing. The LDP is a good start for things Linux.

Maybe an opensource pdf so that users could easily print out their own docs. But then again I hate pdf and when I have the choice will almost always use an HTML formatted doc over a pdf.

The same genius who came up with Xinerama?

A true OS solution....doesn't quite fit the problem, but everything needs a little modification....right? Coffee HOWTO

They say there's a howto for everything and everyone - I haven't found the one which will explain women yet - but I did find this one a while ago: From DOS/Windows to Linux HowTo. It probably answers your question, but there should be more exposure for documents like this rather than idiots & programmers as mentioned.

How many people do you know that have had Linux as their very FIRST OS? (not saying that's a bad thing)

I'm a couple of years on from my first tentative steps in GNU/Linux, and I can assure you you won't regret the move. I originally set up my PC as a multi-boot NT/95/Debian box, then when I bought a new games PC, my old one went exclusively Debian. Now my games PC is dual-boot, and if it weren't for Diablo II, my last Windows partition would be a distant memory.

I haven't used KDE, so I can't comment, but in my experience GNOME as a desktop environment adds little to usability. The GNOME/Gtk+ libs are good for developers (if only someone would document the Perl bindings properly), and provide a nice standard look-and-feel, the CORBA stuff may one day turn out to be useful, but that damn footprint thing, and the associated bells and whistles add nothing but about half a minute to x startup time. I spent about a year with the footprint, waiting for 'apt-get upgrade' to finally give it some discernable purpose, but eventually gave up. Seriously, there are some good things about the GNOME project, but the sooner you comment out exec gnome-session in your .xinitrc file, the better. A good window manager like Enlightenment is all the desktop eye candy you could ever want.

Read the From DOS/Windows to Linux HOWTO. On Debian it's found at /usr/share/doc/HOWTO/en-txt/DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO .txt.gz. It shouldn't be far away on other distros.

Most of what you will need to know can be found in the HOWTOs or man pages. Best/quickest way to read HOWTOs is:

If that seems like a lot of typing, refer to this HOWTO for why it isn't.

To supplement the online docs, you may want to get O'Reilly's 'Running Linux'; also 'Linux in a Nutshell' is good on those occasions when you know there's a command to do such-and-such, but you can't remember what it's called. The 'apropos' command is also helpful here (in fact you'll save time if you use 'apropos' before reaching for a book). Your distribution-specific docs should also get at least a skim-through

If you really want to get to know your system, I'd recommend you resist the temptation to do everything in X windows. Steer clear of GUI configuration tools unless the docs for the relevant package explicitly ask you not to edit config files by hand.

Go for a wander about your hard drive, looking at your directory structure and what goes where. The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard for POSIX-compliant systems is also helpful for explaining the rationale behind the directory heirarchy. Last I heard, Red Hat doesn't conform to the standard (Debian does, of course), but that may have changed.

Once you've started settling in, you'll need a good text editor and web browser. Forget the vi versus emacs debate. FTE is a thing of beauty, and I can't understand why it isn't raved about more often. I had a friend who installed GNU/Linux purely on the strength of this cool text editor he'd seen me use. It's easy for Windows users to pick up, and in a lot of cases has Windows-style key bindings (Ctrl-c, Ctrl-v) as well as Unixy ones (Ctrl-Ins, Shft-Ins).

Web browser. You'll want Mozilla, so you'll also need one that doesn't suck up all your memory and crash. Links (not Lynx), is jaw-droppingly brilliant. Runs in text mode, yet displays tables and frames. Supports cookies, launches helper apps, has right-click context-sensitive menus, and so on. Good for those occasions when you've stuffed up X-windows and you need to search www.deja.com for a fix.

Now you've got a web browser up and running, check out:

• The Linux Documentation Project
• linuxcommand.org

I'm a couple of years on from my first tentative steps in GNU/Linux, and I can assure you you won't regret the move. I originally set up my PC as a multi-boot NT/95/Debian box, then when I bought a new games PC, my old one went exclusively Debian. Now my games PC is dual-boot, and if it weren't for Diablo II, my last Windows partition would be a distant memory.

I haven't used KDE, so I can't comment, but in my experience GNOME as a desktop environment adds little to usability. The GNOME/Gtk+ libs are good for developers (if only someone would document the Perl bindings properly), and provide a nice standard look-and-feel, the CORBA stuff may one day turn out to be useful, but that damn footprint thing, and the associated bells and whistles add nothing but about half a minute to x startup time. I spent about a year with the footprint, waiting for 'apt-get upgrade' to finally give it some discernable purpose, but eventually gave up. Seriously, there are some good things about the GNOME project, but the sooner you comment out exec gnome-session in your .xinitrc file, the better. A good window manager like Enlightenment is all the desktop eye candy you could ever want.

Read the From DOS/Windows to Linux HOWTO. On Debian it's found at /usr/share/doc/HOWTO/en-txt/DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO .txt.gz. It shouldn't be far away on other distros.

Most of what you will need to know can be found in the HOWTOs or man pages. Best/quickest way to read HOWTOs is:

If that seems like a lot of typing, refer to this HOWTO for why it isn't.

To supplement the online docs, you may want to get O'Reilly's 'Running Linux'; also 'Linux in a Nutshell' is good on those occasions when you know there's a command to do such-and-such, but you can't remember what it's called. The 'apropos' command is also helpful here (in fact you'll save time if you use 'apropos' before reaching for a book). Your distribution-specific docs should also get at least a skim-through

If you really want to get to know your system, I'd recommend you resist the temptation to do everything in X windows. Steer clear of GUI configuration tools unless the docs for the relevant package explicitly ask you not to edit config files by hand.

Go for a wander about your hard drive, looking at your directory structure and what goes where. The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard for POSIX-compliant systems is also helpful for explaining the rationale behind the directory heirarchy. Last I heard, Red Hat doesn't conform to the standard (Debian does, of course), but that may have changed.

Once you've started settling in, you'll need a good text editor and web browser. Forget the vi versus emacs debate. FTE is a thing of beauty, and I can't understand why it isn't raved about more often. I had a friend who installed GNU/Linux purely on the strength of this cool text editor he'd seen me use. It's easy for Windows users to pick up, and in a lot of cases has Windows-style key bindings (Ctrl-c, Ctrl-v) as well as Unixy ones (Ctrl-Ins, Shft-Ins).

Web browser. You'll want Mozilla, so you'll also need one that doesn't suck up all your memory and crash. Links (not Lynx), is jaw-droppingly brilliant. Runs in text mode, yet displays tables and frames. Supports cookies, launches helper apps, has right-click context-sensitive menus, and so on. Good for those occasions when you've stuffed up X-windows and you need to search www.deja.com for a fix.

Now you've got a web browser up and running, check out:

• The Linux Documentation Project
• linuxcommand.org

heh... one of the worst thing you can say to a newbie. But in this case there is a fairly comprehensive HOWTO called DOS-Win-to-Linux-HOWTO. It doesn't tell you everything but it's a pretty good start. Beats buying a book :)
Linux IS supposed to be free right?

-FrozdSolid

My catchall help source is Google's Linux Search I can't comment on any general purpose linux help books, becuase I haven't used any.

-jef

So, stop whining. There is an old proverb, "it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness. If you see a need fill it, if you find something lacking make it better. That's what it's all about.

If you can't handle it go back to Windows(tm) or whatever platform you came from... Linux is not that hard to learn, especially if you are somewhat computer literate as the original questioner claimed.

--

So, stop whining. There is an old proverb, "it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness. If you see a need fill it, if you find something lacking make it better. That's what it's all about.

If you can't handle it go back to Windows(tm) or whatever platform you came from... Linux is not that hard to learn, especially if you are somewhat computer literate as the original questioner claimed.

--

I cursed and cursed. I learned emacs. I unlearned all those windows keystrokes. (not really, its kool to switch my fingers to windows mode on a win box). I killed gnome and kde and installed a gui that used only a few megs (in code and execution) and was as foreign looking to Windoze as possible, Windowmaker

But as I learned to make major changes to my system without a gui or goddamn, *f-ing rebooting every 5 minutes I began to feel that godlike power agian that hooked me on computers back when I was 9. I began to love Linux. I feel natural with it and can really get around.

Funny, but just after that transition phase I took an engineering management role in a dot com and help in the setup of a several hundred K in unix hardware (smp sun boxes, linux, raid arrays, yada). I can tell you being able to live at the command line (and I mead live - getting help, light browsing, writing code (java and c++), working with multiple apps, email) was incredibly useful - I'd say mecessary

Though I've said alot, I don't know what to say. Sometimes I actually don't want every joe 6 pack to be running linux. The prideful part of me says, "learn the goddamn system and stop complaining. And if you can't, puleeze go back to windows. Grandma shouldn't be anywhere near a linux box anyway." The human part of me (oh, pride IS human, Doh) says, "*sniff*, try these:"

linuxhelp.net
linuxhelp.org
linuxselfhelp.com
linuxnewbie.org
How To's

The LDP has a vast library of HOWTO's and Guides. I think they are fairly easy to understand, even if you don't have a good knowledge of all the aspects of Linux.

A guide or tutorial with phrases like "doing x in linux is like doing y in Windows", etc.

One place you might want to check out is The Linux Documentation Project. They have a lot of volunteer-written documentation, including the "From DOS/Windows to Linux HOWTO". It gives a decent introduction to at least let you get around your system.

Another good source is "Securing and Optimizing Linux: Red Hat Edition" (4Mb PDF). It's actually a book... you can buy it online too. It covers shutting down services, firewalling, reconfiging the kernel, and a number of other things.

This was a good article, but when I had tried to set up an mp3 server, if I didn't compress the streams, they were very choppy. Unless you have an OC3 or whatever, you need to compress them.

I found a guide here that shows how.

Matt Barnson

Keep your old monitor

Buy a dual-head Matrox g450 (or multiple PCI Matrox video cards)

Buy a high quality 19" flat screen CRT

Configure X to use Xinerama. You get more real estate with two 19" monitors than one 21" for the exact same price. In my case, I saved $450 by keeping my older, high-quaity 17" monitor. I keep it to the side of my main monitor for viewing documentation and other miscellaneous tasks. I use my new 19" for the actual coding, since that is what I am looking/staring at most of the time.

Resist the urge to coax the greatest resolution out of your monitor. With the two monitors, 1280x1024 becomes 1280x2048! In my case, that means I have 16 bit color, and 75Hz refresh on my less used monitor and 85Hz refresh on my main monitor.

Finally, be sure to read the XFree86 Font Duglification Mini HOWTO. Run TrueType fonts at 100DPI.

By the way, no normal people can afford LCD screens.

However, "The Linux Kernel" is a very informative book and it is a good start to learning about operating systems.

I've found that with some of my cousins, that if I start out with stories about Linus Torvalds, or the kid who got arrested for DeCSS, then they become more interested in the source code and being able to play with it.

especially if an X-aware compressor were made ... such as LBX :p

• DB2 Version 5.2 was released as a beta only about two years ago.
• DB2 Version 6.1 was released about six months after, as a fully supported commercial release.
• DB2 Version 7.1 was released in June of this year. More stable. A DB2 on Linux HOWTO is available from the Linux Documentation Project.
• DB2 Version 7.2 is scheduled to be released next year, adding support for partitioned (clustered) databases. A beta version of this support was released back in November.

AFAIK, WebSphere was previously available on Linux, but it was really only the Apache-based webserver and application server that had been available. The e-commerce extensions had only been available on AIX, Solaris, and NT, until now. That's what the announcement is really about.

I remember that Linux Journal was asked why they ran their server on NT, and their response was that they didn't have any out-of-the-box solution on Linux. I checked out WebSphere for Linux at that time, and they were right. Now, however, they've got no excuse... (you could say that they were just lazy before, but...)

• DB2 Version 5.2 was released as a beta only about two years ago.
• DB2 Version 6.1 was released about six months after, as a fully supported commercial release.
• DB2 Version 7.1 was released in June of this year. More stable. A DB2 on Linux HOWTO is available from the Linux Documentation Project.
• DB2 Version 7.2 is scheduled to be released next year, adding support for partitioned (clustered) databases. A beta version of this support was released back in November.

AFAIK, WebSphere was previously available on Linux, but it was really only the Apache-based webserver and application server that had been available. The e-commerce extensions had only been available on AIX, Solaris, and NT, until now. That's what the announcement is really about.

I remember that Linux Journal was asked why they ran their server on NT, and their response was that they didn't have any out-of-the-box solution on Linux. I checked out WebSphere for Linux at that time, and they were right. Now, however, they've got no excuse... (you could say that they were just lazy before, but...)

This is a cool attempt.. for one thing it shows how flexible the linux kernel is.

Um... Not really. It's almost trivial to put something inside of something else, as long as you write good interfaces. And the more 3rd party code you accomodate, the more risk there is of unstable code crashing the system, or of security breaches.

If necessary, kernel interfaces to userland programs are probably the best way to go, but even then you're not necessarily safe. Remember: try to run code as an unpriveleged user at first, then as root if necessary, but only in kernel space as a last resort.

but it would be funky having device drivers loaded from anywhere using this technology!

Like Jini? I hope you're not suggesting we embed the JRE into the kernel! That would be grotesque, despite the niftiness... No! No niftiness! Don't tempt me! Back!

--

For more info, check out The LBX Mini-Howto.

As some other posts have pointed out, the problem isn't entirely solveable (sp?), but LBX is at least one step in the right direction.

Have fun! //Johan

You can pull a lot of neat tricks with dosemu. My favorite being to trick DOS into thinking a telnet port is actually a modem, then you can just run your dos BBS software and doorgames over telnet without any modification. As far as the DOS fossil driver's concerned, it's talking to an analog modem that handshakes in a millisecond. ;)

So yes, you can have your maximus/renegade/telegard/wwiv/majorbbs/spitfire/e tc BBS running under dosemu and taking calls from both modem(s) and telnet.

Check the dosemu documentation or the howtos over at linuxdoc.org.
---
Where can the word be found, where can the word resound? Not here, there is not enough silence.

Well made observations, but there are of course no rules without exceptions - either way. The biggest problem in X is however, getting good enough fonts. No free distribution packages good fonts simply because the best ones are commercial.

Here's a resource to obtain fonts, free or not:
http://www.linux.org/docs/ldp/howto/Font-HOWTO-10. html
The easiest way is to just copy fonts from your Windows-partition or CD (if you have Windows at all, but some of them may be downloaded too).

I found this resource good when I did this on Mandrake 7.2 (before I saw the option in DraConfig->fonts to automagically install Windows fonts):
http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/FDU/index.html

I got this page from this resource (containing alot of links):
http://www.kegel.com/linux/tt.html

Everybody who have Linux should do this. You will not want to barf at your screen again. You will enjoy Linux and browsing web-pages is like browsing with Internet Exploder. That's partly unfortunately since both Nutscrape and Konqueror is just as stable. However, it's free and it's improving alot!

- Steeltoe

Correct. I would suggest reading the Deuglification HOW-TO. In 10 minutes you can tweak X 3.3.x or 4.0.x to have great looking fonts.

There is an XML/SGML alternative to LaTeX. It is already used by LinuxDoc and it is called DocBook.

This XML/SGML solution will not give you power to specify exact inches/cm like LaTeX but the goal is to tag everything to use with stylesheets. With the use of MathML, one can get the formula writing powers of LaTeX.

Alot of work has been done by Norman Walsh and he has some nice stylesheets for making slides and even a website.

This is not for the person interested in flashy webpages, but for people interested in using the power of XML to document anything.

If you are working with writing technical documentation this is something that is worth looking into.

alfadir
--
"A witty quote proves nothing." - Signature Etiquette

After you've had a couple sessions to go through the basics, you could consider using one of the HOWTO's at linuxdoc.org for a topic for each brown bag session.

A lot of people would probably be interested in some of the common time-suckers when you're getting started with a new linux box such as how to get your dial-up connection set up. Mix the HOWTO material with your own experience and tips so that people are getting more than what they just could have read themselves.

A really big favor you could do to your coworkers is start to teach them about security and linux. Nothing sucks more for a newbie than finally getting their first linux box up and running on their cable modem, only to have it cracked within the hour. Totally demoralizing.

I imagine you'll do a session on how to install a new machine -- this is a great time to go into why and how to shut down unnecessary services, install ssh, install patches, etc. etc.

Just include it as part of the standard installation process. That's the sort of stuff that will make your seminars really unique and valuable -- securing your new box is really important, but isn't covered very often in off-the-shelf documentation.

-- Scott