Q I used SUSE 9.2, to creat a dual booting system with MS Windows XP. The installation was smooth - but it won't connect to the internet, and it won't print. I've looked at a few forums regarding my USB modem (a BT Voyager 105), and it seems that plenty of other people have had the same problem. There is software out there to drive this modem, but it seems that there's no RPM for SUSE. The next problem is that I don't actually know the difference between source, an RPM and a binary, and what steps I have to go through.
I understand the basic concept of compiling etc, but I don't actually have a compiler. To make matters worse, I am still accessing the internet via MS Windows, so after I've downloaded files I need to put them somewhere that Linux can see them when I re-boot. This isn't a problem as such, but is rather time-consuming -and frustrating when I don't know if I am doing things right. I'm certain that other people have got stuck on this point. What is annoying is that I have been here before with Storm Linux and got stuck in roughly the same predicament. I prefer the KDE environment to Windows XP - and I love the stability Linux offers - so any pointers in the right direction would be most appreciated.
A You can get an RPM in one of two different formats: source and binary. The source RPM contains the original code used to build the binary RPM, and isn't necessary if all you want to do is to install the software. The binary RPM contains the compiled code ready to run. Likewise, software is also distributed in a non-distribution specific 'source' tarball, containing pure source code; or occasionally in a binary format, which has to be installed by hand. We located some great documentation describing exactly how to set up the Voyager modem under Linux, which can be found at www.lack-of.org.uk/viewarticle.php?article=114. You may want to print it out before rebooting into Linux so you have it as a reference. You can also download information to your Windows C: drive and mount it from Linux with:
# mount -t vfat /dev/hda1 /mnt/win-c