[Sussex] Dear Tech support

[Gareth Ablett]

Hi,

All of this just to get some ROOT :)

Gareth Ablett
Systems Developer

ITP Services Ltd.
http://www.itpserve.co.uk/

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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Karl E. Jorgensen [mailto:karl at jorgensen.com]
> Sent: 20 September 2004 7:10 pm
> To: sussex at mailman.lug.org.uk
> Subject: Re: [Sussex] Dear Tech support
> 
> On Thu, Sep 16, 2004 at 02:45:35PM +0100, Gareth Ablett wrote:
> > Dear Tech support
> >
> > Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0. I soon noticed
> > that the new program began unexpected child processing that took up a
> > lot of space and valuable resources. No mention of this was included
> > with the product information. In addition, Wife 1.0 installed itself
> > into all other programs and now launches during system initialization,
> > where it monitors all other system activity. Applications such as Poker
> > Night 10.3, Football 5.0, Hunting and Fishing 7.5, and Racing 3.6 no
> > longer run, crashing the system whenever selected. I can't seem to keep
> > Wife 1.0 in the background while attempting to run my favorite
> > applications.
> >
> > I'm thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0, but the uninstall
> > doesn't work on Wife 1.0 Please help!
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > A Troubled User.
> >
> > _________________________
> 
> A reply from Karl's tech support:
> 
> The problem obviously is the upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0.
> Although not obvious in the smallprint, this is rarely recommended,
> regardless how amicable the licensing terms (as dictated by the parent
> processes) are.
> 
> As others have noted, Wife 1.0 can be removed by installing Divorce.
> Although a long, resource-hungry and protacted process, many find this a
> viable option despite the fact it leaves incomplete jobs like Cleaning,
> Laundry and Ironing.  Manual rescheduling fixes this problem.
> 
> Many who have the necessary resources take the option of running
> multiple instances of Girlfriend instead of upgrading to Wife. This can
> be much more satisfying.  As power users are already aware, one should
> allow each program to be expert in its own area - no one program can do
> everything well.
> 
> Running multiple instances of Girlfriend 7.0 has to be done carefully
> though - they both tend to object to not having free access to the /home
> directory, and have an irritating habbit of leaving files (sometimes
> hidden ones) in the /home/bedroom directory.
> 
> As usual, it is essential to install anti virus software in this case -
> Condom must be installed (even before installing the first instance of
> Girlfriend). Any version will do, although many have reported the
> Featherlight version to be the one reducing performance the least and
> suitable for most uses.  For heavier use, the enterprise version
> (codenamed Xtra-Safe) should be used as the Featherlight version does
> not use strong encryption.
> 
> Note that Condom must be run at all times while interacting other
> programs.  This is easiest done by setting the LD_PRELOAD environment
> variable.
> 
> Running multiple instances of Girlfriend can be fraugh with dangers if
> not managed correctly.
> 
> If running simultaneously, compatibility can be ensured by giving each a
> different /home directory.  Unfortunately, this is inherently resource
> intensive - be sure that all installations come with their own /home
> directory.  If you allow access to your personal /home directory to an
> instance, other instances should be denied access (until you have
> performed the necessary clean-up).
> 
> Another approach at having two installations of Girlfriend is to *not*
> run both at the same time, but use time-division-muliplexing.  This is
> essentially a manual scheduler where the /home directory is backed up
> after invocation of the first instance, and then restored immediately
> before invoking the same instance again.  If you leave files created by
> one instance visible to another instance, the second instance may
> terminate abnormally.  This is easiest accomplished by undertaking a
> rigid cleaning regime that allows you to present a clean /home directory
> at all times.
> 
> Regardless of the multitasking approach taken, you still run the risk of
> one instance attempting to interrupt[1] you when you are working in the
> other instance.  This problem can be solved by using different methods
> of inter-process communication with each instance - e.g. in the
> /vodaphone and /orange directories. Just point each instance at a
> different communication device and make sure that there are background
> processes reading any data written by any non-active Girlfriend
> instance.
> 
> PS: Yes: the fortune is actually random :-)
> 
> [1] The Girlfriend application appears to be triggered by external
>     interrupts such as "Shopping", "PMS", "Birthday", "Anniversary" and
>     possibly others - I forget which.
> 
> 
> --
> Karl E. Jørgensen
> karl at jorgensen.com   http://karl.jorgensen.com
> ==== Today's fortune:
> The happiest time of a person's life is after his first divorce.
> 		-- J.K. Galbraith