EMC Installation Service Available

While I think it's a good idea for folks contemplating use of the EMC
software to do their own installation in order to benefit from the learning
experience, there seems to be some pent up demand for an installation
service. I would be happy to provide such a service for a small fee.

<small_rant>
Before I outline my plan I would like to address the issue of, "Why not burn
a CD that installs Linux and the EMC automatically?" Well, you can certainly
get a Red Hat Linux 5.2 CD which has an installation program similar to the
installation program that loads Microsoft Windows. You could also make a
diskette with Tim Goldstein's script file and the RT patch on it, and follow
his directions to install the whole shebang pretty painlessly. The problem
with doing this is that differences in hardware configurations may require
some manual intervention to resolve conflicts not anticipated by the authors
of the installation programs. If at this point you say, "But I can install
Windows 95 on my computer without screwing around with all that stuff. It's
as easy as Plug & Play!", I would say, "hogwash". First of all, when you
install 95 (from scratch, not an upgrade), you have to edit several files on
the installation floppy to copy the appropriate CDROM device driver to your
hard drive so that you can read the Win95 CD. Many will say, "No I don't! I
got a copy of 95 with my Packard Bell that I can use to restore my system to
its original state any time I want." That's because Packard Bell did these
modifications for you. Try making significant hardware changes and then
restoring your system with that floppy and CD. If you build your own computer
from parts and buy an OEM version of Windows 95 you'll see what I mean. To be
fair, Win98 solves a lot of this problem by including more CDROM support on
the installation floppy. Some might say at this point, "OK, but once you
finish the Win 95 install, everything always works perfectly." I would have
to reply that you need to get out more... Upon completing an install of 95
one of the first things you need to do is to go into the Control Panel and
double click on the System icon. If you select the Device Manager tab you
will see a listing of hardware devices. Are there any red X's or yellow
exclamation points next to any of those devices? How about an entry with a
yellow question mark labeled Other Devices? If there are, you need to fix
these by reallocating system resources such as I/O addresses and IRQ
assignments, or by changing the device driver software versions. You can
spend hours and hours (I have...) getting everything to coexist peacefully.
If you want a truly no hassle computer, buy an Apple Macintosh. Although I
have no first hand experience with them, I understand that they are
foolproof.

The problems that folks have with Linux can be summarized in two categories:

1. Unfamiliarity - Improves with experience.
2. Insufficient or Incompatible Hardware - More on this below.

P.S. I acknowledge that DOS is easy to install, so is Win 3.1

P.P.S. You can buy PCs with Linux preinstalled from:
http://www.varesearch.com
and
http://www.penguincomputing.com/
among others.

</small_rant>

Services:

Installation of Red Hat Linux 5.2, RTlinux patch and the latest version of
the EMC - $200
Configure Samba and make the box talk on my 100MB/s network - $75 (optional,
network card required)
Configure modem to connect to your ISP - $50 (optional, requires COMPATIBLE
modem)

Terms:

1. Customer provides the PC and pays shipping both ways.

2. I will supply a PC if desired for the actual cost of acquisition plus 15%
(This will be a NEW PC)

3. Payment is expected at the time services are rendered.

4. If you ship hardware that won't work, I'll replace the deficient
components on a time and materials basis if desired. For hardware advice see:
http://www.redhat.com/corp/support/hardware/intel/52/rh52-hardware-intel.html

Call for additional details (410) 521-3715

Thanks,
Matt Shaver