i finally have FC3 running and connected to the internet. it took me a hell of a while to get the wireless USB configured and running. now that that is in the past, i have a couple of other questions...

1) as root i can listen to my mp3's with xmms by mounting my ntfs partition containing them and just adding them to the playlist. the problem is that when i use my normal user (apu), it won't let me listen to them even though they are properly mounted. i went into the folder as root and tried to change the permissions, but it won't allow me to change the permission on any of the mp3 files. it just gives me an error saying that the permissions cannot be changed. any way to be able to change this so i can listen to the music on my non root user?

2) is it better to have the updates installed or not? since i just hooked up to the net, i got a notification saying that i have 228 updates available. now im real paranoid when it comes to updates (in windows xp at least), but seeing as how im a linux newb and i just got my system running the way it should, im not sure if i should go on with these. would any of these updates cause a major change in the system?

3) in win xp i have the cleartype option turned on. is there any equivalent available to linux?

thats about it i think...

thanks in advance for the replies

Apu

1. since linux doesnt support ntfs very well this could be the problem. look at this link.
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...hreadid=294062

2. it is a good idea to keep packages reletively up to date. after a clean install i usually update everything because the packages tend to be a few months old. security wise it is not as critical as windows to stay up-to-date. getting yourself a firewall (i use firestarter) is proboly more important.

since you are running fc3, if you did a full install, most updates will be for non critical packages (mp3 players, broswers, instant message programs). there are websites that tell you security flaws and where to find patchs/updates if you are that paranoid.

you shouldnt have trouble after updating packages. i have never had a problem.

ok, i solved the ntfs problem, but not with the link you showed me...i tried that and it didnt work. i just used the mount command, and added the -o uid=USERHERE string, so i would be the owner of the files. works great

as for the updates, they posed a problem...there are like 219 updates available for me. i set it to update everything and left it there. i got a message saying that it was resolving dependencies. after that the screen changed and it said that in order to install the updates, it would need to install some updates which were specified to be ignored (that's what i saw in the advanced config...updates with the kernel-* name would be ignored). i saw the list and of course, all the new kernel-* files were there. i decided not to go through with it cuz im not sure if installing those updates will hose my system since there would be a new kernel and stuff...
any ideas on where to go from here? or should i just risk it and install the new kernel anyway? if its the latter, then would i have to recompile and configure it and everything?


thanks in advance
Apu

I wouldn't worry about the updates. If you are really concerned, drop to a command prompt and as root run this:

# yum update

...it will grind away and then give you a long list of what it wants to do. If you are OK with it, say 'yes' and let it go.

Personally I prefer the yum method over the 'up2date' method.

Do the kernel updates unless you have a specific reason not to. A kernel update is a binary package, complete with headers and pre-built modules; you won't have to build anything unless you have some unsupported hardware (eg: wireless NICs) or programs which require their own modules (such as VMWare). You'll get used to the kernel updates; I've got something like seven kernels auto-installed over the lifetime of FC3 so far, it seems like we get a new one at least every three or four weeks.

so i can just go ahead and do all those updates?

i have only installed two modules: wireless usb adapter and NTFS read support.

im guessing that i would have to reinstall the wireless usb adapter driver (im using the linux-wlan-ng driver) and the NTFS read support using the files that match the new kernel version right?

you say that you've had lots of new kernels installed...what happens to the old one after the new one is working properly? does it stay in the system and the entry in GRUB is erased or what?


thanks
Apu