Newsgroups: comp.unix.sco.announce,comp.answers,news.answers

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Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!howland.erols.net!newsfeed.wirehub.nl!feeder.via.net!enews.sgi.com!coop.net!world!apl
From: [email protected] (Tony Lawrence)
Subject: comp.unix.sco Administrative FAQ
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Approved: [email protected]
Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2000 23:25:37 GMT
Organization: http://www.aplawrence.com
Keywords: FAQ SCO Xenix Unix Frequently Asked Questions
Followup-To: comp.unix.sco.misc
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Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.unix.sco.announce:2475 comp.answers:42682 news.answers:193876

Archive-Name: comp.unix.sco Administrative FAQ
Posting-Frequency: Monthly (mid month)
Last-modified: Oct

comp.unix.sco Administrative FAQ

FAQ Starting Page http://aplawrence.com/SCOFAQ/index.html

Revision Information

Version: 200010090
Date: 07 October 2000
Author: Tony Lawrence <[email protected]> (originally by Stephen
Dunn)
URL: http://aplawrence.com/SCOFAQ/

These FAQS were developed and maintained for years by
[email protected] (Stephen M. Dunn). Steve no longer has the time to
maintain them, and has asked me to take them over. Please remember the
debt all of us owe to Steve for his efforts- I myself spent many hours
learning from these very documents, and I'm sure many of us can say
similar things.

Because Steve has not been able to maintain these for a while now,
some of the information herein is outdated. I am working to correct
that, but it's a lot to catch up on, so if you spot something, please
let me know. For the moment, I'm just marking some of it as probably
being useless; as I have time, I'll check further to be certain before
I remove anything.

Recent Revision History
* 200010090: Cleanups suggested by Tom Melvin
* 200010080: Cleanups suggested by Jean Pierre Radley
* 200010080: Specialix link changed to www.perle.com by Clayton
Malaker
* 200010070: Cleanups suggested by Dirk Hart
* 200009120: Added ACE information
* 200009120: Added Caldera information
* 200009120: Added Book information
* 200009120: Additions to SLS section
* 200009120: Noted probable outdated material
* 199908040: Updated link to programming FAQ and FTP site list
* 199902020: Updated SCO Singapore phone and fax numbers
* 199812010: Updated link to programming FAQ
* 199809300: Updated Specialix contact information; changed SCO
phone numbers to reflect new area code
* 199801130: Removed HTML tables since the html2ascii program used
to convert the FAQ into plain text (for Usenet posting) can't
handle tables
* 199801090: First HTML version

DISCLAIMER: I try to keep this information correct, up-to-date, and
useful. From time to time, errors and oversights will occur. While
this group is read by numerous SCO staff and other experts, and they
tend to catch any mistakes I make, there is no guarantee that the
information below is 100% right.

THANKS: I can't do this without the help of a number of other people.
You know who you are. Thank you.
_________________________________________________________________

Table of Contents

First, a simple definition

* What is a FAQ?

Next, a word to those who want technical information

What happened to biz.sco.*?

Mailing List Stuff

* What are the mailing lists and newsgroups?
* What exactly do I find in each of the newsgroups?
* How do I subscribe to one of these lists?
* How do I unsubscribe to one of these lists?
* What if my automated request doesn't work?
* How do I change my subscription address?
* I think I'll send a test to make sure I can get through to the
list
* How do I send articles to these mailing lists?
* I have a product that runs under SCO and I want to tell the world!
* I always get multiple copies of articles!
* I sometimes get multiple copies of articles!
* Are there any other SCO newsgroups?
* Are there any other non-SCO-specific Unix newsgroups?
* What other stuff shows up here periodically?
* Where can I find this FAQ list?
* I have a suggestion/correction for the FAQ list
* Where do I find the programming FAQ?

Net.Etiquette

* Where do my messages go?
* What do I put in my .signature?
* How much of the previous message should I include in my reply?
* I think I'll send a test to make sure I can get through to the
list
* Nobody replied to my question, so I'll send it again
* SCO sucks and [someone else] has a better product!
* This isn't the right place to post this question, but ...
* I like to use tabs in my email and news articles
* I have a technical question
* Is it OK for me to post an ad?

Other Information

* What is SCO's Phone Number?
* What about Caldera?
* Tell me about SLSes, EFSes, etc.
* How Do I connect to SCO's machines?
* How do I get SCO Certification?
* How can I find SCO specific books and magazines?

Glossary of acronyms

How Do I send email to SCO?

I'm looking for such-and-such a program. Where is it?

SCO Software Archive Sites

Some or most of these may not exist. I haven't had time to check
through them yet; see http://aplawrence.com/Links for a more recent
list.
* KUSO - the Kanji Users Service Operation
* The (unofficial) SCO ODT Ported Software Compendium
* Xenitec Archives
* TeleSys Unix/Xenix Software Archive
* ftp.celestial.com
* Other sites

How do I contact a vendor for drivers and/or technical support?

First, a simple definition

What is a FAQ?

It's short for Frequently Asked Questions. If you have a question,
look here for the answer before posting, so that we don't have lots of
people asking the same questions every week or two. Many of the most
common questions regarding the mailing list and SCO products are here
somewhere.

There are two other FAQs which appear here from time to time. Ed Hew
maintains the "FAQ: SCO Unix newsgroups and mailing lists" FAQ, which
contains background on these newsgroups/mailing lists and information
on common administrative procedures. There is also an FTP site FAQ
which is far more comprehensive than the one included in this FAQ.

There is also a list below of other newsgroups which often cover
material which relates to SCO Xenix and Unix as well as other Unix
systems. Many of these newsgroups also have FAQs which you may wish to
research. For those questions which just can't wait, many FAQs are
archived at ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/, in a
directory structure organized into the same hierarchy as Usenet news.

[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_________________________________________________________________

Next, a word to those who want technical information

There are two different FAQ lists for this newsgroup/mailing list.
This is the administrivia one; it is entirely devoted to stuff about
what this mailing list/newsgroup is about, what others exist, how to
subscribe or unsubscribe, etc. If you want technical answers, please
go to the companion list which deals with all sorts of technical
questions. The Technical FAQ consists of multiple parts. The
Administrative FAQ and all parts of the Technical FAQ are posted at
the same time, approximately every fourteen days, so they should reach
you at about the same time. Both lists live at
http://aplawrence.com/SCOFAQ/.

[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_________________________________________________________________

What happened to biz.sco.*?

The following information is included for historical purposes only

In December 1994, a formal RFD (Request For Discussion, an article
which officially begins discussion on proposed additions, changes, or
deletions to Usenet newsgroups) was issued proposing that the biz.sco
hierarchy be moved and reorganized into a new hierarchy,
comp.unix.sco. The CFV (Call For Votes, an article which officially
solicits votes on a proposal initiated via an RFD) was issued in March
1995; it passed in April 1995. In that same month, the following three
newsgroups were created:

comp.unix.sco.announce
Announcements about SCO Unix. (moderated)

comp.unix.sco.programmer
Programming in and for SCO Environments.

comp.unix.sco.misc
SCO Unix, Systems, and Environments.

The existing biz.sco hierarchy was not deleted at this time to allow
for a graceful cutover. As is normal Usenet practice, after a suitable
period of coexistence, it has been removed; the news control messages
to remove the biz.sco newsgroups were sent on 3 June 1995.

Many of the biz.sco newsgroups were also available via mailing lists.
Subscribers to those mailing lists will find that their subscriptions
have been transformed into subscriptions to the appropriate
comp.unix.sco newsgroups.

[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_________________________________________________________________

Mailing List Stuff

What are the mailing lists and newsgroups?

There are six mailing lists, to go with the six SCO newsgroups. Each
of the mailing lists has three addresses:

Automated administration address
handled by a robot; send subscription and unsubscription
requests to this one

Human administration address
this one reaches a human being and should be used only if your
automated request did not work

Mailing list address
Anything sent to this address is resent to all mailing list
subscribers and to the appropriate newsgroup. Never send
subscription/unsubscription/"Why am I not seeing any articles?"
types of notes to this address.

comp.unix.sco.announce

Canonical Description
Announcements about SCO Unix (moderated)

Automated administrator
[email protected]

Human administrator
[email protected]

Mailing list address
[email protected]

Note: As SCO now owns UnixWare, UnixWare announcements also belong in
this newsgroup. comp.unix.unixware.announce is presently unused and
will likely be removed eventually.

comp.unix.sco.programmer

Canonical Description
Programming in and for SCO Environments

Automated administrator
[email protected]

Human administrator
[email protected]

Mailing list address
[email protected]

comp.unix.sco.misc

Canonical Description
SCO Unix, Systems, and Environments

Automated administrator
[email protected]

Human administrator
[email protected]

Mailing list address
[email protected]

comp.unix.unixware.misc

Canonical Description
SCO UnixWare discussion

Automated administrator
[email protected]

Human administrator
[email protected]

Mailing list address
[email protected]

comp.unix.xenix.sco

Canonical Description
Discussion of SCO Xenix

Automated administrator
[email protected]

Human administrator
[email protected]

Mailing list address
[email protected]

[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_________________________________________________________________

What exactly do I find in each of the newsgroups?

Here are the charters for these newsgroups, as they appeared in the
CFV:

comp.unix.sco.misc

Questions, answers, comments and discussion about past, present and
future SCO and related third party products and services, not more
specifically covered by one of the other newsgroups, including but not
limited to:

* SCO UNIX operating system,
* networking products (TCP/IP, NFS, LAN Manager, IPX/SPX, DCE, OSI),
* graphical products (X server and clients),
* DOS Merge,
* The Open Desktop and Open Server operating environments which
incorporate most of the above components.
* SCO's older applications, when running on SCO UNIX.
* SCO's support and other policies.
* Third party hardware, software and services.
* SCO environment specific "help wanted" postings.

Commercial advertisements are explicitly forbidden.

comp.unix.sco.programmer

Questions, answers, comments and discussion about past, present and
future SCO development system products and related software and
issues, including but not limited to:

* UNIX and Open Desktop development systems,
* SCO Visual TCL.
* DCE developers toolkit,
* Device Driver Writer's toolkit/Advanced Hardware Developer Kit
* Public domain, shareware, and third party development tools of use
in SCO operating environments.
* SCO software distribution mastering toolkits
* API questions, compiler behavior, header files, libraries, binary
formats, manifest defines, etc.
* Porting.

Commercial advertisements are explicitly forbidden.

comp.unix.sco.announce

Moderated by Ed Hew <[email protected]>

Product, service, and business announcements of reasonable interest to
the SCO community of developers, distributors, resellers, consultants,
administrators and end-users, submitted by:

* SCO,
* third party software and hardware developers, SCO-specific service
providers, and authors of freely available software.

This explicitly includes SCO supplement information (SLS, TLS, EFS,
etc.) Blatant and/or irrelevant commercial "ads" will continue to be
rejected.

comp.unix.unixware.misc

This is a general-purpose forum for discussion about products of
Novells [sic] Unix Systems Group, primarily its implementation of Unix
for PC-architecture systems sold under the name UnixWare.

Appropriate product and service announcements should now be sent to
comp.unix.sco.announce.

[SCO acquired the UnixWare product line from Novell in 1995.]

comp.unix.xenix.sco

The canonical charter is: XENIX versions from the Santa Cruz
Operation. The original full charter is unavailable.

[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_________________________________________________________________

How do I subscribe to one of these lists?

Send a message to the administrative address listed above for the list
which interests you. Your message should contain one line:

Add: sco???: [email protected]

Replace ??? with the three-letter code for the mailing list you want
(msc, prg, ann, uwr, or xnx).

[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_________________________________________________________________

How do I unsubscribe to one of these lists?

Send a message to the administrative address listed above for the list
to which you wish to unsubscribe. Your message should contain one
line. Use exactly the same address you used when you subscribed. The
one line should read:

Delete: sco???: [email protected]

Replace ??? with the three-letter code for the mailing list you want
(msc, prg, ann, uwr, or xnx).

[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_________________________________________________________________

What if my automated request doesn't work?

Check your request; make sure you didn't misspell anything. If all
else fails, send a note to the human administrator behind the list.

[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_________________________________________________________________

How do I change my subscription address?

Well, you can send multiple requests in the same administrative
request. However, there is a waiting period for Add: requests, so you
may want to send a message to add yourself at your new address first,
then wait until that succeeds before deleting your old address.

[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_________________________________________________________________

I think I'll send a test to make sure I can get through to the list

Don't. See the Net.Etiquette section for more info.

[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_________________________________________________________________

How do I send an article to these mailing lists?

* comp.unix.sco.misc: mail to [email protected]
* comp.unix.sco.announce: mail to [email protected]
* comp.unix.sco.programmer: mail to [email protected]
* comp.unix.unixware.announce: mail to [email protected]
comp.unix.unixware.misc: mail to [email protected]
comp.unix.xenix.sco: mail to [email protected]
Note that the announcements list is moderated; anything you send
to it must be approved by the moderator before it actually makes
its way out to the rest of the world.
See Net.Etiquette also. [Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

I have a product that runs under SCO and I want to tell the world!

In keeping with the commonly accepted standards for comp
newsgroups, the charters for the .misc and .programmer newsgroups
specifically exclude commercial advertisements. The occasional
response to a query, pointing out that your product could help, is
generally considered to be acceptable; unsolicited advertisements
or a steady stream of "Hey, try my product xxxx, it will cure that
problem" messages are not. In general, netiquette holds that when
in doubt, it's probably not appropriate; tread lightly.
Note that the moderated newsgroup comp.unix.sco.announce is
specifically for announcements related to the SCO community.
Consider posting a one-time announcement about your product to
that newsgroup.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

I always get multiple copies of articles!

Maybe you're listed more than once in the mailing list. If you
sent more than one Add: request, perhaps thinking one had bounced,
you may be listed more than once.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

I sometimes get multiple copies of articles!

I know of two possible causes for this. One is that many articles
get crossposted to more than one newsgroup. For example, it is not
appropriate for articles to be crossposted to
comp.unix.sco.programmer and to comp.unix.sco.misc (as .misc
specifically excludes everything which fits into other newsgroups
in the hierarchy), but some people do it anyway. If you subscribe
to both lists, you will receive two copies of the article, since
it appears in both lists.
The other possibility is that some site upstream of you may have a
flaky mailer that occasionally duplicates messages (I've been
bitten by this one). There is no known cure for the former
condition; the latter, if you can identify it, can possibly be
remedied by means of a polite note to the sysadmin at the
offending site.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

Are there any other SCO newsgroups?

There is one, other than the rest of the comp.unix.sco hierarchy.
That newsgroup is comp.unix.xenix.sco, which is for the discussion
of SCO Xenix. As comp.unix.xenix.sco specifically includes only
discussion of SCO Xenix, please keep SCO Unix discussion out of
it.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

Are there any other non-SCO-specific Unix newsgroups?

There are dozens of Unix newsgroups and hierarchies in the
comp.unix hierarchy. Some are specific to certain Unix versions
(e.g. comp.unix.solaris), while others are specific to tasks and
roles (e.g. comp.unix.programmer, comp.unix.admin). There are also
some version-specific groups under comp.os (e.g. comp.os.linux).
There are a few Unix newsgroups outside comp.unix and comp.os,
such as comp.security.unix.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

What other stuff shows up here periodically?

All kinds of goodies pass through this list from time to time. You
will find lists of SLSes (Support Level Supplements), EFSes
(Enhanced Feature Supplements, if memory serves), product
compatibility matrices, lists of the most current versions of each
SCO product, and stuff like that. I highly recommend capturing the
most recent one of each of these and saving it somewhere on your
machine; they can be very handy to keep around.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

Where can I find this FAQ list?

Both the Technical and Administrative FAQ lists live at
http://aplawrence.com/SCOFAQ/.
Ed Hew <[email protected]> also keeps copies under
ftp://ftp.xenitec.on.ca/pub/news/faqs/
As well, Lucky Leavell <[email protected]> has made a copy available
by anonymous FTP at ftp://www.iglou.com/members/ris/sco/; it may
also be available from http://www.iglou.com/ris/.
I do not know how often the information at these sites is updated.
The master copy is always up-to-date (and may be more recent than
the last copy posted to the newsgroups, as well).
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

I have a suggestion/correction for the FAQ list

By all means, let me know! But do not post it to the list unless
you believe it needs wide discussion. If I think input from the
list as a whole is required, I will post your note and my
comments. Send it to [email protected]. The FAQ list is only as
good as you make it.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

Where do I find the programming FAQ?

Robert Lipe (the gentleman responsible for many of you having gcc
on your OSR5 machines) has put together a FAQ on programming for
the SCO environment. It's available at
http://www.zenez.com/cgi-bin/scoprogfaq/faq.pl?file=1. [Back to
top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

Net.Etiquette

DON'T SHOUT- It is considered rude to post in ALL UPPER CASE.
Don't post in HTML- it annoys a great many people and makes you
look clueless.
Don't use VCARD signature blocks- again, people who do so are seen
as not knowledgeable.
DO include relevant information: versions, patches applied,
general hardware info.
DO NOT paraphrase error messages- give the EXACT message.
Please- when posting, ALWAYS include version numbers and patches
you have applied. If it is at all relevant, include at least rough
harware info- like "32 mb ram, Scsi hard drive, Pentium 266", for
example. Don't ever paraphrase error messages- post the EXACT
error messages (see Messages). It's never a bad idea to describe:
+ What you were trying to accomplish
+ What you did
+ What you expected to happen
+ What actually happened
Dirk Hart, a regular contributor to the SCO newsgroups, offers
this further advice:
How to ask a well formed question in comp.unix.sco.misc
You may have noticed some people posting questions on
comp.unix.sco.misc are treated with disdain, even abusively. This
is invariably because the poster asked a poorly formed question.
All of the knowledgeable people replying to messages spend their
own time doing so, after having worked that day and after having
accreted years of knowledge and experience. In spite of the rants
directed at specific posters, the people in this newsgroup are
indeed helping others through goodwill.
When you post a question you are encouraged to respect the
knowledge, experience and goodwill of others in the group by
posting a well formed question.
The well formed question includes as much relevant information as
you can gather.
By all means state your SCO UNIX version. The newsgroup
comp.unix.sco.misc covers several different SCO operating systems.
If you aren't sure, you can find out using uname -X at a shell
prompt.
Tell the group what hardware you have, especially if this is a
hardware-related problem. If you're unsure, use hwconfig -h at a
shell prompt.
If the hardware configuration recently changed by all means
mention it.
Include the unedited error output including the command used to
generate this output. What you may not think is relevant may be
crucial to helping you. There is often summary information at the
beginning or ending of output which is especially useful.
When you ask a question in the group you should expect your
replies in the group. Do not ask for help by email and do not
email those who give you help unless you have been specifically
asked to do so.
Don't forget that http://www.sco.com/ta should be the first place
you check for any problem. Also, do you have all the mandatory
patches and supplements your OS needs? If you don't know, see
SCO's FTP Site and get them.
Another good idea is to use the power search page at Dejanews:
http://www.dejanews.com/home_ps.shtml
Put "comp.unix.sco.*" into the "Forum" box, and then search for
what you need. This can be very useful, and may save you from
asking a question that has been asked (and answered) hundreds of
times before.

Where do my messages go?

Your message will be mailed to hundreds of people around the world
via the mailing list. Also, since it's gated to a newsgroup, it
will end up on thousands of machines all around the world, with a
potential audience of tens of thousands of people.
Keep this in mind as you write, because people will perceive you
according to how you write. Your grammar, spelling, and politeness
will be noted by all of these people, so make a good impression.
And don't forget to press your Return key after every 70
characters or so. Please stick to 7-bit standard ASCII characters;
many people will be unable to see (or won't correctly see) any
other characters such as those for line drawing, accented
characters, or characters not used in the English language.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

What do I put in my .signature?

Well, it's a good idea to put your name, email address , your
company name and job title (if appropriate), and possibly your
phone number and mailing address. Nowadays many people "mung"
their addresses, like

[email protected]
The simplest of these (such as that shown) are probably useless in
preventing unwanted email and anything more complex is going to
annoy those who you might really want to reply.
Keep it short, though; four lines is the commonly-accepted Usenet
guideline.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

How much of the previous message should I include in my reply?

As little as possible to convey the salient points to which you
are responding. There is no need to include the headers, the
.signature, or anything not directly related to your response.
If you are replying to several points in the previous message,
then include the section to which you are replying, and then type
your reply immediately below it. Then include the next point, and
type your reply immediately below it. This will help people keep
track of what points you're addressing.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

I think I'll send a test to make sure I can get through to the list

Don't do this. This is not a test newsgroup. Your test message
will waste large amounts of computing and communications resources
as it travels to every continent (yes, it will go all around the
world). Not only will this make people angry, but it will also
make you look stupid. Use alt.test, misc.test, biz.test, etc. for
test messages.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

Nobody replied to my question, so I'll send it again

Don't do this, either. If your message was sent and nobody replied
to it, you will likely find exactly the same response if you post
it again, and you will have used up more computing and
communications resources and have gained nothing.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

SCO sucks and [someone else] has a better product!

If you have something constructive to say, then go ahead. But if
you don't, then spare us your flame war.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

This isn't the right place to post this question, but ...

Well then, don't post it here. There are several thousand Usenet
newsgroups and hundreds and hundreds of mailing lists; chances are
pretty good that one of these is the appropriate place. If you
post a question to an inappropriate newsgroup, you really are
wasting large amounts of disk space and transmission bandwidth as
it goes all around the world.
Note that even if your question is about an SCO product, the SCO
miscellaneous mailing list/comp.unix.sco.misc may not be the right
place for it. If it's a question about programming, for example,
it belongs in comp.unix.sco.programmer.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

I like to use tabs in my email and news articles

Please don't. Tab stops may be set differently on different
terminals, and what looks perfectly lined up to you will be
gibberish on someone else's machine. This is particularly
important to remember if you're drawing a diagram. Use spaces, and
most of the world will see your diagram as you drew it. Use tabs,
and it will make no sense to many readers who might otherwise be
able to help you.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

I have a technical question

Look it up in your manuals first; chances are it's in there
somewhere. In particular, check the permuted index, the table of
contents of the System Administrator's Guide, and the Release
Notes.
If you can't find what you're looking for, look for it in the
technical FAQ for this newsgroup, which is posted every two weeks
in parallel with this administrative FAQ. Also, look through old
articles from this newsgroup/mailing list if your site stores old
messages (if you're reading this via Usenet news, chances are your
site has at least a few days' worth of back articles online).
If you still can't find the answer, then post it. Please include
as much relevant information as you can, such as your hardware
configuration and version numbers of all software that might be
involved. Here are a few places to get this information:
+ Read the section of the technical FAQ dealing with how to get
your configuration information.
+ Tell us what operating system you're using! Xenix, Unix and
ODT all have different commands, options, etc.
+ Also, what version? The way to achieve the same end may vary
from one version to another, and sometimes a newer version
will have a way of doing something you just can't do in an
older one.
+ If you think there's anything weird about your system, tell
us!
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

Is it OK for me to post an ad?

The moderated newsgroup comp.unix.sco.announce is for
announcements. An announcement of your company's new product would
likely be appropriate here, if it's a product relevant to SCO
systems. An ad for the old copy of Xenix you'd like to get rid of
would not. As this is a moderated newsgroup, the moderator has
final say over what is and is not appropriate.
The charter for comp.unix.sco.misc specifically states that
SCO-related "help wanted" ads are appropriate. Other than this,
however, the charters for both comp.unix.sco.misc and
comp.unix.sco.programmer specifically prohibit commercial
advertisements.
The intent of this prohibition is to allow someone with a spare
item (such as a copy of a SCO product, or a piece of hardware
which is targeted at the SCO market) to have a place to advertise
it, once and once only. If it doesn't sell, don't keep advertising
it.
Generally, if you already have something SCO-related, you're not
using it, and you just want to get rid of it and try to recover
some of the money you invested in it, you should be OK. Otherwise,
you're probably not OK.
Examples of inappropriate advertising would include (but not be
limited to) a manufacturer, reseller, distributor, or broker
advertising products which they intend to sell for a profit, an
announcement of a new product or service (this belongs in
comp.unix.sco.announce as noted above), or any advertisement
unrelated to SCO systems.
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_____________________________________________________________

What is SCO's Phone Number?

Here are some of SCO's numbers; note that the (800) ones are only
applicable within North America.

SCO sales
(800) 726-8649 = (800) SCO-UNIX
(831) 425-7222
Fax (831) 458-4227

SCO support
(831) 425-4726

SCO Assist
(800) 347-4381

SCO Premier
(800) 726-4911

SCO Federal Systems Group, VA
(703) 715-8700
Fax (703) 715-8750

SCO Argentina
(54) 1 409 939
(54) 1 409 981
Fax (54) 1 805 4769

SCO Australia
(61) 2 9966 1999
Fax (61) 2 9955 1077

SCO Brazil
(55) 11 287 5333
Fax (55) 11 288 9855

SCO Canada
(416) 214-9793
Fax (416) 214-9810

SCO Denmark
(45) 4242 5775
Fax (45) 4242 2778

SCO France
(33) 1 4648 8500
Fax (33) 1 4648 3839

SCO Italy
(39) 2 95301383
Fax (39) 2 9516394

SCO Germany
(49) 6172 48670
Fax (49) 6172 468712
(49) 211 5768 41
Fax (49) 211 5738 61
(49) 89 5707 674
Fax (49) 89 5705 493

SCO Japan
(81) 3 5453 0963
Fax (81) 3 5453 0964

SCO Mexico
(525) 566-1781
(525) 592-8426
Fax (525) 592-0572

SCO Singapore
(65) 536-6606
Fax (65) 536-6619

SCO UK
(44) 923 816344
Fax (44) 923 817781
Sales Fax (44) 923 817776

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_____________________________________________________________

Tell me about SLSes, EFSes, etc.

SLSes (Support Level Supplements) and EFSes (Enhanced Feature
Support) are SCO's way of fixing bugs and improving performance
between releases. Every couple of weeks, SCO posts lists of all
SLSes and EFSes here. If you're having a problem, look at these
lists and see if any of them will help you. There are other beasts
in this alphabetic zoo as well, such as TLSes (unsupported
software), games, termcap/terminfo files, SSEs (System Security
Enhancements), and the Hardware Compatibility Handbook in
electronic format.
The latest version of Openserver is 3.2v5.0.6 and Unixware is
7.1.1. To find out what your version is, try:
+ uname -X (most SCO versions)
+ uname -a (very old Xenix versions)
+ uname version (Unixware 7 and up only)
There are almost always patches or supplements that should be
installed. Often these fix serious problems and really are
required for a stable system. Don't ignore these. Check
ftp://ftp.sco.com/README.OSR5.Supplements for Open Server patch
recommendations and ftp://ftp.sco.com/README.UW7.Supplements for
recent releases of Unixware. Unfortunately there's nothing
equivalent for the earlier releases (there are patches, just no
comprehensive place to find out what you need). The
http://www.sco.com/support/toolbox page is also a good starting
point for general SCO support related issues.
You can find out what patches are currently installed on your
system by running "custom" or Scoadmin->Software Manager. A way to
list them at the command line for modern releases (with minimal
information) is :

customquery listpatches | grep ' '
The latest video card and network drivers can be found at
ftp://ftp.sco.com/pub/drivers/. Check to see if your card is
listed here.
Year 2000 information is tracked on this page.
For specific packages within SCO OS's, see Jeff Liebermann's
Version Guide
An important point about SCO that often astonishes people is that
the older (3.2v4.2) releases were often sold without networking
support- no TCP/IP. The newer 3.2v5.x versions can also be
purchased that way- it's called "Host"; the network version is
"Enterprise".
SCO operates the anonymous FTP site ftp://ftp.sco.com. This is the
primary anonymous FTP site for SCO's own files. For web surfers,
look at http://www.sco.com/.
Another option worth investigating is
ftp://ftp.uu.net/sco-archive. Log in and look around the
sco-archive directory. Remember to turn on binary mode before
getting any binary files! If your ftp doesn't recognize
ftp.uu.net, try 137.39.1.9 or 192.48.96.9. To look around, ftp to
ftp.uu.net. Log in as "ftp", and supply your username and fully
qualified domain name as the password (e.g. log in as ftp and give
[email protected] as your password). Look around the
vendor/sco directory hierarchy.
If you don't have FTP, you can get them via anonymous UUCP from
SCO. You can find the information on how to do this in your SCO
documentation. This information is also included in the lists of
SLSes and EFSes that SCO posts here. I've included a brief summary
below.
There are also directories for games, updated terminal
information, and other miscellaneous tidbits. See the section on
how to contact SCO for more details.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

How Do I Connect to SCO's Machines?

Nowadays, by the web: http://www.sco.com.
_____________________________________________________________

Glossary of acronyms

ACE
Advanced Certified Engineer

AEC
Authorized Education Center

AHS
Advanced Hardware Supplement = latest drivers, peripheral
support

APC
Advanced Product Center

EFS
Enhanced Feature Supplement (not used anymore; subsumed
in RS)

IT
Info Technical = Support fix or workaround description;
now known as TA

MS
Maintenance Supplement (not used anymore; see Release
Supplement)

NET
networking SLSes generally have names starting with "net"

ODA
SLSes for Open Desktop generally have names starting with
"oda"

OSR5
slang for OpenServer Release 5

RS
Release Supplement = the current update package to
current shipping product

SES
Software Enhancement Service = quarterly delivery of
support and updated product.

SLS
Support Level Supplement = emergency fix for a particular
bug. These are aggregated in the quarterly RS.

SOS
SCO Online Support (system)

SSE
System Security Enhancement

SSL
Software Support Library = quarterly cdrom of all TA,
SLS, EFS, AHS

TA
Technical Articles = new name for IT scripts

TLS
Technical Library Supplement = tools, articles, new/test
components, not supported.

UNX
SLSes for Unix generally have names starting with "unx"

UOD
SLSes applicable to both Unix and Open Desktop generally
have names starting with "uod"

VCD
Vendor Contributed Driver = an AHS driver
supplied/supported by third party

XNX
SLSes for Xenix generally have names starting with "xnx"

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_____________________________________________________________

How Do I Send Email to SCO?

You can send information requests to [email protected]. SCO no longer
receives support requests by email, but there is a Web page for
reporting bugs (http://www.sco.com/bug/) and you can track the
status of a reported bug through the Web as well.
If you have a suggestion for SCO regarding their products, you can
post it here or send it to SCO directly, though the latter may
appear to go into a bit-bucket. There are several SCO employees
here, including some development folks, and they do like to hear
suggestions on how you think they could better serve your needs.
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_____________________________________________________________

I'm looking for such-and-such a program. Where is it?

Probably on Skunkware.
Skunkware (http://www.sco.com/skunkware/) is a large collection of
shareware and open source software. It is not always the latest
versions, but both source and binaries are included, so it's often
a good starting point. This is where you can get Perl, Expect,
Less, etc.
More recent releases include the Skunkware CD in the distribution,
so if you upgrade, you will get this. Recently SCO has renamed
Skunkware as OLSS, which stands for Open License Something Source
or something equally silly.
Of course you get man pages for all these things, but they won't
work until you do two things:
+ Install the GNU text processing tools from Skunkware
+ Modify /etc/default/man so that the MANPATH reads:

MANPATH=scohelp:/usr/man:/usr/local/man
If it isn't on Skunkware, you might find a Linux version, and be
able to run it using the "lxrun" program which is found on
Skunkware.
The following information concerning Archie is probably outdated:
Ask Archie. Archie is a service that keeps track of all files on a
large number of anonymous FTP sites worldwide and allows various
queries on its database. For a good tutorial on how to use it, see
"Archie, Your Directory for Internet Software" on pp. 96-104 of
the September 1992 copy of UnixWorld.
To conduct an interactive session with Archie, telnet into an
Archie server site. Log in as archie; there is no password. If you
do not have telnet access, you can still access Archie via email.
Mail a script of Archie instructions to archie@some-archie-site,
where you (obviously) replace some-archie-site with the name of
your closest Archie site.
The first time you use Archie, you should issue the help command.
This will show you a list of valid Archie commands. Before your
next use of Archie, take a few minutes to study the help list. Pay
particular attention to the variety of set commands, which can
greatly alter the behaviour and efficiency of Archie. Also, please
use the Archie server that is closest to you, to help reduce
unnecessary network traffic.
The following information concerning Archie is probably outdated:
The following is a list of Archie servers around the world, as
given by ftp://nic.switch.ch/file_server/archie/servers (dated
03/DE/93):
+ archie.au* [139.130.4.6] Australia
+ archie.edvz.uni-linz.ac.at* [140.78.3.8] Austria
+ archie.univie.ac.at* [131.130.1.23] Austria
+ archie.uqam.ca* [132.208.250.10] Canada
+ archie.funet.fi [128.214.6.100] Finland
+ archie.th-darmstadt.de* [130.83.22.60] Germany
+ archie.ac.il* [132.65.6.15] Israel
+ archie.unipi.it* [131.114.21.10] Italy
+ archie.wide.ad.jp [133.4.3.6] Japan
+ archie.kr* [128.134.1.1] Korea
+ archie.sogang.ac.kr* [163.239.1.11] Korea
+ archie.rediris.es* [130.206.1.2] Spain
+ archie.luth.se* [130.240.18.4] Sweden
+ archie.switch.ch* [130.59.1.40] Switzerland
+ archie.ncu.edu.tw* [140.115.19.24] Taiwan
+ archie.doc.ic.ac.uk* [146.169.11.3] UnitedKingdom
+ archie.unl.edu [129.93.1.14] USA(NE)
+ archie.internic.net* [198.48.45.10] USA(NJ)
+ archie.rutgers.edu* [128.6.18.15] USA(NJ)
+ archie.ans.net [147.225.1.10] USA(NY)
+ archie.sura.net* [128.167.254.179] USA(MD)
Sites marked with an asterisk run archie version 3.0
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_____________________________________________________________

KUSO - the Kanji Users Service Operation

The following information concerning KUSO is probably outdated; a
Google search for Kanji Users Service Operation did find them at
http://www.kuso.mirai.co.uk/using.htm but it warns that it has not
been updated recently:
KUSO, the Kanji Users Service Operation, 143.167.25.1 is an
archive specializing in
+ SCO XENIX software (anomaly mirror)
+ DOS/V software
+ Japanese software for generic DOS
+ information on Japanese language, science, and technology
+ archives of news groups pertaining to the above subjects
KUSO also carries a limited amount of material in the following
areas:
+ Chinese and Korean language software for various platorms
+ MacIntosh utilities for Japanese
+ X-Windows items for SCO UNIX
Access to kuso may be made by
+ anonymous ftp to kuso.shef.ac.uk (143.167.25.1)
+ kermit (login as anonymous)
+ the kumitori mail server
The kumitori mail server is experimental. To use it, first send a
message with the subject "kumitori" (no quotes) to
[email protected]. The body of the message should be the
single line "!help" (no quotes). This will send you the kumitori
command list.
If you do not get a reply, change the message body to

!reply_to string
!help
where "string" is an explicit e-mail address of whatever form you
have found to work from the uk.
Please note that this mail service is experimental and may be
withdrawn or modified at any time.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

The (unofficial) SCO ODT Ported Software Compendium

The following information concerning sspi is probably outdated;
while ispi.com relocates to www.aimware.com, I see nothing related
to SCO anywhere on their site.

Filenames
The Software List: ispi!~/SOFTLIST
Miscellaneous Notes: ispi!~/NOTES
All UUCPable Files: ispi!~/ls-lR

Anonymous UUCP Information:
Telebit Trailblazer Plus Dial-In: +1 908 248 1589
ispi.com!login: uuodtcp
Password: odt
To download a file, issue the following uucp request on your
machine:

uucp ispi!~/archives/ yoursite!
Special Note: The archives on ISPI are in source code format.
Programs that need GCC are noted.
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_____________________________________________________________

Xenitec Archives

Xenitec is best contacted through the web: http://www.xenitec.com.
I don't know if the uucp info is still valid.
XeniTec Archives, Anonymous Access Information: nuucp, ftp, WWW
Orig_Date: Tue Nov 6 22:54:06 EDT 1989
Last_Update: Mon Dec 16 22:47:11 EST 1996
Anonymous UUCP: You want a Systems (or L-sys if you're pre-HDB)
entry resembling:
19200 baud, PEP: (pair of trusty old Telebit Trailblazer+'s)
Both answer at 19.2kb PEP mode, and now cycle
19200-9600-2400-19200.

xenitec Any ACU 19200 CUP15197435247 ogin:-\K-ogin:-\K-ogin:-\K-ogin:-\K-ogin:-
\K-ogin: nuucp word: fall89
xenitec Any ACU 19200 CUP15197438363 ogin:-\K-ogin:-\K-ogin:-\K-ogin:-\K-ogin:-
\K-ogin: nuucp word: fall89
(up to) 38400 baud, V.32/V.32bis/V.42/V.42bis: Practical Peripherals
PM144T II
Hardware flow control, interface speed locked at 38.4KB; let the
modems negotiate the highest common denominator.

xenitec Any ACU 38400 15197434697 ogin:-\K-ogin:-\K-ogin:-\K-ogin:\K-ogin: nuuc
p word: fall89
xenitec Any ACU 38400 15197435450 ogin:-\K-ogin:-\K-ogin:-\K-ogin:\K-ogin: nuuc
p word: fall89
You may substitute an appropriate baud rate depending on what you
support, on a per-entry basis for each modem line.
Download the current public archive index file, /archive/pub/index
Should you need freely available source code we don't already have
available, email "arcmastr"; we'll try to get it for you.
Anon FTP - ftp xenitec.xenitec.on.ca, log in as "ftp", use your
FQDN address as the passwd, eg, "[email protected]".
WWW (NCSA Mosaic) Server URL: http://www.xenitec.on.ca/
Please note that the above information will change from time to
time. Should you find that your results are not what you expect,
please email [email protected] for updated connectivity info.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

TeleSys Unix/Xenix Software Archive

The following information concerning telesys is probably outdated;
while www.telesys.com exists, I see nothing related to SCO
anywhere on their site.
For a list of files currently available, you can UUCP a copy of
the list from TeleSys:
Phone Number: 602-649-9099 Multiple Telebit WorldBlazers for
V.32/V.32bis/PEP and other baud rates from 300-2400.
Login as: nuucp (There is no password)
There are two copies of the list, one 16 bit compressed and the
other non-compressed:
uucp telesys!~/files.dir.Z ~/ (16bit Compressed Version)
uucp telesys!~/files.dir ~/ (Uncompressed Version)
Please read the files.dir file carefully for determining download
paths and proper filenames. Unlike the directory files, the files
for downloading are not located in the /usr/spool/uucppublic
directory.
For assistance, email [email protected]
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_____________________________________________________________

ftp.celestial.com

Celestial is best accessed through the web:
http://www.celestial.com
ftp.celestial.com is located at 192.136.111.2. It's available at
all times, though concurrent usage is restricted to five users
during the day and ten at night, Pacific time. That's probably not
true anymore.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

Other sites

There is a list of anonymous FTP sites with SCO software posted
here occasionally. It is also available at
http://www2.cs.man.ac.uk/~smallsa7
Also see http://aplawrence.com/Links/ftp.html
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

How do I contact a vendor for drivers and/or technical support?

As always, the first answer is RTFM (Read The Manual). Any
reputable manufacturer will include instructions on getting
technical support with their product. The more aware ones will
include not only phone and fax numbers, but often a BBS and
sometimes an email address.
However, sometimes a vendor will have an email and/or ftp address
which they do not publish in their manuals, and sometimes a user
will discover that a critical manual cannot be found in a time of
need. Here, then, are some phone/email/ftp addresses for some
vendors. Note that this is not intended to be anything close to
being an exhaustive list, that it is skewed towards North American
phone numbers (particularly (800) numbers), and that the
appearance or omission of a vendor below does not constitute in
any way an opinion on that vendor. For information on contacting
SCO, see elsewhere in this FAQ.

Acer/Altos
General number: (408) 433-3670
Web: http://www.acer.com
Support: http://www.acersupport.com

Adaptec
Tech Support: (408) 945-2550
Web: http://www.adaptec.com Anonymous FTP:
ftp.adaptec.com

Arnet (Digi)
General number: (800) 366-8844
General Number: (615) 834-8000
Support: [email protected]
Web: http://www.digi.com/

Century Software
Term Tech Support: (801) 943-8386
Web: http://www.censoft.com

Codex/Motorola
Support: (800) 544-0062

Computone
General Number: (800) 241-3946
General Number: (404) 475-2725
BBS: (404) 343-9737
Anonymous ftp: ftp.computone.com
Tech support: [email protected]

DELL
BBS: (512) 338-8528

Digiboard (Digi)
General Number: (800) 344-4273
General Number: (612) 943-9020
BBS: (612) 922-5604
Support: [email protected]
Web: http://www.digi.com/
Anonymous ftp: ftp.digi.com

DPT
See Adaptec

Equinox
General Number: (305) 255-3500

Fujitsu America
BBS: (408) 944-9899

Future Domain
General Number: (714) 253-0400
Support: (714) 253-0440

Gateway
Tech Support: (800) 846-2301

Hayes
BBS: (404) 446-6336

Informix
General Number: (415) 926-6300
Fax Line: (913) 599-8425

Maxtor
BBS: (303) 678-2222

NCD
General Number: (415) 694-0650

PSI
General Number: (214) 954-1774

SMC
Tech Support: (800) 992-4762
Web: http://www.smc.com
General Number: (714) 707-2354
General Number: (516) 273-3100

Software Group, The
Phone: (705) 725-9999
FAX: (705) 725-9666
Email: [email protected]

Software Horizons
Email: [email protected]

Specialix
General Number: +44 1932 792592
Tech Support (US): (408) 378-7919
Tech Support (US): (800) 423-5364
Tech Support (UK): +44 1932 792592
Web site: http://www.perle.com/
Email: [email protected]
Singapore: +65 749 1700
United Kingdom: +44 1932 792592

Stallion
General Number: (800) 347-7979
Web: http://www.stallion.com

Stargate (Digi)
General Number: (800) 782-7428
General Number: (216) 349-1866
Web: http://www.digi.com/

3Com
Anonymous ftp: ftp.3com.com
Web: http://www.3com.com/
Support: (800) 876-3COM
General Number: (408) 764-5000

Thomas-Conrad
General Number: (512) 836-1935

US Robotics
General Number: (800) 982-5151

Wangtek
General Number: (805) 583-5255
Support (800) 992-9916

Word Perfect
Support: (801) 226-5333
Support FAX: (801) 222-1994

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_____________________________________________________________

How do I get SCO Certification?

SCO has certification programs. See SCO's ACE Info Page and Tony
Lawrence's ACE INFO page http://aplawrence.com/ace.html
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________

What about Caldera?

Although not formally approved yet, Caldera, a Linux vendor,
intends to buy SCO's Unixware and Openserver products. SCO will be
changing its name to Tarantella, Inc. and will retain the
Tarantella product.
See http://www.sco.com/press/releases/2000/6942.html
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_____________________________________________________________

How can I find SCO specific books and magazines?

I have a listing of SCO specific books at
http://aplawrence.com/Books/. SCO World Magazine
http://www.scoworld.com is thin, but still in business. You can
find other Unix related magazines at
http://aplawrence.com/magazines.html.
[Back to top] [Table of Contents]
_____________________________________________________________