MTH 337 Homework #0

Software set-up

We will be using the Linux operating system in this course.
The computers in our classroom are running a version of Linux called
SENSLinux. There is also a 24-hour lab Bell 101 with machines running
the same operating system. While in principle you could do the
coursework using Bell 101, it will be much more convenient for you
if you have Linux on your own computer.
Mac users: you may be able to get all the needed software running on Mac OS: 
please see me to discuss.

1. If you are not currently running Linux on your own computer, make it 
a "dual-boot" machine that can run the Ubuntu Linux operating system in addition
to whatever is on there already. About 10GB of free disk space will be required. More is better.
Please keep a log as you do this, so that your experiences may be used to help others,
and post your log to the 337 blog, including a description of your computer.

(i) While this process is unlikely to cause any problems, you should
first back up all your important files to a DVD or external hard drive.

(ii) Go to ubuntu.com, click on "Get Ubuntu" and follow the directions.
(This involves downloading the disk image for Ubuntu 7.10, and burning it to a CD.)

(iii) Boot your computer from the CD you have made, and if
Ubuntu system comes up successfully, install Ubuntu on your hard drive
by clicking on the Install icon on the desktop, and following the instructions.
You should allow at least 10GB for Ubuntu, if possible. More is better.
If you have any questions or problems, post to the blog.

(iv) When the installation is complete, take the CD out of the drive, and reboot the computer.
You will be presented with a menu of available operating systems. Boot into Ubuntu. 
Get all the available updates by clicking on the white-star-on-orange icon.

(v) System > Administration > Software Sources
In the Ubuntu Software tab,
check all boxes (Source Code not really needed for now.)  
In the Third-party tab, check medibuntu.

(vi) Install the Mozilla Thunderbird mail client by going to Applications > Add/Remove,
typing "thunderbird" in the Search box, checking the appropriate box and following the directions.

(vii) Subscribe to the RSS feed from the course blog. In Thunderbird, File > New > Account ... > RSS News & Blogs. Then click on your just-created News & Blogs account and click Manage Subscriptions.
Add  "http://theblogname.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default".

(viii) Install LyX 1.5.3 as follows.

First some prerequisites. At the command prompt type:
sudo apt-get install gcc
sudo apt-get install g++
sudo apt-get install gcc-4.2
sudo apt-get install g++-4.2

System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager
Search for qt4.
Mark libqt4-debug and libqt4-dev for installation, and Apply.

Get file ftp://ftp.lyx.org/pub/lyx/stable/lyx-1.5.3.tar.gz
save it somewhere convenient.

tar zxf lyx-1.5.3.tar.gz
cd lyx-1.5.3
./configure
make
sudo make install

2. Purchase Maple 11.
Go to UBmicro in the UB Commons and buy Maple 11 for Linux. It costs only a couple of dollars.

3. Install Maple 11 on your Linux system. Insert the CD, and in a terminal (Applications > 
Accessories > Terminal) type
"sh /media/cdrom0/installMapleLinux32" and follow the instructions.

4. Go to maplesoft.com, and obtain and install the 11.02 update.

5. Start a terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal),
and edit the file .bashrc by typing "gedit .bashrc &".
Add the following line to the file (somewhere near the bottom):
alias maple="export AWT_TOOLKIT=MToolkit &&/home/ringland/maple11/bin/xmaple&"
Save and quit from the editor.
Type "source .bashrc" in the terminal.
Start Maple by typing the command "maple" in the terminal, and check that it is
working properly.

6. Install Octave2.9 as follows.
Applications > Add/Remove 
Type Octave2.9 in the search bar.
Check box and install.