[daip] Question re: Classic AIPS compatibility with laptops/MacOS 10

[Eric Greisen]

Samuel Conner writes:
 > 
 >   I am about to purchase a laptop computer to use for mobile AIPS computing. I have been advised to consider installing the MacOS 10 operating system for general computing and programming, but I am concerned that this may not be compatible with AIPS.  I have been running an older version of AIPS under Mandrake Linux 8.0 on a desktop PC.

   Mac OS X works only on computers made by Apple and comes installed
on them.  Linux traditionally is used on Intel-chip based computers.

 > 
 > 
 > Two questions
 > 
 > 1)  Are there any known issues regarding running Linux on laptops? I am completely ignorant of the nuts and bolts of Linux, but I fear that there might be display driver problems or other issues.
 > 
 > 
 > 2)  a) are there any known issues regarding Classic AIPS under
Linux on laptops?

    The only one has to do with the changing names as you plug in to
LANs.  We have addressed that and you may choose to install as a
"laptop" for any single-computer AIPS installation (desk or lap).
Then the computer is called LOCALHOST by AIPS and the changing answer
from uname -n is irrelevant.  We actually care about host name for the
environment in which many hosts (> 100 here) use a single AIPS
installation.

 > 
 >     b) is Classic AIPS compatible with MacOS 10?

We have ported to the Mac OS X - see the web page

   http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/aips

and follow the link to the Mac info.

Eric Greisen