Assignment 3

This assignment is similar to the previous assignment in that there is a machine setup at the TCC cs209.tcct.nmt.edu and I have setup an account for everyone in the class on that machine. You account name and passwd should be what you had for the last assignment. You also may have to be a bit creative in order to get on the machine in the first place (try connecting to pescado.tcct or zork.tcct first). But this time instead of security issues, the computer is just broken. There are 5 things wrong with the computer, at three of which should be noticibla upon logging in.

If you forgot it, or just need your passwd changed come see me in speare 19.

What I want from you, is a list of all the broken configurations, files, or programs you find on the machine, and a description of how to fix them. A well documented description that includes the following...

• What the symptoms are / what's wrong.
  Tell me the file that is the cause of the problem, or name of the program with a bug, or whatnot...
• What you would do to fix it.
  Assume that any service on the machine probably really wants to be there, so solutions like "remove the program" are not going to cut it. Better solutions include telling me a better way to configure the service, what files are missing, or a better version of the program in question.

This assignment, like all others, is worth 10 points. You will receive one point for a correct proble, and one point for a correct solution to a problem.Everyone will receive a handicap of 2 points to start with. This means that if you hand in just one correct issue with the computer you will receive a 4 out of 10 points. (so you had better hand in more then that) You will receive two points for every well documented operation issue. It is also possible that there are other operation issues on the machine; ones that either I didn't know about or left for extra credit. If you find more then 5 of them, you get more then 10 points. Try to be reasonable though. Telling me that "my favorite window manager is not installed" will not get you any points. I want problems with what is already installed.

The assignment is due in two weeks (11:59pm on May 2). Email your assignments to cs209@mailhost.nmt.edu. Starting early on this one is recommended as the computer will probably become increasingly more useless as the deadline approaches. Also, try not to keep anything on the computer that you can't live without. I may need to re-install the machine from time to time wich will remove all data from the hard drive. In other words, keep important stuff on another machine.