changing localhost name and installing local usb printer

[Derick Centeno]

I know that by changing the hosts file in /etc I can name my system 
as I please.
However, by doing so will I be limiting or interferring with future 
installations or upgrades of software?

What do I have to do to printconf or the printtools package so that 
it recognizes my hp printer.  I think I have to recompile it.  I have 
a hp deskjet 6122 (a really, really good printer) and I downloaded 
the current interface for CUPS but I can't get my system to recognize 
either the downloaded usb driver under the proper printer name or for 
CUPS to use the appropriate driver and print a simple test page.

A passing comment to Nils Crompton regarding his query for Icons.
Linux, as any Unix, is not about icons.  One really should be 
ecstatic just to have so many dots on a page to make a word and for 
those to make a paragraph.  When I first learned UNIX making dot and 
dash figures of the Enterprise appear as terminal or teletype output 
was a marvel and the storage media was paper tape   with all the 
reliable strength and consistency of toilet paper.

Today many things have changed; Unix's nature however has not. Unix 
is a human engineering milestone of achievement in true 
fault-tolerant processing and programming.  It is not however, 
"friendly" the way the Mac OS is.  You must look at the design to 
perceive its function.  Unix was meant to control and manage complex 
networks, set up new networks should a few fail and just keep itself 
up under all circumstances in spite of human assistance or 
interference.
Some engineers don't believe there is a difference.

The Mac OS was designed from its birth with the "user" in mind.  The 
Mac adapted to and encouraged the user while hiding the core power of 
its potential "away from the user".  So unless you attended "MacHack" 
or the real early days of "MacTech" meetings, few people had any idea 
what was really going on "inside".
The manner of your question suggests to me you've not even used Resedit, ever.
Had you done so you might have a clue to understanding that different 
OS's create and use icons completely differently AND in an OPEN 
SOURCE environment (which the Mac is not) the rules of how icons are 
used can vary between the various interfaces in EACH Xwindows 
environment and THAT also can change any time at any day.  At my last 
count I noted at least 5 separate Xwindows interface environments, 
each with literally dozens of themes!!!  YDL does not even include 
all the possible variations.

With Apple there is one interface only and icons therefore are 
standard.  I'm sure someone will give you an answer, but remember 
don't believe in an Open Source environment which Linux, and even YDL 
is a part of, that there's just one way to "spin the bottle" or 
perform a task.  Try thinking of Linux as playing "spin the bottle" 
in a space station where minute gyroscopic vibrational influences 
matter.

Linux is about serious coding, unless you are ready to do that save 
yourself time and heartache.  Let Apple figure it out and deliver it 
to you on the Mac OS   side.  Linux is not simple, kind or forgiving. 
It is powerful, dynamic and effective.  A few days ago I did wipe out 
a portion of my hfs drive using a command while I was within Linux 
while trying to figure out how to use unix2dos.
I treated it like the mount command and there was my error.  I 
expected the command to execute such that the data in the first 
directory was placed into the second.  No. This particular command 
saw two separate directories and proceeded to turn my hfs drive into 
a dos drive.  Linux did its job; I didn't suspect what really 
happened until my MacOS wouldn't boot and then I recalled the logic 
of the command I used.  It took me a week to rebuild and restore the 
MacOS to working order.

Jaguar, because of Apple, is a nice cat in a cage.  Kind of like the 
ending of "Cat People".  YDL, dear friend, is like that part wolf 
animal which loved one master in "Call of the Wild".  This beast has 
to be met with every focus of intellect one has.  Have a nice day... 
Don't loose your nerve...Remember YDL has teeth and like any creature 
of the Open Range/Source is a much stronger animal than anything kept 
in a cage.
-- 
Light flashing against Sky and Earth.
Thoughts/Swords.
Life's spark reborn.

A reminder of all the world's best thoughts in two words expressed in 
the language of the Cherokee:

Mitakuye Oyasin...
meaning We are all related!

Got Chi?