CS682 Frequently Asked Questions
How can I transfer files to/from rohan?
In general, you should use some form of secure copy or secure ftp. There are a number of secure copy/ftp clients available for Windows (I recommend WinSCP), and MacOS. Linux has has scp/sftp (use "man sftp" or "man scp" to learn how to use it) as well as the GUI sftp which supports secure ftp protocols (use SSH2 as the protocol).
Wavesurfer
Wavesurfer (download) is an open source program that can be used for recording, auditioning, and analyzing speech. It is produced by The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholem (KTH) and binaries are available for the MacOS, Linux, and Windows operating systems. In this course, you will sometimes be using files stored in The National Institute of Standards and Technology's SPHERE format (which are usually stored with a .wav extension, just like Microsoft RIFF wave format). By default, Wavesurfer does not read SPHERE files, but a plugin can be downloaded automatically from Wavesurfer's plugin menu.
Attention 64 bit linux users: The binary version has been reported to not work under 64 bit Fedora. Some users have had success running from the source code, but we are not aware of a prebuilt version that functions under 64 bit linux.
Matlab over a slow X Windows connection
If you have not used an X11 client or do not have access to one, please read instructions on using and obtaining X Win-32. Pay close attention to the special note for Matlab users. When connecting to a system such as rohan, the latency of X Windows messages is a frequent source of frustration. Fortunately, there are a number of things that can be done to address this.- One strategy is to use a character oriented secure shell client. This will improve your speed, but eliminate your ability to create graphics.
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A strategy that will improve speed and permit you to generate graphics
is to continue using your X windows client, but to run Matlab inside
your command shell. Start Matlab with
matlab -nodesktop -nosplash
. Matlab will execute inside your shell yet allow you to create graphics. (For advanced users: Some character oriented secure shell clients will even allow you to forward X11 connections permitting you to avoid the overhead of a bitmap oriented command shell that you normally have with X windows connections.)Although you can start the Matlab editor, you may find it too slow and may wish to use a text-based editor such as vim or emacs in a separate window. To force emacs to run in the command shell window, start it as:
emacs -nw
IPA fonts
TrueType® fonts to display the International Phonetic Association's alphabet are freely available from University College London.