[ic] Deparately seeking images...and assistance ... on my last leg?

[Andrew Lietzow]

Dear IC Wizards,

I'm either on my last leg of the journey, just starting what could be an
constant nightmare, or nearly at the point of ecommerce nirvana.
Unfortunately, only those who have gone before me can advise me as to
whether I should just turn back and abandon the effort, or there really is
light at the end of the tunnel that is not a train.

My current status is that the Foundation Demo is running (see
http://microanswers.net/cgi-bin/foundation for proof), but for the real work
that needs to be done at http://hostahaven.com/cgi-bin/hostahaven.cgi , I
can't get the images to load.

I have been working on this off and on for about 3-4 weeks (or has it been
nearly 8?).  Lately, it's been on again.  During this same period of time, I
have brought up mySQL, populated it with nearly 12,000 records, installed an
Apache 2.0.35 secure server, rebuilt another O/S and web server, upgraded a
client's accounting system (using RedHat Linux as the O/S) implemented new
Perl and CGI scripts, set up email servers, supported several other major
accounts, and been productive in many, many areas of my life.... everywhere
productive.... except with RedHat IC.

I'm not expecting it to be a cake walk.  I'm willing to pay the price of
having to learn new software.  That's not the issue.

Every time I run bin/makecat to attempt to build a LIVE catalog, which I can
use as the basis to build an e-commerce site (that really needed to be up
and running a month ago) I get stopped by images that won't load.  I've
tried everything I can think of; (changing the DOCROOT, IMAGE_DIR,
UI_IMAGE_DIR, ImageDirInternal in variable.txt and catalog.cfg; the symbolic
link to the images directory.  I've even gotten so desparate that I've
started to read the manual!!!   I've searched and searched for advice, and
attempted to follow every lead that might make my journey something besides
pure agony, but to no avail.

Recently, I've posted multiple messages to this forum and I am getting no
response.  Have I offended someone in high places?  Have I been so arrogant
or rude that I am undeserving of assistance?  I am on many other list
servers and frequently help and receive help from list members, so I can't
picture that this is the issue.

I've tried to follow the threads of communication in the archives.  I don't
know that I would ever be able to find answers there because the key word
search brings back documents with little or no relation to my keywords.  I
don't have hours and hours of time to sift through documentation hoping to
find something that addresses my issue.

I am attempting to install IC because I am a business person that needs an
ecommerce site, and because I have multiple clients that could use the same
in their operation.  I've been a long time advocate of open source and Linux
and have several RHL installs.  However, I have a family to feed and revenue
that must be generated.  I have posted mulitple messages on this forum
looking for help and, unfortunately, much of what I see is people ranting
about the poor way in which someone posts their messages instead of a solid
effort to build this product's market share by helping to add new users.

I was under the impression that RH was wanting to encourage the use of their
products and build marketshare with IC being another outstanding application
that gathers users under the RedHat logo.  However, if I can't get this
running by Friday, April 26th,  I will abandon the effort and begin to
search for another platform that will work to run my business.   I can't
spend my life pleading for assistance and trying to debug something that
obviously is meant for just a select few to run.

I would gladly pay for technical support, or purchase a Developers Guide, if
I thought that it wasn't just the tip of the iceberg or that I could make
some serious progress quickly.

Andrew Lietzow
The ACL Group, Inc.