Neil's Open Source & Linux Blog

On my Apple blog I describe how to connect to Mac OS X computers with Ubuntu's Remote Desktop Viewer . Ubuntu's Remote Desktop Viewer ( Applications : Internet : Remote Desktop Viewer) is really Vinagre, A VNC Client for the GNOME Desktop . This VNC client supports connections to Mac OS X using the Mac's Screen Sharing service, Apple's built-in implementation of the VNC server protocol. The post includes step-by-step instructions on how to configure the Mac Screen Sharing server, and how to establish a connection with Ubuntu's Remote Desktop Viewer.

Here is one interesting software development environment, especially for web applications. Squeak is an open source implementation of Smalltalk. Seaside is a Web Framework for developing web applications in Squeak. Pier is a CMS built on Seaside. DabbleDB is also built on Seaside -- an incredibly impressive web app. So far, I've installed it on my Mac iFive (OS X 10.4.10).

I want to put a current time stamp on my prompt, so I can see when I run a job. From Custom Bash Prompt How-To This How-To is to change the display of your bash prompt permanently. It will give you a list of different strings you can include into your bash prompt such as, the time of day, the date, and many other options. My prompt is already customized in ~/.bash_prompt

Since the keyboard commands for bash are the same no matter what platform you run your bsh shell on (Mac, Windows, Linux, etc.) it pays to learn a few choice command. Here's a great reference: The default shell on most Linux operating systems is called Bash. There are a couple of important hotkeys that you should get familiar with if you plan to spend a lot of time at the command line. These shortcuts will save you a ton of time if you learn them. Here is the List of Bash Shell Keyboard Shortcuts For Linux Users Ctrl + A - Go to the beginning of the line you are currently typing on Ctrl + E - Go to the end of the line you are currently typing on Ctrl + L - Clears the Screen, similar to the clear command Ctrl + U - Clears the line before the cursor position. If you are at the end of the line, clears the entire line. Ctrl + H - Same as backspace Ctrl + R - Let’s you search through previously used commands more , including Alt keys ... Read the rest of the listing at Bash Shell Keyboa...

FreeMind is mind-mapping software written in Java. I use it to plan web sites, promotions, business plans. It’s great for brainstorming, capturing your ideas and organizing them. Since it’s a cross platform Java application, it will run on Windows, Macs and Linux computers, among others. All you need is the current Java Runtime Environment, which is probably already installed if your computer is up-to-date. I use it on the Mac, and I’ve created a SmartFolder to find my FreeMind (*.mm) files quickly. I’ve tested sharing files with Linux, and it works like a champ, although some of the keyboard shortcuts are a little different across platforms. You can (and will) use your mouse, though -- drag-and-drop, collapse and expand (with a double click) let you zip around your mind maps and focus on the details you want, or zoom out to see the big picture. Import/Export & Sharing FreeMind uses an XML file format, meaning that you can read it with a text editor (Text Edit, Notepad, etc....