Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with command

What is the linux command 'dt'?

logicpunk — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:05:17 -0800

Obscure linux/unix text processing command: what is 'dt'? I'm trying to figure out what one of my boss's data analysis scripts is doing, and I'm hung up on this weird little command called dt. There aren't any man or help pages for it, and googling around hasn't come up with anything.

The script I'm looking at reads in a formatted data file ('tmp') with X numbers of columns. Each row is a consecutive point in time. The line I'm stuck on reads as follows:

cat tmp | dt t 1 t 2 t 3 d 12

The numbers specify columns, but I'm not entirely sure what the 't' and 'd' arguments are doing there. I suspect the script is sorting the data in some fashion, and I could figure it out eventually (or, god forbid, ask the boss), but I'd like to know what the command is and where I can find more information about it.

GeekTool issues

djgh — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:44:33 -0800

Get GeekTool to print in columns? I'm using GeekTool to print song lyrics on my desktop, with the following command:

osascript -e '''tell application "iTunes" to set currentLyrics to the lyrics of the current track'''

However, this prints everything in one long column. How can I get GeekTool to print excess output in a second (or even third) column?

Looking for a word to train my dog to come to, besides the obvious

jeffxl — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:36:11 -0800

I need a unique and amusing word to train my dog to come to, besides the word "come". Any ideas? I'm in a dog training class, and this week we're learning the "Really Reliable Return". For some reason they don't want us to use "come" for this exercise--they say we should come up with a word that is unique to us and our dog. (The theory is we're supposed to get her thinking that when and only when we say that word she gets the super awesome treat she never gets any other time, and therefore she'll really come when we say that word).

The trainers gave examples of previous students using words like "Skittles", or "Pickles"... but I really don't want to be that guy in the dog park yelling "PUDDING!" at his dog, so I'm looking for creative alternatives.

What are some good words that would be funny to have a dog come to? I was thinking about using synonyms of come (surprisingly little of those, though) or "come" in another language, or perhaps something like "hither". I'm sure you can top those ideas, though, right?

How best to take discreet private notes on a not so private computer?

therubettes — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:34:50 -0800

I want software which will allow me to capture text thoughts at work, to a remote web location - quickly, discreetly and privately. I work at a computer which is visible to co-workers and is sometimes used by others at short/no notice, so I would like to make the following senario a reality.

1. At work I have a non-work related thought which I wish to capture.

2. I input a keyboard shortcut and am presented with a simple command line interface. Something similar to the google desktop quick search if you have seen it, but perhaps even a little more discreet if thats possible.

3. I type the thought and hit enter/esc and the input screen/command line disappears.

4. The text I entered is not stored locally but sent to some remote web location (I am willing to pay for this service if necessary) where it can be reviewed and edited by me at a later time.

Additional Info:

I am using Windows XP.
A physical notebook and pen is not what I want.
I have had a Palm and did not like it.
I do not want to have to open a web browser.
Have tried using Yahoo Notepad with widget but it is not what I want.
I lose USB memory sticks too often for that to be a reliable method.
A local text file fails the privacy test.
I would prefer not to have to install software but would be happy to run an exe, if it did the job and was safe.
I do not wish to use my cell-phone.
I would like to be able to capture the thought almost as soon as I have it and then return to work immediately.
This is not related to GTD and I do not wish to do any more than input shortcut, type though, hit return.

I have checked lifehacker, ask mefi and similar sites for what I want but can't find precisely what I want.

Hey, I'm not Trudy! Or Ben!

Happy Dave — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:53:28 -0800

Why does my Mac appear to have other people's computer names at the command line? What's up here? I've got a 10 month old Macbook, running Tiger.

I share a web connection with a bunch of people that live in my building. The system is administered by our resident geek, and we have wireless routers throughout, all hooked up to a big 12mb pipe. It's cheap and way fast, so, score. Also, I know most of the other people in the building, and they're cool, so I have no real worries about someone accessing my computer over the air.

However, a few times in the recent past, I've booted up the terminal and seen something weird. When I got this mac, I created a top level account that I called 'Administrator'. Some of the time, when I start Terminal, it says:

Administrators-computer:~ Dave$

'Dave' being the everyday account that I'm in most of the time. However, sometimes when I open terminal, the command prompt has changed to the name of one of my neighbour's computers (I know this because I can see their computer names in the Network folder in Finder).

For example, there is a computer on the network called 'benlaptop', and once or twice when I've logged in, my command prompt looked like:

benlaptop:~ Dave$

At the moment it looks like:

trudy2:~ Dave$

What in the heck is going on here? Is my computer somehow compromised? I've got Firewall turned on.

I'm looking for a program that could serve as a perpetual, scrolling RSS feed that would cull news from various servers to be run on legacy OSes.

Lockeownzj00 — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 12:23:32 -0800

AsceticRSSFilter: I'm looking for a program I found by chance awhile ago that could serve as a perpetual, scrolling RSS feed that would cull news from various servers to be run on legacy OSes. I'm trying to turn my spare PC into something useful. I remember finding a program on the net awhile ago that serves what I'm looking for.

It was a command-line based client that would stream a sort of rss feed from this one website with miscellaneous news: local, weather, politics, etc. The program was meant to be installed and left on perpetually, and the feed would scroll as well. It could be run on old 386s and 486s, Palm Pilots, and pretty much any legacy OS without a graphical environment.

It was probably a one-word url/website/name, IIRC. Also, I found it through the comments of another website (which I can't remember) which I was looking at that gave tutorials on turning old laptop monitors into digital paintings/wall-pieces (ie 77 million paintings).

Thanks again.

How do I search firefox Smart Search from the command line in OS X?

crazyray — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 20:33:08 -0800

I absolutely love Firefox Smart Keyword Searches. Beyond just the default preinstalled ones, I also use custom ones for easynews, rottentomatoes, metafilter, etc. Here's my question: Is it possible to launch these from the command line in OS X? For example, ideally I would enter (into a bash prompt) rt apple to open a new tab in firefox with a search result for "Apple" in rotten tomatoes, like this.. Similarly, I would like to be able to enter easy creative commons to have it launch the keyword bookmark "easy" which searches easynews global for "creative commons". Is this possible to do, preferably without using Applescript or Automator?

How to change file extension of a large number of files?

Ekim Neems — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 10:19:15 -0800

How can I change/append an extension of a large number of files at once? I have about 1000 files that have no extension. I want them to all keep their same filename, but add the same extension to each. Is there a way I can do this through the Windows XP command-line, or a batch file? Otherwise, what software might I need?

Windows keystroke app launcher

Mo Nickels — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 12:07:36 -0800

Please recommend a Windows 2000 program that will allow me to assign a keyboard command to bring all windows of an active application forward or launch the application if it is not yet open. The latest Firefox doesn't work well with Quickeys 2.5.3 and the latest Quickeys is XP-only. There's so much dreck out there it's impossible to tell which programs are worthy. My criteria:

--I do not want to tab through open applications or windows.
--All keyboard commands must be user-assignable and all keys on the board must be available (even in the face of conflicts with existing commands in other programs). Too many programs stupidly assume I want to use the F keys for launching apps.
--I do not want a new toolbar or other piece of visual crap on the screen.
--I want to avoid using the mouse as much as possible.

Ampersand Command? Hey, that rhymes!

C17H19NO3 — Wed, 13 Apr 2005 06:12:58 -0800

Is there an Ampersand command for "@"? If so, what is it?

What are some other ways to accomplish the equivalent of the ASP "include" command?

Jaybo — Mon, 11 Oct 2004 00:53:50 -0800

What are some other ways to accomplish the equivalent of the ASP "include" command? (And if so, which is the easiest?) Is there any way to achieve the same effect with regular HTML?

Can a network connection be killed from the XP command line?

plexi — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 09:19:48 -0800

Can a network connection be killed from the command line in Windows XP?

How are the command and control structures in the US Military formed and evaluated?

oissubke — Wed, 24 Mar 2004 21:44:41 -0800

Military question -- On a website I was reading recently, I came across this tidbit: "The military continues to experiment with command and control structures designed to delegate and drive decision making to the front lines." Can anyone tell me more about this? I'm interested in how the U.S. military (or any other) has overcome the problem of decision-makers being too far from the action. Well, maybe not "overcome." More like "has tried to overcome." I'm sure it's a persistent problem.

What is the command hierarchy on a typical submarine?

badstone — Fri, 16 Jan 2004 17:35:56 -0800

What is the command hierarchy on a typical submarine? [more inside] I'm writing a book that will have a few scenes that occur aboard a military submarine. Is there a good resource I could look at to give me a rough idea of who would be in charge of what? It's a sci-fi piece, and the sub is operated by a quasi-military agency, so I have a little room for slop, but want to get things roughly right. Maybe I should just read some Tom Clancy? :)