I want to incorporate...So what's the deal with holding and shell companies? [more inside]
posted by emjay on Sep 21, 2009 - 12 answers

So I was fiddling with commands in the python interpreter via the Terminal. I ran this basically, and was messing with the help system. fileHandle = open ( 'test.txt', 'w' ) ; fileHandle.write (' asdasd^3 '); fileHandle.close(); And all of a sudden this application opened. Python shell is it's name, it has no icon. WTF is going on?
posted by emptyinside on Sep 18, 2009 - 3 answers

Where can I find Ryan Gosling's sunglasses in Half Nelson? [more inside]
posted by Groovytimes on Aug 14, 2009 - 5 answers

I'm using a shell script to handle some excel docs by converting to csv and reformatting it a little bit. I'm having some difficulty going on with the next part of the script. Some help would be great. :) [more inside]
posted by fightoplankton on Jun 10, 2009 - 11 answers

How to prepare some snail shells that I got from the mountain so I can make some kind of basic jewellery from them? [more inside]
posted by tseo on May 25, 2009 - 2 answers

I want to disable everything in Windows -- start menu, explorer, task bar, etc. etc., except for certain apps of my choosing, for a kiosk-style experience for my kids. [more inside]
posted by greensweater on Mar 3, 2009 - 14 answers

Shell scripting quandry: running apt-get and then running a command that requires a apt-get installed package fails because bash doesn't wait for apt-get to finish... [more inside]
posted by tmcw on Dec 6, 2008 - 4 answers

Can I make backspace work the same in a screen session as in a normal shell? [more inside]
posted by pompomtom on Oct 16, 2008 - 2 answers

Question about changing my terminal prompt (and other matters) in an OS X Bash shell. [more inside]
posted by grumblebee on Oct 15, 2008 - 3 answers

Best keyboard skin for Macbook Air? Best shell case (not for carrying)? [more inside]
posted by jeffmacintyre on Aug 19, 2008 - 1 answer

How can I get Quicksilver-style completion in the bash shell? [more inside]
posted by dmd on Jul 11, 2008 - 11 answers

I'm looking for an alternative to windows' CMD window/terminal. It isn't the shell itself that has me annoyed (although it stinks and monad is an improvement), but the terminal window. I'd love to have something like xterm or rxvt running- just the ability to resize the width of the window would be huge. [more inside]
posted by jenkinsEar on Jul 10, 2008 - 13 answers

BASHFilter! I've got a simple bash script that I've written to clean out a frequently used NAS. I run it every 30 days, it sets proper permissions, removes extraneous files and directories, but it frequently hangs on paths longer than 255 characters. [more inside]
posted by jackofsaxons on Jun 2, 2008 - 13 answers

I'm about to go backpacking for a while and need to take my MacBook 13". Can anyone recommend the best hard shell case you can get for it? [more inside]
posted by 6am on Feb 24, 2008 - 14 answers

using bash, i need to split a variable in two, on whitespace, but with just the first word in one variable, and the rest in the second variable. this is a one liner with perl. how in bash? [more inside]
posted by jimjam on Jan 12, 2008 - 19 answers

I have been using tcsh for a number of years now ( at least 12), and it seems that most OSes and most users have moved on to something better. Is there a reason for me to change, and if so, what is the best shell out there? ( main os is OSX 10.5, but use all sorts of linux/unix OSs ). [more inside]
posted by brent_h on Dec 25, 2007 - 25 answers

How do I get bash to automagically execute a line or two of code at login? [more inside]
posted by nakedcodemonkey on Oct 22, 2007 - 25 answers

What's the best way to shell ginkgo seeds? [more inside]
posted by NattyBumppo on Oct 14, 2007 - 4 answers

I would basically like to rip off, wholesale, some command-line script which will provide me a countdown -- only in days. No years, months, minutes, or seconds. Unfortunately, adapting an existing script is beyond my ken. [more inside]
posted by WCityMike on Sep 27, 2007 - 5 answers

I wrote a shell script for an acquaintance that renames Macs (OS 10.4) based on their existing names. It works well, but I'm convinced my code could be more efficient. Where can I make improvements? [more inside]
posted by pmbuko on Aug 29, 2007 - 11 answers

Lots of programs allow you to create system wide hotkeys, or identify hotkeys in shortcuts, but what about a utility that reports what's already taken and what program owns it? [more inside]
posted by lasitter on Jul 4, 2007 - 1 answer

Please help me understand what this OS X shell script is doing. [more inside]
posted by Armitage Shanks on Mar 22, 2007 - 19 answers

Where can I get a *nix shell account in another country? [more inside]
posted by nafrance on Mar 8, 2007 - 10 answers

Calling all shell script gurus! Help me write a command that performs an action on items in a list in parallel (as opposed to sequentially). [more inside]
posted by pmbuko on Dec 12, 2006 - 7 answers

In OSX how do I get files without extensions to be recognized by something other than Excel? Ideally I'd like them to be opened by the shell, or perhaps a new session in iTerm but iTerm is greyed out in the Choose Application menu.
posted by Null Pointer and the Exceptions on Dec 1, 2006 - 5 answers

How do I get my Linux shell to behave the same when I am using screen, as when I am not using it? [more inside]
posted by davar on Nov 5, 2006 - 11 answers

SSHFilter: How to restrict commands available to users who connect to a Linux box for file transfer, presumably via SSH? [more inside]
posted by adipocere on Oct 19, 2006 - 13 answers

Is there any way to access one's OS X Keychain via the command line? [more inside]
posted by action man bow-tie on Oct 17, 2006 - 4 answers

Is there a way for me to restart Windows Explorer (the shell) when it crashes, eliminates my taskbar and all desktop icons, but otherwise my open programs are working fine? Don't want to have to restart everything. [more inside]
posted by kookoobirdz on Oct 13, 2006 - 23 answers

I'm looking for a reliable shell account service. [more inside]
posted by adipocere on Oct 4, 2006 - 10 answers

*nix shell "best practices" anyone? [more inside]
posted by furtive on May 31, 2006 - 9 answers

Quicksilver / OS X shell junkies: How can I have Quicksilver run a shell script in the current (or a particular) terminal window? Alternately, how can I pipe the output of the script to a particular terminal window? [more inside]
posted by tweebiscuit on Feb 22, 2006 - 11 answers

What does >| do in a shell script? [more inside]
posted by flabdablet on Dec 13, 2005 - 9 answers

Calling *NIX shell wizards. [more inside]
posted by ori on Dec 11, 2005 - 33 answers

Korn Shell Filter: I have a list of time ordered files, with Julian day of year as part of the filename. There is not a file for every Julian day. If I grep on a directory listing for file *{DOY}*, and that file does not exist, I would like my script to be smart enough to use the file immediately preceding it in the listing, even if the preceding file is not *{DOY-1}*. My Google-Fu has failed me. Any suggestions?
posted by Fat Guy on Nov 22, 2005 - 9 answers

Where can a find a Gore-tex (etc.) jacket similar to this Triple Aught Design one which is sold out? I like the grey one in the middle.
posted by lunkfish on Oct 6, 2005 - 7 answers

AnotherLostChildren'sBookFilter

I am looking for two children's books by the same author. One is about a carved wooden indian in a canoe that makes an amazing journey. The other is about a hermit crab as it makes its way through various new shells. My 3rd grade teacher read them to us, and I loved them, but I can't remember anything useful like author or title. Thanks!
posted by omphale27 on Dec 31, 2004 - 8 answers

What's a good advertising-free alternative to Yahoo Groups? I'm looking to run a private mailing list, 10-20 subscribers, conversational in topic (which rules out Freelists.org). I have shell access on a Linux account, but not root (which rules out a Majordomo install). What else is out there?
posted by Aaorn on Sep 28, 2004 - 3 answers

datascrubbing: I'm using rm -R */*.gif (for example) to get rid of unnecessary files in a directory. There is stuff that's nested about five directories deep that I can't get to using the above command. I'm using the Bash terminal in OS X. specifically, there is a redundant file called "popup" nested in there that I want to get rid of, among others.

Second related problem: is there a way to recursively delete (full) directories, say ones that end in .blob using wildcards? And would I use rmdir or rm -R to do this?

I'm working on a copy of the original, so its ok to experiment a little
posted by mecran01 on Jul 16, 2004 - 18 answers