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115 Comments
- tubeguy, on 03/01/2009, -3/+93Ugh. More like tips to let me know how far behind I am and that I should just accept being a wannabe geek.
- bsmang, on 03/01/2009, -3/+81Sweet... I've been using Linux pretty much exclusively for about 13 years and still found a few gems in this list. Awk rocks.
- ktm9rick, on 03/01/2009, -1/+53yeah, grandma makes me feel so "l33t" when she asks me how to get to google
- inactive, on 03/01/2009, -4/+44This is a pretty good article, some of these things i already knew but otherwise very useful stuff to know. I was especially freaked out the first time i accidentally cat'd binary.
- PhillyOC, on 03/01/2009, -3/+41Nice elitist attitude, recognized as the same one shared by many that keeps new people from successfully switching to Linux.
- neophenix, on 03/01/2009, -2/+37ps + grep = expert?
Is reading a few man pages only the realm of experts these days? - wigren, on 03/01/2009, -2/+37The command line is one of the most efficient ways of using a computer. True geeks aren't afraid of their keyboards.
- inactive, on 03/01/2009, -2/+32I've been a Linux user for many years and despite this i still:
- Can't use regular expressions well
- Suck at perl
- Can't beat an expert at BASH
Being a Linux geek doesn't mean you're an expert at everything. My particular niche is C, which i did like before I switched to Linux, but man does Linux make your life a hell of a lot easier when you switch for it. POSIX rules. - inactive, on 03/01/2009, -3/+33What the Hell are you talking about?
What does the word Geek have to do with bootlegging Windows or even using Linux? Don't use Linux just because it's free. Use it because you're looking to improve something about your computing and don't mind dealing with some trouble with things you already do (like, certain games you might need special arrangements for to play, whether or not they only need to be set up once for it to continue to work or not.) or because you want to try something new. - bsmang, on 03/01/2009, -1/+30There are lots of things you can't do (or can't do well) without a CLI. Of course if all you do is play games and surf the interwebs, you probably wouldn't ever need to worry about it.
P.S. I do use Ubuntu for all my desktops these days, so it's not like I don't use GUIs. - toxicityj, on 03/01/2009, -5/+33What does about:config in FF have to do with Linux?
- colinm, on 03/01/2009, -1/+20Regarding "#8: Keeping your clock in time" - It's better to use ntpd than ntpdate as then your clock's constantly kept in sync and doesn't suddenly jump when you run ntpdate (potentially upsetting other things). Also, there's lots of time servers listed at http://www.pool.ntp.org/
- yoyar, on 03/01/2009, -4/+19Nobody said you HAVE to use these tips and tricks. These are for people who aren't cowards about the command line (that would be YOU). Now grow a pair and install a real OS. Oh yeah.
- LastDitchHero, on 03/01/2009, -1/+15Most of these are tips for someone who is an admin. But even the few ones you can use personally such as backing up a website, well doing it by command line allows you to automate it using Cron.
- burrgrinder, on 03/01/2009, -0/+12Even Microsoft brought back some power to the command line with Powershell, the advantages are pretty obvious to anyone who actually works with computers.
Here's one for home users: Try scheduling an hourly task to scan a folder for new video files you've downloaded, open them in ffmpeg to transcode into PS3 compatible format and upload to your network drive.
That's a couple line of bash scripting in linux added to the correct cron location that needs to be well thought out, but saves you lots of time if you do it manually 10 times a week, and is essentially impossible to automate through the GUI without scripting a user's mouse/keyboard behavior through something like AutoHotKey, which is a nasty hack, and can't run in the background. Even if you install the ffmpeg in Windows and use the Task Scheduler, open the resulting file it generates and it's just writing a command line input for you.
tl:dr: You don't know what you're talking about. - HonoredMule, on 03/01/2009, -0/+12692 diggs as of this comment...surely that is enough of an indication that plenty of people care.
- inactive, on 03/01/2009, -3/+15FireFox is included in most distros, but is also valid on other OS's where people have chosen to have FireFox.....so, why not include it?
- GraphiteCube, on 03/01/2009, -1/+13Bookmarked.
- Metasquares, on 03/01/2009, -1/+12#2 could be done with sed too. Use the i flag and you can do it in place on multiple files as well, albeit not recursively.
- Flamekebab, on 03/01/2009, -2/+13I own a license for Windows XP and run it in a VMWare session for syncing my iPhone. I use Linux for everything else because I prefer it. When my linux laptop was away for repairs I was stuck using a Windows machine - euch.
Maybe some people use Linux because of the cost but I know a hell of a lot of us use it because we prefer it.
..and learn the difference between "you're" and "your" - you sound moronic. - robohoe, on 03/01/2009, -0/+11scp is your friend.
- Jektal, on 03/01/2009, -2/+13Pirate != Geek
- joebaloney, on 03/01/2009, -0/+10Linux Format is a very good magazine.
- 2of8, on 03/01/2009, -0/+10Yeah... some of my friends think it's so cool (or, whatever, substitute any word you want in there :P ) that I dual-boot with Ubuntu or something - clearly, I must be a Linux pro. But no! I burned a LiveCD and installed. That's it. The technical know-how to be able to remember and use commands listed on this site - I am nowhere near that!
- havocjaw, on 03/01/2009, -6/+16A lot of Geeks do not use windows at all. If you don't believe it, go to your neighborhood monthly Geek themed meetings ie. Linux club.
- Kabloink, on 03/01/2009, -2/+12I can't wait for their next article.
"50 expert tips for Vim" - AdmiralAcbar, on 03/01/2009, -3/+12Vim ***** rules.
That is all. - jimmyobama, on 03/01/2009, -5/+13Wow! I thought linux was some kind of virus that removed windows from your machine and made all of your software like Photoshop and Word not work. Learn something new every day!!
- FyberOptic, on 03/01/2009, -1/+9A lot of time these lists are crap, but I'd say there's some useful things in here for folks this time. Especially due to some of the longer commands displaying the usage of other commands, which can be useful on their own or when used in combination with other things.
When all else fails, you can't be afraid to just dick around and try things when in Linux. If you don't know what you're doing, then that's the only way you'll learn. Being afraid of breaking it will never get you anywhere, cause trust me, at some point, something will break. The more you know beforehand makes you that much better off.
For most effective dicking around, install a version of Linux in a VMware session, which makes it mostly foolproof. You don't have to worry about possibly messing up data on one of your other drives or something that way. - 4321234, on 03/01/2009, -1/+9Good find Fizzbuzzmeh. The most useful linux post on digg in ages.
- MattBD, on 03/01/2009, -0/+8Two years ago I was using XP and stuck exclusively to the GUI. Today I prefer the command line. The bash shell is a lot more user friendly IMHO than the DOS prompt, and you only need to know a little to use it well. I find it a lot easier to use the command line for a lot of things (editing text, IRC, file management) than a GUI.
- linuxpenguin, on 03/01/2009, -0/+8Another useful one is port forwarding an SSH connection.
ssh -L portnumber:serveraddress:portnumber -l user -N serveraddress
You can use this to connect to an SSH server you've set up elsewhere, and forward your connections on that port to the same port on your remote PC. This is useful, for example, if you are behind a firewall that blocks BitTorrent traffic but have a server set up already at home - then you can use your Internet connection at home to get around the block - just tell your BT client to use localhost as a SOCKS5 proxy, using that particular port. - lowbot, on 03/01/2009, -5/+13You dont need to be a linux geek to be a geek. Geekdom is fairly large. Dont let the cool kids tell you that youre not something you know you are.
- inactive, on 03/01/2009, -0/+7If it's on the front page then obviously people do care, *****. Besides I'd rather have 0 comments than more retarded comments like yours. Back under your bridge, now.
- seanmc303, on 03/01/2009, -0/+7I was thinking the same thing on some of the tips, but I enjoyed seeing a different perspective on how to accomplish similar tasks. That is one of the great parts about linux. There are many ways to solve the same problem.
- rnawky, on 03/01/2009, -0/+7This has been patched out for a while now.
Where have you been?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rm_(Unix)#Trivia - MattBD, on 03/01/2009, -0/+7Dugg for speaking the truth. I wish more IDE's would support vi/Vim key bindings - I tried Monodevelop 2 yesterday and that does, the combination of Intellisense-style autocompletion and vi key bindings is awesome!
- easternpa, on 03/01/2009, -0/+6Back when I had a small server farm at home, one of my favorites was to make a box page me when a long-running process was complete. Most Linux distros include a script called "Mail" (case sensitive) that makes it easy to send complete emails from the CLI. So when I was ripping CDs to build up my mp3 collection, I used "jack", a CLI ripper. Once I had a good .jackrc built I could insert a music CD and type
jack ; eject ; echo "Next CD" | Mail mynumber@mycarrier.com
and then go off and do other things. Once the rip was complete, I would get a text message telling me to change the CD out. Made it very easy to go through about 100 CDs without sitting at the console for each one -- just run upstairs, change the CD, hit the up arrow, Enter, and get back to whatever I was doing. A real timesaver.
Also worked for compiling kernels on a P75 ;) - Bloodwine, on 03/01/2009, -1/+7I thought you use ntpdate to set your computer time initally, and then use ntpd to keep it in sync?
It's been awhile since I set up my NTP syncs, but I vaguely remember that my clock was so badly off that the range between my system's time and the NTP time was too big to sync, so I had to explicitly sync the time at first. - eanbowman, on 03/01/2009, -1/+7By what? Downloading a Windows app someone took hours to make? :P
Or say... editing the registry or using CMD (the Windows command line) to run something obscure?
Lame :P - DifferentAngle, on 03/01/2009, -1/+7For #5 - you probably dont want to run this command by itself. You have to leave the extra console open which is a security risk if you have a shared machine.
Instead... use nohup, and log out again, and the new x session will remain (otherwise it will go away)
nohup startx -- :1 & exit - inteldualcore, on 03/01/2009, -1/+7wow nc is so cool :)
- BxBoy, on 03/01/2009, -0/+5it's actually the other way around, linux removes windows from your machine and made all your software work better.
- theaceoffire, on 03/01/2009, -0/+5Seriously, you look at any XP or Vista tips and tricks list, and you will see a ton of registry hacks, command line accessed windows, etc...
Thats why it is a tip/trick, because it is not obvious or required, but can be useful. - shifty2, on 03/01/2009, -0/+5you make the interwebs cry.
- VeritasAequitas, on 03/01/2009, -1/+5 I love rsync, use it all the time on my Linux and OS X boxes. At work it has been a huge lifesaver in policy scripts and for backing up data on servers.
- MattBD, on 03/01/2009, -1/+5Unix in general works better for geeks than Windows does, it's a much more geek-friendly environment. Even OS X, but I personally find that horrible to work in compared to most Linux distros.
- aduric, on 03/01/2009, -0/+4I would have saved sooooo much time these past few months had I known about #44.
- tubeguy, on 03/01/2009, -1/+5You're good for my ego. I went through a short phase with Linux and ended up with 3 boxes running different distros. I thought I was uber geek then. I took my boss's laptop with Vista on it and made it my bitch in 2 hours. Then I read this stuff. I just don't have time to eat, sleep and breathe Linux.
- bsmang, on 03/01/2009, -0/+4Yes. And there was one there that had you grepping stuff out of dmesg to find out where a fresh mount landed.. I don't know why they didn't suggest just typing "df" or "mount" and looking at the end of those.
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