Will we have Sony to blame when computers become self-aware and start taking over the earth? I came across a news story today that leads me to think, “Yeah, maybe.”
“The Roadrunner is based on a radical design that includes 12,960 chips that are an improved version of an I.B.M. Cell microprocessor, a parallel processing chip originally created for Sonys PlayStation 3 video-game machine. The Sony chips are used as accelerators, or turbochargers, for portions of calculations.”
Gaming consoles these days are down right powerful machines. I’ve read stories about people running Playstation3 Cluster Farms and other fun projects. This is a funny story I came across about a University using an X-Box for a web server.
Every now and then I just post things I don’t want to forget or worried that the original website might disappear. This is one of the cases. This is a blog posting I came across on a little problem that plaques those of us that enjoy using OS X but have a need to move files to other systems like Linux and Windows.
There is a dirty little secret the Mac hides from you when you are using it but becomes a glaring eyesore when you move to another OS. Some file clean up needs to happen because OSX creates these hidden files that start with a ._ which contains some extended information about the file that no other system reads so they aren’t terrible useful when moving files to these systems. This post from a person working for Splunk, outlines how to tar up files on a OSX machine that is targeted for other systems and exclude the ._ files from the tarring process. Original article can be found here
————— POST ———————-
When building Splunk applications, Im often working on a Mac. There are files that begin with ._ that are resource files, which contain extended attribute information about the files for the OS. This is great and all but I dont want to include these files when I package up an application and upload it to SplunkBase.
If you dont have deep OSX knowledge, then keeping these files out of your tarball is harder than it looks. One of our OSX gurus pointed me toward the answer, and I was so excited (yes, I am a geek) that I just had to share.
To build a tarball in Leopard that doesnt contain the ._ files, use:
COPYFILE_DISABLE=true tar cvzf filename.tar.gz dirtotar
In Tiger, use:
COPY_EXTENDED_ATTRIBUTES_DISABLE=true tar czvf filename.tar.gz dirtotar
This is definitely going in my .bashrc so I dont have to fuss with it again:
OK, I am by no means an expert with OSX, especially the new Leopard. I also know there have been a lot of new features added with this latest release of OSX so I could have very easily missed this one but when I stumbled onto it I thought it was really pretty cool.
If you select a file and hit the space bar you get a nice preview of the file.
If you do this while you have a folder selected you get some good information on the folder such has folder size.
And just as an FYI, you don’t even need to be in Finder to do this trick. You can do it directly on the Desktop. Just select something and hit the space bar.
Just one of many cool features I didn’t realize lived within Leopard.
Update: Finally found the name to this feature, Quick Look
This is what Google does with their Gmail (email) and Google Talk (chat) products. When you log into Gmail, you have access to your Google Talk buddy list and can start chatting with them right there in the web browser. It’s been known to be convenient at times. Well it looks like you can now do the same thing with Yahoo which seems like a great idea to me.
I am always trying new mechanisms to help manage my extremely hectic life. There is an entire GTD world out there with application designed to help you manage task, email, and life in general. I’ve used a lot of them, from stand alone clients for Windows, Linux and Mac to web based, and maybe one day I will write about my experiences with them. Personally, as with most of the things I like working with, I gravitate to web based solutions and for the longest time I used a site called Remember the Milk but I was turned onto a new site today and I have to admit I have really taken to it. If you are looking for a good task management application I recommend you check out a site called Toodledo. Very nice tool
Here is a nice comparison chart of web-based to-do list
Looks like those guys at Google have done it again and have released Google Desktop for Mac Now I look into this a little, haven’t actually installed it, but it looks like it comes up very short to the Windows counterpart Google Desktop for Windows.
At this stage Google Desktop for Mac looks more like a Quicklsilver replacement. I am a huge Quicklsilver fan but am also a big fan of Google and everything they do for Macs and Linux so I might find myself giving this a try. If I do give it a try I will let you know how it goes.
OK, this one is going to be strictly for my geek friends, I doubt anyone else will appreciate this. This is some geek rap. This guy is rapping about Unix commands.
What does SHOCM mean?
SHOCM (pronounced show-come) is a nickname given to be by a friend. It's actually an acronym. I don't think there is any other SHOCM out there.
What is this site?
My place on the internet where I post my thoughts, rants, experiences, and general what nots.
My Professional Life (and Disclaimer)
Currently, I am a Systems Architect Sony Electronics (SNE). Although I try to be an honest person in general, my positive reviews, recommendations, and opinions of anything Sony should be taken with a grain of salt. My posting here should also be considered the thoughts and opinions of myself and not those of my employer.
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