If this blog was a child, family services would have taken it away by now… Sorry for the blog neglect, life’s been a whirlwind of activity for the last month or so. For those of you who don’t know already — I switched jobs at the beginning of September. I’m now working as the editor-in-chief … Continue reading Quick update
Tag: Linux
Tips: Making Vim easy
Vim's flexibility and countless features are a major asset for experienced users, but a challenge for newbies. If you've always wanted to try Vim but were put off by your first attempts, you can start off gradually by getting to know Vim's GUI and easy mode. This article is a primer for those who haven't … Continue reading Tips: Making Vim easy
WordPress 2.1
After coming back from Linux.conf.au last week (I stayed in Sydney an extra week for vacation) I noticed that the WordPress folks had released 2.1 while I was busy getting sunburned. I’ve upgraded my blog to 2.1 and all went well. Definitely worth a look if you’re the blogging type. I’ve got a review up … Continue reading WordPress 2.1
Vim tips: Using tabs
Before Vim 7.0 was released last May, I usually had six or seven xterms or Konsole windows open, each with a single Vim session in which I was editing a single file. This takes up a lot of screen space, and isn't very efficient. With Vim 7.0, users now have the option of using tabs … Continue reading Vim tips: Using tabs
All mail clients suck…
Mutt just happens to be one of the mail clients that sucks less. I’d been getting tired of Sylpheed lately, so I decided to try out several text mail clients and see how they fit my email volume. Part of the fruits of my labor is this tutorial on configuring Mutt’s behavior. If you’ve ever … Continue reading All mail clients suck…
Training your Mutt
Mutt is a great mail client, in large part because it is extremely customizable. You can tweak Mutt's behavior and have it do tricks that are nearly impossible to do with other mail clients -- but it can be a bit daunting to get started with. Let's take Mutt on a short trip to mail … Continue reading Training your Mutt
Vim tips: Working with external commands
Vim is a powerful editing tool, but there are some things it just can't do. However, Vim lets you access shell commands and utilities without leaving Vim, and that lets you perform some amazing tricks. If you run :shell or just :sh while you're in the editor, Vim (or Gvim, if you're partial to Vim's … Continue reading Vim tips: Working with external commands
Oh noes! The command line!
Just reading Mark Shuttleworth’s response to Matt Zimmerman’s summation of the community’s expectations of the Ubuntu Dapper Drake 6.06 LTS release. One thing stuck out about Zimmerman’s comments, that’s the complaint that users still have to use the command line for some tasks. I know, the Holy Grail for a lot of users is to … Continue reading Oh noes! The command line!
Vim tips: Using Vim mappings and abbreviations
Vim ships with a lot of useful functions that make life easier when you're editing text, but Vim is also an extremely extensible editor. If you find yourself typing the same long commands or strings of text over and over again, it's time you learned how to set mappings and abbreviations in Vim, to save … Continue reading Vim tips: Using Vim mappings and abbreviations
Vim tips: Folding fun
The problem with writing and editing on a computer, versus having words on paper, is that it's usually hard to compare text from different sections of a document when they don't fit on the screen together. One way to do it is to use Vim's viewports feature. Another is to "fold" the text. Using Vim's … Continue reading Vim tips: Folding fun