endperform.org

I think my Macbook / Mac OS X has spoiled me as far as interfaces go. I’ve tried about three times now to mess around with Linux in a dual-boot fashion on the desktop, and each time I find something that frustrates me a little bit. At the moment, I’ve gone back to virtualizing Linux within Windows 7 to mess around with some different distributions. I can’t seem to come to rest on one. I thought I had with Ubuntu, but this latest issue with DNS resolution is driving me nuts. At work, it goes along well and then all of the sudden it takes almost a full minute or two for a DNS address to resolve. I’ve gone through bug reports, tried every workaround mentioned and still no joy. I’m a bit worried I’m going to run into the same sort of situation when using another distribution, so I’m hesitant to try to rebuild the work box.

One thing I really, really like about OS X is the software packaging. For most applications, you download either a .DMG (disk image) or a compressed file, open it and drag the app into your Applications (or other) folder, and you’re off and running. Everything is essentially self-contained, which is nice. I remember a discussion about Linux software distribution and packaging, and someone brought up this point. While it would be nice for Linux, could you imagine having a few copies of GTK being distributed with each application? That being said, GTK could always be installed by default, but that would defeat the purpose of self-contained packages, especially if a piece of software depends on one particular version of GTK (or any other library, for that matter). I don’t foresee any one packaging scheme becoming default across the board, as there’s always going to be a group that feels that their way is the right way and they’re going to do it like they want to. To me, this is Linux’s biggest problem as far as getting commercially supported software developed for it. While there are some companies who are distributing software for Linux (I can think of a couple of games), a majority still remains.

I started taking a look at the Ubuntu Forums again lately, trying to resolve an issue with networking on my Karmic box at work, and I got a reminder of why I don’t go there much anymore. Linux zealots, but not just any type, the “hey, I ditched Windows for Ubuntu and now everything but Linux sucks lol” type. Now, I’m not saying every Ubuntu user, or every new convert is like this, but it would seem that the number of these types of people are growing. I used to subscribe to this sort of mentality, but over the past two years I’ve broadened my horizons, so to speak, and have come to realize it’s not about what OS is best in general, it’s all about what OS is best for YOU. Use what works. I use Windows, Linux and OSX to varying degrees and they all provide different things for my computing experience.

The other issue I see a lot is the hatred of something someone doesn’t really understand or even know that much about. I give you this particular post in a thread asking about running Mac OS X virtualized. The comment:

Who cares if its illegal, now folowing a guide it might work, but i have never had it work for me though i did run my PC as a hackinto** oops hackincrap for 2 days. Mac os X is way too simplified and basically only for idiots, i mean who would pay $2000 for $500 hardware just because it runs mac os?

So apparently all OSX users are idiots. I responded, and outlined things I could do with OSX that Linux could also do, and never got a response. Two days is not nearly enough time to get to know OSX, and I didn’t buy Apple just for OSX. I ran OSX on the Dell laptop my Macbook replaced, and I have to say my Macbook feels more solid and well-built. Everyone likes to target Apple products since they seem to be overpriced, but they do not take into account the total cost of ownership, the durability or usability. I have a generation 1 iPod, that if I found a Firewire cable I bet would start right back up.

It’s okay to be passionate about something, but have all of the facts before calling someone an idiot, saying something doesn’t work, or trashing something. Just use what works for you.

I’ve finally found what I’ve been looking for as far as notes / organization at work goes. I discovered org-mode for Emacs while I was researching and testing some ways to keep me organized. I had gone the wiki route previously, but I found that the dependency of a database and browser just didn’t suit my “have it when / where I need it” ideals. Sometimes, I have to log into my work machine from home, and forwarding my X display can be painful. Since a lot of the time I was using Lynx to view pages anyway, I figured I would opt for a more text-based approach. I’ll go into how I’m using org-mode, but for further information, please check out the website.

Timesheets
I have to keep track of time I spend working on various things. Usually I used a pad and paper for this, but a lot of the time I don’t want to have to stop, write something down, then jump back. I have a timesheet.org file open in Emacs during the day so that I can switch to the buffer and enter my time. I use one headline per week, and create a table for the time. It works out nicely because now I have one file with my timesheets. I started this about a week or two ago, but I have no plans of entering all of my old time here.

Scripts, Utilities and others
Throughout the course of the day, I’m using a lot of different tools to get my work done. Sometimes I’ll discover something new and helpful and I’ll want to keep the command around for future use. For that, I have a scripts.org file to keep things organized. For customer information, right now I have one big customers file, but I think I’m going to start splitting that out into separate files soon.

The thing I really like about org-mode is being able to collapse the various levels. It keeps the information I don’t need right now out of my way while at the same time keeping everything in text form, so I can read it anywhere. I know I’m not harnessing the full power of this mode, but it fits my needs and perhaps it might fit someone else’s needs out there as well.

I’ve covered some very basic things up to this point, and really, that’s all I’ve needed to use Emacs in my daily workflow. I’ve not really dug deep into any of the special modes available, with the exception of the modes that load based on filetype. For the most part, the modes don’t offer anything special to this newbie, but one thing that annoys me is the auto-indentation. I haven’t had a chance to research the fix for that yet, but by default I don’t want any auto-indentation to occur. I’m sure it’s probably a few simple lines added to my .emacs and I’ll have what I need. Speaking of .emacs, and my cheatsheet, I’ve installed a wiki so I can keep things that evolve, such as my cheatsheet in one place. I’ll work on putting my .emacs online as well shortly, so people can point and laugh at it. :) But, at this point, I can safely say that I can navigate around and edit pretty easily, at a basic level.

What’s next on my Emacs plate? Well, I’d really like to figure out a way to log notes / time spent on tickets at work. Currently the ole pen and pad method are what I use to do this. Ideally I’d like to be able to set something up to ask me for a ticket number and then open a new file based on that. I’m sure there’s a way to script it, I just have to sit down and research it. That would resolve the note portion of the problem, but then comes the time tracking. I suppose I could whip up a small spreadsheet or something to keep it electronic as well, or check out one of the numerous time tracking apps out there, but what would really help is something that would keep everything in one place. There might be something out there, there might not be. I’ll have to search around and find it.

Emacs might be thought of as a programmer’s editor, but it works just as well as a text editor. But Brad, isn’t it a bit overkill to use Emacs for text editing? I’m a fan of getting as much use as I can out of an editor, and what better way than this? The buffers are one of my favorite things about Emacs. Sure, Vim has buffers, too, but I like the navigation in Emacs better. In my work, I deal with support tickets. So, when I take on a ticket, the first thing I’ll do is this C-x C-f 1111111, where 1111111 represents the ticket number I’m working on. Then from that point, as I gather information, I copy things from one window to another into that buffer to keep it handy. Once in a while, I’ll save the buffer with C-x C-s so I don’t risk losing the notes. This is definitely an easy way to keep my notes separated by ticket, and if I happen to be working on multiple tickets, I can switch buffers with C-x b then the buffer name.

By default, Emacs starts you out in a scratch buffer. I keep this open and use it to copy / paste tidbits of information that I might need later in the day, such as commands or even some time tracking. It truly is a scratch buffer in this case, and it works wonders. That’s it for this week. I was going to share my cheatsheet, but sadly I lost it. I’ll have it for next week. For now, I leave you with a summary of commands I used this week. For each of the commands, please note that C is the Control key, and M is the Meta, or ALT, key.

Emacs Commands Used

• C-x C-f filename – Create a new file called filename. Can include paths. Example: C-x C-f /home/fubar/temp.txt
• C-x C-s – Save the current buffer
• C-x b – Switch to buffer. Presents a default buffer name, but type the name of the buffer you want.