lineo

How to use SSH host names for tabs in the OS X Terminal

While the OS X Terminal is not a familiar operating environment for most Mac users, those who have had experience with Unix-based systems will find it to be an invaluable tool for managing their systems. One of the most common uses of the Terminal is to establish a remote log-in session on a system using the secure shell (SSH) command, and sometimes invoke multiple connections to the same system and different systems at the same time.

As a result of this, you might find you have many windows open at once to manage these connections in, though starting with Snow … Read more

Using the OS X Terminal instead of the Finder to copy files

While in OS X people often copy individual files or small groups of files between locations using the Finder, there are times when you might copy hundreds if not thousands of files at a time, especially for the purposes of backing up or migrating data from one drive to another. For the most part, the Finder's copying process is perfectly adequate for moving these files; unfortunately it does have some drawbacks that can hinder the copying process.

When the Finder copies files, it first catalogs all files to be copied and then treats the copy process as one all-or-nothing … Read more

Options for searching the Unix man pages in Lion

If you are used to the Unix command line, then you will find yourself right at home with Apple's Terminal application in OS X. The tool launches bash as the default shell for user accounts, but you have the option of using others such as sh, zsh, and csh.

In addition to the shell environment, Apple offers a full set of BSD tools that enable you to script many tasks for automating just as you would on any Unix system.

The BSD library and other commands that Apple includes in its operating system are vast, and with hundreds of … Read more

Google Android: Mobile open source has finally arrived

Open source, despite its community roots, often doesn't become mainstream until corporations get involved. There are notable exceptions--Mozilla Firefox and the Apache Web server being just two--but often it is corporate self-interest that provides the mechanism to deliver the value of community-developed open source to a mainstream audience.

While the mobile market remains highly fragmented, therefore, I take it as a very encouraging sign that Google has thrown its considerable heft behind Android, its open-source mobile operating platform.

Sure, we've had mobile open-source companies for years. I was part of one of the first: Lineo, an embedded Linux … Read more

What I learned from Lineo's failure

Lineo (later renamed Embedix) was an embedded Linux vendor that rose to prominence in 1999 to 2000, and then cratered into obsolescence in 2002. I joined in 2000, the day that the acquisition of six (yes, six) different companies was announced. My first day of work was the approximately 400-person company get-together designed to build a team out of a mass of new bodies. Up until that day the total employee base was approximately 40 people.

I learned a tremendous amount about business and open source and the intersection of the two during my two years with Lineo. These lessons heavily influence how I see open-source opportunities today.

In the interest of sharing, here's what I learned:… Read more