man command in Windows possible (?)

Continuing along in my series about how to make Windows more palatable for Linux users, one thing that’s been more difficult to find a workaround for is the man command

For about an hour, I went on a wild goose chase for some sort of alternative in Windows, and found relatively little. I discovered a win32 implementation of mandoc here, which sounds interesting, but I decided not to explore it further than seeing if it’d run (spoiler: it does), since where would I download all the man files for the utilities that were included with git-bash? Sounded like too much of a chore.

Instead, I opted to go with an entirely new shell framework, called msys2. It’s slightly different than git-bash, in that, although both link to cygwin.dll for their tools, it starts logins an entirely new user folder in the C:\tools\msys64\home\user directory, and uses pacman as a package manager. You can supposedly compile tools that are totally win32 compatible with minGW (also included in the installation package) without having to link to cygwin.dll, but I’ve yet to see that in action.

Besides, all I really cared about at the time was getting my man back! Does that sound like you? Are you also a Windows user missing your man? Well, read further!

Continue reading “man command in Windows possible (?)”

More ways to help Linux users hate Windows less

Evil Computer Laptop - Openclipart

Ok, so obviously if you hate Windows, you probably just shouldn’t be using it. But what if you love the way Linux operates, but have a plethora of Windows-only applications you have to have at your fingertips at any moment’s notice?

Here are some ways the discerning Linux user who’s stuck by vendor lock-in can make Windows a little more palatable in the command line:

Continue reading “More ways to help Linux users hate Windows less”

The GRUB prompt: Demystified

Free Computer People Cliparts, Download Free Computer People Cliparts png  images, Free ClipArts on Clipart Library

OK, so practically everyone who uses Linux has come to this menacing prompt at least once or twice. Typically, unless you’re a seasoned sysadmin, it’s a harbinger of death, requiring more than you bargained for to be able to use the computer that day without dire intervention.

But if you know how to navigate the GRUB prompt, you can get back to work just like you were hoping.

These two skills are extremely useful to have in your arsenal of command-line fu, because if you can knowledgably tackle a GRUB prompt in a reasonable amount of time, it can save you hours of headaches and hassle.

So don’t be afraid, embrace the unknown and learn how to navigate GRUB!

Continue reading “The GRUB prompt: Demystified”

Easing pain of migration from Google Hangouts to Google Voice (as much as humanly possible)

Parting Hangouts is not sweet sorrow…

Some of us have been using Hangouts for ages. Essentially since Google recommended we switch from texting with Google Voice way back May of 2013.

Well, now they’ve dropped the hammer again, and said we have to switch back to Google Voice, since for whatever reason they’ve decided to terminate Hangouts altogether.

What gives? I’d been enjoying Hangouts quite a bit, as it fits my workflow perfectly, and had adapted to it in every minute detail through years of experience in daily life.

And now you want to make that all go away?

Continue reading “Easing pain of migration from Google Hangouts to Google Voice (as much as humanly possible)”

PSA: Menus not staying open in Supermicro IPMI? Here’s how to fix it:

I’ve noticed this a couple times in the last week – I had an iKVM window open on my Supermicro host, trying to control the ESXi DCUI, and the menu wouldn’t stay open. It’s very frustrating.

I don’t have a physical monitor hooked up to any of my hosts, so this is a pretty important thing to have working in the event I need to change a setting only available on the “physical” host’s menu.

So, in case you landed on this page because you’re trying to figure out how to fix the same issue, here’s what I discovered:

Continue reading “PSA: Menus not staying open in Supermicro IPMI? Here’s how to fix it:”

Automate kernel module installations for VMware Workstation on your Linux distro

VMWare Archives - The CloudStack Company
VMware Robot does a little dance

Update April 2021: I noticed VMware Workstation 16 in Ubuntu tends to install kernel modules fine through its GUI now, so a lot of this info about how to compile and install vmmon and vmnet is probably obsolete. But since it may be useful to someone using an older version of Workstation, I’ll leave it up for the time being.

In reference to this post I made earlier: https://develmonk.com/2020/10/20/solve-the-system-cannot-find-the-file-specified-error-in-vmware-workstation/

I found the most helpful script, just drop this in a text file called /etc/kernel/install.d/vmmodules.install

Continue reading “Automate kernel module installations for VMware Workstation on your Linux distro”

Solve “The system cannot find the file specified” error in VMware Workstation

If you’ve ever run into this, it’s a real bummer. I encountered it after using rsync to clone a vm.

At the outset, I want to say either using vm -> manage -> clone or file -> export to OVF are both easier options, but if you’ve already copied a vm by hand, you can try this out:

Continue reading “Solve “The system cannot find the file specified” error in VMware Workstation”

PowerBash eases some discomfort of adjusting to PowerShell for Linux users

Want to use grep or vim from your powershell env? Now you can!

OK, I just stumbled across the coolest thing.

Occasionally I use PowerShell because it’s the easiest way to get batch processes accomplished on a Windows computer, or sometimes the only way to implement a feature (e.g. making folders case-sensitive to avoid naming conflicts when syncing with nix computers).

But it’s always a bit of a pain because I have to look up ways to do basic things I can easily do in a POSIX-style environment without needing a reference (e.g. find, grep, sed, df, vim) and sometimes their implementation is awkward or clunky, or just not easily possible.

Enter Powerbash:

Continue reading “PowerBash eases some discomfort of adjusting to PowerShell for Linux users”

Add podman controller to cockpit on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Scripting Containers With No Daemons using Podman - DEV Community

I am heartened to see podman becoming more comfortable on Ubuntu, since although I’m excited about a lot of the software coming from RHEL’s massive portfolio of acquisitions, I still prefer Ubuntu’s support length and update schedule, and find its commands and structure more familiar.

But what about the accessories that are available for podman? Would installing it on Ubuntu make it like a fish out of water?

Thankfully, no! buildah is also available in the offical podman repo for Ubuntu, and apparently cockpit-podman can be installed fairly easily, too.

Continue reading “Add podman controller to cockpit on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS”

Getting touchpad scroll to work in VMWare Workstation

Shiny new Kubuntu 20.04 dev platform

So, I develop using NodeJS, and I use Windows. Anyone who uses both together and has used Linux as a dev platform has probably realized the Windows version is a little lackluster and has edge configuration issues that make it a pain.

So I was setting up a dev environment on an ESXi host so I could have one place in which I do my development and not have to switch back and forth between Windows and Linux platforms, deal with the painfully slow WSL, Windows ‘git bash’, etc. do everything native.

That was a great idea until I got it all set up and realized my touchpad wouldn’t scroll anymore.

Continue reading “Getting touchpad scroll to work in VMWare Workstation”