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The Command Line Crash Course Controlling Your Computer From The Terminal

learncodethehardway.org

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Re: The Command Line Crash Course Controlling Your Computer From The Terminal

#71

Post by spydum »

dangrossman wrote: post #38
dredmorbius wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless someone 'fessed up to it, you really have no way of knowing who did this. It could just as easily have been a drive-by script. And regardless, it was a hard, cheap, early lesson in the importance of ensuring fundamental levels of system security. I've ... suffered worse. I strongly suspect you'll never forget this.

This being more than a decade and a half ago, I doubt it was a drive-by script. I was dialed into AOL on a 4 letter screen name. I had just informed a channel of Linux users, who knew my public IP, that I had just installed Linux for the first time. The chances it wasn't someone from that IRC channel are near zero.

Yep, it was common to watch new folks join a help channel, and as soon as you saw that root@host identity, the level of shenanigans would jump through the roof.

Re: The Command Line Crash Course Controlling Your Computer From The Terminal

#72

Post by pessimizer »

jseban wrote: post #63
zedshaw wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not meant to be insulting, it's meant to be a method of learning the basics of a language that works. If you're insulted by it then just don't read it.

Your goal: A resource containing a method for learning, in a non-insulting way, for people to use. What happened: People reporting of being insulted. So you failed, why not use the feedback to improve the thing instead of making it personal.

When somebody says that they didn't mean to be insulting, that doesn't mean that they meant to be non-insulting. If I run to catch a bus, and I didn't mean to start with my right foot, it doesn't mean that I meant to start with my left.

Re: The Command Line Crash Course Controlling Your Computer From The Terminal

#73

Post by pessimizer »

gbog wrote: post #49
jodrellblank wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't like being taken for a child. That's a problem with you which you should fix, instead of getting all defensive and whiny.

I tried to express a view differing from the global appraisal in the comments. If it sounds defensive and whiny, maybe it is a problem with the way I expressed it, but it was not meant to be. I don't like "for the dummies" books either, I think this relatively new way to write books teaching something is no good for anyone. Showing a supposedly humorous disrespect for the reader seems to be acceptable in some culture…

Not liking something is different than it being "no good for everyone."

Though you see that your culture is not everyone's, not acceptable within your culture is not equivalent to not acceptable full stop.

Not everyone agrees with your permissions rule distinctions between instructional works and literary works, but this does not mean that what they are doing is not ok.

Being criticized is not the same as not being allowed to express yourself.

P.S.: Characterizing all possible arguments against your position as soon to be replaced trendiness disqualifies anyone from having a discussion on this subject with you, and pre-insults anyone who would want to.

Re: The Command Line Crash Course Controlling Your Computer From The Terminal

#74

Post by dangrossman »

dredmorbius wrote: post #69
dangrossman wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This being more than a decade and a half ago, I doubt it was a drive-by script. I was dialed into AOL on a 4 letter screen name. I had just informed a channel of Linux users, who knew my public IP, that I had just installed Linux for the first time. The chances it wasn't someone from that IRC channel are near zero.

I didn't say it wasn't. And given the malicious activity (most scripted attacks, especially today, prefer to make productive use of your system) that's a likely explanation. But scripted or not, someone did you a favor. For a reference point, a (very technical) friend at a large tech company had to fire up a fresh Windows VM in order to complete some Windows/IE-only internal web app form. He was p0wned within 5 minut…

> So: stop crying over this and put on your Big Boy pants.

In what world do you think that

1) I'm 'still crying' over something that happened 17 years ago by relating it in a comment

2) It's appropriate to tell other professionals relating a story to 'stop crying'

It's certainly not this one.

Re: The Command Line Crash Course Controlling Your Computer From The Terminal

#75

Post by naner »

jimmyjim wrote: post #3

> The next warning is stay off IRC or other places where "hackers" hang out. They think it's funny to hand you commands that can destroy your computer. The command rm -rf / is a classic that you must never type. Just avoid them. If you need help, make sure you get it from someone you trust not from random idiots on the internet. I don't really agree with that. I know for sure that popular channels in OFTC and Freenod…

The next warning is stay off IRC or other places where "hackers" hang out. They think it's funny to hand you commands that can destroy your computer.

It would be simpler just to tell the student to not run any command unless he or she can explain exactly what the program and arguments mean.

Re: The Command Line Crash Course Controlling Your Computer From The Terminal

#76

Post by tsm »

Adaptive wrote: post #70
gcb wrote: post #37

always considered myself an ace of the command line... heck for some time i even used X only for webbrowser (while cursing) and used TTY1 for vim and TTY2 for a shell where i'd run version control commands and build... but yesterday, installing debian-testing on a new notebook, the radeon cards didn't worked out even with the vesa drivers and i had to use the console for a few hours... i panicked when i realized I ha…

I find wifi on the command is still surprisingly hard if using just primitives like iproute2. I'm trying to force myself to use just that for a bit to learn the new(ish) ip / iw commands. Really, though, wpa_supplicant seems to be the most troublesome critical wireless "primitive". Not fun command line syntax.

I've had successful experiences with ceni--a relatively unknown interactive network manager. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=918442

Re: The Command Line Crash Course Controlling Your Computer From The Terminal

#77

Post by AndresNavarro »

gcb wrote: post #37

always considered myself an ace of the command line... heck for some time i even used X only for webbrowser (while cursing) and used TTY1 for vim and TTY2 for a shell where i'd run version control commands and build... but yesterday, installing debian-testing on a new notebook, the radeon cards didn't worked out even with the vesa drivers and i had to use the console for a few hours... i panicked when i realized I ha…

I found about this problem when moving from gnome to a minimalistic window manager that had no task bar whatsoever. I now use cnetworkmanager which is a python cmd application that uses dbus to connect with the regular NetworkManager service in Ubuntu, but for a couple of minutes it was a weird feeling, not being able to do something this basic

Re: The Command Line Crash Course Controlling Your Computer From The Terminal

#78

Post by pbreit »

jseban wrote: post #63
zedshaw wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not meant to be insulting, it's meant to be a method of learning the basics of a language that works. If you're insulted by it then just don't read it.

Your goal: A resource containing a method for learning, in a non-insulting way, for people to use. What happened: People reporting of being insulted. So you failed, why not use the feedback to improve the thing instead of making it personal.

> in a non-insulting way

I don't think that's part of the goal.

Re: The Command Line Crash Course Controlling Your Computer From The Terminal

#79

Post by gcr »

gcb wrote: post #37

always considered myself an ace of the command line... heck for some time i even used X only for webbrowser (while cursing) and used TTY1 for vim and TTY2 for a shell where i'd run version control commands and build... but yesterday, installing debian-testing on a new notebook, the radeon cards didn't worked out even with the vesa drivers and i had to use the console for a few hours... i panicked when i realized I ha…

You might consider switching to a lightweight distribution like Arch. Distributions intended to be used from the command line give you tools to make these tasks easier.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wifi

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