What happened to the terminal?

I've been installing a lot of different operating systems recently for testing different things, and there's an interesting issue going on with the location of the 'traditional' terminal or command prompt. I'll admit, I'm a command line junkie after years of first DOS and then Unix. Despite being a complete Mac zealot as well, the first application I start after a browser and email when OS X starts up is either the Terminal or Apple's X Windows System implementation. But I'm noticing something odd. On Linux and Solaris the 'Terminal' application is often hidden away under the 'System Tools' or 'Administration Tools' part of the menu within whatever interface you choose. I suspect this is because these operating systems have been pushing for the 'standard' (read not power or developer user) who don't want to use a shell to use their OS.

What happened to the terminal?

I've been installing a lot of different operating systems recently for testing different things, and there's an interesting issue going on with the location of the 'traditional' terminal or command prompt. I'll admit, I'm a command line junkie after years of first DOS and then Unix. Despite being a complete Mac zealot as well, the first application I start after a browser and email when OS X starts up is either the Terminal or Apple's X Windows System implementation. But I'm noticing something odd. On Linux and Solaris the 'Terminal' application is often hidden away under the 'System Tools' or 'Administration Tools' part of the menu within whatever interface you choose. I suspect this is because these operating systems have been pushing for the 'standard' (read not power or developer user) who don't want to use a shell to use their OS.

What happened to the terminal?

I've been installing a lot of different operating systems recently for testing different things, and there's an interesting issue going on with the location of the 'traditional' terminal or command prompt. I'll admit, I'm a command line junkie after years of first DOS and then Unix. Despite being a complete Mac zealot as well, the first application I start after a browser and email when OS X starts up is either the Terminal or Apple's X Windows System implementation. But I'm noticing something odd. On Linux and Solaris the 'Terminal' application is often hidden away under the 'System Tools' or 'Administration Tools' part of the menu within whatever interface you choose. I suspect this is because these operating systems have been pushing for the 'standard' (read not power or developer user) who don't want to use a shell to use their OS.

What happened to the terminal?

I've been installing a lot of different operating systems recently for testing different things, and there's an interesting issue going on with the location of the 'traditional' terminal or command prompt. I'll admit, I'm a command line junkie after years of first DOS and then Unix. Despite being a complete Mac zealot as well, the first application I start after a browser and email when OS X starts up is either the Terminal or Apple's X Windows System implementation. But I'm noticing something odd. On Linux and Solaris the 'Terminal' application is often hidden away under the 'System Tools' or 'Administration Tools' part of the menu within whatever interface you choose. I suspect this is because these operating systems have been pushing for the 'standard' (read not power or developer user) who don't want to use a shell to use their OS.

What happened to the terminal?

I've been installing a lot of different operating systems recently for testing different things, and there's an interesting issue going on with the location of the 'traditional' terminal or command prompt. I'll admit, I'm a command line junkie after years of first DOS and then Unix. Despite being a complete Mac zealot as well, the first application I start after a browser and email when OS X starts up is either the Terminal or Apple's X Windows System implementation. But I'm noticing something odd. On Linux and Solaris the 'Terminal' application is often hidden away under the 'System Tools' or 'Administration Tools' part of the menu within whatever interface you choose. I suspect this is because these operating systems have been pushing for the 'standard' (read not power or developer user) who don't want to use a shell to use their OS.

Frankly Speaking: Wishes fulfilled

Indestructible mobile phones and a two-minute warning for e-mail are a reality. A truly smart credit card? Not so much. Two weeks ago in my column, I listed a dozen user-level tools I want — and, I suspect, many of our users do too. As usual, readers didn't hesitate to jump in with ideas, suggestions and, in some cases, the products themselves.

Frankly Speaking: Wishes fulfilled

Indestructible mobile phones and a two-minute warning for e-mail are a reality. A truly smart credit card? Not so much. Two weeks ago in my column, I listed a dozen user-level tools I want — and, I suspect, many of our users do too. As usual, readers didn't hesitate to jump in with ideas, suggestions and, in some cases, the products themselves.

Shark Tank: It's all about communication

Yes, No, No ...Pilot fish gets an opportunity for a week of training, room and board paid for by the training company. All he needs is money for travel and approval from his boss. "I sent an e-mail to the boss asking for his approval to apply," says fish. "I received a reply in the affirmative. Then I sent another e-mail asking how to go about getting travel to said training. Travel denied. I explained that the training was free and that the room and board was free -- I just needed to get there and back. I included the documentation, and I even offered to pay my own way if I could have an authorized absence for that week. Denied again. Result: Opportunity lost. Why am I leaving this job again?"

Shark Tank: It's all about communication

Yes, No, No ...Pilot fish gets an opportunity for a week of training, room and board paid for by the training company. All he needs is money for travel and approval from his boss. "I sent an e-mail to the boss asking for his approval to apply," says fish. "I received a reply in the affirmative. Then I sent another e-mail asking how to go about getting travel to said training. Travel denied. I explained that the training was free and that the room and board was free -- I just needed to get there and back. I included the documentation, and I even offered to pay my own way if I could have an authorized absence for that week. Denied again. Result: Opportunity lost. Why am I leaving this job again?"

Shark Tank: It's all about communication

Yes, No, No ...Pilot fish gets an opportunity for a week of training, room and board paid for by the training company. All he needs is money for travel and approval from his boss. "I sent an e-mail to the boss asking for his approval to apply," says fish. "I received a reply in the affirmative. Then I sent another e-mail asking how to go about getting travel to said training. Travel denied. I explained that the training was free and that the room and board was free -- I just needed to get there and back. I included the documentation, and I even offered to pay my own way if I could have an authorized absence for that week. Denied again. Result: Opportunity lost. Why am I leaving this job again?"

HHS Ups Payments to E-health Adopters

The federal government last week launched a program that provides increased Medicaid payments to small medical practices that use electronic health records.

Open Grid Services Architecture

Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA) is a set of standards that extends Web services and service-oriented architecture to the grid computing environment.

E-mail overload? ClearContext promises solution for Outlook users

What would you give for the safe return of an hour of your day currently wasted mucking out your e-mail inbox? ClearContext on Monday announced the release of an Outlook plug-in that hopes to deliver those precious minutes.

Bill Clinton drops in at Microsoft to say thanks

Microsoft is participating in a United Nations organization that aims to help millions of children in refugee camps worldwide continue their educations. Clinton was in Seattle to sign copies of his new book about charity.

BIOS maker Phoenix reinvents itself as virtualization platform vendor

Just because your product's shipped on over a billion PCs doesn't mean you're sitting pretty for future trends in computing. But Phoenix Technologies, the venerable provider of the BIOS software present on most PCs, has a plan -- and it involves not enabling Windows, but competing with it.

Microsoft defends Facebook stake

Though some analysts have criticized the high price Microsoft paid for a stake in Facebook, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said, "the valuation of Facebook is still to be determined" and that "for a company like ours that wants to be a preeminent presence in this space, it's very important for us."

Canadian professor offers model for systems management

Monitoring the external behavior of applications -- including how busy a system is or the length of response time -- can determine a performance model that essentially describes how well the system will fare over time.

MySpace plans new display-advertising network

MySpace today unveiled plans to launch a new advertising platform that allows small-business owners, bands and politicians to buy, create and analyze the performance of display ads on the popular social networking site.

Carnegie Mellon's robocar navigates big win in DARPA's Urban Challenge

Eleven self-guided vehicles took off from the starting line this past weekend in a race that ultimately could save lives on the battlefield. The winner: Boss, from Carnegie Mellon.

Robocar race winner: aging baby boomers may get self-guided wheels in the future

Chris Urmson, director of technology for a Carnegie Mellon team that won a DARPA race for self-guided cars, says 'autonomous vehicles' could be driving people around in 10 to 20 years.