|
People are generally surprised to learn that there is more to do at the dollar sign prompt than just type
"pine" to check one's email. In fact, there are a great number of applications which might make one's time
spent in a cunix shell a little more enjoyable...
Found in cunix is a nice application called xfiend. It allows you to check to see if anyone you know is
logged in at the same time you are. To use it you need to create a file with your friends' email addresses and
a description to remind yourself who they are. To create this you can use a
program called "emacs".
At the dollar sign prompt, type "emacs .xfiend" and type in an email address followed by a short
description. Put in as many as you like, each on a separate line, however. When finished, hold the control
and x keys; then release the x and press the s key. This will save your file. To leave emacs do the same, but
instead of s, hit press the c key. Your completed file should look like (and you can view it by typing "more
.xfiend" at the dollar sign prompt):
jd123 My Friend John Doe
sd456 Roommate Sally Doe
aa76 Alan Aardvark
Note that the first part is the email address at Columbia and the second is the description or name.
When you type "xfiend" at the dollar sign prompt now that you have created your .xfiend file, and perhaps
two of your friends are logged in, you will see their email addresses, followed by the description you
entered, the time they logged in, and where they logged in from.
Coming in the next issue: Talk and Ytalk: two applications which will allow you to chat with your friends
while in cunix.
| 
