How to fix the backspace keep in vim on OS X

nospam@example.com (JClermont) — Tue, 15 Jun 2004 21:15:07 -0500

This isn't really a desktop hint, but it's not applicable to the command line outside of OS X either. What am I to do? I didn't have a coin handy, so instead I whipped up a perl program to choose for me. (Not really, just my dry sense of humor leaking into my prose again).

I've always experienced something frustrating when I'm on my Mac. I ssh into a Linux box, and try to use vim. The backspace key (oddly labelled "delete", but it really is backspace) behaves like the delete key. I knew there was probably a really easy way to fix it, but never took the time to figure out exactly what that "fix" was . . . until tonight

I did a quick google on some terms and happened across this very helpful article. The article itself is somewhat long-winded, and covers a number of other topics that didn't interest me, so I'll boil down the exact fix below . . .

Find your vimrc file (mine was in /etc on RH ES 3), and open it up for editing. Drop down to the bottom of the file and add these three lines:

set backspace=indent,eol,start
" note that the following rval is made by hitting ctrl-v and then backspace...
" this remaps backspace to actualy BACKSPACE - not delete.
set t_kb=ctrl-vBACKSPACE
fixdel

Those three simple lines made all the difference in the world.

UPDATE: I just discovered that these settings do not apply if you are running the 'vimtutor' app. Not a big deal, but enough to drive me crazy. My solution was to manually make a copy of the tutor file in /usr/share/vim/vim62/tutor/ and just run 'vim tutor'.

Posted under the influence of [[Arab Strap :: Leave the Day Free]]

Play movies full screen in QuickTime Basic

nospam@example.com (JClermont) — Fri, 7 May 2004 08:50:53 -0500

I need to begin by saying that I credit this entire entry to an article located on X vx. XP. I would have created just a simple link to the article, and left the entry at that, but you never can be sure if content will remain online, or even in the same place.

One of the most common complaints I have heard about Quicktime, whether it be on OS X or Windows, is that you need to shell out $30 to buy Quicktime Pro if you want to watch movies in full screen. I'm not a big Quicktime movie watcher, so this wasn't a real big concern to me. It did somewhat irritate me though, so I did some investigation. After no more than a minute on Google, I discovered the article I linked to above. Below is a very brief synopsis of the different methods to play movies on the free version of Quicktime in full-screen mode. Make sure to read the original article for all the details.

Posted under the influence of [[Cowboy Junkies :: Waking After Midnight]]

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How to fix the backspace keep in vim on OS X

Play movies full screen in QuickTime Basic