[C.A.T.S. CEO]

If you've ever used linux with Xorg you know you can quit it with a key combo (Cntl + shift + backspace?) and get to a shell, can I do something similar in OS X?

Don't ask why I want to do this, its just for fun.

[Catfish_Man]

Used to be you could log in as >console to get to a shell, don't know if it still works though.

[reader50]

Yes, it works fine. At the login window, put in ">console" as the user name, sans quotes of course. No password needed. The Quartz windowserver won't start up, unless other GUI users are already logged in.

When you exit from the console, the windowserver will restart and put you back at GUI Login.

[C.A.T.S. CEO]

Originally Posted by reader50 

Yes, it works fine. At the login window, put in ">console" as the user name, sans quotes of course. No password needed. The Quartz windowserver won't start up, unless other GUI users are already logged in.

When you exit from the console, the windowserver will restart and put you back at GUI Login.

Nice, thanks

edit: zsh doesn't work . ah well

[C.A.T.S. CEO]

Its the same as single user mode, I can't use any command-line apps.

[Chuckit]

What do you mean? You can use CLI programs in single-user mode. I've done it on many occasions.

[Kevin]

You sure can. I use this AppleJack Project Page in single user mode all the time.

I have it installed on ALL the Macs in my office. It's easy, free, and pretty darn nifty. Companies like FREE. That word makes them happy.

Plus it makes your boss who is clueless think you actually know something about the workings of a computer, and aren't simply just a graphics monkey.

[analogika]

Companies in general do NOT like "FREE", IME.

Corporate culture is distrustful of things that don't cost a lot of money, unless it's office utensils.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by analogika 

Companies in general do NOT like "FREE", IME.

Corporate culture is distrustful of things that don't cost a lot of money, unless it's office utensils.

It depends on the company. Big companies generally won't touch "free" with a 20-foot pole. Small- to medium-sized companies, on the other hand, often love free. Companies in that range are thought to be some of the worst software pirates out there.

[C.A.T.S. CEO]

I wanted to see if I could run X11 straight from the console. In a nutshell, Darwin running fluxbox (compiled it myself).

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by analogika 

Companies in general do NOT like "FREE", IME.

You kidding me? The first time they hear "And it's free" they jump on it.
Lowering overhead = bonus time for them at the end of the year.

[analogika]

See Chuckit's response above.

[Kevin]

Ok

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

It depends on the company. Big companies generally won't touch "free" with a 20-foot pole

These companies often overspend and could save money by not doing so. But they have a status to uphold. So spending lots of money on un-needed things is a status symbol. "We are so successful we can buy anything"

Small- to medium-sized companies, on the other hand, often love free.

They HAVE to have a budget. That is why. These people aren't into "status" so much as "getting the work done" I have found when I want to get things done, I go to medium to small sized shops instead of the larger ones that do more volume. It's more personal and you get better over-all service IMHO.

Companies in that range are thought to be some of the worst software pirates out there.

Maybe, but not from my experience. I'd rather work for a small/medium business compared to a large one. I've done both. The latter you are basically just a "number" to them. Think Office Space.

I prefer working in smaller to medium sized companies. Where everyone knows everyone.

None of these companies I have worked for had any problems with piracy. But I am SURE there are those that exist out there.

Fact is, MS and the like usually only go after BIG companies. They know they can get "free" money that way.

If they were to attack small mom and pop shops, or ones slightly larger, they would have a RIAA type rep.

[ginoledesma]

Originally Posted by Kevin 

These companies often overspend and could save money by not doing so. But they have a status to uphold. So spending lots of money on un-needed things is a status symbol. "We are so successful we can buy anything"

Hasty generalization aside, one reason some big companies avoid "free" is that there is a perceived notion that free = no support. I've seen several big companies avoid using MySQL and PostgreSQL and jump straight to Oracle even for tiny projects for the main reason that Oracle (being well-known) sells them (expensive) support contracts, even when the free products sells support services as well. For those products that offer community support only, this is a bigger hurdle. Yes it may be un-needed spending in the eyes of geeks or IT staff, but managers will have to look at it from a spending perspective: is it cheaper to have your (highly-paid?) IT staff do the support or just rely on commercial support? It's a matter of perspective, really.

Originally Posted by Kevin 

Maybe, but not from my experience. I'd rather work for a small/medium business compared to a large one. I've done both. The latter you are basically just a "number" to them. Think Office Space.

I like working with the small/medium crowd myself. The environment is so much more accommodating, more room for experiments, and a tighter knit group. In IT, this allows me to play with fun projects. Big companies may have the money to spend on high-end gear and the like, but you can sometimes get by with testing evals. :-)

Getting back on topic, zsh comes with Mac OS X, but it's not the default shell with later versions. I believe it's zsh v4.2 at least? You could change your default shell by running chsh.

I'm curious as to why you'd want to run just Darwin+X11, though. You'd lose out on programs requiring Aqua and others. At that point, you'd end up having a better experience (IMHO) with Linux or BSD.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by ginoledesma 

Hasty generalization aside, one reason some big companies avoi...

Just giving you MY experiences in the business world. I worked for a graphics company that ALWAYS had to have the LATEST and BEST. Anytime a new Mac came out, he ordered it. Just so he could brag to his buddies on his graphic design house owners masturbatorathon mailing list. Same goes with software. I'd offer a cheaper solution, and if he couldn't brag about it he'd rather pay for something he can. He eventually HIRED someone to tell him why he was losing money... I left shortly after that. I've worked with two companies like this in my life.

I like working with the small/medium crowd myself. The environment is so much more accommodating, more room for experiments, and a tighter knit group. In IT, this allows me to play with fun projects. Big companies may have the money to spend on high-end gear and the like, but you can sometimes get by with testing evals. :-)

I am basically the only person that does graphics for the part of the company I work for. I have a G5 at the moment, and the latest software. They are pretty nice to me. Let me do what I want basically. I even have a acoustic guitar in there I strum once in awhile.

Getting back on topic, zsh comes with Mac OS X, but it's not the default shell with later versions. I believe it's zsh v4.2 at least? You could change your default shell by running chsh.

I'm curious as to why you'd want to run just Darwin+X11, though. You'd lose out on programs requiring Aqua and others. At that point, you'd end up having a better experience (IMHO) with Linux or BSD.

Agreed. If you simply can't stand Aqua, there are ways of changing it.

And 10.5 is coming out soon with it's new "Unified" theme to replace Aqua.