[arcticmac]

a few days ago, my terminal prompt changed from being [computername:~]username% to "[localhost:~]"username%.

(os 10.2.8)

is this normal/good/bad/whatever?

what's the best way to change it back?

the only software I've installed (I think) in the past couple days is gimpprint and espghostscript.

[Big Mac]

I have seen my terminal's prompt change, too. One time it changed to my IP address, strangely. But now it's back to <Rendezvous name> <username>. Maybe if you change your Rendezvous name it will update to it.

[Link]

Sometimes rendezvous has the habbit of going boom, OR something felt the need to change your hostname...

Note: I find sometimes when my mac is offline or not on a network it reverts to localhost

[theolein]

Originally posted by arcticmac:
a few days ago, my terminal prompt changed from being [computername:~]username% to "[localhost:~]"username%.

(os 10.2.8)

is this normal/good/bad/whatever?

what's the best way to change it back?

the only software I've installed (I think) in the past couple days is gimpprint and espghostscript.

The terminal prompt is setup in the /etc/bashrc file. There's a setting in there (\h) for the hostname, which can be anything from your computer name through to localhost depending on what the netinfo database value gives to the hostname setting in /etc/hostconfig. For instance I usually get my DHCP client ID stuffed in there (obtained from the ISP's DHCP server) and get my computer name if my network connection is down. You can, if you want, edit the hostconfig file to give your computer a permanent hostname of anything you want. This done by typing the following in the terminal:
1. sudo pico /etc/hostconfig
2. Find the line HOSTNAME="-AUTOMATIC-" and change the "-AUTOMATIC-" to whatever you want.
3. Save and exit.

Voila