I have a friend who switched to Linux because they didn’t want to pay for a new license for Windows and thereby end up running modern Windows. They’re not very computer-minded, so troubleshooting doesn’t come naturally, and anything that requires dropping down to the command line is something that has to be done by rote. And on one occasion, when I asked them to run something, they asked where to type it in.
SIGWINCH
In case you were wondering, my favorite POSIX-style signal is SIGWINCH.

Originally posted on Twitter.
rm vs. Time Machine
Public Service Announcement: if a Time Machine backup fails, it will leave behind a file with an extension of inprogress. (It’s actually a folder.) If you have a hard time deleting it, do not use rm! It will erase files from all backups, instead of just the one in progress. Instead, trash the inprogress file from the Finder and Empty Trash as usual. It might take a while, but it will Do The Right Thing.
You could also leave the file alone and just try to backup again; Time Machine will clear out the failed inprogress file when the next backup succeeds.
Older Posts
- 2011-07-14 Priorities
- 2009-06-21 Z shell
- 2008-08-28 HTTPS and Name-based Virtual Hosting
- 2007-07-15 Port 25 Blocked?