Linux's Much Overlooked Calculator -- BC
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From: Keith Keller on 25 Mar 2010 21:20 On 2010-03-26, TJ <TJ(a)noneofyour.business> wrote: > After > it happened for the second time in two weeks, I switched to Bing. Trading the devil you know for the one you don't? ;-) --keith -- kkeller-usenet(a)wombat.san-francisco.ca.us (try just my userid to email me) AOLSFAQ=http://www.therockgarden.ca/aolsfaq.txt see X- headers for PGP signature information
From: The Natural Philosopher on 25 Mar 2010 21:57 TJ wrote: > On 03/25/2010 07:30 PM, John Hasler wrote: >> J. G. Miller writes: >>> The people at Google-Watch would dispute that sentiment. >> >> The people at Google-Watch are kooks. > > Agreed, but Google isn't always as friendly as it once was, either. A > few months ago, they decided to make me prove I was human before > reporting the results of my searches. The problem lasted less than 24 > hours, but it was annoying just the same. It could easily have been > caused by another of my ISP's customers, but I don't really care. After > it happened for the second time in two weeks, I switched to Bing. > better to switch to an ISP who gives you your own fixed IP address. > So far, Bing has been as friendly as Google used to be. I may stay > there. As a newspaper column-writer friend of mine said to me, "Google > is getting too big for its britches." > > TJ
From: Sidney Lambe on 25 Mar 2010 22:09 On comp.os.linux.misc, Sidney Lambe <sidneylambe(a)nospam.invalid> wrote: > Bc is a handy console calcualator found on most > distributions, but very few people know how to > use it. > > (It will do very sophisticated mathematics, too, but > that's beyond me.) > > Create /etc/bc and put this in it: > > scale=3 > > That sets the number of decimal places bc will > calculate to. > > In your system-wide bash rc file put: > > export BC_ENV_ARGS="/etc/bc" > alias bc='bc -lq' > > -lq tells bc to load a math library and not > to print the GNU bc header. > > Newbies, be sure to source that file in any open > terminals/x-terms after adding the above to it: > > $. /etc/<system-wide bash rc file> > or > $source /etc/<system-wide bash rc file> > > Ordinary usage: > > $bc > 4 + 8 > 12 > 4 - 8 > -4 > 4 * 8 > 32 > 4 / 8 > .500 > sqrt(8) > 2.828 > > A period will cause bc to substitute the last answer: > > $bc > 3 + 4 > 7 > . + 3 > 10 > > > $echo "3 + 3" | bc > 6 > > Somewhat more advanced usage: > > $bc > (3 * 3) / 3 > 3.000 > sqrt(5 * 5) > 5.000 > > You get the drift. > > Ctrl-c (^C) to quit bc. > > $/usr/bin/bc -v > bc 1.06.95 > Copyright 1991-1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc. > > Sid > > > Hope this helps. I love this little utility. The X ones just suck. > > > Sid > > > Typically, the airheads here have wandered off-topic in the extreme. Rational people would start another thread if they wanted to talk about a radically different topic. Most of them just want to talk, I guess, and don't care what thread they make a mess of. Sid
From: TJ on 25 Mar 2010 23:53 On 03/25/2010 09:57 PM, The Natural Philosopher wrote: > TJ wrote: >> On 03/25/2010 07:30 PM, John Hasler wrote: >>> J. G. Miller writes: >>>> The people at Google-Watch would dispute that sentiment. >>> >>> The people at Google-Watch are kooks. >> >> Agreed, but Google isn't always as friendly as it once was, either. A >> few months ago, they decided to make me prove I was human before >> reporting the results of my searches. The problem lasted less than 24 >> hours, but it was annoying just the same. It could easily have been >> caused by another of my ISP's customers, but I don't really care. >> After it happened for the second time in two weeks, I switched to Bing. >> > > better to switch to an ISP who gives you your own fixed IP address. > I do have a fixed IP address, assigned by the ISP. I sit behind several firewalls that protect my ISP's wireless network from outsiders. To the outside world, everybody on the network shows the same IP, just as the router on my home LAN shows everybody to the ISP as one entity. I'd rather deal with the operational limitations of my present arrangement than the financial burdens of a different one. One always pays, one way or another. I choose this way. If you think you need my approval, please feel free to make your own choices. TJ -- There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
From: TJ on 25 Mar 2010 23:55
On 03/25/2010 09:20 PM, Keith Keller wrote: > On 2010-03-26, TJ<TJ(a)noneofyour.business> wrote: >> After >> it happened for the second time in two weeks, I switched to Bing. > > Trading the devil you know for the one you don't? ;-) > > --keith > > > I only thought I knew Google. Either I was mistaken, or they changed. Now, as far as I'm concerned, they are no better or worse than Microsoft. TJ -- There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. |