Imagemagick

Install Imagemagick, a powerful command line image tool, with Homebrew in my iMac.
1. install XQuartz first, download file from http://xquartz.macosforge.org
2. brew install imagemagick --with-x11
3. convert logo: logo.gif; display logo.gif

rsync - a tool for synchronizing files

Rsync is a powerful Unix-type command line tool. I use it to backup my data. The rsync in Mac OX S is version 2.69. Today I upgrade it to version 3.09.

1. Download rsync source file rsync-3.0.9.tar.gz, extract and install:

$ tar xzvf rsync-3.0.9.tar.gz

$ cd rsync-3.0.9

$ ./configure

$ make 

$ sudo make install

It install rsync to /usr/local/bin, so need make a symbolic link:

$ sudo mv /usr/bin/rsync rsync.old (change old rsync name)

$ sudo ln -s /usr/local/bin/rsync /usr/bin/rsync

Fortune Cookie

Fortune cookie is an interesting program in Unix-like system. I used it when install Slackware Linux in my PC more than 15 years ago. Today I re-install it in my iMac and used with cowsay and lolcat.

1. Install Xcode command line tools. (its size is much smaller than Xcode)
2. Install Homebrew
3. terminal--->brew install fortune-mod cowsay
4. Add rainbow effect with lolcat. Install it with gem.

More fancy staffs can be added to .profile to change the cow file randomly when you start terminal.

COWDIR=/usr/local/Cellar/cowsay/3.03/share/cows/
COWNUM=$[$[RANDOM%$(ls $COWDIR | wc -l)]+1]
COWFILE=$(ls $COWDIR | sed -n ''$COWNUM'p')
fortune | cowsay -f $COWFILE| lolcat

Lyx

Lyx is a documental processor that combines, you can say compromise too :), the power and flexibility of Tex/Latex with the ease of use of a graphical interface. It encourages an approach to writing based on the structure of your documents (What is you see is what you mean) and not simply their appearance (What is you see is what you get).

Latex which is typesetting engine for Lyx can obtain high quality, structured, and elegant documents that cannot easily obtained with Microsoft Word. After many years of using Latex, I feel the thinking flow when you writing document seems to be different from Word. If you have a basic knowledge in Tex/Latex, it is very easy to familar with Lyx. I use it from version 1.3 to 2.06 now. It is better and easier for scientist and engineer (maybe except math geek) to use than Latex.

Today I install Lyx in my iMac after I intall MacTex.