Color Code Your Mac Terminal

Something I realized on my Mac is that the terminal isn't color coded. It is however when you ssh to a linux machine but not locally. However there is a quick and easy fix..

From the terminal open the following file (create if it don't exist) in home directory with your favorite text editor (vi should work fine): "~/.bash_profile"
Add the following lines:

export TERM=xterm-color alias ls='ls -G' alias ll='ls -hl'

Your 'ls' command should now display some color like this:

Connect to a Windows Server VPN from Leopard

Well I had some trouble connecting to a Windows Server VPN with Leopard, and found a very simple solution. I don't know if this will work in all cases, but here goes anyway..

Goto System Preferences -> Network. Then click on the little "+" sign at the bottom left saying Create a new service when you hover the mouse over it. Choose VPN for Interface, and PPTP for VPN Type. Add a New Configuration, type in your Server Address, Account Name (This is your VPN username), and under Authentication Settings your password.

When I did all of this I could connect, but couldn't access anything on the network. The fix was to go to "Advanced" and check the Send all traffic over VPN connection option.

After doing all this you should be able to connect and access the network.