4 ms·

- xtrlock Allows locking your screen without hiding its contents (i.e. just disables input/interaction.) Nice for when you want to keep some stats, top, or ju

- xtrlock Allows locking your screen without hiding its contents (i.e. just disables input/interaction.) Nice for when you want to keep some stats, top, or just a plain message visible on your screen. - sm "screen message". Goes fullscreen and just gives you an editable text field to type a message into. Great to combine with xtrlock mentioned above to put something like "brb, grabbing coffee" on your screen for your colleagues or so :) (Technically a Gtk app I think, but fits the pattern.) - [ed.] Xephyr Open another X server as a window in your current X server. Great as a "canvas" for a screenshare if you want to share multiple windows but not your entire desktop. Batteries not included, you need to know how to juggle xauth & a WM (metacity for me) to make the new X server actually do something.

yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago
Xephyr is also fantastic for testing a new wm or a new configuration without leaving the comfort of your existing setup.
makeworld 5y ago
Got a link for sm? I can't find it.
- jiffygist 5y ago
  I think it's this one https://github.com/nomeata/screen-message https://github.com/nomeata/screen-message There's probably lots of such programs. I know suckless sent for example.
  - bitwize 5y ago
    Can we please not promote neo-Nazis (s*ckless) or their software on HN?
    - capableweb 5y ago
      Has this been proven in any sort of way? As far as I know, some suckless developers like to pretend to be "software nazis" (similar to "grammar nazi" but regarding software) and hence joke about that, but I don't think the conclusion is that they are actually nazis. Happy to be proven wrong though, haven't looked into the matter more than that and wouldn't be the first time I would be wrong.
      - bitwize 5y ago
        Given how we witnessed ironic edgelord racism on places like 4chan metamorphose into open, actual, earnest racism in like a decade or less, I'd say no, s*ckless do NOT get a pass on this. Besides, they tend to rant about SJWs a lot -- red flag #1 that they are for reals far right.
        nulbyte 5y ago
        > Given how we witnessed ironic edgelord racism on places like 4chan metamorphose ... From suckless developers? Or from others? I don't understand how this is related to your argument.
        capableweb 5y ago
        > Given how we witnessed ironic edgelord racism on places like 4chan metamorphose into open, actual, earnest racism in like a decade or less, I'd say no, s*ckless do NOT get a pass on this. Did some quick searches and couldn't find anything racist posted by suckless developers, but hard to search for. Got any links handy so one could form their own opinion? > Besides, they tend to rant about SJWs a lot -- red flag #1 that they are for reals far right. Yeah, sometimes that is true, but I prefer to see hard evidence before reaching any conclusion, especially when people start advocating to stop mentioning software because of it.
    - hairofadog 5y ago
      This concept is new to me… any chance you could offer a quick summary? Is there like a fascist movement within software development called “suckless”, or what’s up with this?
      - capableweb 5y ago
        I don't know where the neo-nazism stuff comes from, but I do know about suckless. Suckless is a organization that describes itself as "focus on simplicity, clarity and frugality", and "philosophy is about keeping things simple, minimal and usable", from https://suckless.org/philosophy/ https://suckless.org/philosophy/ I think they are most famous for dwm, but have written a lot of other good software as well.
fish45 5y ago
I didn't know about Xephyr. That's super useful
gausswho 5y ago
As for sm: What a blast from the past feeling. I've never used this specific tool but I think there is/was something in Windows to do this? Through college in the late 90's and into my first few jobs in software engineering, there was a minor zeitgeist across my first few companies to diligently leave a description behind on your screen if you were going to be away for a while. It was a scene full of personality and power. 'Find me in the kitchen' was a courteous thing to do. 'Bob left his machine unlocked, bozo!' built camaraderie. Not seeing a message, combined with long absence, was a sense of dread. You could publicly wrap a middle finger in a heart: 'Canned. But I still love you all!'. Like a Post-It note, it said something about the person whose machine it was on. But its magnitude, beaming out of a miraculous cathode ray tube, was meant for and captured the attention of everyone walking by. You could reach and influence an audience you otherwise weren't welcome to speak so candidly to. I may have built crucial favor and long term work relationships from a silly quip. I couldn't possibly say for sure. Now having worked mostly remote for half a decade, I miss it. This interesting slice of subculture has decomposed into messenger apps thanks to common availability of satellite-enabled-computers-in-pockets. And @here is a painfully poor substitute.
- doubled112 5y ago
  I suppose editing the marquee screensaver would have worked?
chias 5y ago
If you're like me and you think xtrlock sounds really useful, it's worth taking a moment to google how to unlock your computer again before running it.

yjftsjthsd-h 5y ago

Xephyr is also fantastic for testing a new wm or a new configuration without leaving the comfort of your existing setup.

makeworld 5y ago

Got a link for sm? I can't find it.

jiffygist 5y ago
I think it's this one https://github.com/nomeata/screen-message https://github.com/nomeata/screen-message There's probably lots of such programs. I know suckless sent for example.
- bitwize 5y ago
  Can we please not promote neo-Nazis (s*ckless) or their software on HN?
  - capableweb 5y ago
    Has this been proven in any sort of way? As far as I know, some suckless developers like to pretend to be "software nazis" (similar to "grammar nazi" but regarding software) and hence joke about that, but I don't think the conclusion is that they are actually nazis. Happy to be proven wrong though, haven't looked into the matter more than that and wouldn't be the first time I would be wrong.
    - bitwize 5y ago
      Given how we witnessed ironic edgelord racism on places like 4chan metamorphose into open, actual, earnest racism in like a decade or less, I'd say no, s*ckless do NOT get a pass on this. Besides, they tend to rant about SJWs a lot -- red flag #1 that they are for reals far right.
      - nulbyte 5y ago
        > Given how we witnessed ironic edgelord racism on places like 4chan metamorphose ... From suckless developers? Or from others? I don't understand how this is related to your argument.
      - capableweb 5y ago
        > Given how we witnessed ironic edgelord racism on places like 4chan metamorphose into open, actual, earnest racism in like a decade or less, I'd say no, s*ckless do NOT get a pass on this. Did some quick searches and couldn't find anything racist posted by suckless developers, but hard to search for. Got any links handy so one could form their own opinion? > Besides, they tend to rant about SJWs a lot -- red flag #1 that they are for reals far right. Yeah, sometimes that is true, but I prefer to see hard evidence before reaching any conclusion, especially when people start advocating to stop mentioning software because of it.
  - hairofadog 5y ago
    This concept is new to me… any chance you could offer a quick summary? Is there like a fascist movement within software development called “suckless”, or what’s up with this?
    - capableweb 5y ago
      I don't know where the neo-nazism stuff comes from, but I do know about suckless. Suckless is a organization that describes itself as "focus on simplicity, clarity and frugality", and "philosophy is about keeping things simple, minimal and usable", from https://suckless.org/philosophy/ https://suckless.org/philosophy/ I think they are most famous for dwm, but have written a lot of other good software as well.

fish45 5y ago

I didn't know about Xephyr. That's super useful

gausswho 5y ago

As for sm: What a blast from the past feeling. I've never used this specific tool but I think there is/was something in Windows to do this? Through college in the late 90's and into my first few jobs in software engineering, there was a minor zeitgeist across my first few companies to diligently leave a description behind on your screen if you were going to be away for a while. It was a scene full of personality and power. 'Find me in the kitchen' was a courteous thing to do. 'Bob left his machine unlocked, bozo!' built camaraderie. Not seeing a message, combined with long absence, was a sense of dread. You could publicly wrap a middle finger in a heart: 'Canned. But I still love you all!'. Like a Post-It note, it said something about the person whose machine it was on. But its magnitude, beaming out of a miraculous cathode ray tube, was meant for and captured the attention of everyone walking by. You could reach and influence an audience you otherwise weren't welcome to speak so candidly to. I may have built crucial favor and long term work relationships from a silly quip. I couldn't possibly say for sure. Now having worked mostly remote for half a decade, I miss it. This interesting slice of subculture has decomposed into messenger apps thanks to common availability of satellite-enabled-computers-in-pockets. And @here is a painfully poor substitute.

doubled112 5y ago
I suppose editing the marquee screensaver would have worked?

chias 5y ago

If you're like me and you think xtrlock sounds really useful, it's worth taking a moment to google how to unlock your computer again before running it.