tips – jasoncoltrin.com

Working Remotely -Windows 10 virtual desktops and RDP Tips for laptops and multiple monitors

If you’re working remote with just a laptop, or a laptop and a small 2^nd monitor, the desktop gets pretty cramped for a sysadmin. One way to mitigate the pain is to use your OS’s virtual desktops functionality.

Here’s links to guides for Windows, Ubuntu, and MacOS on how to get started with them for your OS. Using Windows as the example, you just press Win-Tab and click the plus sign at the top for New Desktop.

Then drag existing windows on to it, and now they’re on a separate screen. To quickly move between virtual desktops, you can use the CTRL-WIN-left/right arrows.

Once you get in a habit of using them, it’s great for keeping multiple small applications visible on a whole desktop, or multiple full screen apps on their own window that you don’t have to constantly minimize/maximize. You can use Win-Tab (or the Task View button next to the Cortana button on your taskbar) to mass organize things or rearrange, and your Taskbar will reflect what items are open on that particular Desktop.

Alerts and notifications will still appear, even if you’re on a different virtual desktop, and interacting with the notification will teleport you to the relevant desktop.

One gripe with the Windows Virtual desktops is that there’s no easy way to move between desktops without taking your hand off the mouse. You can use the buttons on the side of your mouse (if your mouse has them) to switch desktops if you have the buttons on the side. If your mouse software doesn’t support the windows key combos check out X-Button Mouse Control. Set the buttons to generic and tell X-BMC to change it to the virtual desktop switches.

In order to display an application on all virtual desktops, do Win+Tab, then Right click the Chrome window you want Show window on all desktops.

One thing to note is if you have an AWS Workspace desktop open inside of a virtual desktop, it’s best to have the workspaces desktop in the far-left/primary desktop.

When working remotely in RDP, and you have multiple monitors, and you remote into a machine with multiple monitors, when you open the Remote Desktop client, click the Show Options button then under the display tab, ‘select use all my monitors’ for the remote session.

Getting started with Bitcoin – Coinbase.com and Changetip.com

Plug: Since I’ve put a lot work into my site and sharing my knowledge and troubleshooting skills on jasoncoltrin.com, please consider leaving a bitcoin “tip” at the bottom of this page. Thanks!

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So perhaps you’ve read about Bitcoin and don’t know how to get started? Read below to get a REAL quick overview and links to get a Bitcoin wallet.

Bitcoin seems to be here to stay, and it’s acceptance and list of Merchants that use Bitcoin is growing.

According to coinbase.com, Bitcoin is digital money used for instant transfer of value anywhere in the world. Bitcoin was developed to make payments methods for the internet age an improvement over traditional banking.

Bitcoin is safe because the Bitcoin protocols, algorithms, and sourcecode is open and has been audited and vetted by thousands of security researchers around the world.

Bitcoin is not tied to or pegged to any other currency’s value. Bitcoin value is determined by buying and selling of Bitcoins on the open market, much like stocks or property.

Bitcoin can change value because it is traded for dollars, Euros, Yen and other currencies 24 hours a day. Depending on demand, the price can fluctuate. Bitcoin value can be volatile because it is an emerging technology.

Unlike credit cards or Paypal, bitcoin is not owned by a company. Bitcoin is the world’s first completely open payment network which anyone with an internet connection can use. Bitcoin was designed to be used on the internet, and doesn’t depend on banks or private companies to process transactions.

Bitcoin allows you to instantly send any amount of money to anyone without needing a bank. It allows you to access your money without needing an ATM or credit card – bitcoin gives you back control over your money. Plus you can pay friends back for dinner, buy your next computer, and donate to charity, all using bitcoin.

Here are some businesses that accept Bitcoin:

overstock.com

Expedia.com

Dell.com

Below is a larger list of merchants and partners of Bitcoin and Coinbase.com:

https://www.coinbase.com/clients

Coinbase.com is one of the first US-Based Bitcoin exchanges, and according to Business Insider: “Of all the startups in the bitcoin ecosystem, Coinbase is probably most prominent. Early in 2015, it closed a $75 million funding round — the largest ever for the industry at the time — at a (unconfirmed) $400 million valuation. It then went on to launch the first US-based bitcoin exchange. ”

The signup for a Coinbase.com account is easy and I funded money into my account within 10 minutes. The transaction won’t complete with my bank until approximately 4 business days later, however. Coinbase.com does have a Mobile App, but doesn’t appear to have a way to add funds into your wallet from your bank within the app.

Lastly, I wanted a way to monetize jasoncoltrin.com without adding annoying advertisements and found that the “tipping” application changetip.com fits this necessity to a “t”. According to changetip.com, “ChangeTip allows you to send small amounts of money all over the web and it’s free! All of the social platforms you can send money via ChangeTip include Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, Github, YouTube, Slack, WordPress, Google+, Tumblr, and StockTwits.“

So there you have it, now you can get started with Bitcoin by creating a US-Based Bitcoin account through coinbase.com, buy goods with Bitcoin, and “tip” jasoncoltrin.com, as well as any other user’s videos, content, or blog posts through the use of changetip.com.

Eclipse IDE Tips and Tricks

I wish I had know about these a couple weeks ago, but anyway here are a few tips and tricks I found for using the Eclipse IDE with Java:

// Eclipse tips and tricks
1. Quickly add main method by typing “main” followed by ctrl+space and then enter
2. Quickly format your source code by typing ctrl+shift+f or right click->source->Format
3. Type sysout then ctrl+space, then enter, to generate System.out.println();
4. F11 runs your application in debug mode – if no breakpoints, it will run normally
5. Hit ctrl+shift+o for organize imports. This will give you list of possible imports and then
add or the import to/from the top of the source file.
6. Type syserr and then ctrl+space to quickly type out System.err.println();.
7. to rename a variable, select the variable, right click, choose refactor -> rename, and all
of the instances where that variable name has been used will be changed.
8. You can rename a class as well by right-clicking on the .java file in the Package Explorer
pane, then -> refactor -> Rename.
9. When you highlight a line or block of code and push Ctrl + Alt together,
and the down arrow, it clones the line or block. (You may have to disable your intel
graphics card drivers or your screen will flip.)
10. Use Ctrl+Shift+/ to comment blocks of code and Ctrl + Shift + to uncomment them again.
11. If you want to find all the places a variable is used, right-click on the variable, choose
references -> workspace (or project, hierarchy). This will find all of the variables of
that name even in other classes/java files.
12. In order to find where a variable is declared, click on it, then press F3. This also works
for finding where other classes are declared in other files.
13. To remove/delete whole lines, click anywhere in the line and hit Ctrl+d.
14. Many methods, objects, arrays, etc will autocomplete. For example an array, type the
letter “A” then ctrl+space.
15. For new private fields, you can generate Getters and Setters automatically by right clicking
->Source ->Generate Getters & Setters. The same works for creating Constructors with the
correct parameters.
16. If you want to override methods in a superclass, right click -> source -> Override/Implement
methods…

I’m sure these will help me develop a little faster. Just formatting and adjusting my brackets to make things prettier has taken up a lot of time. Not to mention finding where variables are declared. I’m not familiar with what Getters & Setters or Overriding methods are used for at this time but apparently they are just busy work that is unnecessary to write out every time.