How to identify available shells on Mac OS X

Guys you may be aware that you can find your current shell in Mac OSX or any Unix machine by typing the following in Terminal.

echo $SHELL

/bin/bash

But to identify the available shells on Mac OS X type the following :

cat /etc/shells

# List of acceptable shells for chpass(1).

# Ftpd will not allow users to connect who are not using

# one of these shells.

/bin/bash

/bin/csh

/bin/ksh

/bin/sh

/bin/tcsh

/bin/zsh

Also, if you ant to change your default shell, type this :

chsh

Changing shell for ironcladzone.

Password for ironcladzone: 

Hope it helps. Cheers!

GRE GMAT CAT Wordlist - TurboPack 8

Hi there! Hows it going today? Hope the previous TurboPacks are helping you in a small and efficient way in your preparations. Well let me know your valuable suggestions and comments to improve the quality and/or overall experience.

For now, let's continue with the latest TurboPack 8 for the day.

supple : flexible, bending and moving easily, limber
mogul : powerful person
lofty : very high
wholesome : healthful
indigence : extreme poverty
aspersion : slanderous remark, attack on someone's reputation
archetype : prototype, a typical example
gorge : narrow canyon, narrow valley, throat
putrid : foul smelling, decaying or rotten smell
simulate : imitate, pretend

Folks, more TurboPacks are on the way. Make sure to check for my previous TurboPacks 1-7 for reference. Again let me repeat that try to work on small batches of words at a time and focus on them thoroughly. Hope it helps. Ciao!

GRE GMAT CAT Wordlist - TurboPack 7

Hi guys! hows it going? Hows your verbals preparation coming along. Hope the previous TurboPacks are useful in some way. Kindly do post your valuable comments and suggestions guys.

Here's another small batch of 10 Turbo words for the day.

encircle : surround
armada : fleet of warships
garish : overbright in color, gaudy, showy
exhume : dig out from ground
ferret : hunt out of hiding, assiduous search for something
arid : dry, barren
jetsam : things thrown from a ship usually to lighten it
oust : expel, drive out
paragon : model of perfection, a perfect example, of perfect quality
exquisite : very finely made, very beautiful and delicate

And incase you missed it, here are the links to previous TurboPacks

TurboPack 1
TurboPack 2
TurboPack 3
Turbopack 4
TurboPack 5
TurboPack 6

GRE GMAT CAT Wordlist - TurboPack 6

Ola fellas! como estas? How you guys doing? Hope the TurboPacks are aiding your preparations. Let me know your valuable comments and suggestions and if any more assistance needed.

So the TurboPack 6 is as follows :

rebuke : scold harshly, sharply criticise
mischance : ill luck, bad luck
ineffectual : weak, not effective
shirk : avoid/neglect work or responsibility
petty : trivial, unimportant
respite : relief, time for rest
parable : short story with a moral or lesson
shrewd : clever, astute
mirage : unreal reflection, optical illusion
astral : relating to the stars

The TurboPack 7 will be posted tomorrow. Stay tuned folks.

GRE GMAT CAT Wordlist - TurboPack 5

Thanks guys for the good response for my previous TurboPacks. Well, as I said before more TurboPacks are in the pipeline and would be posted at regular intervals. Am really encouraged to post more Packs like these. Again let me reiterate that the USP of TurboPacks is the random non-alphabetical sequencing of words. I think it helps in improved memorisation. Hope it helps guys.

In the meantime, I suggest you cut a cardboard or simply a blank page into 10 mid-sized rectangles. Create your own 10 flash cards the moment you come across the new words in TurboPack. On one side of the rectangle write the word and on the other side write the meaning/synonym. Perhaps a rectangle of the size of the logo below. What say? You could refer to them throughout the day, whenever you wish to. Just target this small batch of 10 words and focus on them thoroughly.

Ok so here we go again. Here's the TurboPack for today.

mortician : an undertaker, a funeral director
biennial : every two years
pyromaniac : person with an obsessive desire to set things on fire
canard : baseless unfounded rumor or story
onslaught : fierce attack, a vicious assault
philanderer : womaniser, a flirt, faithless lover
churlish : rude or boorish
rebate : discount, partial refund
doze : nap, short light sleep
residual : leftover, remaining

Mac OS X - Hidden Gems : Part 3

Guys in today's new gem, we'll see how to play the hidden game Tetris on Mac OS X which comes bundled by default for FREE. Didn't you even know that? I bet you didn't!

Allright! So to play Tetris on Terminal, do this :

• Open Terminal
• Type emacs
• Now hit the Esc button and immediately press x

• When you see the M-x prompt, just type tetris. Now simply relax and play a cool game of Tetris. How cool is that?

GRE GMAT CAT Wordlist - TurboPack 4

Guys, I have seen many people trying by-heart the dictionary all at once while trying to prepare for the verbals of these competitive exams. In my opinion, its wiser to take small batches of words and work on them regularly. Hence the name TurboPack which is essentially a small batch of 10 random words in non-alphabetical sequence. I will try to post some word-sets like these at regular intervals. Make sure you bookmark them for future references.

Also, in case you missed, here's the list of previous TurboPacks.

TurboPack 1
TurboPack 2
TurboPack 3

Tip : Learn the meanings of these words and try to use them in any sentences. For starters, you could add a comment to my blog post with a sentence including a word you just learnt from the TurboPack. Try to have a conversation with someone and use these words randomly. I bet this approach will significantly boost your memorisation.

So here is the latest TurboPack for the day.

diadem : a jewelled crown
amazon : female warrior
cataract : a large waterfall, an eye abnormality
facsimile : copy
contusion : bruise, an injury
encumber : burden in such a way that movement is restricted
kernel : a central or vital part, core
maxim : proverb, a short statement of general truth
noxious : harmful, unpleasant, poisonous
orator : an eloquent/skilled public speaker

That's it for now. Will try to post more exciting and interesting TurboPacks very soon. In the meantime make sure to post an instant comment with some random sentence making use of the above words. Ciao!