Getting rid of cmd.exe window in cygwin/x11 -- better solution

As I wrote before I had some problems with running x11 apps in cygwin, when cmd.exe window appeared every time. Yesterday's solution works, but it is not perfect. I found that:

• I cannot pass any parameters to the apps being started
• There are a lot of copies of cmd.exe in system memory

Then I have investigated shortuts somewhere in my Start Menu and I have found that x11 applications are run via the special wrapper program - run.exe
Manual says that: ,,run -- start programs with hidden console window''
So, to open an xterm window with a login shell in it, you can type:

run xterm -ls

That's all, folks.
(No wonder I could not find it in Google -- everyone uses xterm in a proper way -- via Start Menu shortcut)

Getting rid of cmd.exe window in cygwin/x11

I have been using cygwin environment for a long time, including x11 applications and I would like to get rid of cmd.exe window every time I am running an application, via Start Menu -> Run. This is really annoying.
I have been googlin' for several months for the solution. I found a snippet to be run via Windows Scipting Host. Here it is:

CreateObject("WScript.Shell").Run """" & WScript.Arguments(0) & """", 0, False

(to be saved, for instance, as c:\snippet.exe)

Example of use:

wscript.exe c:\snippet.vbs xterm

Pros: cmd.exe window does not appear any more

Cons: I am not familiar with WSH api and I don't know how to pass an extra argument or arguments to the command being run.

Anyway, this solution works.

Setting a wallpaper with display tool

To set a wallpaper using display tool , use the following command in your ~/.xsession file:

display -dispose Background -window root /path/to/your/wallpaper.jpg

GTK+ settings with ~/.gtkrc-2.0

To set gtk+ theme, font, etc without using GNOME, you should add some lines to your ~/.gtkrc-2.0 with following syntax:

gtk-icon-theme-name = "IconThemeName"
gtk-theme-name = "ThemeName"
style "font"
{
font_name = "FontName size"
}
widget_class *" style "font"

Example:

gtk-icon-theme-name = "Human"
gtk-theme-name = "Human"
style "font"
{
font_name = "Tahoma 8"
}
widget_class *" style "font"

Cygwin's bash in NTEmacs

For all of you who wants to use Cygwin's bash as your Emacs shell (that's right, the shell instance you run via M-x shell), please paste the following lines into your ~/.emacs file

(setq shell-file-name "bash")
(setenv "SHELL" shell-file-name)

Also, to get rid of unwanted ^M line-endings in the shell buffer, add the following line:

(add-hook 'comint-output-filter-functions 'comint-strip-ctrl-m)

to your ~/.emacs

ImageMagick: auto-rotating images with convert

Popular digital cameras put EXIF information into image file -- for instance to describe its orientation. I have always used GIMP to open all my images, then to save their portrait versions. GIMP 2.6 offers ,,new feature'': image is auto-rotated according to EXIF data, but when you want to save it claims there were no changes in this image.

ImageMagick's convert utility offers -auto-orient option to rotate the image according to EXIF information; it obsoletes the GIMP completely and it is also wonderful tool for mass-rotating/converting huge sets of images.

Example usage:

convert filename -auto-orient filename

Java: Numeric spinners in Swing

Spinner is a single input field which lets you select a value; typical spinner provides a pair of arrow buttons for selecting an element step-by-step.
The behaviour of JSpinner widget is determined by a model assigned with it.
For a spinner that should display numerical values, SpinnerNumberModel class is designed.
Here is a short usage of a numeric spinner:

SpinnerNumberModel model = new SpinnerNumberModel(1024, 1, 65535, 1);
JSpinner spinner = new JSpinner(model);

// (...)

int x = ((Integer)model.getValue().intValue();

About the model's constructor:
* first param is a default value that will be displayed in the spinner at the beginning
* second param is the minimum value
* third param is the maximum value
* fourth param is the step used when scrolling the spinner (by page up/page down or a mouse wheel)