There is a semi-famous quote (maybe by pg?) that I can't find, but it's something like: "If you're looking for startup ideas, look at the list of built-in command line programs in Unix and figure out which ones you can turn into a web service."

I remember this quote from somewhere too but can't find the source. Can anyone help?

Found some candidates, still not sure if they are the best sources.

> Every Unix Command Becomes a Startup

-- https://matt-rickard.com/every-unix-command-becomes-a-startu... [2022-04-09]

> Every Unix command eventually become an internet service. Grep->Google, rsync->Dropbox, man->stack overflow, cron->ifttt ... etc

-- https://twitter.com/cdixon/status/505118160811728896 [2014-08-28]

I almost want to say this wasn't so much a quote, but the summary of a pg essay. (At least it sounds like something he would say and write about.)

That's good. There was a post on hacker news a week back or so that was essentially ifconfig as a webapl and I was thinking to myself, "what other command line tools can be webapls"

Modern implementation of .plan files:

<https://plan.cat>

The Gemini/Gopher browser Lagrange can handle finger:// links.

<https://github.com/skyjake/lagrange#lagrange>

Here's a modern implementation of FingerD in Node: https://finger.farm/

I used to finger John Carmack's account when we was at id Software to get information on what technology interested in at the time and what he was working on.

There are still finger based services online.

For instance:

  finger [email protected]

Which will give you:

  [graph.no]
                    -= Meteogram for New York, United States =-
   'C                                                                   Rain (mm)
   21                     ===
   20###               ===   ===
   19   ###   =========         ======
   18      ===                        ---
   17                                    ---
   16                                       ---
   15                                          ---
   14                                             ------
   13                                                   ------      ---
   12                    |  |  |                              ------    1 mm
     _10_11_12_13_14_15_16_17_18_19_20 21 22 23 17/05 02 03 04 05_06_07 Hour

     S SE SE SE SE  S  S  S SW SW SW  W  W  W  W  W  W  W  W  W  W

In the early 90s a practise at my university was to “finger some.edu” and subsequently “talk [or ytalk] [email protected]” half way around the world.

IIRC we could have 4 people ytalking. We had IRC but it lacked variety.

In another terminal window you’d have a “watch w” waiting for local “friends” to turn up.

For example, see http://www.columbia.edu/cu/moment/v0/100996/ytalk.html

I remember xhtalk. It was a graphical X11 program which you configured with a list of hosts and usernames, and corresponding full names, and it ran “finger” at those hosts at regular intervals, looking for those usernames. If any of those usernames were seen to be logged in, they were shown in a list, and if you clicked on a user in that displayed list, a new terminal would be started with a talk session to that user. It was basically a precursor to the instant messenger craze, which had not yet started.

If only the name wasn't as awkward... I can't help myself, maybe it's just my crude foreigner's understanding of the English language, but fingering someone always has that uncomfortable, slightly salacious sound in my ears.

Your understanding is spot on. It's commonly used to refer to a sexual act involving fingers.

If it helps, I think this was closer to the intent:

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/put+finger+on

native American English speaker here. it's not just you. it's weird

I've alway wondered is 'finger' short for fingerprint?

No, it’s from meaning 1 here: https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/finger#Verb

Url changed from https://web.archive.org/web/20190519174635/https://somanymac..., which points to this.