Software Setup (Homework 01) Questions

Be sure to also read the latest-and-greatest solution to VM problems here

There were many common questions that came up during the setup process. For those of you who have yet to set things up, hopefully this post will be able to save you some time and headaches:

I'm on OSX, how do I install Xcode?

Go to the App Store and install it. Once it's installed, launch it and go to 'Xcode -> Preferences -> Downloads' and make sure to install 'command line tools'

The Ubuntu VM password doesn't work.

The password in the USB sticks were incorrect. It should be "reverse".

Where is this "Terminal" thing?

OSX: Terminal should be in Applications -> Utilities (or Other) Ubuntu: Click on the top left ubuntu icon. This is your "start menu". Type in the word "terminal", and click on the search result. Hint - you can right click on the icon in both OSes and lock Terminal to the launcher.

OK, I downloaded Anaconda, what do I do?

Now that you know where Terminal is, we can install Anaconda. 1. Open up a Terminal instance 2. Type cd ~/Downloads and hit Enter. 3. Type bash Anaco and hit Tab. At this point the entire file name for the Anaconda file you downloaded should appear. Now hit Enter. 4. Follow the instructions and install using default options. If you run into a problem where a single letter y scrolls down infinitely, do not panic. Just hit Ctrl-C to interrupt the process and start again by pressing Up-arrow (this is the previous command) then Enter.

OK, Anaconda finished installing. Am I done?

Almost. You need to configure your environment.

On OSX:

Type cd into the Terminal and hit Enter.
Type nano .bash_profile into the Terminal and hit Enter. This brings up a text editor window in the Terminal.
In Nano, type export PATH=$HOME/anaconda/bin:$PATH
Hit Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter. Now you should be back in the Terminal
Type source .bash_profile and hit Enter
Now type which python and hit Enter. If the printed output includes the anaconda installation directory then you're all set.

On Ubuntu:

Type cd into the Terminal and hit Enter.
Type nano .bashrc into the Terminal and hit Enter. This brings up a text editor window in the Terminal.
In Nano, hit Enter then Up-arrow, this creates a blank line at the top of the file.
On the blank line, type export PATH=$HOME/anaconda/bin:$PATH
Hit Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter. Now you should be back in the Terminal
Type source .bashrc and hit Enter
Now type which python and hit Enter. If the printed output includes then anaconda installation directory then you're all set.

My VM is very very slow...

Try the 32 bit version

I can't get a VM to work...what should I do?

Try this VM
Try a dual-boot setup

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Published

24 January 2013