Blackberry Bold + MidpSSH + Mutt = Mail Over VPN

Got a new Blackberry Bold 9000 for Xmas. Typical of Rogers, I was overcharged for it, and all the freebies I had quoted to me on the phone have yet to arrive. I'm told I'll be credited back the surcharge, but I won't see that until February.

Anyway, customer service infractions aside, setting up Gmail, TwitterBerry, Facebook, Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and of course Blackberry Messenger was a snap. Tried to use the internal mail client for Gmail but it doesn't respect my filters so I get the flashing light notification for every bit of spam, rather than just the interesting mail I want to see.

Setting up IRC was a little tricky, but thanks to Opera Mini and mibbit.com, I can more or less check Freenode channels on the go. Not ideal, but tolerable.

But the real challenge was getting access to my corporate mail, since we're not running a BES server, and thanks to all the supported options, there are over 5,000 possible ways to configure Cisco VPN access on a Blackberry. I'm not that patient.

Instead, I decided to try using MidpSSH 1.7.3 to connect into my laptop (which is already connected to the VPN), then use Mutt 1.5.18 to connect over IMAP to the mail server. Because I'm connecting to a local IP within my home LAN, I set the SSH session's Connection Type to WiFi, rather than Default, BES, or TCP/IP. In order to avoid having to key in a password every time I connect to the laptop, I set up an SSH key and shared that with my laptop.

If I want to have this solution work when I'm not at home, I'll have to expose my laptop to the outside world, and connect using Connection Type = Default to that public IP address instead of my more secure internal one. Still, it's a step in the right direction.

Incidentally, this tip might help, if you're having network access problems:

Options > Advanced Options > TCP > APN: "internet.com" (no username or password) [1], [2]

Now I just have to teach myself all the keyboard commands for Mutt. I tried using MidpSSH on my previous phone, a SonyEricsson W810i, but it's nearly impossible to do anything without a full keyboard.

If you're thinking of doing something like this, here are some handy links for setting up Mutt to connect to IMAP and to send mail via SMTP.

Is there a better way to VPN over BIS for IMAP mail? If so, feel free to share your solution here or via email with nickboldt(at)rogers(dot)blackberry(dot)net.

M & 3s

You and I should get away for a while
I just want to be alone with your smile
Download some features and plugins to update the IDE
We'll blast the stereo and we'll build with PDE

Because when I'm with you there's nothing I couldn't do
I just want to be your only fool
I'm grasping out at straws thinking back to what I saw
That night I tried to use that other tool

IRC was getting so bland
There are only so many ways to type '~faq' with one hand
Sometimes it makes me want to laugh
Sometimes I want to take the toaster in the bath

Because when we're with you there's nothing we couldn't do
And now it's time to share that love
We all oughta be testin' out Gany M3
Cuz there's no free help coming down from above

Who wants to live the bleeding edge?
I want to to live the bleeding edge.
Are you going to help testin'
Or are you assuming it'll work out in the end?

Blink 182 - M & Ms

Dr. Strangechannel Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love IRC

An excerpt of today's #eclipse channel log, showing three things:

1. PDT is hard to install for newbies, especially considering how their website is misleading
2. some people would rather rant than file a bug
3. life is surreal sometimes
4. UPDATE: apparently, this isn't DarthJesus' first appearance

(16:25:52) DarthJesus [n=Godsmith@unaffiliated/jargon] entered the room.
(16:26:12) DarthJesus: how do i change from java to php in eclipse?
(16:26:26) DarthJesus: it took me 17 hours to figure that out last time
(16:27:10) rcjsuen: DarthJesus: define "change from java to php"
(16:27:40) DarthJesus: if eclipse no longer does php i am boycotting your damn product that took 
8 hours to download and used precious hdd space
(16:28:01) rcjsuen: I never implied it did or no longer did php, I am merely asking for further 
clarification.
(16:28:14) DarthJesus: i want to make a php workspace
(16:28:17) rcjsuen: You are welcome to boycott Eclipse though, we won't stop you.
(16:28:25) DarthJesus: it defaults as java
(16:28:25) rcjsuen: So basically you want PHP capabilities.
(16:28:49) d_a_carver: DarthJesus: Windows -> Open Perspective -> PHP
(16:28:57) rcjsuen: So ask yourself, how would I add PHP capabilities to Eclipse?
(16:29:01) rcjsuen: ~g eclipse php
(16:29:01) KOS-MOS: Try googling - http://google.com/search?q=eclipse+php
(16:29:04) rcjsuen: Would be a good start
(16:29:07) d_a_carver: Windows -> Open Perspective -> Other -> PHP actually
(16:29:20) DarthJesus: there is no php perspective
(16:29:39) d_a_carver: DarthJesus: Did you download and install the PDT plugins.
(16:29:39) DarthJesus: you wasted 8 hours of my life
(16:29:49) nickboldt: DarthJesus: if you've got JDK 5.0 + Eclipse 3.3 + PDT 1.0, you get all you 
need for php dev
(16:29:56) nickboldt: ~wiki PDT/FAQ
(16:29:56) KOS-MOS: Check out this wiki article - http://wiki.eclipse.org/index.php/PDT/FAQ
(16:30:13) DarthJesus: i dont have that much hdd space
(16:30:15) rcjsuen: Surely you were doing something else when you waited 8 hours for Eclipse to
download.
(16:30:36) DarthJesus: i was staring at the screen wishing i was home with my niece and nephew
(16:30:38) rcjsuen: phpeclipse might be smaller as a plug-in
(16:30:46) rcjsuen: Since that has less deps than PDT
(16:31:03) nickboldt: the PDT all-in-one install is 140M; add a JDK for about 60-80M and you're 
done
(16:31:05) DarthJesus: i dont want ANY  of the java crap
(16:31:07) rcjsuen: DarthJesus: In that case shouldn't you have done some research prior to 
downloading it?
(16:32:03) nickboldt: yes, phpeclipse is 60-80M (JDK) + eclipse (40-50M) + 15M (phpeclipse)
(16:32:06) DarthJesus: i just hit download eclipse prior known as php ide
(16:32:18) DarthJesus: you have falsified info in your download page
(16:32:20) rcjsuen: prior known as php ide?
(16:32:27) DarthJesus: yes says so on site
(16:32:31) DarthJesus: on download page
(16:32:33) rcjsuen: Please provide a link.
(16:32:35) nickboldt: DarthJesus: what URL, please
(16:32:38) rcjsuen: So we ca nverify this
(16:32:44) rcjsuen: And talk to the necessary personnel to correct it
(16:32:46) rcjsuen: if we made such a claim
(16:33:00) rcjsuen: on eclipse.org itself, we claim "Eclipse is an open source community whose
projects are focused on building an open development platform comprised of extensible frameworks,
tools and runtimes for building, deploying and managing software across the lifecycle. A large 
and vibrant ecosystem of major technology vendors, innovative start-ups, universities, research 
institutions and individuals extend, complement and support the Eclipse platform."
(16:33:07) rcjsuen: which actually has no mention of Java or PHP
(16:33:24) DarthJesus: http://download.eclipse.org/tools/pdt/downloads/
(16:33:35) DarthJesus: downloads from the pdt former phpide
(16:33:48) rcjsuen: so what then
(16:33:50) rcjsuen: did you click on?
(16:33:50) DarthJesus: nowhere does it say that they arent fractions of the deal
(16:34:10) DarthJesus: no does it say they are fractions of phpide
(16:34:14) DarthJesus: nor*
(16:34:20) DarthJesus: its misleading
(16:34:20) nickboldt: ~bug207098
(16:34:21) KOS-MOS: Bug 207098 - Downloads page claims Eclipse ships w/ a JRE when this is 
patently untrue - https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=207098
(16:34:22) rcjsuen: so from that link what did you click next
(16:34:33) DarthJesus: your wording wasted 8 hours of my life
(16:34:36) rcjsuen:   R20070917?
(16:34:39) DarthJesus: and much hdd space
(16:34:40) nickboldt: DarthJesus: please post your comments in that bug so the PDT people will 
fix the error
(16:34:50) rcjsuen: you just went to the page, then what happened
(16:35:22) DarthJesus: downloads from the PDT (former PHP IDE) project
(16:35:28) rcjsuen: and then?
(16:35:29) DarthJesus: big fat lie
(16:35:39) nickboldt: DarthJesus: did you download the 'all in one' ?
(16:35:40) d_a_carver: Which link did you click, DarthJesus from that page.
(16:35:45) nickboldt: it's only 120M
(16:35:45) rcjsuen: Which link did you click on
(16:35:50) rcjsuen: what happened next
(16:35:53) rcjsuen: you read "PHP IDE" and went "okay i want this"
(16:35:55) rcjsuen: then what happened
(16:35:59) DarthJesus: it should say in big blazing letters if you want php ide download all in 
one
(16:36:05) nickboldt: hehe
(16:36:15) rcjsuen: So what you did was download Eclipse Classic?
(16:36:18) nickboldt: http://wiki.eclipse.org/PDT/FAQ#Installation
(16:36:25) DarthJesus: who the hell uses eclipse for java?
(16:36:28) DarthJesus: o.o
(16:36:32) nickboldt: I've been asking the PDT folks to improve their documentation 
(16:36:32) rcjsuen: DarthJesus: Could you please just answer the question?
(16:36:39) nickboldt: but sadly the best I can do is update the wiki
(16:36:48) d_a_carver: DarthJesus: There are many developers that do work both in Java and PHP.
(16:36:59) DarthJesus: 1.0 Stable Build   S20070910-RC1   2007-09-11 03:30:52 -0400
(16:37:11) rcjsuen: DarthJesus: Assuming you weren't being sarcastic, Eclipse is written in 
Java, so we use Eclipse to write Eclipse, so yes, we use Eclipse for Java.
(16:37:16) DarthJesus: i used the open source whatever mirror
(16:37:23) rcjsuen: okay, so yo uwent to 
http://download.eclipse.org/tools/pdt/downloads/?release=S20070910-RC1
(16:37:28) rcjsuen: then what hapepend
(16:37:43) rcjsuen: Which link did you click on next?
(16:38:03) rcjsuen: There is a Requirements section that details what you need although per 207098 it doesn't include a JRE.
(16:38:06) rcjsuen: there is also "PDT All-in-One package includes the complete set of software 
to start using PDT immediately. This package already has PDT combined with the complete set of 
prerequisites - you will not need anything else."
(16:38:10) DarthJesus: Eclipse SDK v3.3 version used in this build is here: Linux -->Windows<-- Mac OS X.
(16:38:24) rcjsuen: okay, so you downloaded that, extracted/what-not
(16:38:26) nickboldt: ah, so you started dl'ing all the prereqs
(16:38:28) rcjsuen: and now you want PHP capabilities?
(16:38:39) DarthJesus: i only want phpide
(16:38:45) DarthJesus: i dont give a damn about java
(16:38:48) rcjsuen: But I guess you missed the all-in-one section
(16:38:51) rcjsuen: while reading down the page
(16:38:55) nickboldt: DarthJesus:  
http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/download.php?file=/tools/pdt/downloads/drops/R20070917/all-in-one/pdt-all-in-one-1.0-R20070917-win32.zip
(16:38:58) rcjsuen: but instead jumped straight to the requirements one-by-one
(16:39:03) DarthJesus: i clicked top link on every page
(16:39:11) nickboldt: get that. install that. install a JDK (you need it to run Eclipse). voom, 
done
(16:39:14) rcjsuen: That's certainly fair. I may have done that myself.
(16:39:20) DarthJesus: all in one should be top link on every page
(16:39:25) rcjsuen: DarthJesus: File a bug and tell them
(16:39:39) nickboldt: or add your comments into bug 207098
(16:39:44) rcjsuen: both would be nice
(16:39:54) nickboldt: they need to be told how painfully unusable their site is
(16:40:00) rcjsuen: but you should file a bug for your suggestion
(16:40:03) rcjsuen: because that's what affected YOU
(16:40:10) nickboldt: (which is funny cuz PHP is more often used for web, so you'd think...) ;-)
(16:40:10) DarthJesus: btw use goddamn deflate64 or lzwa or whatever like a normal person
(16:40:15) DarthJesus: .zip is OLD
(16:40:25) rcjsuen: DarthJesus: If  you  have a problem with that, file a bug too.
(16:40:59) DarthJesus: i took atleast 30x longer to download than it should had were it properly 
compressed
(16:41:18) nickboldt: DarthJesus: ranting at us won't help. file a bug and tell the PDT folks
(16:41:21) d_a_carver: Anybody know if the PDT folks are going to be at EclipseCon, we can corner 
them then.
(16:41:26) rcjsuen: Sorry, we're not from the PDT team.
(16:41:29) rcjsuen: neither nickboldt d_a_carver or me
(16:41:37) rcjsuen: you can rant at us but we can't do anything about it
(16:41:46) rcjsuen: and it's just wasting your own time ranting at us
(16:41:49) rcjsuen: you seem strapped for time
(16:41:49) DarthJesus: i can blackmail you :P
(16:41:51) nickboldt: https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/enter_bug.cgi?product=pdt&component=Website
(16:41:52) rcjsuen: use it on something that matters
(16:41:56) rcjsuen: filing bugs to _them_
(16:42:02) d_a_carver: We've asked the PDT team to send somebody here, but no takers as of yet.
(16:43:10) DarthJesus: don't use deflate32 to compress the damn downloads, do: put all in one as 
top link on every page
(16:43:45) nickboldt: DarthJesus: don't: bitch at us; do: open a bug. ;-)

...

(16:48:47) ***DarthJesus presses forehard into blank space on laptop
(16:49:09) DarthJesus: your site is total crap
(16:49:15) DarthJesus: i demand it be reworked
(16:49:18) d_a_carver: file a bug
(16:49:28) DarthJesus: its not a bug, its stupidity
(16:49:33) DarthJesus: fire you sys admin
(16:49:57) nickboldt: DarthJesus: it's open source. to "demand" without opening a bug is like 
pissing on your car to make it start
(16:50:23) nickboldt: follow the process and you'll get what you want. 
(16:50:38) DarthJesus: there are 134 people in here
(16:50:47) rcjsuen: DarthJesus: And?
(16:50:55) DarthJesus: i am telling 134 people to get off their butt and fix the site
(16:51:06) mxttie: DarthJesus, you are one of the 134
(16:51:09) rcjsuen: But we don't have access, to that site.
(16:51:11) nickboldt: DarthJesus:none of the people in here are PDT committers
(16:51:18) rcjsuen: nickboldt: At least, we don't think so.
(16:51:19) rcjsuen: ;)
(16:51:25) DarthJesus: then why does this channel exist?
(16:51:27) rcjsuen: mxttie: touche
(16:51:38) rcjsuen: DarthJesus: To help users like you and to help each other.
(16:51:40) d_a_carver: for general eclipse support regardless of project.
(16:51:48) nickboldt: not to whinge about the websites
(16:52:06) rcjsuen: But you do not seem to want to help yourself or help other people that may 
hit the same problem as you tomorrow, for instnace.
(16:52:37) nickboldt: (note it's websites plural -- one per project -- if you (as I've said at 
least three times already) have a problem with the PDT website, open a bug: 
https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/enter_bug.cgi?product=pdt&component=Website)
(16:52:59) d_a_carver: by filing the bug reports you will potentially help people that may run 
into the same issue as you, without it, it'll still exist and may never be addressed.
(16:53:01) DarthJesus: ok i will file a bug: use lzwa asshat and put all in one as top link on 
every page or i will blow up the erie canal
(16:53:09) DarthJesus: :P
(16:53:13) rcjsuen: okay, good
(16:53:15) nickboldt: DarthJesus: yeah, that'll certainly be addressed
(16:53:17) rcjsuen: Tell us the bug # when it's been filed.
(16:53:36) rcjsuen: nickboldt: I'll take the benefit of the doubt that DarthJesus is not going 
to write that literally.
(16:53:47) nickboldt: rcjsuen: here's hoping he's being flippant
(16:54:18) d_a_carver: at least DarthJesus if you create the bug, we can monitor it and ping them
on the issue every once in a while.
(16:54:23) rcjsuen: not 'take', gah, bad grammar
(16:54:41) d_a_carver: Anybody cruise the PDT newgroups to see how responsive they are there?
(16:55:06) rcjsuen: d_a_carver: Not me.
(16:55:46) DarthJesus: i've blown up a canal before x.x
(16:56:58) DarthJesus: just get a big enough sodium brick and enough gallons of kerosine and drop
it from a plane
(16:57:58) Zerone: ah rcjsuen :)
(16:59:06) d_a_carver: rcjsuen: looks like they have one guy that is pretty active.  I may drop a
note about a couple of bugs in that newsgroup to hopefully get some action going.
(16:59:13) DarthJesus left the room (quit: Nick collision from services.).
(16:59:21) DarthJesus [n=Godsmith@ip68-99-90-88.ph.ph.cox.net] entered the room.
(17:00:03) DarthJesus: i am agent palmer with the fbi
(17:00:24) DarthJesus: do not associate with the man you have been speaking to under this screen 
name
(17:00:27) DarthJesus: he is flippant
(17:00:37) DarthJesus: crimnally flippant
(17:02:43) DarthJesus: when invited to our office for a job interview he put cappucino mix in our 
water dispenser and mircodots in our tea kettles
(17:03:10) DarthJesus: why does the fbi need tea kettles?
(17:03:17) DarthJesus: ...wouldn't you like to know...
(17:03:30) nickboldt: DarthJesus: perhaps to make tea?
(17:03:41) DarthJesus: ABORT ABORT
(17:03:51) DarthJesus left the room (quit: Client Quit).

...

(17:12:57) DarthJesus [n=Godsmith@unaffiliated/jargon] entered the room.
(17:13:19) DarthJesus: ok who was calling me on the phone?
(17:13:47) ***DarthJesus glares
(17:16:06) DarthJesus: it was some sort of satanic loud annoying beep noise
(17:16:35) DarthJesus: i simply said 'i dont do ctty' and hung up
(17:21:30) ***DarthJesus pases out ..... dart in neck... gak

So long, and thanks for all the FOSS

Recently, Wayne blogged that he's had to apologize for Linux's quirks.

Don't worry, Wayne, you're among friends. I've been apologizing for the better part of a year that my Thinkpad T60p w/ MEPIS 6.0:

• doesn't to dual-monitor very well (cursor on second screen tends to disappear, get mangled, or just freeze as it crosses from the laptop to the monitor, so I have a text-selection-pointer no matter what I'm doing on that screen)
• crashes unexpectedly when left alone for hours
• needs ALT-PrtSc,S,U,B to recover from said crashes, or from being put to sleep/suspend
• won't do wireless very well anymore (even with several reboots between config changes)
• sort of works with MEPIS' "bioauth" fingerprint reader, but needs to be swiped twice for every authorization and only works for SOME root-required password requests.

Actually, my current setup involves dual booting between Windows XP Pro and Linux, sharing the same ext3 partition and thus same Eclipse workspace in both OSes. There's a few quirks still to work out, like:

• .lnk files vs. cygwin symlinks -- .lnk files work in Explorer and Eclipse, but not in cygwin; conversely, cygwin symlinks don't work in Explorer or Eclipse. Pooh.
• all the filenames in your ext3-hosted workspace must be Windows-friendly in terms of length and special characters like ":" or the workspace loaded in Windows throws 'can't find file' errors and you can't save files. Double Pooh.

So far the dual-boot scenario is the best of both worlds, since I can share both features (using Eclipse Extension folders) and workspaces between the Eclipses... along with nearly identical shell access (Konsole or cygwin inside WinTabber), IM/IRC clients (Pidgin or Gaim), browsers (Firefox or Flock), office tools (MSO or OOo).

Besides, who doesn't apologize for Microsoft's stuff? Vista's "so annoying I'll just turn it off" security system? Outlook viruses like the dreaded Mailissa? IE exploits? Security patches that make things less secure? Or even just dumb-ass VBScript bugs?

But c'mon, it's okay to love your linux. It's cool. It's free (as in beer). And suffering is the road to enlightenment, or something like that.

No system is perfect. Just use what you love and tolerate its quirks, or divorce it for something sexier.

Help me help y'all

Hey there, cowpokes! Do you spend long days and longer nights wondering how to get your code to work? Eclipse got you down? Feel like there's no one to turn to for help?

Well, friends, look no further!

Y'see friends, one fine day I was hanging out in #eclipse and was amazed at the sheer volume of quickly answerable questions coming in from Eclipse fans like y'selves -- questions already well documented! Now, I'm not talking about questions about CTRL-3 and the several hundred blogs singing its praises -- no sir! I'm talking about real -- and real easy -- questions like 'How do I start Eclipse?' or 'What's the deal with gcj?' or 'How can I solve my memory problems?'

Now, I know it's sometimes hard to know where to turn in a moment of crisis, and the internet can be a mighty scary and complex place for a greenhorn at times. We've all been there.

And so, without further ado, I give ya'll: my Top N List of places to go to for help...

1. Read The FAQs: IRC FAQ, Eclipse FAQs, More FAQs
2. Learn about the tools/projects you use from their websites
3. Ask a question in the newsgroups
4. Submit a question / discuss an issue / keep up to date in the mailing lists
5. Browse source code in CVS to find an existing solution
6. Read the online ISV help docs and APIs at help.eclipse.org
7. Read articles, blogs, and other resources
8. Watch videos of demos, walkthrus, and howtos
9. Find, report, patch, triage, fix, or verify a bug or feature request
10. Search with Eclipse or Google
11. Seek legal advice about 3rd party code and IP
12. Ask a question or discuss an issue in real time in #eclipse on freenode

But wait! That's not all! As if by coincidence, most of the items in the above list are also ways to contribute to Eclipse and the community. Once you find your answer, pay it forward by blogging about it, writing or expanding a wiki entry, contributing to a FAQ, answering a questing in a newsgroup or hanging out in #eclipse to help others.

Hell, ya'll could volunteer to be testers and take a few minutes to report a detailed bug -- with steps to reproduce, platform/config details, screen shots, logs, JUnits, and/or patches (as appropriate). Or, if you prefer to squash bugs than to unearth them, participate in BugDay. Want to start your own project? Check out next year's Google's Summer of Code and start contributing now!

Now I expect you're asking yourself, "Self, here comes the sales pitch where they ask for all mah hard earned greenbacks." But thanks to the magic of Open Source... everything you see before ya'll is free. Free as in 'free beer' -- open, transparent, and ultimately funded by your time and effort. So, please, give generously. ;-)

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

With Europa out of the way (well, mostly), it was time to take a week off (give or take a few bugs and some IRC lurking), catch up on my TV viewing, do some paddling with my new kayak over at Rouge Beach, cycle a few dozen kms on my bike, play with my dogs and take in a few shows, including Transformers (the new Michael Bay whatsit at the Docks drive-in, thankfully free courtesy of the folks at Chevrolet), Vida, We Will Rock You, and a second helping of Evil Dead: The Musical (because you just HAVE to see it more than once).

Groovy.

Managing Plugins and Features with Link Files and Extension Locations

After loitering and latering (but no lootering!) in IRC for a few hours today, I've come to the conclusion that not enough people know about .link files. I guess I could wiki this, but I thought I'd blog it instead.

Scenario 1: You're an Eclipse user. You use Eclipse a lot. In fact, you use multiple versions of Eclipse for testing, debugging, and even *gasp* developing. You waste a ton of time unpacking zips and running Update Manager.

Scenario 2: You use Eclipse and occasionally do something silly like deleting files outside of Eclipse or updating CVS files using commandline CVS instead of the click-click-wait method in Eclipse. (This is usually not a problem, but can sometimes lead to ...)

Scenario 3: Something Wicked This Way [Came] and your Eclipse has become corrupt. It's time to blow away your config files, .metadata files, or run with -clean. If that doesn't work you probably have to reinstall (oh crap) everything -- Eclipse + all your trusty plugins. You could also copy carefully from the busted Eclipse to the minty-fresh one, but that's both time consuming and possibly dangerous. Is there a better way?

Scenario 4: You produce a product based on Eclipse but want to keep your stuff and Eclipse's stuff separate when you bundle it all up for easier digestion by your users. Maybe for license reasons, maybe for legal reasons, maybe just for file system hygiene or to make support easier.

Scenario 5: You're a control freak and just like to keep stuff in different places according to your own particular... um... idiom.

In all of these scenarios, .link files can help. Here's how to set one up:

1. In your Eclipse install folder, create a links/ folder next to features/ and plugins/.
2. In your eclipse/links/ folder, create a textfile called whatever.link. This file need only be one line, with newline and no trailing slash(es), and can be called anything ending with .link.

   path=/home/nickb/eclipse/eclipse-plugins-phpeclipse
   -or-
   path=D:/eclipse/eclipse-plugins-phpeclipse
   -or-
   path=D:\\eclipse\\eclipse-plugins-phpeclipse

3. Unpack a zip full of plugins and features into the path specified in your .link file.

   /home/nickb/eclipse/eclipse-plugins-phpeclipse/
       eclipse/
           plugins/
           features/

4. Start up Eclipse. Check Help > About to see if all your plugins and features are listed.
5. Rinse, lather, repeat.

You can have lots of .link files and lots of install locations, which allows you to easily swap between different versions of plugins and features for testing purposes, or to share an install location between multiple Eclipse installs. And, when you upgrade Eclipse, you can just copy the old links/ folder into the new Eclipse and voom, all your old plugins and features are there. Please note that when changing between versions of Eclipse, sometimes things will end up disabled, if the new Eclipse won't work with the old plugins. If this happens, you can easily switch back to the old one, look for an update, or download a new zip.

You can also manage your plugins inside Eclipse. So, if you prefer clicking to typing, you can convert a .link file location into a Update Manager (UM) install location, so that you can use UM to install updates to plugins that you created by unpacking a zip, or just to reuse an existing folder for later UM installs. Here's how:

1. Complete steps above. Verify all your plugins & features are properly available in Eclipse.
2. To convert a linked folder to an "Extension Location" as used by Update Manager, you just have to put a single file in the eclipse/ folder inside the linked folder. Here's a sample:

   $ cat /home/nickb/eclipse/eclipse-plugins-europa/eclipse/.eclipseextension
   id=org.eclipse.platform
   name=Eclipse Platform
   version=3.3.0

3. Remove or rename the .link file that references the folder you just converted so that you're not trying to add the same plugins twice.
4. Start up Eclipse. Check Help > About to make sure you no longer have the plugins & features you just disabled. Then launch Help > Software Updates > Manage Configuration > Add an Extension Location to re-add those plugins & features.
5. Restart Eclipse.