var Web3 = require('web3');
// use the given Provider, e.g in Mist, or instantiate a new websocket provider
var web3 = new Web3(Web3.givenProvider || 'ws://remotenode.com:8546');
// or
var web3 = new Web3(Web3.givenProvider || new Web3.providers.WebsocketProvider('ws://remotenode.com:8546'));

// Using the IPC provider in node.js
var net = require('net');

var web3 = new Web3('/Users/myuser/Library/Ethereum/geth.ipc', net); // mac os path
// or
var web3 = new Web3(new Web3.providers.IpcProvider('/Users/myuser/Library/Ethereum/geth.ipc', net)); // mac os path
// on windows the path is: "\\\\.\\pipe\\geth.ipc"
// on linux the path is: "/users/myuser/.ethereum/geth.ipc"