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for too many arguments by *
$ grep ERROR *.log -bash: /bin/grep: Argument list too long $ echo *.log | xargs grep ERROR /dev/null 20090119.00011.log:DANGEROUS ERROR

show lines that appear in both file1 and file2

Find
A lot of X applications accept --geometry parameter so that you can set application size and position. But how can you figure out the exact arguments for --geometry? Launch an application, resize and reposition its window as needed, then launch xwininfo in a terminal an click on the application window. You will see some useful window info including its geometry.

Find the package a command belongs to on Debian

Monitor ElasticSearch cluster health - Useful for keeping an eye on ES when rebalancing takes place

Change the homepage of Firefox
This command modifies the preferences file of Firefox that is located in .mozilla/firefox/*.default/prefs.js. It edits the file with sed and the -i option. Then it searches the string "browser.startup.homepage", and the string next to it (second string). Finally, it replaces the second string with the new homepage, that is http://sliceoflinux.com in the example. It doesn't work if you haven't set any homepage.

Show webcam output
Show the webcam output with mplayer.

Get absolut path to your bash-script
Another way of doing it that's a bit clearer. I'm a fan of readable code.

copy ACL of one file to another using getfacl and setfacl

Send a local file via email
This just reads in a local file and sends it via email. Works with text or binary. *Requires* local mail server.


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