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check open ports without netstat or lsof

Restore mysql database uncompressing on the fly.
This way you keep the file compressed saving disk space. Other way less optimal using named pipes: mysql -uroot -p'passwd' database <

Convert from a decimal number to a binary number

Preserve user variables when running commands with sudo.
In this case the current user has proxy variable set which allows access to the rpm on the internet but needs root privs to install it. Running sudo -E preserves the current user proxy var and allows the rpm install to be executed with sudo.

Generat a Random MAC address
Original author unknown (I believe off of a wifi hacking forum). Used in conjuction with ifconfig and cron.. can be handy (especially spoofing AP's)

Watch your freebox flux, through a other internet connection (for French users)
You can watch channels of your freebox, everywhere. With " vlc http://your-ip:12345 " on the client and ncurses vlc interface on the host. et voila

MySQL: Slice out a specific table from the output of mysqldump
Only filters the statement related to a specific table ('departments', in the example), from the output of mysqldump

Backup a file with a date-time stamp
Appends the input file with the date format YYYY-MM-DD.bak. Also runs silently if you remove the -v on the cp at the end of the function.

Set laptop display brightness
Run as root. Path may vary depending on laptop model and video card (this was tested on an Acer laptop with ATI HD3200 video). $ cat /proc/acpi/video/VGA/LCD/brightness to discover the possible values for your display.

Find the package that installed a command


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