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Get IP from host
I just wanted a simple DNS request. Because host and nslookup commands are not on all systems, we use getent instead. Thanks aulem for that tip.

Make vim open in tabs by default (save to .profile)
I always add this to my .profile rc so I can do things like: "vim *.c" and the files are opened in tabs.

Which processes are listening on a specific port (e.g. port 80)
swap out "80" for your port of interest. Can use port number or named ports e.g. "http"

Ping all hosts on 192.168.1.0/24

Purge configuration files of removed packages on debian based systems
Purge all configuration files of removed packages

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.

Remove annoying OS X DS_Store folders
Recursively removes all those hidden .DS_Store folders starting in current working directory.

Show all listening and established ports TCP and UDP together with the PID of the associated process
Easy to remenber. Fot TCP only use: netstat -plant

Advanced python tracing
Trace python statement execution and syscalls invoked during that simultaneously

sendEmail - easiest commandline way to send e-mail


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