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Copy a file using dc3dd and watch its progress (very nice alternative to dd)
Requires the dc3dd package - available at http://dc3dd.sourceforge.net

Tail a log-file over the network
it also works with the chrome browser. The alternative with tail and nc doesn't

top svn committers (without awk)
list top committers (and number of their commits) of svn repository. in this example it counts revisions of current directory.

MSDOS command to check existance of command and exit batch if failed
This is a command to be used inside of MS-DOS batch files to check existence of commands as preconditions before actual batch processing can be started. If the command is found, batch script continues execution. If not, a message is printed on screen, script then waits for user pressing a key and exits. An error message of the command itself is suppressed for clarity purpose.

Set RGB gamma of secondary monitor
This command first determines whether a second screen is connected. If this is the case, it sets the screen's RGB gamma via xrandr. Useful for cheap or slightly defective monitors with a tint. In this example a yellowing/champagne color deviation is compensated for by decreasing the red and the green portion of the image.

Copy via tar pipe while preserving file permissions (cp does not!; run this command with root!)
cp options: -p will preserve the file mode, ownership, and timestamps -r will copy files recursively also, if you want to keep symlinks in addition to the above: use the -a/--archive option

Determine an image's dimensions
Simple use of ImageMagick identify function.

Convert CSV to JSON
Replace 'csv_file.csv' with your filename.

Working random fact generator
Though without infinite time and knowledge of how the site will be designed in the future this may stop working, it still will serve as a simple straight forward starting point. This uses the observation that the only item marked as strong on the page is the single logical line that includes the italicized fact. If future revisions of the page show failure, or intermittent failure, one may simply alter the above to read. $ wget randomfunfacts.com -O - 2>/dev/null | tee lastfact | grep \ | sed "s;^.*\(.*\).*$;\1;" The file lastfact, can then be examined whenever the command fails.

list block devices
Shows all block devices in a tree with descruptions of what they are.


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