Defining Chaos In Order

Limiting a certain process’ CPU usage can be done by changing its “nice“-value. This value determines how “nice” you are to other processes. If the value is high (10+) the process is considered very nice, because it’s not hogging up the entire CPU. It gives room for other processes too – because it’s operating more in the background.

If your nice value is below zero (-18 until 0), the process is being given priority, causing other processes to stay in queue before they can be executed. Read more…

Matti linux ionice, limit, nice, resource, restraint

You might run in to the following problem with a MySQL 5 installation.

SELECT * 
FROM table1, table2
INNER JOIN table3 ON table1.columnname = table3.columnname;

> #1054 – Unknown column ‘table1.columnname’ in ‘on clause’
While that would have been a valid query for previous MySQL versions, there is now a requirement to add round brackets around the tables you want to select through a “FROM”-clause.

Change the query to the following, and it will work again.

SELECT * 
FROM (table1, table2)
INNER JOIN table3 ON table1.columnname = table3.columnname;

You will most likely see this behaviour when upgrading from a MySQL4 to a MySQL5 environment, and it’s a b*tch to track this one down. The following bug reports were also made on MySQL, which might prove useful to you should the above not work.

• Bug #1689: Unknown column in ‘field list’ for a field that does exist
• Bug #13551: #1054 – Unknown column ‘xxxx’ in ‘on clause’
• Bug #13597: Column in ON condition not resolved if references a table in nested right join

Matti programming #1054, column, mysql, sql

Here’s how to mount a USB hard disk drive (ie; external storage) on a Linux server, through the command line. Read more…

Matti linux external, hdd, mount, usb

Around the same time when “Web 2.0″ became (in)famous, there was also the uprising of widgets and gadgets. Meaningless clutter on your desktop/homepage, supposedly to give you “at-a-glance” information about subjects you like (the weather in a country thousands of miles from your location, a largely oversized clock, news tickers, …). This is a trend that continues to grow, as more and more application go for a “widget”-style display.

So, am I the only one that seriously dislikes this? Read more…

Matti Windows gadgets, rant, vista, widgets, windows 7, xp

Everyone knows the Windows Task Manager (accessed through CTRL+SHIFT+ESC or via CTRL+ALT+DEL), and perhaps even Process Explorer (by Microsoft) as a tool used to identify all processes & programs running on your computer.

You can use to shut dow services that are slowing down your computer, ending programs that aren’t responding and in general finding out which programs are currently operating.

Did you know you can get the same information (+ a crapload more) through the command line? Read more…

Matti Windows task, task manager, tasklist.exe

There’s a known issue with some of the older versions of Plesk, where the domains show 0.00MB in disk usage and bandwidth, despite having several (hundreds) of megabytes worth of storage. The problem usually exists in the statistics program not being run by Plesk as it should be. Read more…

Matti Plesk bandwidth, disk, mysql, Plesk, psa

There are several tools to reset a user password on a Windows Server/Desktop. Here’s one that definately works: Offline NT Password & Registry Editor (also called: Nordahl’s NTPasswd).

There is a very detailed walkthrough available, on how to reset an Administrator password on a NT/2000/XP/2003 machine, which will guide you directly through all the steps involved.

Some notes;

• If you have a server with a (software) RAID1 config, the boot-disk will see 2 separate disks. Just apply the password-reset to the first one.
• After applying the reset, your server will first perform a checkdisk, and require another reboot – afterwards, the reset will be completed.
• It was verified to work on a Windows Server 2003 SP2, in October 2008.

Matti Windows hack, password, reset, server 2003, w2003

Here are some of the things I experienced during my last webinar on “Integrating Zimbra into Your Campus“. There are advantages, and disadvantages in using webinars to keep up to date. And if you’re using a laptop to view it – then you’ve just hit the jackpot!

• You can have a meal and eat it without having to rush things
• You can even do the dishes and even clean up afterwards
• You can take a dump, and still follow the webinar (lifesaver!)
• You don’t have to stay focused all the time – you can do what you like in the meantime
• You can always shut it off (or silence it), if it’s not interesting
• No need to drive 50+km to get to a location, to listen to someone who might not even be worth listening to
• You can do drink/eat/burp all you like

There are some (small) disadvantages too, such as:

• Internet connectivity is required (fingers crossed your ISP doesn’t blow it that evening (mine recovered 5 minutes prior to starting))
• There’s the odd latency/jitter issue, causing the audio/video to shock
• You can’t see who you’re talking to (though, not necessarily a disadvantage ;-) )
• No free sandwiches/gadgets
• You don’t meet any new people in real life (so much for networking)

Despite those things, I’m still glad I can just go home after a hard days’ work, put myself in the sofa with my headphones and just listen to some guy speak thousands of miles away. Something I probably wouldn’t have done if I had to visit the guy personally.

Matti Tech conference call, lifesaver, seminar, webinar

There currently seems to be a bug when using PHP to make a dBase (.DBF) export file and using the DATE-type. Some fields, following the DATE-field, will be shifted a couple of positions to the right, and sometimes even emerge in the next record of the database. Read more…

Matti PHP bug, dbase, dbf, PHP, php5

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of parameters that will define the search engine ranking of a website. This ranges from the classical layout of your website, with a correct semantic structure (h1, h2, h3 header tags, <b>, <strong> and <em> for emphasis, …), to using proper alt & title tags for your images and hyperlinks. Even correct use of follow/no-follow on your links, URL formatting & structuring, incoming links, linkjuice, keyword-usage, title mark-up, … etc all play a role in how your website will rank for certain keywords.

These are all widely discussed, and information can be found just around the corner if you’re looking for it. But there’s also the aspect of hosting in SEO, which isn’t covered that much, at all. Read more…

Matti Seo factor, google, hosting, sem, seo, serp