CONFIG_HZ sets the kernel’s internal timer interrupt frequency (measured in Hz). This determines how often the kernel’s scheduler runs and how fine-grained process preemption can be. The default value is typically 250 Hz on most distributions, though some set it to 1000 Hz for lower latency workloads. Higher CONFIG_HZ values (like 1000 Hz) reduce scheduling…
[md] The RTL8192cu is a legacy USB WiFi adapter that’s still in use, but it has known stability issues on modern kernels. If your adapter keeps dropping connections or fails to resume after sleep, you’re likely hitting the same power management bug that affects many devices. ## Disable Power Management The most reliable workaround is…
The NAS Parallel Benchmarks (NPB) remain a standard tool for evaluating HPC system performance, though landscape has shifted toward additional metrics like HPCG and memory bandwidth tests. This guide covers installation and basic usage. Prerequisites Before installing NPB, you’ll need: Fortran compiler — gfortran is the standard choice on most systems MPI implementation — OpenMPI…
Different projects and languages have different indentation conventions. Rather than manually adjusting settings each time you switch contexts, you can define custom commands in Vim to toggle between common tab widths quickly. Using Custom Functions and Mappings Add these functions to your ~/.vimrc: function SetTab2() set shiftwidth=2 set tabstop=2 set softtabstop=2 echo “Set tab to…
Sending output to stderr keeps error messages separate from normal program output, making it easier to redirect and filter logs in shell scripts and pipelines. Basic Approach with fmt The simplest method uses fmt.Fprintln() with os.Stderr: package main import ( “fmt” “os” ) func main() { fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, “This is an error message”) } This writes…
Error handling is fundamental to Go development. Often you’ll need to convert an error to a string for logging, displaying to users, or including in API responses. Go provides several straightforward approaches. Using the Error() Method Every error in Go implements the error interface, which has a single method: Error() string. The simplest conversion is…
The kernel log buffer (dmesg) outputs timestamps in seconds since boot by default, making it difficult to correlate events with wall-clock time or other system logs. Here’s how to convert them to human-readable format. Using journalctl Instead of dmesg The modern approach is to use journalctl, which handles timestamp formatting automatically: journalctl -b This shows…
Grep handles tab characters in a few different ways depending on your needs. Here’s what actually works. Using \t with extended regex The most straightforward approach uses grep’s extended regular expressions (-E flag): grep -E ‘\t’ filename.txt This matches any line containing a literal tab character. The \t escape sequence is interpreted as a tab…
When you’re working in a Makefile, you often need to reference files relative to where the Makefile itself is located. This is especially useful for multi-directory projects or when your build system needs to know its own location. The Solution Make provides the MAKEFILE_LIST variable, which contains the names of all makefiles that have been…
SSH key management becomes critical when you’re handling multiple identities across different hosts. By default, ssh tries keys in a specific order, but you can explicitly configure which key to use for particular hosts through the SSH config file. Using ~/.ssh/config The cleanest approach is to define host-specific key configurations in ~/.ssh/config. This file lets…
You can retrieve detailed metadata about an S3 object using the aws s3api head-object command. This is useful when you need to check object properties, sizes, modification times, or custom metadata without downloading the entire file. Basic Usage The simplest form queries an object’s metadata: aws s3api head-object –bucket test-hkust –key dir2/fileupload/fb0c6353-a90c-4522-9355-7cd16cf756ff.file.txt This returns output…
If you’ve set up passwordless SSH login with key-based authentication but lftp keeps prompting for a password, you need to explicitly configure it to use your SSH keys. The basic approach The simplest method is to pass an empty password to lftp, which signals it to fall back on SSH key authentication: lftp -u user,…
When you initialize a new repository locally and try to push to GitHub or Bitbucket for the first time, you’ll likely encounter errors like: No refs in common and none specified; doing nothing. Perhaps you should specify a branch such as ‘master’. fatal: The remote end hung up unexpectedly This happens because your local repository…
When you try to unmount a filesystem, Linux sometimes refuses with a “device is busy” error. This safety mechanism prevents data loss when processes are actively using the filesystem. But there are legitimate cases where you need to force an unmount: a dead NFS server, a failed USB device, or a hung mount that won’t…
Backing up text messages from Android works best through Google Messages for real-time web access, or via ADB and third-party tools for local archives. Your approach depends on whether you need cloud sync, local storage, or both. Google Messages for Web (Easiest) The simplest method for most users is Google Messages, which syncs SMS and…
Webpages often render differently when printed than on screen. Firefox’s developer tools make it straightforward to preview and debug print stylesheets without wasting paper. Using the CSS Media Type Emulator The fastest way to test print styles in Firefox: Open DevTools with F12 Click the Inspector tab (usually open by default) Look for the “Emulate…
When you run journalctl without options on a system with years of log history, it can take seconds or even minutes to parse everything. The slowness comes from journalctl loading and deserializing potentially gigabytes of journal data. The solution is targeted querying — you almost never need the entire journal, so restrict what journalctl reads…
By default, xargs appends its input as arguments at the end of the command. This works fine when you need a utility once per item, but becomes problematic when you need to reference the same input multiple times in different positions. The Problem Consider renaming files by appending .bak to each filename. You might try:…
If your iPhone contacts search is returning “No results” after an iOS update, the issue is often a corrupted contacts database or a syncing problem with your contacts source. Here are the most effective fixes. Check Your Contacts Source First, verify where your contacts are actually stored. Go to Settings > Contacts > Default Account…
Firefox on iOS has improved significantly since the early days, but understanding what syncs and what doesn’t remains important for managing bookmarks across devices. Current sync capabilities As of 2026, Firefox sync does support bookmarks across iOS and desktop, but with important limitations. When you enable Firefox sync on your iOS device and link it…