How do I download Ubuntu One files to my new computer?

Question: I need to know how to down load all my sync'ed folders from ubuntu one to my new computer..
Answer: Install/configure UbuntuOne and login to your account, your selected files/folders should start synchronizing automatically from the servers to your new computer.
For more information on how to setup UbuntuOne on different Ubuntu releases please refer to the official wiki guide.
If you are running Ubuntu 11.04 or 11.10 this simple illustrated guide will aid you on setting your account. After this is done you need to way a bit before all your files are downloaded from the server, the process time will change according to the amount of files you need to synchronize.
Answer: Start Ubuntu One from the Launcher or from the Dash. Once there, sign in ("I already have an account!") and then on the Cloud Folders tab, tick the folders you want synced with this machine. (Cloud folders are not automatically synced to every machine, because you might not want them all to be if your machine is short of disc space or you only want certain folders on a particular computer.)
Answer: As its now in sunset mode, the synch still tries upload too, which it cant do, obviously that paging to upload is a conflict.  Download synch may take quite a while
Comment: This doesn't seem to be fully researched or completely accurate. source: https://one.ubuntu.com/services/shutdown/


Transferring "likes" from Facebook to Google+, and vice versa

Question: Is it possible to transfer "likes" from Facebook to Google+, or vice versa? In order to do this, I'd need a list of corresponding pages on both Facebook and Google+, so that if I "liked" the page about Google on Facebook, it would be transferred to Google+.
Answer: Facebook and Google Plus are two separate social networks. For practicality's sake, a "Like" action on Facebook is the same as a "+1" action on Google+. You could like a particular page that is present on Facebook at facebook.com/page1 but that page doesn't exist on google plus making it impossible to duplicate the action from one network to the other, at least automatically. If you want to replicate actions, you could try and create a separate application on each network (a facebook app and a google+ app that work individually and both apps could plausibly connect to a common dataspace).
Answer: No. Even though the idea is kind of impractical, it's literally impossible as Google+ API doesn't allow +1 ing.
Answer: Not possible. Google Plus and Facebook are totally different applications and more over they are competitors. Neither Google nor facebook is going to come up with an api that will allow you to do that.


Groups deleted when deleting a site or subsite

Question: Could anyone please inform me in which case(s) SharePoint groups will NOT be deleted when a site or subsite is deleted?
Answer: You could somehow serialize or store the groups (Iterate through them somehow and build an XML file representing them to rebuild later on, for example) using a SPWebEventReceiver and extending WebDeleting.
Other than this, groups are deleted with SPWeb and SPSite objects.
Answer: OOTB when a site is deleted all the groups corresponding to that gets deleted. I think your question was mainly targeted towards inheritance of the Permissions of the Subsite from Parent. incase of subsite the groups created in below scenarios will get deleted.
<code>-> if the subsite breaks the inheritance and adds its own groups
-> Setups the OOTB groups ( vistors , Members , Owners)
</code>
Answer: In my experience the OOTB behavior is that once a site is deleted the groups go with it.  That is default behavior.  However, I have to imagine that there are some third party tools that might be able to preserve the groups.  Perhaps this can be done with STSADM?


When to shut down a trend following strategy?

Question: Suppose I have  trend following strategy(on close to close data) that is not getting acceptable returns for some time. When should I start thinking about shutting it down?
Answer: There are really a few issues here:
1) When do I turn off a model because I believe the model is invalid?
This is a subjective call and depends on many things such as how strong the economic reasoning behind the model is, how crowded the space is, and how poorly the model is performing relative to backtest.  With regard to the last point, as a rule of thumb I expect to live through a drawdown twice as bad as the worst drawdown in my backtest, since the backtest is overfit.  If you have a Sharpe 5 model and realize a Sharpe 0, it is an easy call to shut down.  But with trend following, you are probably getting a Sharpe around 1, so you can easily have poor performance for a few years without the model being statistically invalid.
2) How do I time turning off a model using past performance or some other variable, hoping to turn it back on later.
I have not had much luck with model timing.  You are layering a tenuous prediction on top of a tenuous prediction.  The only timing models that I know of are conditioning some high freq strats on volatility because volatility tends to be autocorrelated and the economics of high vola regimes rewards liquidity providers.
3) How do I size my portfolio to preserve capital?
You can either size down or stop trading when you start losing too much money.  There are many algorithms for this.  This is like buying a put option, so expect to pay for it.  Or you can size your strat to be able to handle your expected worst performance (such as 2x mdd) comfortably and keep a constant size.
Answer: You ought to have pre-determined "kill" switches, like a maximum allowable drawdown or time-from-high. Ideally you should get an idea of what these values would be from your backtests.
When you do shutdown a model, don't just throw away the code. The strategy might not be working at the moment, but it could come back in the future. I just heard that models turned-off years ago are now working as of this week because of the higher volatility. Of course it helps if you can do automated paper trading with reasonable accuracy.
Answer: You can use a equity based model. Stop trading when your equity drops below your "X-day" equity moving average, and resume trading when your equity crosses above the "X day" equity moving average. You could also do this by measuring the slope of the curve, and not trading when the slope is statistically below 0. I like this method because it does not tie your decision to whether or not the trend following strategy does not work, or even I there is really a trend, but is purely based upon monetary concerns.
-Ralph Winters
Answer: I typically have several tests.
Like Ralph Winters said, one calculation to use is the equity curve.  I use "...equity curve slope must be greater than x1..." to continue using a model.   Another test is, "...%wins must be greater than x2...".  Another is, "...average %return per winning transaction must be greater than x3...".  Another is "...%return per losing transaction must be less than x4...".   Other tests depend on what phase the economy is in, level of various volatilities, etc.
The idea is to make models that can be compared with each other, older models, newer models, and the level of risk that is acceptable.
Answer: Use Maximum Drawdown at Risk with an exceedance probability test


How secure is the traffic with Sql Server Management Studio?

Question: I was just using Sql Server Management Studio on my WiFi, and I was actually wondering how secure the traffic/database communication is.  Is traffic from querying secure, or is it easily sniffed for passwords and sensitive data?
Answer: By default the database communications are unencrypted and vulnerable to sniffing.  To utilize encryption, you need to configure the SQL server with a certificate and then configure the client to take advantage of it.  There's a pretty simple walkthrough for the process here
Answer: gowenfawr suggestion is partially wrong on this one. Your initially connection (username and password) to SQL Server may or may not pass your username in clear text. This can depend on what connection type you use (ODBC, OLE DB, etc). Your password is always passed in encrypted format by SQL Server. Now your data itself from the queries being passed will show up in clear text, by default.
I wrote up a tip on MSSQLTips.com about this and show the captures from Wireshark. Which it shows your username will be passed in clear text if you are using ODBC, but SSMS uses OLE DB and will not show your username.
To easily hide your data itself, you can just enable "Force Encryption" as I wrote about, and let it use the cert SQL Server generates. Although a stronger encryption would be accomplished using gowenfawr suggestion. You will want to read up on this as using this feature will deny connections to your applications in some circumstances.
Answer: Tunnel the SSMS connection through SSH. To specify a port in the SSMS connection string use comma + port. For example...
Without tunnel:
"sql.northwind.com" (which is the same as sql.northwind.com,1433)
With tunnel:
"localhost,1433"
Or if you need to change the source port (if you have SQL running on your local box):
"localhost,50000" with the SSH tunnel forwarding to 1433/tcp on the remote end


Sending Mass Emails

Question: I have a massive list of users who registered for accounts and opted into a mailing list on my web site and I am interested in sending out a weekly newsletter. How should I go about doing this. I tried sending it out through my host server, but I received a notice stating that if I did it again they would kick me off the server. Are there any good companies that are designed for this type of thing? I need to find a company that will support this and show me some sort of report about how many emails get opened, deleted, opened then deleted, etc. Any recommendations?
Comment: How many is "massive"?
Comment: If you're looking for recommendations please ask in [chat]
Answer: Yes, that's definitely whats going to happen if you just email through your ISP without first letting them know. Most providers have automatic limit set and if you cross it, they will definitely kick you or suspend your account. So first of all, what you need is some type of software to manage your list and manage your bounce back and the replies. For example you can look up advanced emailer on Google, then you need to  split your list into parts and send them separately once a day at least for the first time. If you haven't sent anything to your list for a long time, there will be a lot of dead emails on that list. So it is very critical to watch it closely when you send your email for the first time because you will have a lot of bounce backs. After you get them, clean them from your email list immediately because they will get this type of response from your provider all the time. If you have generally more than 5-10% of those bad emails, providers tend to kick you, ban your account or suspend it until you call them. To actually send this email itself, you need to go to some email sending provider like smtp.com or sendgrid and talk to them first. Go on the phone, talk to them and explain the situation. SMTP.com for example has consultants that would be able to talk to you and accommodate your requests. After your list is clean, you will be able to send on a much more regular basis. Of course you will have some unsubscribes and some emails going bad, but it's not going to be anywhere near as when you send for the first time. So keep your communication with your clients active.
Now about reporting question, you cannot know if your client deletes your email. There is no way to report that. And also when they open your email, the report on that not very reliable because it is based on the fact that software embeds a one by one pixel image into your email. But in most cases, your email client doesnt even render the images, they dont even go through. They become dots or empty holes on your email. For example the biggest email clients are set up like this by default. The only thing you can really track is how many people click on the links embedded in your email. And that is very easy to do. You dont need anything extra, you can just use Google analytics to track how many people click on this particular page. And this will show you reliable numbers on the effectiveness of your campaign.

Sending Mass Emails


If I Boot From A USB Drive Will I still Be Able To Use My USB Drive For Other Things?

Question: i want to try out ubuntu but i want to load it onto a USB drive first, if i do this can i still use my USB drive for other storage or will it become completely dedicated to running ubuntu?
Answer: Yes, you will be able to use the drive for other things although some of its capacity will be used by Ubuntu files.
Answer: I found out in quite a dramatic way (long story) that yes, you can use it for other things. However, if you are using the Startup Disk Creator, make sure not to click the button that erases the drive if you already have things on there. Creating a live usb does not automatically erase what is already present on the drive.
Answer: You will still be able to use the usb drive, but just not from the live ubuntu session, because it will be mouted as /
Answer: If you do a persistent install your first partition will be Fat32.
Both Ubuntu and Windows can read and write to FAT32.
When booted from a persistent install, the data on the flash drive can be found in filesystem/cdrom. You need to be Root to access it.
A full install of Ubuntu on flash drive can be made with the first partition being FAT32 or NTFS and / on a following partition.
You can access this first partition without being Root.


What to do when we have back pain from playing guitar after a while?

Question: What should I do when I start having back pain every 10min after playing?  I sit down and change position but the pain continues.  Every player has to support the weight of the guitar if playing electric guitar right?  Are there lightweight guitars?  What solutions are there that don't involve medicine?
Comment: Find a chiropractor that plays guitar and have him watch you play. Or anyone who knows a lot about playing guitar. I do not rest my guitar on my lap when playing and I've never experienced back pain even during extended practice sessions. I know you don't want to involve medicine but something is seriously wrong if you're experiencing back pain after only 10 minutes.
Comment: See [this answer of mine](http://music.stackexchange.com/a/8047/1344) about checking your posture.
Comment: Please explain how you're holding the guitar currently.
Comment: I hold the guitar mainly standing, and I use a strap. I look down to memorize some patterns in the guitar for example, and look to the sheet music in a stand too.
Comment: Part of the pain I have has to do with a "temporary" sleep deprivation, and also extra effort. Sleep is very important for me to recover from back pain. There are other causes that I am trying to understand in detail, in order to continue playing the guitar. Thanks.
Comment: There are indeed some guitars that are much lighter than others. What guitar do you play? What specific model? The weight of the guitar can have an impact on the tone (not to mention feel) of the guitar. Some lighter guitars may not be ideally suited for some styles.
Answer: Without seeing a picture of your playing position or watching your technique, it is difficult to offer proper advice.  Let me preface my answer by saying that it would be a good idea to see someone about it - a friend of yours who teaches guitar, a guitar professor at a local university, even a doctor such as a physical therapist could help you and probably give you more personalized information.
That said, after reading your question, a few things came to mind:

When you stand, is your guitar low-hanging?

Players typically do not realize that their guitars are closer to their chests when sitting as opposed to standing.  All of the weight of the guitar is on the lap and the player is usually slouched to some degree over the instrument.  Standing with a low-hanging guitar like what is seen with many Metal players causes the back to support the majority of the weight of the guitar and leads to improper player position.
This can be remedied by adjusting the guitar straps so that your guitar is in the same position standing as sitting.  When you stand up, it should be fairly high up on your torso.  It will look a little goofy, but the weight stays off the arms and that is good.

How wide is your guitar strap?

If you purchase a wider guitar strap, it will distribute the weight of the guitar more evenly across your shoulders, and therefore incite less back pain.

Are your arms tense when you play?

Straining the muscles in your arms can include the shoulder muscles in your back.  Tenseness when playing is a no-no.  You should be relaxed all of the time.

Do you normally have back problems?

If you have a herniated disk, then the weight of the guitar could be triggering your pain.

Where is the pain located?

If we know where in your back the pain is, that can help narrow down the cause of the pain.
Regarding the weight of guitars, most guitars are fairly lightweight - a notable exception being the Fender Squire Stratocaster and some Jaguar models (unfortunately!)  These guitars can be in the 8-10lb range.  Other guitars that are made from different materials, like Basswood are very light and are more in the 5-6lb range.  Acoustic guitars are obviously quite light, but the weight of those guitars is found in the neck; which requires appropriate compensation.
Hope that helps.
Comment: I haven`t pictures or videos at this moment but thanks for your answer. I checked some of the parameters, but everything seems normal, like the leght of the strap. Please read my comment above. That explains part of my back pain. TY
Answer: In addition to all the good answers already provided by our community, I would give this advice that can be applied to any activity that tends to involve sitting for long periods:

Set frequent (15-20 minutes) breaks where at the very least, you set    down the guitar, stand up, shake out your legs and arms and
  stretch    your neck and back
Take some cleansing breaths during this brief (1-2 minute) break also    because when most people, myself included, are intensely
  concentrating on a task, breathing tends to get shallow which limits
  good circulation of oxygen to the muscles
Answer: Don't bend over.  You don't need to see the fretboard, the marks on the neck are sufficient for orientation.  And electrical guitar is rather thin, it can hang nicely close to your center of gravity.  Other people told you not to have the straps too long.  I'd rather recommend to have them as long as feasible without you having to pull the guitar in position for playing or bending over or stretch in order to play/reach anything.  The shorter the straps are, the further out from the "falling line" the guitar hangs, meaning that it pushes/pulls on your spine rather than "just" being an additional weight on top.
The right hand should be in comfortable playing position, with no strain or contortion involved for getting past all strings down.  Other than that, it can be as low as you want as long as the position does not impede the left hand.    The neck is at an angle, typically more so than a classical guitar.  You need to have good relaxed playing at all positions.
And accordion weighs easily three times as much as an electric guitar and has its center of weight further from the body, so you got it comparatively easy as long as you don't sabotage yourself.
Answer: If you're sitting down, the weight of the guitar should be on your lap, not your back. So I'm putting this one to posture. Like your mom said, sit up straight.
To answer some of the other questions, yeah, there exist lighter guitars. Les Pauls are solid chunks of mahogany with a maple cap, and the old school ones are notoriously heavy, while some Telecasters are swamp ash, which tends to be pretty light. Some instruments are chambered to decrease their weight (certain modern Les Pauls, for example.) You can find light instruments, but by your description, that's not the issue.
Comment: ["Slouching" is actually better](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6187080.stm) (though sitting straight is better than hunching forward over the guitar which I suspect is what most people do).
Answer: I know how you feel. Its my T6 vertebrae that likes to slip a little, which allows a rib to pop out and it can be from mild to severe pain. When it starts hurting again have a friend run 1 finger over the area till you find it dead on. Do this where the spinal column runs, and then where the ribs are. Once pinpointed, head to a chiropractor.
it could come out repeatedly an you may need multiple visits. Just don't give up. the longer the joint or bone has been misaligned, the longer the muscles have had to learn a new way to flex, and will tend to pull it out again and again. Muscle memory.
I will say this, you want to get your atlas bone checked as well. Its directly under your scull and if it is out of alignment, it can cause your entire skeleton to contort. Look for an Upper Cervical Chiropractor, and if you find one that performs Sonar adjustment, go to them. Its relatively new but they can measure exactly the twist, and x and y alignment of the atlas.
BTW, adjusting the atlas bone also cleared up my tenitis, acid reflux, and migraines, ( they were severe, vomiting, numbness in the hands, and "static" so bad I couldn't see)
Comment: The back has many things that can go wrong. I am sure your advice is good for some, but it is so specific. It is too possible that you advice does not apply to the OP.
Answer: It might be worth trying a shorter/longer strap (I'm assuming you mean you usually play standing up but sometimes sit down to alleviate the pain?)
I've found that my guitar strap slips down to a longer length after a while (over a period of weeks).  I shorten it a bit now and then and can see the frets much more easily, get my hand around the neck more easily and generally it makes quite a difference.
I must remember to lock it with a safety pin!
One of the things i've noticed is if it's got too long, I spend time bending forward to see what I'm doing, and end up with back pain.
I have also found that I hold myself very tense while playign someting a  bit tricky, and that can translate to tensed muscles = back pain. Maybe it's to do with that ?
My fix is to move about a bit, and if I do lean forward to see what I'm doing, equalise by stretching back now and then (shoulders back, arch the back backwards, head pulled back a bit). [don't do this while playing a solo otherwise people watching will think you're loving yourself too much haha]
Answer: All good answers above to which I would add that solidbody guitars are heavy.  Check out semi-hollow body guitars like "jazz" guitars which are much lighter.
Comment: Depending on the reason for the pain, this could help or worsen the condition. A semi-hollow body changes the balance of the guitar, making it neck-heavy. This can increase tension in the left hand, arm, or shoulder from trying to compensate for the neck weight. Thus it's especially important to test drive the guitar.
Answer: When you choose to stand prop your left foot up on something like a pa or box and let the guitar rest on your leg. That's how metal guitarists bear the weight of the guitar and still remain cool. If you play lefty then use your right leg
Answer: I kinda know what you mean, but you don't have to sit leaning over the guitar. Just put a small stool or something to put your right foot on then lean back into the chair and you can still see the chords etc. If you're at that stage of practicing, only once you don't need to see the guitar when playing. You can stand or sit how ever else looks more normal for performance's and stuff
Answer: I read in New Scientist recently that looking down (they were talking about mobile devices, but the principle is the same) is equivalent to your spine supporting an extra 12kg.
It's a pay link, but conveniently the quote is in the precis:

Surgeon Kenneth Hansraj at New York Spine & Rehab Medicine claims that
  dropping the chin by 60 degrees is equivalent to making the spine
  support an extra 12 kilograms.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22630233.300-guilty-pleasures-when-is-it-wise-to-switch-off-your-screen.html

Looking down at the guitar is a very common playing position; try to do it as little as possible and occasionally throw your head back in a dramatic hair-rock style to give your muscles a break :)
Or, slightly more seriously, try practising with your eyes closed and only looking down when you really need to orient your hands. After a while not looking down becomes second nature for all the bits you know well.
Answer: As I have been playing piano from last two years and as I have got the instruction about playing, my instructor says:

If you are having trouble in playing, you are playing wrong.


Bounty misuse - again

Question: This careers question  on SO would in the normal scheme of things have been closed as not programming related. But as it has a bounty, we can't do that. Is the bounty system really intended for this kind of question? Note it is Community Wiki, so there can be no correct answer and it is hard to see how the OP is going to justify the final bounty award.
Comment: Flag it, if you think the bounty system was abused. The mods can take care of that.
Comment: Related question I asked yesterday: http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/38819/what-happens-to-a-bounty-question-if-it-gets-migrated
Comment: I was going to flag it, but couldn't think of a reason - hence this question.
Answer: Community Wiki doesn't necessarily mean that there can't be a correct answer. This is why you can accept answers on a CW question.
Besides, I don't think the poster used the bounty to shield his question from closing. He obviously believes his question is legitimate (and others do too, obviously), and wanted to pop it to the "featured" tab, to gain more attention.
However, I agree that such question shouldn't be on SO, as it would be more suited on one of the emerging stack Exchange sites. I guess that such questions were tolerated for a while, before any alternative (from what I see in "related" questions).
This question should probably be closed, but there is indeed not much to be done about it with a bounty, and this is the issue right now. But at worst, it will last only 4 days, and then it will fall under close votes as fast as it will be possible.
Answer: This is a duplicate of my question here, which Jeff closed.
The best response there was to flag for a moderator's attention.  It would also help to try to jump on these things and close them early, before the questioner can put a bounty on them.
I just flagged the original careers question.
Answer: I'd say the bounty system is intended for anyone who wants to get more attention for their question and so, yes, it is intended for questions like this.
The problem really is that bounty questions turn reputation into currency, leading to special rules for bounty questions to prevent gaming the system.  I could do without the bounty system entirely -- perhaps all we really need is a fixed number of "markers" that one could turn in to get a question boosted to the front page to attract more attention or perhaps the ability to trade reputation for an extended boost without the attendent grant of reputation to the accepted answerer.  That would enable us to keep the same close rules in effect and still get some extra attention for a question needing answers.

Bounty misuse - again


What software do you use as complementary to your GIS desktop/server?

Question: What software do you use as complementary to your GIS desktop/server in your work as GIS programmers/analysts and what programs are an absolute must you can't do without?
Answer: GDAL/OGR
When data doesn't look right or work in my desktop GIS, a simple ogrinfo usually provides the answer.  gdal_translate and gdalwarp for quick raster operations, and of course the gdal Python modules.
Completely unrelated and more of a Web app, but ColorBrewer is great for figuring out color values for different data classes.
Comment: for some operations gdal/ogr is orders of magnitude faster [(ref)](http://www.maphew.com/Projects/ipy_and_arcgisscripting)
Answer: (1)  An industrial-strength statistics package, like Stata or R.  The question refers to "analysts" and I take that job to include deriving meaning from the data, helping people make appropriate conclusions, and identifying optimal actions.  That more or less describes statistical analysis, but no GIS is suited for anything but the most limited of statistical procedures.
(2)  Another GIS to check on the first, to supplement its capabilities, and work around the inevitable bugs.  (My system typically has four or five major GIS programs available, including earlier versions of ArcGIS.)
(3)  Powerful text processing tools, including the old warhorses (SED and AWK).  These often make short work of data preprocessing and postprocessing tasks that otherwise would be time-consuming or impossible with the GIS itself.
(4)  A computer mathematics system can be useful for specialized graphics and custom analyses.  I have been using Mathematica for a few years now and find its usefulness grows in proportion to my familiarity with it.  There are even some demo notebooks on its Web site showing how to do GIS entirely within Mathematica ;-).  Others swear by MatLab.
(5)  An array of specialized spatial analysis and visualization packages like GeoDa, GGobi, and CrimeStat.
It should go without saying that one must have the usual collection of image processing, word processing, spreadsheet, and database manipulation tools to develop appropriate graphics, reports, and tables for communicating information.  Everyone has their favorites; quite a few of these are amply represented in other responses offered to the question.
(1), (2), and (3) are essential: it would be crippling not to have these capabilities.  If you can't get your data into the GIS, if you can't truly analyze them once they have been processed by the GIS, and if you can't work around bugs and limitations, then you're stuck.
Answer: Here are a few more I haven't seen mentioned yet.
Pyscripter - The best Python IDE for windows I have used, and seems to getter with each release.
Fiddler - A must for working with ArcGIS services (web debugging)
Answer: Adobe Illustrator. I don't use it very much for GIS work personally but our office does for everything that goes to press (offset printing). Illustrator just has finer control over everything. True bezier curves, more line generalization and simplification options, text flow & kerning, multiple columns, great keyboard usability for switching tools and functions, object transparency, CMYK colour handling, and more.
When cartographic excellence and/or combining maps with large blocks of text and figures is the goal, Illustrator is great complement.
Answer: I find Eclipse with the Pydev extension an absolute must for the scripting I do with ArcGIS. It makes life so much easier, especially now that Arcpy from ArcGIS 10 code completes.
Fore quick manipulation of text files I find Notepad++ to be the way to go, especially with all the Regex support.
For version control these days I use Git, though I have used SVN before
Answer: Visual Studio 2010 for ArcGIS Engine and Silverlight API development.
Expression Blend for Silverlight/Silverlight API development.
Expression Encoder/Screen Capture for video transcoding and screen capture.
Notepad++ for one-off "text file" editing and scripts for Python.
Tortoise SVN for version control.
BugTracker .Net for bug tracking.
The latest version of all major browsers to ensure that the stuff I made for the web actually works as anticipated (and often it does not, but it's certainly better than it used to be).
Answer: This has been mentioned a few times as part of a collection but I want to highlight it specifically: a decent text editor. Where decent means: can easily handle 100 megabyte files and hopefully larger, syntax colouring, and regular expressions (or some other means of complicated search and replace patterns), and mutltiple undo for the essentials. Also beneficial are macros, mutliple clip boards, snippet libraries, and keyword expansion.
A text editor is the only tool I have used almost every single day I've worked on computers professionally (about two decades), and I'm not a software developer (though lately I've been exploring that a bit). Every computer and every operating system I've ever used has one. It's the only truly portable and non-expiring tool and skillset -- I've now become proficient in 2 now-dead GIS platforms (Pamap, Mapinfo), 2 more almost-dead (ArcView3, ArcInfo Workstation), and 1 will-someday-pass (ArcGIS). (Not to mention ones I've spent time to become somewhat familiar with but not proficient: Autocad 9, Quantum, Udig, Jump, ...) Each one has sucked up hundreds of not thousands of hours of learning and synapse connections which are now largely thrown away or dormant.
Text editing has been the the only constant. There has been a fair bit editor turn-over, but the skillsets have been more transferrable than other classes of programs.
Answer: CAM Studio:  if a picture is worth a thousand words than moving pictures should be worth a thousand words times whatever your frame rate is. It's been valuable to me for demonstrating  various workflows in ArcGIS.  And for documenting issues for sending to ESRI support.
Answer: Clickie: http://www.defoort.com/en/clickie/
Adds a right-click Copy Path Name and Open DOS Prompt.  I use it all the time to copy paths for pasting into ArcCatalog.
Answer: SysInternals: tcpview, procmon are invaluable.  I use DebugView to connect to other workstations and figure out why my code doesn't work on their workstations when it works perfectly on my dev box.
I probably do a pskill arcmap and pskill arccatalog more than I care to admit.
Answer: I typically use FME from Safe Software (www.safe.com) as a complementary Spatial ETL tool for my GIS Desktop/ Server software. The obvious reason being the robust support for 250+ CAD/GIS formats in FME and its "neutral to any format" approach to handle true data interoperability needs from simple to complex ones.
Answer: I use

TOAD for SQL Server
Wing IDE
ArcGIS Diagrammer
Notepad++
UNIX for Win32
MS Access
Gaia View (Carbon Project)
Visual Studio
RealVNC
VMWare Vewer
VMWare Infrastructure Client
Google Chrome
Fiddler Tool
Magic Disc

Just to name a few of the apps I tend to use every day.
Answer: When I'm using Sql Server 2008, I really like developing spatial sql queries with Sql Server Management Studio (SSMS).
Update, forgot to mention Sql Server spatial tools.
Answer: This may sound a little weird, but I use a local install of MapServer on my desktop machine as a non-server tool.

I use the query templates to generate most of my KML files.
It provides a very reasonable way to visualize data based on PostGIS queries.
Answer: Reflector, for decompiling .NET assemblies.
Answer:
SQL Server Management Studio - use this everyday to examine data and poke around in SDE
Notepad2 - awesome text editor
VisionApp for RDP remoting into servers
Informatica for ETL jobs - XML/text to SQL Server
Visual Studio 2008
Google Chrome
Tidal Enterprise Scheduler - we use this to schedule jobs. It allows you to chain jobs together and set dependencies.
Answer: I find myself  relaying more and more on ms-excel and ms-access as means to cross check or repair table data.
Back when I was in the university I couldn't manage to do GIS stuff without using constantly a Capture program (such as good old Painter or yet a better one such as faststone capture).
Answer: A PDF Viewer. We're standardized on Adobe Reader but also use GSView (Ghostscript), NitroPDF and others. We are a map-centric shop and PDF is the best way to get an accurate, repoducible, and distributable snapshot of a map composition that will be usable for years on a variety of machines and operating systems (more here). It is our primary means of distributing maps to the public and other agencies (our map site).
update: It's also our primary means of printing. For drafts and in-house we've found it's more reliable and faster (with multiple copies) to create a pdf and then print from that then direct from Arcmap. This also allows non-gis staff to print the hardcopy maps we distribute and sell to the public.
Answer: Non-GIS image conversion programs. In addition to pdf map distribution also mentioned in this topic we distribute our maps as raw full size images and Zoomify. For this workflow we need to convert the pdf to full resolution images. The tools used here are GraphicsMagick, Ghostscript, XNView, Photoshop (and Gimp) and Zoomify Converter (though hopefully the recent addition of geospatial pdf to gdal will enable me to chop that list down to two!).
Answer: For web services,
WMS Inspector firefox addon
Wireshark for inspecting data coming from webservices (work on intranet/internet, desktop application or web applications)
Using Live HTTP Headers firefox addon to see all network transactions (like wireshark but smaller, limited to browser exchange but you see headers better compare to firebug)
TCPMon for monitoring network too
About developpement,
Firebug and FirePHP
Webdevelopper toolbar firefox addon
Notepad++ (Windows), vim (linux), Eclipse PDT + Xdebug (for PHP)
Winmerge to compare directories and files (Windows) or Kompare on Linux KDE (apt-get install kompare)
Filezilla client for FTP
SVN (Tortoise or command line)  or Git (command line)
Cygwin to power up Windows DOS console with lot of linux tools (access to ssh, vim, iconv, cut, sed, grep, find, history and much more like pipes)
Answer: I tend to use the following:
NotePad ++ - use this daily for editing all kinds of files.
EasyGPS - for downloading gpx files from out garmin gps units.
MS Access and Excel - useful for doing quick data analysis, comparing and cleansing.
OSM2MIF - Converts MasterMap data to MIF format.
OSGeo4W - use this to install QGIS and all the related stuff
Visual color picker 2 - very useful for finding colour codes by sampling an area of the screen
Colorbrewer - use this all the time for colour schemes.
Photoshop / GIMP - great for image work.
Adobe Acrobat - we PDF a lot of maps to include in reports. Enables users to print from PDF rather than the GIS software.
Answer: Toad for Oracle
Sql developer
Dreamweaver
Sql server management studio
Snagit (for all the documentation.....)
flex4
And just about every browser to make sure our web apps work for everybody.
Mind mapping software
VMWare workstation
Answer: I don't see GPS related software mentioned.
I use Garmin Mapsource software heavily to view/check our local community GPS maps, as well as to check POIs and tracks captured using my Garmin GPS receivers (Nuvi 205W and 60CS).
Answer: We use PostGIS as a "Counter-Enterprise" GIS to compliment the ESRI stuff (ArcGIS/ArcSDE).
When great flexibility is required and time is in short supply (daily), PostGIS always saves the day.  Most often OpenJump with the DBQuery Plugin serves as the Workbench.  Now ArcGIS 10 has the Query Layer functionality which can bring PostGIS flexiblility directly to the ArcGIS Desktop (the camel's nose, or should I say elephant's trunk :-), pokes a little further under the tent !!!).
Answer: CASS software, to validate, correct, and standardize addresses, detect duplicates, detect mail drops, categorize residence vs. business, append ZIP+4, append suite numbers, confirm deliverability, convert rural boxes to street addresses, etc.
Answer: I have to recommend SchemaSpy for learning new databases and remembering old ones. It's also a great database development tool. http://schemaspy.sourceforge.net/
Answer: This has been mentioned many times already, but a good text editor.  I prefer Geany and I also use it as an IDE for python, especially with ipython running in the terminal window.
I always use GPSBabel for downloading data from our consumer grade GPS units.
PicPick get used a lot for simple graphics work, screen captures, color picker, magnify, measure, etc along with GIMP.
One of my most used programs is Tomboy.  It is not GIS specific at all but is a note-taking software that helps me keep track of all my projects, notes, and todo lists.  It is cross platform and syncs between all the computers I do work on(and read-only on my android phone) so I always have my notes available.  It is a must have for me since i work from a couple different computers at work as well as from home.
Answer: Spatial and non-spatial ETL (Exrtact, Transform, Load) tools are very valuable for data interoperability and converting data schemas and file types.

Safe Software FME
ArcGIS Data Interoperability Extension (subset of FME)
Spatial Data Integrator
GeoKettle

More discussion on this here.
Answer: For working with various code the find / replace (among other) features in TextPad is awesome... it is better than notepad when needing more complex data manipulations.
GPS Visualizer for generating elevation (sometimes called altitude) profiles and many nice conversion tools has been a huge help.
Answer: Textpad for editing just about everything.
GDAL helps with everything from changing coords sys to tiling images.
Talend open studio get information in and out the DB and everywhere elese.
imagemagik changing image formats/resolutions and colours of tiles for tilecache.
Answer:
Any decent text editor for scripting;
R for statistical analysis of the (spatial) data
GIMP and Inkscape for further improving map images;
Libreoffice / OpenOffice when I need to edit (small) shapefile dbf files;
SQLite manager add-on for Firefox or Navicat (but any decent SQLite manager will do) for working on GRASS GIS attribute tables and Spatialite databases
Maptiler to convert maps to tiled maps for OpenLayer or Google earth.


force users to upload the files to library only in naming convention

Question: We have a multiple document libraries used in different projects in Sharepoint.
Each document library in each project needs to have a unique naming convention for the files.
For example. One of the library will use the naming convention as Cust1-Proj1-Dept1-Ver1.01.doc
Another file in the same library will be like Cust2-Proj2-Dept3-Ver1.35.doc
We want to force the users to upload the files to this particular library only in this naming convention. If someone uploads another file with just abc.doc as the file name, it should be rejected or display a warning message saying that, "for this particular document library please upload files in this format".
Answer: You could code an event receiver catching the ItemAdding and make some logic to ensure the naming convention is respected.  The, you could cancel the event and set the good error message to the user.


What could be causing GFCI breakers and receptacles to trip?

Question: I have a two wire system and after installing GFCI outlet in kitchen I realized there is a problem with some type of inconsistancy causing the GFCI to trip as soon as power is sent to it. Thinking the problem was in an older GFCI outlet I attemped to reuse I purchased and installed a GFCI breaker. Same problem. I'm thinking there is possibly a shared ground in the wiring as the kitchen, dining room and basement lights are all on this breaker. In previous testing while installing a new light I noticed some low voltage current coming through even when the switch was off. Is it possible to get a GFCI to work under these circumstances? There is one outlet downstream from the GFIC outlet. I installed a new conventional outlet in place of the GFCI after installing the GFCI breaker. Everything appeared to work fine with a 20 amp breaker and no GFCI outlet installed.
Comment: if the GFCI trips without anything plugged in, you need to check the wiring to find where the power leaks and fix that.
Answer: Sounds like the circuit is sharing a neutral with another circuit.
With your GFCI breaker installed, turn off all other breakers. Reset the GFCI breaker, which should now hold. If it does not hold, then you have a problem with the wiring on that circuit and need to open each box to investigate.
If the GFCI breaker does hold, turn each breaker on one at a time until you find the circuit that trips the GFCI. This is the circuit with a shared neutral.
You then need to open switch boxes, light boxes, on both circuits to figure where the neutrals were wrongly tied together. Suspect anything that looks like a homeowner addition, or fix. A common place this might happen would be in a switch box that controls different lights, with two or more circuits feeding the box. An unknowing DIY-er may have tied all the neutrals together.
Comment: To narrow the search, if the GFCI outlet had the same issue, then the problem is likely on the "load" side of the old outlet. Check any downstream junction boxes that lost power when the GFCI outlet tripped.
Answer: I had mystery GFCI trippage in my house (even with nothing plugged into the GFCI outlet or any outlet it protects).
It turned out to be the connection in the Power Mains Breaker Panel. If you can safely turn off your power, make sure all connections (including ground) are tight.
Answer: I had this issue as well. It turned out that someone tied the neutral from a separate circuit into the the GFCI protected lighting circuit. They needed a 3 wire to make the light switch work properly. Not having a three wire, they used the neutral wire as the hot from the switch. Not having a neutral anymore they ran a short wire from the closest light to provide a neutral return, being fed from a different breaker. It took 3 hours of troubleshooting to figure this one out.
Comment: Sounds like exactly the situation SteveR describes.


Why my question was closed?

Question: I am new here and don't understand why my question Fast js datagrid for ipad was closed? I saw "what js library is good for x" questions many times here. Is it no longer a good question for stackoverflow or this is because of poor formatting?
Comment: Questions like `what x is good for y` are considered subjective and can lead to polling and extended discussion, so it was decided long ago that they are a not good fit for the Q&A format of SO.  There are older questions that pre-date this rule that have historical value, but their presence is not a sign that such questions are permitted.  Check out [What Not to Ask](http://stackoverflow.com/faq#dontask)
Answer: As psubsee points out, questions that "shop" for things, like code or libraries, aren't really the best questions for Stack Overflow. Instead, the best questions are those that show research effort, have code examples, and describe a problem.
In your question, you're asking someone to give you code or give you a link to code that solves your problem. Instead, consider that the experts that can solve your problem are here, not somewhere else. So one thing you could do to possibly get your question reopened would be to edit it and instead focus on the problem you're facing.
Dig a little deeper. What is the problem you're trying to solve. Show your code. Ask how you can improve the performance. If the answers happen to be "use this datagrid library, oh and by the way, here's an example" then so be it, but questions on Stack Overflow shouldn't just outright ask for code.
For further reading, see Q&A is Hard, Let's Go Shopping.
I can't emphasize enough how I think that you really do have a good question buried in there waiting to be uncovered with some edits! Hope this helps!
Comment: Thanks, its really clear now. My previous searches for similar questions brought me here very often and were very helpful. Thats why it is a little bit surprisingly for me.
Answer: I dont rememeber if there are some javascript libraries that could solve your problem and no one else does remember on their fingers. try to research on some js libraries, use them in your project and then post the issues or the preoblems you encounter with them. Then you might get some suggestion on how to solve that issue.
Questions like this would result in not ending discussions about what is better.
These subjective questions have no place in SO. It is just solve the issue that encounters.

Why my question was closed?


Should I delete a question?

Question: I asked a question, that has only one answer with a couple of upvotes. Now I´d like to state it in a better way, but more like a new question than like an edit. Should I delete the old (worse) question and withit the answer? Or should I just asked "twice"?
Answer: If you just want to improve the question an edit will be fine. It will also bring your question back to the front page giving it new visibility. You can leave a comment to the answerer to tell him you have added details (he might even be notified due to your edit but I'm not sure about that).
Anyway you need to have rights to delete your question in other case you can just vote to remove the post.
Answer: If it's a completely different question then yes ask a new question. It might be worth referring to the original question and explaining why it's different.
If it's not that different really then editing is the right way to go.
I think the change over is where an edit would make any existing answers wrong (or misleading at best). If that's the case go with the new question.
Comment: But should he delete the old useless cluter of a question?
Comment: @JerryNixon - if it's got an answer he won't be able to delete it.

Should I delete a question?


How not to lose patience with toddler

Question: I am wondering how not to be harsh with a toddler. With all the love I have for my boy, I do lose patience and get angry with him once in a while! Any ideas on how to deal with such a situation.
Comment: True love is not **self**ish.  When we as parents grow impatient, angry, or harsh, it is almost always because we have started putting self first.
Comment: Short answer: Very carefully
Answer: Welcome to parenthood and the $64,000 question. The best thing I ever did in managing that was either taking a 30 second breather outside while my son played in his room (I could see him from the window), or if you have family local, calling them for some backup.
The times I couldn't do either of those, the only thing I could do was repeat in my head: "He's only two, he's only two, he's only two" or whatever your child's age. Keeping that perspective and reminding yourself that they're one giant ball of uncontrolled Id might not make things easier in the moment, but did help relax me enough to handle the situation a lot better than lost patience and anger.
It's a very natural thing to have a shortened temper and get upset. That does not ever imply that you love your child less or anything along those lines. Raising kids is not an easy job.
Comment: I try to make myself think logically, which is very hard to do with a misbehaving child in front of me, and think about how getting mad could possible improve the situation. I have yet to come up with a single instance where my yelling or being harsh would improve the situation and end with a quiet well behaved child.
Comment: And think of it as exercising your patience muscle.  It's about as much fun as push-ups, but as beneficial, too.  My wife and I use the 1..2..3..time-out method, which at least gives a limit the child will understand rather than just repeating yourself until some arbitrary "enough".  As soon as I say "one", my kids understand than I mean it and I don't usually have to go any further.  2.5yrs is about the youngest that seemed reasonable.
Comment: If it reassures you any, **every** parent gets this feeling sometimes - especially with your first child. Sometimes it can feel like it is a never ending struggle.
Comment: @DaveNelson: Do you actually manage to use this technique to calm yourself? Impressive!
Comment: @Torben Gundtofte-Bruun I am able to pull it of about half of the time. It is very hard, but I think I am getting better at it.
Answer: I liked the book "Becoming the parent you want to be" for these types of things. It had an approach that was aiming to adjust for individual parenting style, and had a lot of useful things in particular for parents of toddlers (there are too many books for babies - not enough for toddler stages). Lots of useful things about temper tantrums, demanding behaviour, and generally about how to have actual communication with your kids. It's not everybody's cup of tea, but check out Amazon reviews, and see if you might care for it.
Comment: Thanks Aino. I am about to collect  "Becoming the parent you want to be" from local library. Thanks for this reference.
Answer: First, I would like to say, you are not alone.  There is a reason they call it the terrible twos and the threes aren't really that much better (I referred to them as the tyrannical threes).
Kids at this age still don't really know how to communicate well - particularly about feelings including hunger, tiredness and frustration.  You probably do this already, but just in-case, I'll recommend that to avoid as many outbursts as possible in the first place be prepared.  Have snacks at the ready, have sleep options and try to schedule things so your child is getting basic needs met in a regular and scheduled way.
When your child is doing something frustrating, use the proverbial "count to ten rule" while you take a few deep breaths and remind yourself who this kid is and that he is a kid.  If you are trying to get something done and your child is "pestering" you.  He probably just wants some attention.  Can you involve him so you can still get your stuff done, while also offering the attention he needs?
Make sure you are taking care of you.  Are you getting enough rest?  The right food?  Do you get a break from the kids once in awhile?  It is hardest to maintain patience when you aren't at your best either.
Realize that sometimes (often) what they did isn't really bad behavior at all but an effort to communicate, OR an effort to help.  I once found Alice with a spray bottle full of water, spraying the wooden closet door over and over to the point of forming a puddle below the door (Her dad was in the room, but on the phone and hadn't noticed - I had been in the shower, so it was REALLY wet!).  If she hadn't had the chance to say, "look mommy, I wash the door for you"  I may never have connected that she thought she was cleaning.  Instead of being angry (well, I had a few words for my husband later), I was able to laugh, help her clean it up and explain the difference between how windows and wooden doors are each washed.  It very soon became her job to wash the mirrors (at three years, with help and supervision of course).
To help your child develop language to communicate needs faster and more easily, state what you think he wants, feels. . . before laying down the law.  For example, "I know you want chocolate milk, but you NEED to eat food first".  OR  "I know you want to get out of your car seat and run around right now - I do too, but we can't just yet."  By telling your child what it is that he or she feels or wants first, you are letting him know you understand and care and second, giving him the language to express himself in a constructive way (when he is ready, he'll start using it too which is less frustrating than the alternative, grunts, pushes, crying and tantrums).
Avoid SOME tantrums and struggles by offering your child's blossoming personality a chance to express itself through choices.  Whenever possible, offer up two choices you can be happy with (before frustrating behaviors are occurring).  For example, instead of putting out one outfit for your child to wear, put out two.  Both outfits should be suitable for the weather and whatever your requirements are for the day (i.e.  able to get dirty for play at the park, or formal enough for church) but then allow your child to choose between the two outfits.  This actually helps them feel like they have some control over their day which can lead to more flexible children at other times when you can't offer a choice.  It also helps them practice decision making.
Lastly, I'd like to refer you to some other related questions on Parenting SE - just in case they are also helpful.
How can we discipline our toddler?
How can I negotiate with my Toddler
How do I stop my toddler from biting
Grumpy three year old when she wakes
What to do after you've raised your voice with your child
How strict should we be with our fourteen month old?
There are more, but this sampling should be good enough to help you find more specifics if you need them.  GOOD LUCK!
Comment: Beautiful story regarding the door-washing! Too cute! And how wonderful that it became her 'job' and opportunity to contribute and feel important!
Answer: Role model self-regulatory behavior. Both to help yourself in the situation, and also because watching you do it is how children learn. (look up mirror neurons)
"I'm too frustrated right now, I'm going to go cool down"
"I can't listen when you yell, it hurts my hears. Can you ask me nicely?"

How not to lose patience with toddler


Getting touchpad working on MacBook Air

Question: I recently installed Ubuntu on my new MacBook Air 4,2 (Mid 2011).  Everything has worked great so far, with a few minor issues with screen resolution.  However, I am now completely stuck on how to get my touchpad to recognize gestures such as scrolling, tap to click, and right click.  I have run the post-install script here, tried installing xserver-xorg-input-synaptics through apt-get and also through Synaptic Package Manager.
So far nothing has helped and when I run synclient as a test I get a message saying "Couldn't find synaptics properties. No synaptics driver loaded?".  I added the link ppa:mactel-support/ppa to my software sources.
When I run sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-input-synaptics, I get a pretty lengthy error message :
Error! /usr/src/usbhid-0.11.2.dkms.tar.gz does not exist.
dpkg: error processing usbhid-dkms (--configure):
subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 2
No apport report written because MaxReports is reached already
dpkg: dependency problems    prevent configuration of bcm5974-dkms:
bcm5974-dkms depends on usbhid-dkms; however:
Package usbhid-dkms is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing bcm5974-dkms (--configure):
dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
No apport report written because MaxReports is reached already
Errors were encountered    while processing:
   usbhid-dkms
   bcm5974-dkms
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)'

This leads me to believe that I need to install usbhid-dkms, however searching has yielded no results.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
Comment: You shouldn't have to do anything like run a post-installation script, etc.  Just install 12.04 beta2, which fixes a lot of the issues that plagued MacBook Airs.
Answer: I am pretty sure that the latest beta of ubuntu https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PrecisePangolin/TechnicalOverview/Beta2
has brought support for touchpads.
I recommend trying this and seeing if it works.

Getting touchpad working on MacBook Air


Plugin Repo: Why do some plugins get version charts while others don't?

Question: I've noticed that some plugins have the version charts displayed on the Stats page while some others do not. What's necessary for the chart to show in the stats page? Also, how does WordPress.org know about the versions currently running on servers around the world?
Answer: Wordpress knows about the versions running on websites where  where wp,plugin and theme version checks have not been disabled programmatically (there is no setting to disable,this has to be done by php code in plugin or theme if one wants to do it).
The existing version of wp, plugins and themes is passed to wordpress.org to check for any updated versions of each of those.
If you have a cron manager plugin (I use mine amr-cron-manager), you will see the cron upgrade checks run twice daily, so within 12 hours your site should know about any updated versions available.
So YES wp will have a pretty good idea who is running what where - they probably even know about the non-wordpress.org hosted plugins (unl;ess again those plugins have their upgrade checks filtered out or redirected)
In file wp-includes/update.php, wordpress passes the following api call

$url =
  "http://api.wordpress.org/core/version-check/1.6/?version=$wp_version&php=$php_version&locale=$locale&mysql=$mysql_version&local_package=$local_package&blogs=$num_blogs&users={$user_count['total_users']}&multisite_enabled=$multisite_enabled";

So on most systems, when updates are done, WordPress.Org knows/checks for compatibility the wp version, the php version, the mysql version, the default locale, the no of users and whether multisite is running.
So over time, on average they'd have a pretty good idea who is running what.  This is useful info.  EG: for a plugin developer to know how many/few users are  already on php 5.3 etc etc
You can see some stats here:
http://wordpress.org/about/stats/
Answer: I believe the the requirements are to have more then one version and a minimum number (not sure what it is) of downloads per each version.
As for

how does WordPress.org know about the versions currently running on
  servers around the world?

The answer is they don't know, but they do know the number of downloads each version has gotten.
Comment: Hmm - I think wordpress does know - when your website does version update checks I'm pretty sure it sends current plugin version info


How to set-up a Linux machine for children's Internet use?

Question: My kids are approaching the age where they want to use the Internet.  I have a spare computer with Linux on it.  What are the things I should do make the Internet safe for my kids?
Comment: Fantastic question.  I will need to consider this, too.  That is, unless wife/mom vetos the idea :-)
Answer: As the administrator for a company proxy, I have a slightly different view of this.  I'll step forward and say it's not going to be a popular one, but it's one I've given much thought to over the years for the same reason.
The best filter and access control setup to use ...
is you.
The crux of the matter is very similar to the issues surrounding antivirus updates.  No matter how good the detection engine is, no matter how often you update, there is always a window of "vulnerability" between when when a "problem" is released onto the internet in general, and when it is detected.
Proxy filtering software is a reasonable approach.  Everyone that has suggested these answers has done the right thing - use a form of content filtering that makes sense for you.  (Yes, I gave everyone a +1 that mentioned this).  But the same issue remains - there are new sites coming online every day, and old ones that go offline.  During this time, you need to be able to known about these and block them.  So there is always a window of opportunity to stumble into "inappropriate material" or "web exploits".
Being there with your younger child as they surf around is a great idea.  It is difficult to substitute adult experience with a piece of software, and being able to spot a problem and steer the child away before it becomes an issue is something that no proxy can deduce.  And if by unfortunate luck you end up clicking a "disguised link" or end up under a cross-scripting attack that spawns 100 bazillion popups/installs/downloads, you'll be able to respond in seconds...instead of minutes after the fact, when your child comes to you and says "I keep seeing funny pictures of people without clothes, and now I have a funny purple gorilla that keep bugging me to see things.  Make it stop (mom/dad)!"
As kids get older, you can keep the proxy in place and reduce the filtering, but the occasional pop-in and "hey, whatcha up to?" is worth its weight in gold.  It's not so much snooping into their personal lives - a sensitive issue for many teens and one they would resent greatly - as it is a quick "check for trouble".  For older teens, I might even forgo the filtering, provided they agree to have the URLs logged via the proxy (possibly through a squid setup that has minimal controls but logs each visit).  This is a good tradeoff between keeping tabs on where they go, but still giving them enough privacy in their communications (because it only logs the URL visited, not what they send or post online).
In the end, I suppose that most people will just install a basic filter and get on with life, but for me, and my kids, being there as they explore and learn is something I would never miss.
Answer: Once a month, I'm approached by customers that want to take an old laptop and give it to a young child.  We always install Edubuntu and use Linux based Content Filtering.
DansGuardian is a viable option. Here's someone else's experience.
Comment: @Ivo: no - your boss has read the stats concerning porn surfing at work.
Comment: Argh So our boss thinks were all children needing DansGuardian?!?
Comment: hah! nailed it.
Answer: I think you should take it out of the system and onto the network instead. It would be a bit trickier to implement, but with OpenDNS you can select filters to activate, and boom, your child is safe from all the stuff you don't want him/her to see.
For more information, take a look at this explanatory page for parental controls.
Pardon if this escapes the scope of the question, as this would be more of an network implementation (changing DNS servers for that user) instead of a software solution.
Comment: @Yaron thanks for the notice, I've updated it with the current equivalent!
Comment: The explanatory link is down.
Comment: I wonder how would you like to block access to google cache with open dns?
Answer: To start with you can use a router with parental controls. When they grew up, you may have to look at alternative approaches. I installed edubuntu for my kids use...
Answer: You want to use a reliable and well supported distribution, such as Ubuntu and OpenSuse (or Edubuntu as suggested by Charlls). Firefox browser would be included by default.
You need to have some form of parental control, and fortunately, there is a Firefox plugin for that purpose. Learn to use it. Install a content filter too that can prevent your kids from surfing undesirable websites (dansguardian does the job well)
Since you want to protect your children's privacy, use a software such as MoBlock.
You would like to have a virus scanner that prevents virus and spyware from infecting your computer, clamav would do the job.
Comment: Checkout https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1803
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4903 and
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3145
Comment: There's a firefox plugin for content filtering?  Please share!
Answer: Qimo is linux distribution, made for small kids based on ubuntu. Very intuite nice interface.
Comment: Qimo is dead upstream
Answer: Wouldd't Moblin or Ubuntu Netbook Remix be a nicer version for children?
Off course, I'm not familiar with what packages you can install, but I would imagine you could install most of the Edu-packages in UNR as well?
+1 for the DansGuardian idea, it even keeps me "safe" at work!
I like the idea of children using Linux, since not a lot can go wrong and they need a password to really change anything. The only thing you could do is set-up a remote access to the machine, so you can take over if they need help or you need to settle quarrels ;-)
Answer: For ubuntu, an easy to set up solution for content filtering is to install webcontentcontrol (install instructions and detailed discussion) - but be aware that it will restrict everyone who uses the computer.
For shared use computers I've set up this question but I've yet to get a great answer ...


Power plants in Power Grid

Question: I've played Power Grid once so far. What is a good beginner's strategy in the initial accumulation of power plants?
Answer: Some mix of the following:

Buy the biggest one you can afford  - Remembering that you have to afford fuel as well.
Try to get a plant that has dual fuel sources
Don't buy a coal only plant if 2 other people already have coal fired plants.
Don't get into bidding wars with more experienced players

If the above isn't working out, switch tactics - save your money and get the cheapest one you can this turn and get a better plant next turn.
Comment: @Michiel definitely, you need to be able to eyeball your likely turn.  It's a hard skill to develop, and the first turn for a newbie is likely to be rough.  Aiming a bit low on the power plant to allow for some room to screw up is probably a good idea.
Comment: And by afford, we mean, have money left for fuel and cities.
Comment: I wouldn't necessarily agree with "buy the biggest one". During the first two auctions in a standard game (US/DE), the highest plants will be #06 and #07; not the ideal ones to begin with due to high turn order and expensive fuel costs. Sure, in the late game higher plants are usually better, but not always.
Answer: Assuming you're playing with 3 or 4 players, use the 1-2-3-4-5-6-6 strategy. That is, first power plant should power 1 city, second 2, etc. Then you'll grow your capacity in a measured pace, and you'll end up with a capacity of exactly 17. A bad strategy would be: 1-1-3-4-4-5-... because that will make it very hard to reach 17.
Also, by not buying top-of-the-line power plants, you'll probably never be in first place and having to pay most for fuel.
Answer: Part of it will depend on your long term strategy; buying a low power plant puts you up first for the cheap resources and the prime places on the board. While more expensive and efficient power plants can give you a leg up in accumulating cash early in the game.
Personally I prefer to start with a relatively inexpensive power plant (as low and cheap as feasible - never more than 2x than the initial value is my rule of thumb to start out) until I've seen the board locations and then focus on keeping my power plants close to the number of cities I actually own. With the auction system don't be afraid to let one go if it gets too expensive - the green power plants can be a real bonus if you aren't paying an arm and a leg for them.
Answer: I don't mind to, in the first turn, buying a cheap plant with a lot of storage space (say, three coal).
The cheap plant will help you in the turn order.
Now I stock up on cheap resources (cheap because we are in the start of the game) so later my one-coal plant can run for 6 turns. This has the additional bonus that resources become more expensive for the other players.
If you can get a city where you can connect to the next city for free, the money saved allows you to stock up nicely.
Answer: Do not waste your money on plants up to plant number 13, you'll ned to change them soon. Later ones are better. And also you don't have many cities at the begining. Later I'm trying to get plants which could electrify as many cities as possible. These plants waste a lot of resources, but you will not need to change them until the end of game.
Answer: Four is thought to be one of the best ones to start with.
You'll be assured of going first or second (though I'd avoid three), and you can buy a full boat of coal that will tide you over until turn 3.
Answer: Very hard to say really. It depends on so many factors. The best strategy is to have the power plants that use the resources that your competitors do not use. This then makes the cost of goods cheap to buy, and therefore cheap to fire up.

Power plants in Power Grid


What can I do with AFM - Adobe font metrics file?

Question: I received zip containing font in .afm format. Is this some sort of source-code of a font that can be converted TTF/OTF or so?
How can I actually read and use this file?
Answer: As the name implies, a .afm file contains the metrics (kerning, letterspacing, etc.) information for a font. It is a Postscript file, but is not the font itself, which would have the same name with a .pfa extension. You would need both in order to run a conversion utility. The exact nature of the files and the conversion utility you would need (.pfa and .afm are generally Linux files, ascii Postscript versions of what would be compiled to .pfb and .pfm binary on Windows, for example) depends on which platform you're on.
In any case, without the actual font outline data, the .afm file does nothing.
I did find one free utility that claims to do the conversion. Perhaps some other folks here will know of others.
Answer: If you have the Type1 files (.pfb or .pfa), you can open them in FontForge and if the .afm files are in the same directory it will import kerning and ligature information (if any) from them, or you can do it manually using File->Merge Feature Info... dialogue. Then you can generate an OpenType font (.otf) from it.
Answer: The .afm (font metrics) file does enable you to do your text-placement calculations, perhaps previewing with a substitute font. Text so placed would look correct when rendered using the .pfa (the real font).
This would mostly be useful with runoff-style batch formatting where the lack of a proper preview isn't strictly relevant.


Real representation of finite groups

Question: I want to know if there is complete theory on real representation of finite
groups.
Say, given a finite group G, can we know all the injections from G to
GL(n,R) for a particular n?
Answer: Recall that if $G$ is a group, $k$ a field, and $V_k$ an irreducible representation of $G$ over $k$ then by Schur's lemma $\mathrm{End}_G(V_k)$ is a division ring $D$ over $k$. For example, if $V$ is a real representation then the endomorphism ring is $\mathbb{R}$, $\mathbb{C}$, or $\mathbb{H}$ (as these are the only division rings over $\mathbb{R}$. Such representations are typically called real, complex, or quaternionic.
Now Frobenius-Schur indicator theory explains how to determine which representations over $\mathbb{C}$ "come from" which kind of real representations. Explicitly, if V is not selfdual then it plus its dual is the complexification of a representation over $\mathbb{R}$ with $D=\mathbb{C}$; if V orthogonal (i.e. has an invariant bilinear form) then it is the complexification of a representation over $\mathbb{R}$ with $D=\mathbb{R}$; finally, if V is symplectic then it plus itself is the complexification of a representation over $\mathbb{R}$ with $D=\mathbb{H}$.
Finally the Frobenius-Schur indicator is given in terms of the character by a simple formula, namely the expression $1/|G| \sum_g \chi(g^2)$ is -1 if $\chi$ has an invariant symplectic form, 0 if $\chi$ is not self-dual, and 1 if $\chi$ has an invariant orthogonal form.
Answer: In principle, we can compute the character table of a finite group algorithmically. For example, [McKay, J. K. S. A method for computing the character table of a finite group. 1968  Computers in Mathematical Research  pp. 140--148 North-Holland, Amsterdam MR0236278 (38 #4575)], [McKay, J. K. S. Algorithm 307. Comm. ACM 10, 7, (July 1967) 450-451.], Dixon, John D. High speed computation of group characters. Numer. Math.  10  1967 446--450. MR0224726 (37 #325)] and others; the ideas go back to Burnside, at least, it seems. McKay's program was used to compute the characters of $J_1$ and $J_3$ in all of 84 minutes at the time, with a whole 16K store (which is 12 times smaller than the size of the background image I am using as background to my desktop computer!)
Using a bit of character theory, as in Noah's answer, we can then tell which characters are afforded by real representations, and what are the real faithful representations.
The answer to your question is thus: yes.
Comment: I guess very few ideas in group theory do *not* go back to Burnside...
Answer: All this is described very nicely in Serre's book on representations of finite groups.
Answer: Some of the other answers omit several details and I had already written this on another forum.  At any rate, perhaps the example would be useful:
More or less yes, though for larger groups it is not very practical.
Calculate the character table of G. Use the Frobenius-Schur indicator to
fix the complex and quaternionic irreducible characters to be characters of
irreducible real representations. Take all non-negative integer combinations
of these characters of real reps whose total degree is n and whose kernel is
trivial (the degree and the kernel of a character are very easy to calculate).
There is a 1-1 correspondence between injections of G into GL(n,R) up to GL(n,R)
conjugacy and characters of real reps whose total degree is n and whose kernel
is trivial.
Except for cyclic groups G and n=1, there will be uncountable many injections
into GL(n,R), so you'll want to only consider them up to GL(n,R) conjugacy in
order to get a finite number.
Also notice that if f1:G→GL(m1,R) is an injection and f2:G→GL(m2,R) is any group
homomorphism, then another injection is "f1⊕f2":G→GL(m1+m2,R):g→[f1(g),0;0,f2(g)],
the function that takes the two matrices from f1 and f2 and makes them the blocks
of a block diagonal matrix. For this reason the number of injections, even up to
conjugacy, can get unwieldy.

Example: The non-cyclic group of order four:
For G the Klein four-group the irreducible characters are all real, and are
[1,1,1,1], [1,-1,-1,1], [1,-1,1,-1,], [1,1,-1,-1]. The degree of each of these
is 1, the first number. The kernel of each of these are the positions where
the value and the degree are equal, so all of them have a kernel. If n was 10,
then I'd look at all the ways of choosing non-negative integers a,b,c,d such
that a+b+c+d=10 (so that the degree was 10) and such that at least 2 of b,c,d
were non-zero (so that the kernel was trivial). There are 282 such combinations,
one of which is a=5, b=0, c=2, d=3. This corresponds to the character
5*[1,1,1,1]+0*[1,-1,-1,1]+2*[1,-1,1,-1]+3*[1,1,-1,-1] = [ 10, 6, 4, 0 ]. It has
degree 10 (the first and largest positive number) and trivial kernel (all the
other positive numbers are strictly smaller). It corresponds to the representation
g1 → diag( 1,1,1,1,1, -1,-1, 1,1,1 ) and g2 → diag( 1,1,1,1,1, 1,1, -1,-1,-1 )
and of course g1*g2 → diag( 1,1,1,1,1, -1,-1, -1,-1,-1 ). This is 5 copies of
the representation g→1, g2→1, followed by two copies of g1→-1, g2→1, and
finally three copies of g1→1, g2→-1. Since b=0 we did not include any copies
of g1→-1, g2→-1.
By some silly counting, the number of injections of the Klein four-group into
GL(n,R) up to GL(n,R) conjugacy is (n^3+6*n^2+11*n-18)/6, so it grows somewhat
quickly but not too crazily.

For non-abelian groups G, the conversion of the characters into the matrices
is a little harder (for abelian groups, the matrices are all 1x1 and really
are just the character values), but at some point the matrices are too big
anyways, and the characters are a more efficient data type.

Real representation of finite groups