Extracting Files from LOB column in Oracle Database - How to Export LOBs to Filesystem

I recently needed to extract data that had been stored as a CLOB (LOB) column in an Oracle database table. The data was a series of PDF and DOC files that had been saved as LOBs but I needed to save the files to a filesystem for use on a website rather than being within the Oracle database.

There were a number of scripts that I found that could save LOB data from Oracle database tables but they were very clunky and manual that may have been suitable for extracting and saving a file from a single CLOB field in Oracle but were totally inappropriate for saving multiple files from a LOB column on a table.

Eventually after many Google searches for various terms I found a piece of software called OraLOB Editor that quickly and easily allowed the export of the files stored as LOBs to the file system. It almost instantly processed every row of the relevant table and created separate files for each PDF stored in the CLOB field.

http://www.withdata.com/oralobeditor/import-export-lob.html

OraLOB Editor also allows the import of LOB data and appears to be the only tool that has this level of versatility for extracting files from LOB data in Oracle with any level of automation for saving multiple files to the filesystem.

OraLOB Editor has a free 30 day trial so that you can test whether it works sufficiently for your needs and only costs $75 for the full licence which is a bargain compared to the effort that would be required to script the process and then manually run it.

Microsoft Money Online Stock Prices Updates Stop Working

UPDATE: May 2014 - Stock Downloads now working again!

New downloads of Microsoft Stock quote prices - price updates stopped working some time ago but a developer has produced a programme to allow MS Money stock prices to update agaihttp://photo3-tech.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/ms-money-quotes-working-again.htmln. Details here

Microsoft Money Online Stock Prices Updates Stop Working

Since early August 2012 Microsoft Money Stock/Share/Fund Prices have stopped updating in the UK. Updates had stopped for the US some time ago. It reports 'your call was successful' but there are no new prices for funds in your portfolio.

As of September it appears that online share price updates for Microsoft Money have restarted for some versions but fund prices have not. Other versions of Microsoft Money such as Money 2000/2001/2002/2003 are now getting an error "Money was unable to connect to online prices server"

There is a later sunset version of Microsoft Money that is still working with the fund & share price updates that was released when Microsoft stopped supporting Money. This can still be downloaded from the direct link below on the MS website. The download search doesn't work and just creates a loop looking for the file.

I've tested this and it automatically upgrades the Money 2000 Professional and Business file to the latest version and then updates the online share & fund prices correctly for you.

You can download Microsoft Money 2005 QFE from this link. This is a UK version, the USA sunset version can be found on the Microsoft website.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/5/8/858EDC2F-1806-4D2D-85E3-0FBB08CB720A/Money2005-UK-QFE2.exe.exe

Versions of Microsoft Money that appear to have this error downloading fund and share prices are:

Microsoft Money 1999
Microsoft Money 2000
Microsoft Money 2001
Microsoft Money 2002
Microsoft Money 2003
Microsoft Money 2004

Why is microsoft money not updating fund prices?

Oracle Application Server 10g Swap Space - Setup Installs Fails

When installing Oracle Application Server 10g on Windows 2003 R2 an error can be displayed that install pre-requisites have failed due to insufficient Swap Space. The installer aborts at this point and prevents you continuing the installation despite all the requirements being met according to the Oracle Application Server 10g documentation.

On Win2003 server the swap space is system managed and changing this requires the database to be rebooted which would affect the database users as well as impact on performance.

Checking swap space: 0 available, 500 required Failed.

The solution is to run the installer without the system pre-requisites so that the installer can continue. As the system has the correct requirements the install should proceed successfully. The command line to use is:

setup -ignoresysprereqs

This assumes that your installation server does meet the minimum requirements and that the error that causes the setup to fail is not down to a genuine lack of resources.

VW Passat TDI140 Diesel Sport Estate Review

Review of the VW Passat TDI140 Diesel Sport Estate

If you are looking for a great performance, spacious family estate that is also very economical then the Volkswagen Passat TDI140 Sport could be the perfect car. As well as covering huge mileages with ease the car will also return 50+mpg on the motorway.


VW Passat TDI140 Diesel Sport Estate

The VW Passat TDI140 Sport Estate has sports interior with comfortable sports seats and durable cloth trim. The exterior of the car has 17" alloy wheels and is slightly lowered compared to the standard VW Passat.

The VW Passat estate is hugely spacious and the legroom for reat seat passengers gives room for pretty much any height. The space in the rear is better than in some much larger executive cars and is vast compared to cars such as Jaguar XJ or Range Rovers.



VW Passat Estate with 5 spoke alloys 17" wheels

Interior of the VW Passat TDI140 Diesel Sport Estate

Bosch AXT22D Shredder Review

This is a review of the Bosch AXT22D Shredder that we purchased recently. The UK retail price for a new Bosch AXT22D Shredder is around £250 but we managed to bag an Ebay bargain at under £160.

Once unpacked from the box the shredder is easy to assemble just requiring the feeder head to be attached to the base of the shredder motor unit. This is easily done with a sturdy knob. If this is not attached or tightened correctly the Bosch AXT 22D Shredder will not start and emits a beeping sound.

The shredder is impressively quiet in operation and far less noisy than previous shredders I have used. The Bosch AXT22D Shredder can take some large branches with ease and effortlessly turns them into small pieces. It is less good at garden material containing large amounts of greenery or leaves which can tend to clog the shredding mechanism. The collection container is a handy feature meaning that the shredder can be used inside a shed without making a huge mess but also can quickly fill up with the speed that the shredder can process branches. The collection basket has 2 lugs to the rear that would appear to be its weak point. As they are plastic I can imagine that they will not survive long term.

The shredder has wheels so that it can be moved around. These help as it is a much heavier machine than other shredders such as the Bosch AXT 2200 that have rotating blades rather than the rolling drum. However the weight is mainly in the upper part of the shredder which makes it very unstable to move around and it can easily rock from side to side when being moved about.

Some reviews of the Bosch AXT22D Shredder have mentioned that the short cable is a problem but for most uses it will be used at some distance from a power outlet so an extension cable would be required anyway.

Summary of Bosch AXT22D Shredder

Pros:
Able to handle large branches with ease
Fast processing of large volumes
Quiet
Weight makes it stable in use

Cons:

Clogs with too much leafy material
Unstable when being moved on its wheels
Long term life of collection basket

Are Laskys & Comet The Same Company or Linked?

Is there a connection between Comet and Laskys?

We recently bought a tumble dryer from Laskys via Ebay, excellent price and no charge for delivery. The total price for the White Knight tumble dryer was £133 at the Laskys Ebay store including delivery.

When the van arrived to deliver the tumble dryer we were very surprised to see it was from Comet. On further investigation it appears that Comet and Laskys are part of the same group but Laskys offer the better online deals.

So if you are worried about buying from Laskys on Ebay bear in mind that they are part of the same group as Comet and the goods may well be delivered by Comet from the same warehouse as if you had bought directly from Comet anyway.

Laskys price on Ebay  £133
Comet price online      £149

Saving £16 by using a different company in the same group - good result!

VW Passat Diesel Piezo Injector Replacement Recall

VW are sending letters to all owners of VW Passats with Diesel PD140 engines for the injectors to be checked and replaced. Apparently the failure rate of these has been exessively high and when they fail the car engine stops immediately so it is a fairly important safety issue.

VW Passat Diesel Piezo Injector Replacement Recall: Photo credit : 1810martin

My VW Passat 2007 Sport went to the main dealer yesterday and all 4 piezo injectors were replaced as part of this replacement programme. Not bad at all when some owners have previously been charged over £1000 for a single injector to be replaced! Even better when the car has over 125,000 miles on the clock and these should last the same mileage again

I have been very impressed with the way Volkswagen handle warranty and safety related issues on their cars. Some time ago when I owned a VW Golf Mark 2 it was recalled for replacement of the heater matrix. Quite incredible when the car was 13 years old at the time and the original matrix had clearly worked ok for all that time.

More info about the VW Passat injectors can be found here