Abstract: A tool bit holding system for a power tool includes a bottom support bracket configured to be removably coupled to a base of a handle of the power tool. An elongated arm includes a bottom end portion configured to be coupled to the support bracket and a front bit holder portion configured to removably receive and retain a plurality of tool bits. A top support bracket is configured to be coupled to a top end portion of the arm and to be supported adjacent the front end portion of the housing so that the elongated arm is disposed in front of the handle.

Abstract: A tool bit holding system for a power tool includes a snap-on bit holder including a curved plate contoured similar to a contour of a top surface of a power tool housing and configured to removably rest on the top of the power tool housing. A plurality of legs extend from lateral ends of the curved plate, each leg including a hook portion configured to be removably received in recesses in lateral sides of the power tool housing to removably retain the curved plate on the top surface of the power tool housing. A bit holding portion includes at least one of a magnetic plate, a box, and one or more bit receiving slots coupled to a top face of the curved plate. The at least one of the magnetic plate, the box, and the one or more bit receiving slots is configured to removably retain at least one of a tool bit, a fastener, and a supplemental tool bit holder.

Abstract: A tool bit holding system for a power tool includes a snap-on bit holder including a curved plate contoured similar to a contour of a top surface of a power tool housing and configured to removably rest on the top of the power tool housing. A plurality of legs extend from lateral ends of the curved plate, each leg including a hook portion configured to be removably received in recesses in lateral sides of the power tool housing to removably retain the curved plate on the top surface of the power tool housing. A bit holding portion includes at least one of a magnetic plate, a box, and one or more bit receiving slots coupled to a top face of the curved plate. The at least one of the magnetic plate, the box, and the one or more bit receiving slots is configured to removably retain at least one of a tool bit, a fastener, and a supplemental tool bit holder.

Abstract: The storage of data sets in a storage set (e.g., data sets written to hard disk drives comprising a RAID array) may diminish the performance of the storage set through non-sequential writes, particularly if the storage devices promptly write data sets that are followed by sequentially following data sets. Additionally, storage sets may exhibit inconsistencies due to non-atomic writes of data sets and verifiers (e.g., checksums) and an intervening failure, such as an occurrence of the RAID write hole. Instead, data sets and verifiers may first be written to a stored on the nonvolatile media of a storage device before being committed to the storage set. Such writes may be sequentially written to the journal, irrespective of the locations of the data sets in the storage set; and recovery of a failure may simply involve re-committing the consistent records in the journal to correct incomplete writes to the storage set.

Abstract: A storage set (e.g., an array of hard disk drives) may experience a failure, such as a loss of power, a software crash, or a disconnection of a storage device, while writes to the storage set are in progress. Recover from the failure may involve scanning the storage set to detect and correct inconsistencies (e.g., comparing mirrors of a data set or testing checksums). However, lacking information about the locations of pending writes to the storage set during the failure, this “cleaning” process may involve scanning the entire storage set, resulting in protracted recovery processes. Presented herein are techniques for tracking writes to the storage set by apportioning the storage set into regions of a region size (e.g., one gigabyte), and storing on the nonvolatile storage medium descriptors of “dirty” regions comprising in-progress writes. The post-failure recovery process may then be limited to the regions identified as dirty.

Abstract: The representation of storage devices on computers (e.g., as logical volumes) may be complicated by the pooling of multiple storage devices in order to apply redundancy plans such as mirroring and checksumming. Presented herein is a storage device driver configured to operate as a storage device interface generating representations of the storage regions of the storage devices; to claim those regions as a storage controller; and to expose pooled storage regions as logical disks. Additionally, the storage device driver may support the inclusion of storage devices in a cluster, comprising nodes that may be appointed as managers of the storage pool configuration; as managers of the storage devices; as owners having exclusive read/write access to the storage pool or cluster resources; and as cluster resource writers having exclusive write access to a cluster resource. The nodes of the cluster may interoperate to share the storage devices while avoiding write conflicts.

Abstract: A storage device set may allocate capacity for spaces (e.g., logical volumes) according to an allocation strategy, e.g., allocating capacity from the storage device having the greatest available capacity, or maximizing the distribution of allocated capacity across the storage devices. However, such allocation strategies may be inefficient (e.g., limiting the capability of the storage device set to satisfy subsequent requests with constraints such as a minimum distribution of capacity across several storage devices). The techniques presented herein achieve efficient allocation by first allocating capacity on storage devices having ample available capacity using a round-robin technique, and if such storage devices do not satisfy the capacity request, allocating capacity on storage devices having limited available capacity.

Abstract: A magnet nut driver is provided with a cleanable magnet.

Abstract: System and methods of use are discloses that default routing of an ID read by an ID reader as part of a purchase transaction in a retail store, to a first computer system (MCS) instead of the POS computer system for the retail store, the first computer system processes the ID, and the POS computer system receives the results of the processing in the form of a IDs recognizable by the POS computer system and for which the POS computer system has associated costs.

Abstract: The storage of data sets in a storage set (e.g., data sets written to hard disk drives comprising a RAID array) may diminish the performance of the storage set through non-sequential writes, particularly if the storage devices promptly write data sets that are followed by sequentially following data sets. Additionally, storage sets may exhibit inconsistencies due to non-atomic writes of data sets and verifiers (e.g., checksums) and an intervening failure, such as an occurrence of the RAID write hole. Instead, data sets and verifiers may first be written to a stored on the nonvolatile media of a storage device before being committed to the storage set. Such writes may be sequentially written to the journal, irrespective of the locations of the data sets in the storage set; and recovery of a failure may simply involve re-committing the consistent records in the journal to correct incomplete writes to the storage set.

Abstract: A storage device set may allocate capacity for spaces (e.g., logical volumes) according to an allocation strategy, e.g., allocating capacity from the storage device having the greatest available capacity, or maximizing the distribution of allocated capacity across the storage devices. However, such allocation strategies may be inefficient (e.g., limiting the capability of the storage device set to satisfy subsequent requests with constraints such as a minimum distribution of capacity across several storage devices). The techniques presented herein achieve efficient allocation by first allocating capacity on storage devices having ample available capacity using a round-robin technique, and if such storage devices do not satisfy the capacity request, allocating capacity on storage devices having limited available capacity.

Abstract: A storage set (e.g., an array of hard disk drives) may experience a failure, such as a loss of power, a software crash, or a disconnection of a storage device, while writes to the storage set are in progress. Recover from the failure may involve scanning the storage set to detect and correct inconsistencies (e.g., comparing mirrors of a data set or testing checksums). However, lacking information about the locations of pending writes to the storage set during the failure, this “cleaning” process may involve scanning the entire storage set, resulting in protracted recovery processes. Presented herein are techniques for tracking writes to the storage set by apportioning the storage set into regions of a region size (e.g., one gigabyte), and storing on the nonvolatile storage medium descriptors of “dirty” regions comprising in-progress writes. The post-failure recovery process may then be limited to the regions identified as dirty.

Abstract: The representation of storage devices on computers (e.g., as logical volumes) may be complicated by the pooling of multiple storage devices in order to apply redundancy plans such as mirroring and checksumming. Presented herein is a storage device driver configured to operate as a storage device interface generating representations of the storage regions of the storage devices; to claim those regions as a storage controller; and to expose pooled storage regions as logical disks. Additionally, the storage device driver may support the inclusion of storage devices in a cluster, comprising nodes that may be appointed as managers of the storage pool configuration; as managers of the storage devices; as owners having exclusive read/write access to the storage pool or cluster resources; and as cluster resource writers having excusive write access to a cluster resource. The nodes of the cluster may interoperate to share the storage devices while avoiding write conflicts.

Abstract: System and methods of use are discloses that default routing of an ID read by an ID reader as part of a purchase transaction in a retail store, to a first computer system (MCS) instead of the POS computer system for the retail store, the first computer system processes the ID, and the POS computer system receives the results of the processing in the form of a IDs recognizable by the POS computer system and for which the POS computer system has associated costs.

Abstract: System and methods of use are discloses that default routing of an ID read by an ID reader as part of a purchase transaction in a retail store, to a first computer system (MCS) instead of the POS computer system for the retail store, the first computer system processes the ID, and the POS computer system receives the results of the processing in the form of a IDs recognizable by the POS computer system and for which the POS computer system has associated costs.

Abstract: System and methods of use are discloses that default routing of an ID read by an ID reader as part of a purchase transaction in a retail store, to a first computer system (MCS) instead of the POS computer system for the retail store, the first computer system processes the ID, and the POS computer system receives the results of the processing in the form of a IDs recognizable by the POS computer system and for which the POS computer system has associated costs.

Abstract: A magnet nut driver is provided with a cleanable magnet.

Abstract: System and methods of use are discloses that default routing of an ID read by an ID reader as part of a purchase transaction in a retail store, to a first computer system (MCS) instead of the POS computer system for the retail store, the first computer system processes the ID, and the POS computer system receives the results of the processing in the form of a IDs recognizable by the POS computer system and for which the POS computer system has associated costs.

Abstract: System and methods of use are discloses that default routing of an ID read by an ID reader as part of a purchase transaction in a retail store, to a first computer system (MCS) instead of the POS computer system for the retail store, the first computer system processes the ID, and the POS computer system receives the results of the processing in the form of a IDs recognizable by the POS computer system and for which the POS computer system has associated costs.

Abstract: System and methods of use are discloses that default routing of an ID read by an ID reader as part of a purchase transaction in a retail store, to a first computer system (MCS) instead of the POS computer system for the retail store, the first computer system processes the ID, and the POS computer system receives the results of the processing in the form of a IDs recognizable by the POS computer system and for which the POS computer system has associated costs.