Portland IT Guy

I wanna be an Engineer (billionaire geeked out mix)

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 01:04:16 -0800

Adium icons- Eazy-E

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 22:26:43 -0800

I was briefly browsing through the Adium extras (http://www.adiumxtras.com) and came across the Eazy-E icons. Well Done.

http://www.adiumxtras.com/index.php?a=xtras&xtra_id=6775

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Reeder for Mac Beta is Out

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:57:00 -0800

Reeder for Mac Beta is Out, Awesome

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By Pete Mortensen (11:26 pm, Nov. 30, 2010)

Silvio Rizzi had a damn good day. Not only did the Swiss creator of Reeder, the must-have Google Reader, um, reader for iOS, pushed out version 2.2 for iPhone, adding Facebook integration and a one-swipe gesture to send an article to Instapaper, but he also released Reeder for Mac Draft 1, a beta but still extremely polished RSS for everyone’s favorite non-touch OS.

I’ve been using it for the past several hours, and I can confirm that it’s the perfect desktop companion to on the go RSS-ing — I’m never popping open Google Reader in a browser ever again. As you can see from the screenshot above, it’s very clean, evoking the look of the iPhone and iPad versions, but with an interface well-suited to the comfy confines of OS X. Specifically, there are a few simple drop-down menus for the cursor-inclined, as well as keyboard shortcuts. Lots and lots of keyboard shortcuts. It’s actually possible to refresh, browse, read, switch folders and mark everything as read without so much as touching a mouse or trackpad, if that’s your preference.

More than anything, it just feels right, a really interesting OS X aesthetic for the post-iOS era, much as Lion was described during the Back to the Mac event. The big buttons could be tapped with a finger, but they’re actually very careful to be the same scale as the Apple Menu icon or any menu bar widget. Rizzi has said he would be interested in selling Reeder through the Mac App Store, and Apple could hardly ask for a better early entrant — this is the kind of superior UI the next-generation Mac deserves: elegant, clean, optimized for trackpad and keyboard, but free of legacy thinking from when the Mac’s original interface was created.

That said, this is very much a beta (or just barely post-alpha) release, so not everything is ironed out fully. There’s no feed management, search, or downloads yet, and there are a few confusing elements. For example, if you open an article in the original web page, to return to your feed index, you either need to click an easy-to-miss X button in the upper left of the browser window, or hit shift-cmd-W. Hitting cmd-W closes the entire Reeder window, and it can’t relaunch without a restart — why allow closing the full window at all?

Also, the look is a bit too minimalist in spots, the column of icons down the left edge represents folders and individual feeds (if any) not in folders. The use of four prominent logos from within is clever, but I can only identify which folder is which on my system based on their order, which I’ve memorized. At least showing names upon mouseover or selection would be a nice gesture toward those of us without perfect memories.

But still, this is a knock-out, one of the most delightful Mac apps I’ve tried in awhile. Can’t wait until it gets a bit more seasoning.

Where to get it:
Reeder for Mac Draft 1 is a free public beta and is available from the developer’s website. No word on which versions of OS X it supports, and I tested it on Snow Leopard on a 2008 13.3″ aluminum MacBook. It was zippy It’s only available off the Internet, but maybe he’ll mail you a 3.5″ floppy if you ask nicely.

Cult of Mac rated

Via TechCrunch

Posted in Reviews, Top stories | Tagged: awesome, Macintosh, reeder, rss | Comment on this article

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Best RSS app for iPad/iPhone, now available for Mac. Niiiiice.

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Parallels.com "Not Afraid" Spoof - The Mac Vs PC Version

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:17:36 -0800

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Windows Server Editions for the SMB market briefly described

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:36:27 -0800

Here's a great and brief break down and details of Microsoft's different current and upcoming server editions from

http://blog.smallbizthoughts.com/2010/11/its-sbs-essentials-not-aurora-istanbul.html

Windows Home Server - We call this one "Server Light"
WHS is sold as a storage server from HP and makes a VERY handy little package. It is great for onsite backups and central file storage. It also works well with cloud-based storage (files onsite, backed up to the cloud). Be aware that this operating system is limited to TEN users and has no active directory.
Sold as OEM throught HP and others.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation
This is my current favorite server. Why? That's easy. 1) It exists and I can sell it to clients, and 2) It has active directory. While limited to FIFTEEN users and one processor, this O.S. is amazing in a small business. A.D. means that migration from SBS or "regular" Windows is a breeze. It won't take Exchange, but if you have hosted Exchange, this beauty will integrate onsite storage with A.D. security AND provide terminal services for up to 15 users.

Sold as OEM through HP and others.

Love, love, love the Foundation server.

Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials (formerly Aurora)
Due first quarter of 2011. That means first or second quarter to you and me. I think the expected release is Q1, but the official word is first half (in case there are issues). Supports up to 25 users. Like WHS and Found, there are no CALs and you can't expand beyond the limit.

The core role of Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials is to manage all your small business technology from one box - including connections to hosted services like Exchange, BPOS, and CRM. Official word is that it "will be available through all current Microsoft server licensing channels." I assume that means open licensing as well as OEM but I can't guarantee that.

Estimated retail pricing is $545 US.

Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard (formally "SBS 7")
This is basically the newest version of the "Standard" SBS you've known for two versions already. It includes a backup solution, Exchange Server, Sharepoint, etc.

Expected release is December 2010 through Open License programs. Available through OEM and System Builder programs in February 2011. Those dates are specific enough that they are probably real.

75 user limit. Estimated retail pricing is $1,096 US, with CALs approximately $72 US.

Windows Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on is the new incarnation of our old friend SBS Premium edition. Now, the premium content is being sold as an "add-on" to either Standard or Essential versions. That's pretty cool. Premium Add-On includes a license for Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard and SQL Server 2008 R2 for Small Business.

You can use the additional server with the CALs you have on SBS (Essentials or Standard), but you'll need Premium Add-On CALs for access to SQL Server. Due in December 2010, along with Standard SBS 2011.

75 user limit. Estimated retail pricing is $1,604 US, with CALs approximately $92 US.

(Well hidden plea to Microsoft: PLEASE rev this to Server 2012 and SQL 2012, or whatever's next, without requiring a bunch of upgrade disks. Just ship the new stuff when it's released. thanks.)

. . . And, of course, you might also consider Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard.

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Reeder is the best RSS reader app for iOS

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:50:48 -0800

Reeder is in my opinion, the best RSS reader app for the iPhone and iPad.

http://reederapp.com/

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/reeder/id325502379?mt=8

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Letterbox plugin for Apple Mail updated, now supports 10.6.5

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 16:18:45 -0800

Letterbox is a plugin for Apple Mail that allows you to have three column view. Snow Leopard recently updated to 10.6.5 and Letterbox no longer worked. Letterbox is now updated and supports 10.6.5.

Go to http://harnly.net for the update

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Outlook 2011 to Omnifocus Script

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 13:14:20 -0700

For those of you who use OmniFocus to keep track of your GTD, and additionally use the new Office 2011 for Mac, here's a link to a script that will let you quickly send items from Outlook 2011 to your OmniFocus inbox.

http://rainer.4950.net/wordpress/?p=297

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Just Tweet It

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:16:57 -0700

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BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express – Installation walkthrough.

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:25:21 -0800

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express was recently released, which provides organizations the ability to use a free slimmed down version of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Here is a walkthrough video by RIM/BlackBerry Training, that goes through the whole process of setting it up / configuring it.

BESX Installation Walkthrough

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View information on Blue Screen of Deaths (BSOD) with BlueScreenView

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:46:35 -0800

BlueScreenView scans all your minidump files created during 'blue screen of death' crashes, and displays the information about all crashes in one table. For each crash, BlueScreenView displays the minidump filename, the date/time of the crash, the basic crash information displayed in the blue screen (Bug Check Code and 4 parameters), and the details of the driver or module that possibly caused the crash (filename, product name, file description, and file version).

For each crash displayed in the upper pane, you can view the details of the device drivers loaded during the crash in the lower pane. BlueScreenView also mark the drivers that their addresses found in the crash stack, so you can easily locate the suspected drivers that possibly caused the crash.

The main benefit of using BlueScreenView over other minidump reading applications is that it does not require the Microsoft debugging tools (which are 16 – 225mb in itself) which makes this application small, quick and portable. This tool is definitely worth having in your kit to track down the cause of BSOD’s.

Check out their official website here:

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html

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Printer Spooler Subsystem App errors and 0x000006be error removing printer

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:30:51 -0800

This happened on a couple vista workstations while trying to install a PCL driver for an Imagistics / Oce multifunction printer. The driver seemed to install correctly, but when you tried to print or access the options of the printer, you would get a small window that pops up stating that the “Printer Spooler Subsystem App” had stopped responding or crashed. The actual printer service in the computers service’s would also be stopped. After restarting the service, and trying to remove the printer, the same issue occurred. The service would crash, and I additionally got an error 0x000006be printer cannot be removed. I had to go in and remove the printer and it’s driver via the registry:

1. Remove the printer from Print Manager

2. Delete the printer Drivers located in %windir%\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\2 and/or \0 and/or \1

3. Edit the registry and delete the driver references at:

Hkey_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\WIndows NT x86\Drivers\Version-1 for NT 3.51
Hkey_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\WIndows NT x86\Drivers\Version-2 for NT 4.0
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers\

For a Network printer, edit:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Printers\Connections\<Server Name>

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Providers\LanMan Print Services\Servers\<Server Name>\Printers\

4. Restart the computer

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Problems opening PDF files using Web Folders

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:14:34 -0800

Had a strange issue where a client could not open PDF’s from a Web Folder, or an explorer folder view that was actually a website, on Windows XP. I had tried changing the file associations and everything and nothing seemed to allow the user to open the files via Adobe acrobat. Come to find out that there is a hotfix from Microsoft for this issue.

Microsoft has released hot fix KB943337 that should resolves the problem for most users with webfolders (also known as webdav) and PDFs. You must request this hot fix as it is not part of their automatic update process.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943337

Sources:

http://mydocsonline.blogspot.com/2008/10/problems-opening-pdf-files-using-web.html

Adobe forum

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Find what the “Unknown Device” is in Device Manager

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:59:20 -0700

Ahhh, nothing like reinstalling an older pc and not knowing what exactly some of the hardware is. Once in a blue moon these utilities can become handy to fix the dreaded:

Here’s a couple utilities that help detect what the “Unknown Device” in the device manager is

http://www.halfdone.org/ukd/

http://www.zhangduo.com/udi.html

I personally have used the first one, and it doesn't’ require an install, so it’s great for portable / usb drives.

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Blue Screen of Death after Windows Updates caused by KB971486

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:03:20 -0700

I had three Windows XP computers of different models and at three different locations/networks all have the same exact issue after automatically installing the windows updates. These updates were installed on 10/20/09. Each place got a BSOD directly after rebooting their pc.

After searching around online, I found out via some forums that some people were having similar problems. Here was the fix to remove the KB and to get the computers back up.

1. Boot from your Windows XP CD or DVD and start the recovery console (see this Microsoft article for help with this step)

2. Type this command: CHDIR $NtUninstallKB971486$\spuninst

3. Type this command: BATCH spuninst.txt

4. Type this command: exit

The computer should restart and hopefully your problem will be fixed. Again, go to the Add/Remove Programs control panel and properly uninstall KB971486.

Here is more info on this specific update: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971486

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Comcast 2go Highspeed WiMAX / ZTE TU25 USB modem on Windows 7 x64

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 04:46:29 -0700

I had a heck of a time getting my new Comcast 2go wimax connection working on my Windows 7 x64 laptop. The comcast system requirements said XP and Vista but had no mention of Windows 7 nor 32 or 64 bit. I felt confident I could get it working anyway.

The comcast installer didn't recognize it was 64 bit so after the software installed and I inserted the zte tu25 usb modem, it would get an error saying the drivers were not successfully installed.

The reason why was because the comcast software installer wasn't detecting my laptop was x64 so it was only installing the x86 drivers.

What I had to do is use 7-zip to open the setup.exe file as an archive, browse into where the driver files were at and install them manually. Here was the location I used:

Setup.exe\CommonAppData\Comcast\Connection Manager\drivers\wimax\Vista\64Bit\Beceem\Beceem 5.2.4.4\

It actually installs the device as a network adapter named "Beceem Communications Inc. Tarang3"

Hope this helps someone else who may be having trouble installing Comcast 2go / WiMAX on a Windows 7 pc.

Update on Sunday, August 9, 2009 at 11:18PM by

Philip Fuesser

Yikes, After installing the RTM version of Windows 7, I'm unable to get this to work!

My above post was done on the RC version of Windows 7. I assumed that this should have worked with the RTM'd version as well, but apparently not!

I'll keep you posted on any additional fixes or workarounds I find in order to get this resolved. I would appreciate any feedback as well.

Update on Monday, August 10, 2009 at 1:44AM by

Philip Fuesser

I tried Windows 7 RTM x86 instead of x64, and I was able to sucessfully install the drivers. So it may just be an issue with the x64 drivers.

I'm going to try one last thing with x64 install and see if it works. I'll post an update with my results.

Update on Monday, August 10, 2009 at 2:54AM by

Philip Fuesser

Finally! I was able to get the drivers to successfully load in Windows 7 RTM x64. The problem was due to some of the files in the 64bit driver folder being shortcuts and not real files. Two important files had ".ale" extensions, and if you opened the files in notepad, it was just a redirect to another folder.

What I ended up doing was copying the files out of the folder the redirect was going to (CommonAppData\Comcast\Connection Manager\drivers\wimax\xp\32Bit\Beceem\Beceem 5.2.4.4) and put them in the 64bit driver folder.

Here's the incorrect files:

Here's the correct files:

I hope this helps someone successfully get the Clear / Comcast USB WiMAX modem installed!

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How to forward voice mail to Google Voice

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:39:59 -0700

I have been using YouMail as my primary voice mail transcription service, but decided to finally implement my Google Voice account. You mail was charging me $6/month for voicemail transcription. With Google, it is free. I figure I will test it out a bit and see how it compares to YouMail.

I personally use AT&T, and here's what I had to do:

In Google Voice Settings, Turn on "Do Not Disturb".
Dial: *004*1xxxxxxx*11# (where xxxxxxx is your google number)
Voila, that's it!

If you do not turn on the Do Not Disturb setting, the phone will ring AGAIN after being transferred from your phone carrier to google voice.

To turn off the forwarding type: ##0004#

Here are some other carrier activation codes:

Wireless Carrier or Network ---> Activation Code
AT&T Cingular, T-Mobile, GSM network: *004*1[GVnumber]*11#
Verizon (CDMA network): *71[GVnumber] AND *90[GVnumber] AND *92[GVnumber]
Verizon (TDMA Network): *74[GVnumber] and *73[GVnumber]
Bluegrass Cellular: *90#[GVnumber] and *92#[GVnumber]
Cellcom: *68[GVnumber]
Cincinnati Bell: *004*[GVnumber]#US Cellular: *74[GVnumber]

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Passed the Microsoft 70-654 TS: Windows EBS 2008, Configuring Exam

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:38:02 -0700

I forgot to mention this a few weeks back after I passed the test. I have officially passed the Microsoft 70-654 TS: Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Configuring, exam. I had originally planned to start taking the MCITP tests but have been swamped and have had no time. I'm still hoping to start that process very soon!

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MSI Wind Netbook Internal SD Card Reader Fails

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:28:17 -0700

A few months back I purchased a PINK MSI Wind Netbook for Lauren. She loves it. There seemed to be a strange issue that came up where the internal SD card reader stopped working. The drive completely disappeared and no matter what SD card you inserted, it would not recognize the card. A reboot didn't fix. This is what I had to do in order to get the reader to recognize the SD cards again:

Shut down the Wind.

Disconnected / Remove everything inserted into the Wind (USB, SD, etc)

Disconnect the power cable and the battery.

Hold down the power button for about 5 seconds.

Reconnect battery and power cable and startup the Wind.

Reconnect anything you disconnected in the 2nd step.

Voila, SD card should now work, because you have successfully reset the PMU and start up Preferences.

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BlackBerry Bold tethered via Bluetooth on Windows 7 RC

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:09:33 -0700

I was able to successfully tether my BlackBerry Bold via bluetooth to my Windows 7 RC laptop. The best part is I dont have to pay for a tethering plan through AT&T and there is no software other then the bluetooth software needed!

Basically all you do is make sure your BlackBerry and Laptop are paired together via the Bluetooth software you have on your pc. When you create a dial up connection use the following initialization code for AT&T:

+cgdcont=1,”IP”,”wap.cingular”

Setup new dial up connection using a standard modem, and have both the username and password blank, and use the phone number of *99#

I actually am getting pretty impressive speed for a cell phone connection:

These three links helped me find the correct settings to set this up:

http://Blackberryfaq.com/index.php/Using_BlackBerry_As_Modem

http://Blackberrycool.com/2009/03/how-to-tether-your-blackberry-for-free-via-bluetooth-mac-and-pc

http://Forums.pinstack.com/showthread.php?t=92043

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