Taehoon's Blog

Samba - Error writing 75 bytes to client. -1. (Broken pipe)

alan — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 16:51:08 +0000

Error Message:

Aug 24 17:00:02 Viking smbd[31939]: [2007/08/24 17:00:02, 0] lib/util_sock.c:write_data(562)
Aug 24 17:00:02 Viking smbd[31939]: write_data: write failure in writing to client 10.10.10.100. Error Broken pipe
Aug 24 17:00:02 Viking smbd[31939]: [2007/08/24 17:00:02, 0] lib/util_sock.c:send_smb(769)
Aug 24 17:00:02 Viking smbd[31939]: Error writing 75 bytes to client. -1. (Broken pipe)

From the best of my knowledge this particular error message is related to ‘file descriptors’ which caused the broken pipes. You can fix this issue by setting ‘ulimit’ on the startup script of smb (i.e. /etc/rc.d/init.d/smb)- by increasing the amount of file limits.

For example:

ulimit -Hn 16384
ulimit -Sn 16384
Or in my instance since I am experimenting:
ulimit -HSd unlimited

UPDATE: After further experiment found ‘ulimit’ has no affect. The only other conclusion at this point in time that I can think of is a device driver issue, or hardware related issue.

ifconfig output

eth1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:09:5B:8D:9A:C3
inet addr:10.10.10.200 Bcast:10.10.10.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::209:5bff:fe8d:9ac3/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:54070745 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:68109524 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:3885232471 (3.6 GiB) TX bytes:2458736338 (2.2 GiB)
Interrupt:5 Base address:0×4000

cat /proc/interrupts output

CPU0
0: 641874455 XT-PIC-XT timer
1: 2 XT-PIC-XT i8042
2: 0 XT-PIC-XT cascade
5: 121165062 XT-PIC-XT eth1
7: 0 XT-PIC-XT ohci_hcd:usb1, ohci_hcd:usb2
8: 8 XT-PIC-XT rtc
9: 1 XT-PIC-XT acpi
10: 0 XT-PIC-XT MPU401 UART
11: 30757233 XT-PIC-XT libata, eth0
12: 4 XT-PIC-XT i8042
14: 643621 XT-PIC-XT ide0
15: 643443 XT-PIC-XT ide1
NMI: 0
LOC: 0
ERR: 0
MIS: 0

Reference:
How to use ulimit

Update again:
>ethtool -k eth1
Offload parameters for eth1:
rx-checksumming: off
tx-checksumming: off
scatter-gather: off
tcp segmentation offload: off

Original error
———————————————————————————————————–
:45:37 Viking smbd[12175]: [2007/08/27 13:45:37, 0] lib/util_sock.c:write_data(562)
Aug 27 13:45:37 Viking smbd[12175]: write_data: write failure in writing to client 10.10.10.100. Error Connection reset by
peer
Aug 27 13:45:37 Viking smbd[12175]: [2007/08/27 13:45:37, 0] lib/util_sock.c:send_smb(769)
Aug 27 13:45:37 Viking smbd[12175]: Error writing 51 bytes to client. -1. (Connection reset by peer)
———————————————————————————————————–
After Disable offloading support
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936594
———————————————————————————————————–
14:28:16 Viking smbd[12571]: [2007/08/27 14:28:16, 0] lib/util_sock.c:write_data(562)
Aug 27 14:28:16 Viking smbd[12571]: write_data: write failure in writing to client 10.10.10.100. Error Connection reset by
peer
Aug 27 14:28:16 Viking smbd[12571]: [2007/08/27 14:28:16, 0] lib/util_sock.c:send_smb(769)
Aug 27 14:28:16 Viking smbd[12571]: Error writing 208 bytes to client. -1. (Connection reset by peer)
Aug 27 14:28:16 Viking smbd[12571]: [2007/08/27 14:28:16, 0] lib/util_sock.c:write_data(562)
Aug 27 14:28:16 Viking smbd[12571]: write_data: write failure in writing to client 10.10.10.100. Error Broken pipe
Aug 27 14:28:16 Viking smbd[12571]: [2007/08/27 14:28:16, 0] lib/util_sock.c:send_smb(769)
Aug 27 14:28:16 Viking smbd[12571]: Error writing 75 bytes to client. -1. (Broken pipe)
———————————————————————————————————–
After increasing IRPStackSize - common with certain types of anti-virus software (especially with symantec)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/177078
———————————————————————————————————–
Aug 27 14:44:24 Viking smbd[12719]: [2007/08/27 14:44:24, 0] smbd/nttrans.c:call_nt_transact_ioctl(2481)
Aug 27 14:44:24 Viking smbd[12719]: call_nt_transact_ioctl(0×90060): Currently not implemented.
Aug 27 14:44:39 Viking smbd[12719]: [2007/08/27 14:44:39, 0] lib/util_sock.c:read_data(534)
Aug 27 14:44:39 Viking smbd[12719]: read_data: read failure for 4 bytes to client 10.10.10.100. Error = Connection reset by
peer
Aug 27 14:44:39 Viking smbd[12719]: [2007/08/27 14:44:39, 0] lib/util_sock.c:write_data(562)
Aug 27 14:44:39 Viking smbd[12719]: write_data: write failure in writing to client 10.10.10.100. Error Broken pipe
Aug 27 14:44:39 Viking smbd[12719]: [2007/08/27 14:44:39, 0] lib/util_sock.c:send_smb(769)
Aug 27 14:44:39 Viking smbd[12719]: Error writing 75 bytes to client. -1. (Broken pipe)
———————————————————————————————————–
After increasing connection limit with Windows XP SP2
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2005/11/15/windows-xp-sp2-tcp-connection-limit-event-id-4226/
———————————————————————————————————–
Aug 27 15:03:36 Viking smbd[12839]: [2007/08/27 15:03:36, 0] smbd/nttrans.c:call_nt_transact_ioctl(2481)
Aug 27 15:03:36 Viking smbd[12839]: call_nt_transact_ioctl(0×90060): Currently not implemented.
Aug 27 15:03:37 Viking smbd[12839]: [2007/08/27 15:03:37, 0] lib/util_sock.c:read_data(534)
Aug 27 15:03:37 Viking smbd[12839]: read_data: read failure for 4 bytes to client 10.10.10.100. Error = Connection reset by
peer
Aug 27 15:03:37 Viking smbd[12839]: [2007/08/27 15:03:37, 0] lib/util_sock.c:write_data(562)
Aug 27 15:03:37 Viking smbd[12839]: write_data: write failure in writing to client 10.10.10.100. Error Broken pipe
Aug 27 15:03:37 Viking smbd[12839]: [2007/08/27 15:03:37, 0] lib/util_sock.c:send_smb(769)
Aug 27 15:03:37 Viking smbd[12839]: Error writing 75 bytes to client. -1. (Broken pipe)
Aug 27 15:04:28 Viking smbd[12064]: [2007/08/27 15:04:28, 0] lib/util_sock.c:get_peer_addr(1232)
Aug 27 15:04:28 Viking smbd[12064]: getpeername failed. Error was Transport endpoint is not connected
Aug 27 15:04:28 Viking smbd[12892]: [2007/08/27 15:04:28, 0] lib/util_sock.c:get_peer_addr(1232)
Aug 27 15:04:28 Viking smbd[12892]: getpeername failed. Error was Transport endpoint is not connected
Aug 27 15:04:28 Viking smbd[12892]: [2007/08/27 15:04:28, 0] lib/util_sock.c:read_data(534)
Aug 27 15:04:28 Viking smbd[12892]: read_data: read failure for 4 bytes to client 0.0.0.0. Error = Connection reset by peer
———————————————————————————————————–
Updated NVidia system drivers
NVidia NIC version 50.2.5.0 Date 04.14.2007
No update available.
———————————————————————————————————–
Windows XP Machine - NVidia NIC
IRQ 17 OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller OK
IRQ 17 Marvell Yukon 88E8001/8003/8010 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller OK
IRQ 23 NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA RAID Controller OK
IRQ 23 NVIDIA Network Bus Enumerator OK

Since I dont use FireWire will attempt to try communication through the Marvell NIC.
My Static IP:
10.10.10.100/24

Windows Error Message Again:
Error Copying File or Folder
Cannot copy {filename}: The specified network name is no longer available.

Aug 27 15:36:45 Viking smbd[13015]: [2007/08/27 15:36:45, 0] smbd/nttrans.c:call_nt_transact_ioctl(2481)
Aug 27 15:36:45 Viking smbd[13015]: call_nt_transact_ioctl(0×90060): Currently not implemented.
Aug 27 15:36:46 Viking smbd[13015]: [2007/08/27 15:36:46, 0] lib/util_sock.c:write_data(562)
Aug 27 15:36:46 Viking smbd[13015]: write_data: write failure in writing to client 10.10.10.100. Error Connection reset by
peer
Aug 27 15:36:46 Viking smbd[13015]: [2007/08/27 15:36:46, 0] lib/util_sock.c:send_smb(769)
Aug 27 15:36:46 Viking smbd[13015]: Error writing 51 bytes to client. -1. (Connection reset by peer)
Aug 27 15:36:48 Viking smbd[12064]: [2007/08/27 15:36:48, 0] lib/util_sock.c:get_peer_addr(1232)
Aug 27 15:36:48 Viking smbd[12064]: getpeername failed. Error was Transport endpoint is not connected
Aug 27 15:36:48 Viking smbd[13060]: [2007/08/27 15:36:48, 0] lib/util_sock.c:get_peer_addr(1232)
Aug 27 15:36:48 Viking smbd[13060]: getpeername failed. Error was Transport endpoint is not connected
Aug 27 15:36:48 Viking smbd[13060]: [2007/08/27 15:36:48, 0] lib/util_sock.c:write_data(562)
Aug 27 15:36:48 Viking smbd[13060]: write_data: write failure in writing to client 0.0.0.0. Error Connection reset by peer
Aug 27 15:36:48 Viking smbd[13060]: [2007/08/27 15:36:48, 0] lib/util_sock.c:send_smb(769)
Aug 27 15:36:48 Viking smbd[13060]: Error writing 4 bytes to client. -1. (Connection reset by peer)
———————————————————————————————————–
Problem resolved I believe. The problem was I was having a network loop.

Computer - Win XP + SP2 (UNC: Raven)
	NIC 1a - 1000Mbit Uplink (Cross-Over) -> NIC 1b 10.10.10.100/24
	NIC 2a - Network Switch 100Mbit 192.168.30.179/24 

Computer - Samba Linux (UNC: Viking)
	NIC 1b - 1000Mbit Uplink (Cross-Over) -> NIC 1a 10.10.10.200/24
	NIC 2b - Network Switch 100Mbit 192.168.30.16/24

Even though I programmed the host (C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts) file in Windows the problem still existed, where computer Raven will try to communicate through both network cards to establish communication.
10.10.10.200 viking
———————————————————————————————————–
My Resolution:
“Block all source traffic from NIC 2a IP address - eth0 represents the NIC card on the Viking server”
#!/bin/sh

iptables=”/sbin/iptables”
ipstop=”192.168.30.179″

$iptables –flush INPUT
$iptables –flush FORWARD
$iptables –flush OUTPUT

$iptables –policy INPUT ACCEPT
$iptables –policy FORWARD ACCEPT
$iptables –policy OUTPUT ACCEPT

# $iptables -A OUTPUT -o eth0 -p tcp -d $ipstop -j REJECT
# Don’t use TCP IPTABLES REJECT windoze will just drop the connection by default and thus “Error Connect reset by peer”
# Since windoze has a personality of it’s own it will try and use both NIC’s.
$iptables -A OUTPUT -o eth0 -p tcp -d $ipstop -j DROP
$iptables -A OUTPUT -o eth0 -p udp -d $ipstop -j DROP

$iptables -A INPUT -i eth0 -p tcp -s $ipstop -j DROP
$iptables -A INPUT -i eth0 -p udp -s $ipstop -j DROP
———————————————————————————————————–

LogMeIn Hamachi VPN’s

alan — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 00:27:38 +0000

LogMeIn Hamachi VPN’s

I finally had a chance to evaluate this software and am very satisfied with it. The only potential risks in using this software are the remote host(s) you connect to - I hightly recommend if you use this software you *trust* the computer you are connecting to.

I tested this software with two Internet Connections - Cable 16Mbit/1.5Mbit and DSL 1.5Mbit/384Kbit and two computers. Both computers were behind a firewall and connected flawlessly to each other. With both computer’s on both Internet’s I was able to broswe each other’s files and transfer files as fast as the Internet connection would allow. At the same time while transfering files through the VPN I noticed legancy - which is normal, considering they share the same virtual connection. Other than that, say for example when I was not transfering any files and there was nothing else going through both Internet’s surprisingly my legancy was near exactly the same as a direct Internet connect (about 30ms-50ms).

In the end, I highly recommend this software for anyone to use in purposes of connecting two or more computers through the Internet. Example: Games, Easy File Transfers, Secure Chatting, etc.

System Requirements

alan — Fri, 18 May 2007 22:06:24 +0000

System Requirements web site to determine if an application can theoretically run on your computer.

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com

Although this tool is great as a guideline, it does not however determine if the program you check will work with mutiple programs running in the background.

Compile instructions for lighttpd.

alan — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 08:15:44 +0000

Build instructions for lighttpd. In sequence with compilation instructions here.
./configure \ --with-pspell --with-mysql=/usr/local/mysql \ --with-mysqli=/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql_config \ --with-mysql-sock=/tmp/mysql.sock \ --enable-magic-quotes --enable-soap \ --enable-calendar --enable-exif \ --with-zlib --with-zlib-dir=/root/_bin/zlib-1.2.3 \ --with-zip --enable-mbstring=all --with-mhash \ --with-mycrypt --enable-wddx --with-gettext \ --enable-ftp \ --with-cgi --enable-fastcgi \ --with-gd \ --with-jpeg --with-jpeg-dir=/root/_bin/jpeg-6b \ --enable-gd-native-ttf --with-dom \ --with-png --with-png-dir=/root/_bin/libpng-1.2.16 \ --with-xpm --with-xpm-dir=/root/_bin/XawXpm \ --with-freetype --with-freetype-dir=/root/_bin/freetype-2.3.4 \ --enable-memory-limit --with-curl \ --enable-discard-path \ --enable-force-redirect

Reference:
http://trac.lighttpd.net/trac/wiki/TutorialLighttpdAndPHP

QoS Devices and Software

alan — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:51:24 +0000

To be continued…

Software
cFosSpeed

Hardware
Linksys Network Optimizer (OGV200)

Tools
voip-info.org QoS

Part 20: Windows XP vs. Vista: Printers & Problem Reports and Solutions

alan — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 00:47:48 +0000

030: Printers
It’s kind of funny that I actually was curious to know what the difference was in XP vs. Vista’s Printer Control Panel. . . Anyways, I ended up finding out Vista now includes the Fax and the Microsoft XPS Document by default. If I recall correctly both items are installed on XP machines once you either do the most recent updates of Windows or by installing Microsoft Office products.

XPS is simply the Microsoft version of Adobe’s PDF format.

Windows XP - Printers

Windows Vista - Printers

031: Problem Reports and Solutions
Unlike XP’s Error Reporting services (located from your System Properties Control Panel Applet), Vista includes all this junk in a separate Control Panel named Problem Reports and Solutions. The Problem Reports and Solutions I assume also sends error reports of all related Microsoft products (i.e. Office suite) installed on your computer if you encounter an error. Of course if you look at the screenshots below you can notice it failed to install certain system drivers and the Problem Reports and Solutions indicates no solutions.

What Microsoft fails to tell you is that this problem-to-solution error reporting junk-crap-o-la only provides information related to Microsoft products. In other words, this service does not provide solutions for third party hardware or software (i.e. Your G15 Keyboard, or why your 7.1 HD speakers are not working).

Windows XP - Error Reporting

Windows Vista - Problem Reports and Solutions

Windows Vista - Problem Reports and Solutions - Problems

Windows Vista - Problem Reports and Solutions - Check For Solutions

References:
XML Paper Specification: Overview
Wikipedia – XML Paper Specification
Adobe Portable Document Format
Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard

>> Go to Windows XP vs. Vista Index <<

Application Error - Floating point!

alan — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 21:16:39 +0000

System:
Windows XP + SP2

Cause:
Unknown

Re-occuring:
No

Resolution:
Unknown

Symptom:
After using explorer to copy, and move files I recently encountered this error message:

Window Name: explorer.exe - Application Error
The exception Floating-point inexact result.
(0xc000008f) occurred in the application at location 0×7c812a5b.

Click on OK to terminate the program

Update:
It seems explorer.exe isn’t the only application experiencing the same problem. I receive the same error message in Cool Edit Pro 1.2 this time the error code is 0×0000090 at location 0×0052ce21.

Part 19: Windows XP vs. Vista: Phone and Modem Options and Power Options

alan — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 18:54:47 +0000

028: Phone and Modem Options
No real differences between XP and Vista although it seems Vista by default has only 4 Providers a user can use when connecting to PBX devices or related vs. XP’s 6 Providers.

Windows XP - Phone And Modem Options

Windows Vista - Phone And Modem Options

029: Power Options
Before I start I want to mention that Vista really really is annoying about this user account permission window. For example, say I want to change the Advanced Power Management (APM) settings for a computer with Vista – Vista ends up complaining 3-4 times about changes (see screenshot).

Windows Vista - User Account Control Permissions

By default the Power Options in Vista the settings are completely locked (annoying) – to change anything you have to click another option on the page to allow changes and then click Continue from the User Account Permissions pop-up window, and then make your “one” change. Again if you want to make further changes to the Power Options you have to repeat the process and click click more to Continue. In XP, however these pop-up, more clicky thingy’s are non-existent (I prefer it this way- who cares!). Then again I understand, Microsoft is trying to make their point about “security” - but still too much of a good thing is a bad thing.

Other than the annoying annoying pop-up prompts and clicking several times Vista renamed the Power Schemes (from XP) to “power plan”. Power plans like Balanced, Power Saver, and High Performance. . .

Windows XP - Power Options - Power Schemes

Windows Vista - Power Options - Power Plans

Windows Vista - Power Options - Advanced Settings

Windows Vista - Power Options - Create a Power Plan

Windows Vista - Power Options - Power Buttons

>> Go to Windows XP vs. Vista Index <<

Part 18: Windows XP vs. Vista: Personalization (Display Control Panel)

alan — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 06:20:35 +0000

027: Personalization (Display Control Panel)
Vista’s new look with Aero Graphical User Interface (GUI) you should know right off the bat it all consumes more memory, more space, and more processing power to work than XP. And the worse thing of all - is Vista’s limited theme selection (i.e. Standard and Classic theme) compared to XP (see XP Display Properties screenshot).

According to Answers.com the requirements for running Aero:

a 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

1 gigabyte of system memory

a DirectX 9 compatible graphics processor, with a Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver, and a minimum of 128 MB of Video RAM

40 GB hard drive with 15 GB free space

DVD-ROM Drive

audio output and Internet access

Of course by default Vista will use basic GUI Standard or Classic if the computer does not met the above system requirements for Aero. This in-turn makes your operating system look like a tin can, even worse than Windows XP and 98 operating systems.

So what’s the big deal about this new GUI besides it’s look and feel? Well, for starters it has a ton of other attachments like for example the Flip 3D, search-as-you-type search field, Virtual Folders, better file management and a ton more – all very similar to Mac OS X’s Aqua theme.

Windows Vista - Personalization

Windows Vista - Personalization - Appearance Settings

Windows Vista - Classic Theme

Windows XP - Display Properties

References:
Apple’s Tiger vs. Windows Vista: Who Comes Out Ahead?
Windows Aero
Mac OS X Aqua

>> Go to Windows XP vs. Vista Index <<

Part 17: Windows XP vs. Vista: Performance Information and Tools

alan — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 04:49:46 +0000

026: Performance Information and Tools
I suppose this feature of Vista (not part of XP) is partly a good thing. The Control Panel Applet named Performance Information and Tools (Windows Experience Index) according to Microsoft’s Help and Support:

The Windows Experience Index measures the capability of your computer’s hardware and software configuration and expresses this measurement as a number called a base score. A higher base score generally means that your computer will perform better and faster than a computer with a lower base score, especially when performing more advanced and resource-intensive tasks. . . You can use the base score to confidently buy programs and other software that are matched to your computer’s base score. . .

What this tool fails to inform users (you) about – for example if your hard drive is severely fragmented and you run this tool, what then? Or for example, say you have multiple programs running at the same time and run this tool will your score be the same?

Test 1:
2.8 Processor
3.7 Memory
1.0 Graphics
1.0 Gaming graphics
4.1 Primary hard disk

Test 2:
2.8 Processor
3.7 Memory
1.0 Graphics
1.0 Gaming graphics
4.0 Primary hard disk

As you can see in the above tests the Primary hard disk subscore does not have the same value – therefore proves my point. So what does all this mean? It means that this tool simply does not accurately prove meaningful information when purchasing or determining if particular application will run on your system. The only thing it really provides is a benchmark of your system (i.e. Clean install of Windows Vista vs. having Vista for a month and checking the difference in results).

Simply this tool is crap! Go back to using your conventional methods of understanding what the System Requirements are for a particular application and determine if your computer can run the application successfully or not.

At the screenshot below, I have a base score of 1 because Vista failed to install my video drivers (base scores are determined by your lowest rank in the Subscore).

Windows Vista - Performance Information And Tools

References:
System Requirements
Computer Benchmark definition

>> Go to Windows XP vs. Vista Index <<

Part 16: Windows XP vs. Vista: NetMeeting vs. Meeting Space

alan — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 02:16:46 +0000

025: NetMeeting vs. Meeting Space
The features within Vista incorporate two Control Panel Applets – People Near Me and Windows Meeting Space which is the replacement application for Windows NetMeeting in XP. Now-a-days you (an average user) would typically use AIM or MSN for text messaging, video and audio streaming video conferencing needs. Going back with XP, NetMeeting was always there but no icon would notify the user of it’s existence – you’ll end up trying to search your hard drive and finding it’s ‘conf.exe’ application file under your Program Files/NetMeeting folder to get it to work. The only advantage in using NetMeeting or Meeting Space in Vista over AIM and MSN is the Remote Access and White Board features built-in.

I personally never really used NetMeeting as I never had a need for it’s use. Of course back in the days when instant messaging was in it’s infancy NetMeeting was more than just a communication tool for me – it was a learning tool. I would commonly talk to friends or technical advisors about difficult homework questions from hundreds of miles away. The one disadvantage I found about Vista’s Meeting Space was the annoying pop-up window about People Near Me – prompting me to login or sign onto the service.

For average use, NetMeeting or Meeting Space is typically used in closed and safe environments where Remote Access and White Board capabilities are needed more so than a simple chat message.

Windows Vista - People Near Me - Settings

Windows Vista - People Near Me - Sign In

Windows XP - Windows NetMeeting

Windows XP - NetMeeting

Windows Vista - Meeting Space

>> Go to Windows XP vs. Vista Index <<

Part 15: Windows XP vs. Vista: Pen and Input Devices – Tablet PC Settings

alan — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 01:32:21 +0000

Pen and Input Devices along with Tablet PC Settings go hand-and-hand for touch-screen, touch-pads and tablet-screen monitors (typically used for portable laptop devices). Both features are natively supported by Windows Vista and are not installed by default in Windows XP (usually a third-party driver).

023: Pen and Input Devices
This Control Panel Applet configures the details whenever you tap your finger, or pen tool on-screen (i.e. Single-Tap does an action to Single-Click, Double-Tap does Double-Click actions, etc.). I really don’t see why this feature is installed by default – if a user is operating on a computer without a Pen tool, or touch-screen input devices all I see is this adds more clutter to the Control Panel.

Windows Vista - Pen and Input Devices - Pen Options

Windows Vista - Pen and Input Devices - Pointer Options

Windows Vista - Pen and Input Devices - Flicks

024: Tablet PC Settings
These settings are only used in Tablet PC’s and are a complete waste of memory for ordinary users on desktop or tower-based computers. The Tablet PC Settings Control Panel Applet simply allows further tweaking for use with a typical Pen Tool when Handwriting information on the screen or change the orientation of the screen from landscape (horizontal) to portrait (vertical).

Windows Vista - Tablet PC Settings - General

Windows Vista - Tablet PC Settings - Handwriting Recognition

Windows Vista - Tablet PC Settings - Display

Windows Vista - Tablet PC Settings - Other

>> Go to Windows XP vs. Vista Index <<

Windows Vista Requirements

alan — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 06:47:02 +0000

Andrew K: Windows Vista has modest minimum system requirements that everyone with a system from within the last 5 years should have no problem meeting. Simply adding more system memory (RAM) is the most anyone with a less than 5 year old system should have to do to meet them. The most noticeable change with Windows Vista will be the new Aero interface and for that you will need an Aero-capable DirectX 9-class graphics card. This is what the majority of older systems will need upgrades for. Since this is one of the main reasons to get Windows Vista just about everyone should avoid the Vista Home Basic and Vista Standard Editions since neither supports the new Aero interface. The various editions of Windows Vista can make a purchasing decision rather confusing. Advanced users can look at The Windows Vista Secret Decoder Ring and Understanding the Vista Product Editions to get an overview of the main features in each edition. Most users will fall into one of the following categories:

Basic Home User (Internet + Email) - Vista Home Basic
General Home User - Vista Home Premium
Gamer - Vista Home Premium or Vista Ultimate
Small Business User - Vista Business or Vista Ultimate
Corporate IT - Vista Enterprise

Read the whole requirements from Andrew K’s Vista’s Requirements here.

LOL Vista != Mac X

alan — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 06:33:27 +0000

While doing some more research on the new Vista product I ended up coming across this funny video that David Pogue has made.

Original:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT6YO30GhmQ
You Tube Profile:
http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=thenewyorktimes

WordPress Plug-in: Fixes Spacing 1.0 BETA

alan — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 07:07:39 +0000

This is my first attempt to fix a buggy problem with WordPress (known in version 2.1.2, so far) - where on occassion whenever I try typing something the words start to not word-wrap correctly (see screenshots for example).

This could be a much larger problem with AJAX’s but who knows - I’m not into the details on that. What I do know is the problem is re-occuring whenever WordPress Auto-Saves my work.

You may use this plug-in at your own RISK. And should note that this is a work around until WordPress comes up with a better solution, or simply disable Auto-Save all together.

Download here.

Part 14: Windows XP vs. Vista: Parental Controls and Content Advisor

alan — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 04:16:00 +0000

In Vista you can access the Parental Controls and the Content Advisor via the Parental Controls or the Internet Properties Control Panel Applets, however with XP you can only access the Content Advisor via the Internet Properties.

021: Parental Controls
Parental Controls is a new feature in Vista allowing parents or employers to restrict certain applications such as games, time limits, web filters, and audit information about a user. Below are some screenshots of the system.

Parental Controls

Parental Controls - Game Rating System

Parental Controls - User Controls

Parental Controls - User Controls - Activity Viewer

Parental Controls - User Controls - Time Restrictions

Parental Controls - User Controls - Game Controls

Parental Controls - User Controls - Application Restrictions

Parental Controls - User Controls - Web Restrictions

022: Content Advisor
Both versions of Vista and XP have Content Advisor built-in allowing individuals to block certain websites based upon a criteria. Below are some screenshots of the system.

Windows XP - Internet Options - Content Advisor

Windows Vista - Internet Options - Content Advisor

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Part 13: Windows XP vs. Vista: Network and Sharing

alan — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 23:02:46 +0000

020: Network and Sharing
Other than the Windows Firewall (explained more in another section) XP incorporates Networking Services by installing the services through Add/Remove Programs and then allowing the user to use them. In Vista however, all these services are activated and installed by default (depending on your connection settings, your firewall settings, and your network location settings). For example, in XP to enable UPnP features you have to manually install the feature by using the Add/Remove Programs Control Applet (see screenshot), while in Vista all you need to do is make sure your Network Location is set to Private.

Windows XP - Networking Options

Windows XP - Network Setup Wizard

UPnP network technology allows network devices to advertise and offer services to you directly on your computer than say logging onto a Web Administration page (see example Linksys web administration screenshot). I never use UPnP, as my network here at the home-office is powered through Linux. I also believe it to be more of a secure risk if for example a trojan virus were to take over my machine.

Linksys Web Administration Page

Of course there are many other features like Network locations (typically used for laptop computers), Firewall Configurations, Program and File Sharing Access settings, Link-Layer Topology (which is now installed by default in Vista and is part of the UPnP features), and more. . . there’s no fucking way an average user would understand all this. Hypothetically what if you have AOL 9.0 Security Edition installed along with Symantec’s Internet Security what then – all hell breaks loose! You end up having three firewalls, a redundant Internet slowing traffic down, and a hell of a problem trying to solve the which program is causing the Internet to a halt.

These features in Vista (of course) are all wonderful and dandy, but ask yourself do you really need them just to simply browse the web – I think not! And what happens if something were to go wrong – say “Page cannot be found” errors – where on earth do you go about fixing the problem – it’s not as simple as Ping yahoo.com anymore especially on computer’s that are not your own. As an experienced computer repair individual I would have to say that Microsoft over did it on there features for networking.

Windows Vista - Network and Sharing Center

Windows Vista - Network Map

Windows Vista - Local Area Connection Properties

References:
It Just Works: UPnP in the Digital Home
UPnP NAT Traversal FAQ

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Part 12: Windows XP vs. Vista: iSCSI

alan — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:22:38 +0000

Network SAN Diagram
Source: Apple, Inc.

019: iSCSI
iSCSI support is a native part of Windows Vista, not part of XP. My understanding of iSCSI although (been out since 2003) allows direct communication to a physical device on a IP remote network device (block level I/O). These network devices are typically SAN (Storage Area Networks) or NAS (Network Attached Storage) powered through Enterprise level (Fiber or Ethernet based) networks.

I find this feature no where on this earth for an average user to use. I can see this technology used in making another Disney Toy Story or The Matrix but still, do you have a SAN at home?!

Dell CX3-40 Screenshot

Update: After rethinking what iSCSI (behind the scenes) does, technically this technology includes like Nero 7 Ultra Edition’s Disk Image and Alochol 120% emulation features to support virtual drives on your computer.

References:
Wikipedia – iSCSI
iSCSI Storage
iSCSI Review
Dell/EMC CX3-40 Disk Storage Array Product Details
Apple Xsan

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Part 11: Windows XP vs. Vista: Fonts, Game Controllers, Keyboard and Mouse

alan — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 00:22:26 +0000

015: Fonts
Nothing different between XP and Vista Font Control Panel, both support TrueType, OpenType and Raster forms.

Windows XP Fonts

Windows Vista Fonts

016: Game Controllers
Nothing different.

Windows XP Game Controllers

Windows Vista Game Controllers

017: Keyboard
Nothing different.

Windows XP Keyboard

Windows Vista Keyboard

018: Mouse
Nothing really different other than the added Aero theme cursors in Vista.

Windows XP Mouse

Windows Vista Mouse

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Part 10: Windows XP vs. Vista: Folder Options and Index Options

alan — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 22:05:23 +0000

014: Folder Options and Index Options
With the new Graphical User Interface (GUI) and Aero design theme you can clearly see Microsoft trying their best to pirate Apple’s look and theme-like iTunes. Like for instance in iTunes you have your playlists on the left column and assortments of different types of views similar to Vista’s display where you have Documents, Pictures and Music at the left column. Besides the theme, the Folder Options are very similar to XP but surely the look and feel of viewing files and folders are not. Vista incorporates the some of the features of Index Searching now called “Index Options” within the Folder Options than the Computer Management – Indexing Searching Service in XP. Of course there are a ton of other features which I could go on forever listing the details about the changes in regards. These search options in Vista sets the common defaults for the Search feature when finding files and folders on your computer.

Windows XP - Folder Options and Index Service

Windows XP - My Computer

Windows Vista - Folder Options

Windows Vista - Computer

Windows Vista - Index Options and Advanced Options

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