Volleynerd Knowledge Base

Slingbox

2011-12-28T09:04:00.001-08:00

Wahoo! Got a Slingbox HD for xmas (bought it for myself with my pile of Best Buy gift cards - ended up costing me $3 pre-tax).

Some links and info:

Windows Desktop software. Looks like this is "legacy" software now, in favor of the web based viewer. If you want to use custom remotes, you have to use this desktop software.

30-second advance. Since the actual remote for my DVR doesn't natively support this feature (I assigned it to a dead button with a hack), it's natural that the Slingbox UI remote doesn't have it either. Here is a discussion of a guy that tweaks the BIN files that define the remote. Learn more about this! I have the Motorola DCX3400, so check out this thread.

Building custom remotes.

Galaxy Nexus (vs. Razor)

2011-12-15T14:04:00.000-08:00

Galaxy Nexus vs. Droid Bionic vs. Droid RAZR: Battle of the Verizon LTE Phones | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

WIRNS 3.0

2011-08-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

Not sure if WIRNS is still being updated, but giving the newest version a try. 3.0 beta.

Install is much better than before. First run of the service (according to the logs), detects 64-bit OS, and swaps out the SqlLite DLLs. Nice.

Still get crash when the service starts. Debug logs say format exception. Apparently it can't figure out our own machine's IP address.

Add value to REGISTRY to give WIRNS at clue. Info here. [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WiRNS\configuration]
"wirnsip"="192.168.1.200"

We're up and running.

Configuration

Instead of using "Configuration" from the system tray icon ("severely limits" the configuration functionality), browse directly to the WIRNS service on the local machine. http://10.1.1.11/manage/index

http://wiki.wirns.com

Who's Hogging Port 80

2011-08-14T16:17:00.000-07:00

Ready to re-install WIRNS after a machine rebuild, and it has to be on port 80 (Replays only talk on that port). Fine - I move IIS to another port. But, WIRNS installer says it's still in use.

Long story short, it's not IIS (it *was* on 80, but I moved it), lots of peeps on the tubes saying various other processes: SQL Reporting Services was the most popular.

For me, it was Web Deployment Agent Service. MS docs about it here.
Even with IIS running on 80, it's somehow *sharing* that port, and sticks around after IIS has been moved. Telnet localhost 80
HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Server: Microsoft-HTTPAPI/2.0
Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2011 21:11:43 GMT
Connection: close
Content-Length: 326

Anyway - I'm not remote deploying anything to this box, so this service is now disabled. Port 80 - free again!

50 tips and tricks for iPad

2011-08-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

I'm definitely not an iPad fan, but since my kids have one, I have to track a few of these "tips and tricks" pages.

50 really useful iPad tips and tricks

iTunes Help

2011-04-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

I repaved our home machine, and I'm struggling to get iTunes back to it's old self. Here are a few reminders on how to configure stuff.

Export purchased songs as MP3
The "export" menu option (select a particular song, then context menu or Advanced menu) is by default "Create AAC version". This is still DRM'd. To change that to MP3, have to adjust "import settings" (stupid that they're related).

Edit, Preferences, General, "When you insert a CD" = "Ask to import CD".
Import Settings, choose MP3 Encoder, and bit rate quality (I do 192 kbps).

Now the "Create ... Version" should say MP3 instead.

Rebuild "Purchased Music" playlist
According to their installed help, it will get rebuilt the next time you purchase music. (lame!)

To see history of purchases, go to your store account, and choose purchase history. This is just an online list of purchases and their music.

Still to figure out:

How to change the default folder structure of music. I loathe the Album name folder in the structure (just want flat list of music for an artist), but can't find any customization in iTunes.

My Process
After purchasing a song from iTunes, I want it as an MP3, ready to use from the Zune side.

purchase song, now it's an m4a in the lame iTunesMedia folder structure
find it in iTunes, right click, Create MP3 version (now it's in the same directory as the original)
right click the MP3 version, "show in windows explorer"
windows explorer, CUT from this spot and put it in the main MP3 directory structure (that zune watches)

Since iTunes is watching the MP3 (non iTunes) directory structure, it *SHOULD* eventually wake up and find those MP3s and show them in addition to the DRM'd crap. Haven't seen this happen yet...

XBox 360 Kinect Pictures

2011-03-22T11:46:00.001-07:00

Always have trouble remembering / finding where the pics are uploaded to.

https://kinectshare.com/Landing.aspx

Battlefield 2 - LAN Co-op

2011-02-26T15:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.overclock.net/faqs/91945-info-how-play-bots-battlefield-2-a.html

Following these steps, Connor and I got local LAN working with us playing on 2 different machines, same team, against AI bots.

Christmas Card Mail Merge to Labels - HowTo

2010-12-12T20:37:00.002-08:00

Since I only do this once a year, I always forget the couple sneaky steps I have to do to pull this off.

Outlook Contacts, select "Christmas Cards" view
Tools, Mail Merge. Select New document, and Labels (at the bottom) of the dialog
(Now over in Word, get the layout of the labels, but no data yet)
Cursor in first label (top left corner), choose "Address Block" in Mailings ribbon tab. (this puts the field in the first label, and fields in all the rest.
Click "Update Labels" in the Mailings ribbon tab. (this adds the in all the rest of the fields)
Click "Preview Results" in the Mailings ribbon tab to see the data.
Review each label to make sure the names look good (some might have first & last name reversed)
When layout and addresses on that first page look good, click "Finish & Merge" in the Mailings tab. This creates the final document with the labels spanning multiple pages in the doc that you will print. You can still make more changes in these addresses before printing (but those changes obviously won't make it back to the source address info in Outlook)

Android Market "Stuck" Downloading

2010-11-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

The Market app on my Droid phone has been "stuck" for the past couple days trying to update the Google Maps application. Connectivity was fine, other apps could update themselves, browser works, etc. Tried canceling the download a few times, which would force close the Market app.

Finally searched a little more tonight and found a work-around.

Phone Settings - Applications - All, find Google Maps ("Maps"). Drill in and choose "Clear Data".
Do the same for the Market app.

Now run the Market (unfortunately you get the EULA since we just removed one of the many "cookies"), and update Google Maps.

Worked for me. Your mileage may vary.

Sony 50" TV Red Light Blinking

2010-09-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

TV is probably about 8 years old. Turning off on its own, red light on front blinks 34 times, and then picture comes back on.

Original specs on TV here.

Looking around the internets, I'm not alone.

Used system menus per instructions here and reset lamp timer. (was at 15,109 hours. yikes. 1.7 years of continuous watching)

Cheat sheet to reset lamp timer:

With TV OFF, press the following buttons on the remote: Display, 5, vol +, power
Use 2 and 5 to move through categories (whole pages of info)
Look for "Option E" category
Once there, use 1 and 4 to move through items in that category
First one (item # 0) is the Lamp Time Operating (in hours)
Show/change data with 3 and 6 keys.
Hours shown when data is changed to 1.
Hours reset when data is STORED as 0. (I had to store as 1 first, then back to 0)
STORE a value by pressing MUTE, then ENTER (see red "WRITE" text top right of screen)

Didnt seem to fix anything right away. Turned it off and we'll see what happens.

Otherwise, maybe need a new bulb.

According to this post, get one from eBay and self install?

search eBay for "REPLACEMENT LAMP SONY XL-2100U", from seller "niosales"
$129
(make sure you get lamp that includes entire lamp housing, not just the bulb)

Can I self install?

(update 10/12/10)
Yep. Ended up buying this one, and self installing. TV works again, and no blinking red light!

(update 12/19/10)
Worked great for a while, now it's back to its old tricks. Every 20 mins or so, picture goes out, red light blinks 34 times, and then picture comes back.

We found a brand new bulb (same kind I ordered) in a box in the closet here at the house. Think it was the one our Sony extended repair guy ordered for us ("for safe keeping") before the warranty was over. Tried putting that one in, and now getting no picture, and red light blinks 3 times at startup.

This doesn't look good: "overvoltage, IC is faulty..."

DOH! After screwing with it for a while, realized that I was trying the TV without putting the lamp cover back on. Once I put that back on -- it works!! (safety issue I'm sure - TV cant turn on without the cover)

Now we just hold our breath and see how long this lamp lasts...

Google Voice Commands on phone

2010-08-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

Google announces voice commands for Android on Droid, etc.

"send text to billy hey lets have lunch" ...

Need:

Voice Search application from Google. (market)
Google Search widget (market)

http://androinica.com/2010/08/12/google-introduces-voice-actions-for-android-allows-users-to-control-their-phones-with-voice-commands/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+androinica+%28Androinica+-++A+Google+Android+Blog%29&utm_content=Twitter

Android Froyo - New Features

2010-05-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

Just a place to track all the new features in Android 2.2 "Froyo"

Flash support (download from store) - can set browser plug-ins to run "on demand" if you want to choose when flash will play
2 dedicated soft buttons on home screen - phone and browser
Exchange support (auto discovery, remote wipe, exchange calendars with sync)
Camera updates - settings, LED light while recording video
Gallery - "zoom out" to see a stack of pics
WiFi tethering and hotspot (carrier has to enable)
Keyboard - swipe up from top to get a number row of keys, multi-lang support
Speed: JIT compiler, apps 2-5x faster
V8 JavaScript engine: web apps 2-3x faster
Cloud-to-device API: browser extension for Chrome and Firefox. Send "intents", web pages, emails, etc. to phone (via cloud)
App data backup and restore
Apps can run from SD card
Apps can auto-update from the store
"Update all" apps

Droid to get 2.1 finally

2010-03-31T10:47:00.001-07:00

Tons of posts about this, but here's one with a concise list of what's in the update. Hadn't seen mention of the Yahoo mail support. Not sure what that means -- a "native" app like Gmail that "syncs" instead of POP3? Dunno. Would be nice to see my yahoo mail folders and such.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/30/verizon-to-start-android-2-1-updates-to-motorola-droid-owners-to/

Android App - Debug Logging

2010-01-20T17:33:00.000-08:00

Sort of equivalent to .NET Debug.WriteLine( )

import android.util.Log;

sprinkle the following throughout the code
Log.d( "Some Category", "blah blah message" )

Couldnt get NetBeans to show me the output. Using Android "adb" dev tool (from SDK tools dir).

adb devices
adb logcat

Can filter output with something like the following:
adb logcat XmlNode:D *:S
(Above says show DEBUG output for XmlNode category, and SILENT for everything else)

blog post about it here
ADB documentation here

AVS Forum Threads for my new A/V stuff

2010-01-12T22:22:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to keep these URLs around (also have them on delicious).

AVS Forum "official threads" for various devices:

Samsung 55" LN55B640 TV - here
Motorola DCX3400 HD DVR - here
Onkyo TX-SR607 receiver - here

Samsung 55" LCD TV

2010-01-12T21:58:00.000-08:00

Pulled the trigger on the Samsung 55" LCD tv last week. Model: LN55B640
Best Buy - $1599

This will be a post of many setup notes as I hack on setting it all up.

XBox 360
Hooked it up today - I only have the component video cable for it. Do they make an HDMI cable for it? (proprietary connector on the 360 side)

TV doesn't have optical IN (only OUT to a receiver). Since I don't have a receiver yet, I'm using the (white/red) audio composite connectors on the hybrid component/composite 360 video cable to send audio to the TV. Didn't think this would work, but it does. Eventually, with a receiver, I'll hopefully go HDMI from 360 to receiver, then HDMI to the TV. (worst case, I can go component + optical audio from 360 to rcvr, then HDMI to TV)

For a while, was getting 720p on the TV, then finally remembered to set the 360 to output 1080p. SWEET. (Still seeing 60Hz on the tv info display, we looked it up and found that this is talking about the input side, not what the TV is outputting)

No lag in picture display, even in Game Mode OFF. Tried turning it ON and didn't notice a difference.

Time Warner HD DVR Cable Box
Motorola DCX3400
HDMI cable to the TV.

Controlling TV volume with the DVR remote. Use this site to find the code.
Turn on TV, on remote: TV mode, hold Setup button (blinks twice). Enter code: 0812 (blinks twice). Test by turning off the TV with the remote. Woot.

30-second advance
DVR remote doesn't have a button for this, but the functionality exists on the DVR. Just have to program a button on the remote.
Lucky - the same procedure that works on the old Motrola remote works for this one too.
See my previous post.

Press the "Cable" button at the top of the remote to put it into Cable Box control mode.
Press and hold the "Setup" button until the "Cable" button blinks twice.
Type in the code 994. The "Cable" button will blink twice.
Press (do not hold) the "Setup" button.
Type in the code 00173.
Press whatever button you want to map the 30-second skip command to (ex: ON DEMAND). The "Cable" button will blink twice if successful.

First Droid App

2010-01-06T16:57:00.000-08:00

WHEW - had a hell of a time today during IK RECESS building my first app for the Droid. Just some notes on what I had to do:

Started here with SDK install. Which has a bunch of sub-steps.

Download Eclipse, wait, need Java -- what version, and what type (EE, SE, ME)? version 6 JDK most recent, fine.

Install Java, which also installs something like "update 17".

Install and Run eclipse. Nope. Doesn't find a java VM. Try -vm command line arg to show it where the VM is. Nope. Now doesn't barf, but just runs, and process dies after 5 secs (no UI). Eclipse readme says compatible with Java 1.4.2. WHAT? I'm using Java 6. Go to get old version, maybe uninstall 6 and use 1.4.2? Huge red warning before download 1.4.2 --- it has passed it's "EOSL" (end of service liftetime) - back in Oct 2008. Nice.

Coworker Brad says screw all that - use NetBeans.

Nice - NetBeans install comes with Java (if needed), but recognizes that I have v6 patch 17 or whatever already and uses that.

NetBeans IDE starts up! But ... not so fast. Move on to step 2: Android SDK

Extract Android SDK, and try to run "SDK Setup" but it doesn't seem to do anything.
Readme says an alternative is command line:
tools\android.bat update sdk

Whew - runs a UI that goes out and finds packages. Fails on https calls (expired cert? who knows - no detailed error message). Set to use HTTP instead. Get a huge ass list of packages, now we're getting somewhere. Chose them all (shouldn't have) and download. Takes *forever*.

Sweet! Now we have some sub-folders under the SDK "platforms" folder that was initially empty. One for each of the Android OS levels, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.0.1

Next step: ADT plugin

ADT plugin is for Eclipse, so we use nbandroid.
Loose instructions here.

To install the Android platform within Netbeans though, we need to point it to a "platform" folder. Now we have one of those after getting through the Android SDK components updater above. Point at the 2.0.1 platform folder.

Woot! Platform installed. Create new project. Hello world. Run!
... wait ... need an emulator.

Per Google instructions, use command line tool to create one.
tools\android.bat create avd --target 5 --name dan_droid

What is "5" ? It's the OS version target dummy. Use the following to see the choices:
tools\android.bat list targets

OK, created the emulator. Back in NetBeans, Run! Sweet, choose emulator ("AVD") to start. Go.
... damn ... errors in the output window that emulator is not ready.

Poke around the tubes and find that you should start the emulator first. (not let the NetBeans IDE start it)

Manually start the emulator
\tools\emulator -avd dan_droid
(dan_droid is the name of the emulator created from above)

Ahh, there's a UI to manipulate the emulators too.
\tools\android.bat
"Virtual devices" node

WOOT! After letting the emulator start and settle down, now run from NetBeans IDE -- I see my "hello world" !!

In NetBeans, when debugging, to prevent getting prompted for which emulator device to use each time:
Project, Properties, Run node.
Set Target Device = "automatic", and select the AVD from the list
(dont worry that this is the registered one whereas you want it to use the currently running one, it seems to figure that out)

Android apps

2010-01-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

Starting a list of droid apps that I either already have, want to get, or just want to remember about:

BettrFlickr - all things related to flickr, including of course, uploading pics
PicUp (by Aqris) - upload pics to flickr, facebook, twitpic
Meebo - IM client for all mediums
Digg Droid - app for digg. Can also use m.digg.com mobile site.

MP3 downloads

2009-12-14T17:06:00.000-08:00

Heard this "song" on the way home from work, and found it as MP3 on this site. Looks like a good spot for MP3's in general.

emp3world - link

Cheech & Chong - Santa Claus And His Old Lady Mp3 Download Free

Droid !

2009-12-08T15:46:00.001-08:00

Finally jumped in and got the Droid. Have been thinking about it since they came out and dragging my feet (big surprise), until Jamie and I saw an add this weekend for buy 1-get one free. Dove in.

Pairing with Jabra BT2040
This is my cheap-o bluetooth headset, which originally did not pair correctly. Worked on it again tonight and got it working. Turns out the first time I never got it into pair mode.

Here is the manual for the headset, but I couldnt get into pair mode by holding down for 5 secs like it says - it would just turn off. Finally got into pair mode by doing this:
when it's OFF, hold down the button to power it up, but KEEP HOLDING IT DOWN, then I get a solid blue light (which tells that it's in pairing mode)

Now the Droid is happy to discover it and pair.

FYI, if the manual is gone someday:

Solid blue light = in pairing mode
Slow single flash = connected to phone, in standby mode
Slow double flash = not connected to phone
Quick single flash = active on call
Quick double flash = incoming/outgoing call on headset
Triple flash = low battery

Android OS Update

2.0.1 - info here

Links
Various tips - here

Useful apps - here

forums - alldroid.org

Mount as USB drive in Windows

Some Apps to get

Toggle Settings
Seesmic

Outlook - bring back the "resource successfully booked" dialog

2009-12-02T13:43:00.000-08:00

Reg hack to do this.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\xx.0\Outlook\Options\General
where version comes from:
Outlook 2007 = 12
Outlook 2003 = 11
Outlook 2002 = 10
Outlook 2000 = 9

PONT_STRING is a CSV for each dialog that has been turned off. See the url below for the complete list of values.

Short list:

11 -- resource booked
13 -- expand distribution list

Original post: http://www.slipstick.com/OUTLOOK/showdialog.htm

Windows 7 Activation Failed

2009-10-02T08:45:00.001-07:00

After installing Win7 Enterprise at work, I was getting activation failures. Message says DNS Name does not exist, but it turns out, that's a misleading error.

As usual, Google had the answer, based on at least this post.

Computer, Properties, Change Product Key.

Re-enter the same product key used during install, and then try activation again.

Win7 Boot to VHD

2009-10-01T19:12:00.001-07:00

Sort of followed this post from Hanselman. Tried to install Windows 7 straight to a VHD that was mounted and given a drive letter in Disk Management, but Win7 install would install there.

Now trying this:

Use Virtual PC 2007 to create a new VHD and start the Win 7 install on it
The Win7 install starts with copying files to the designated drive (the VHD in this case), and then restarts for the rest of the install. At this point when it's going to restart, CLOSE THE VIRTUAL MACHINE! (i.e. you do not want it to start back up and resume installation)
Now the VHD has the files needed for setup, and is ready to boot to. Now we just have to add the VHD to the boot loader list. Run the following bcdedit commands to add it to the list (taken from Hanselman's post):

bcdedit /copy {current} /d "Some Name for Your VHD" (this name will show up in the boot choices)

bcdedit /set {b614f341-ab38-11de-ae36-e3ac8de0d3bb} device vhd=[D:]\VirtualDrives\BaseWin7.vhd
bcdedit /set {b614f341-ab38-11de-ae36-e3ac8de0d3bb} osdevice vhd=[D:]\VirtualDrives\BaseWin7.vhd
bcdedit /set {b614f341-ab38-11de-ae36-e3ac8de0d3bb} detecthal on

Now restart the machine and you should see the new boot option in the list. When you choose it, the Win7 setup will continue from where it left off in the VPC!

Woot!

HP Officejet 6500

2009-09-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

Power supply died on our flatbed scanner last month, so it's finally time to replace it. Found the HP OfficeJet 6500 at Costco for $149 after instant rebate. Stace got it last week and it's working great, so decided to jump in.

Model #: E709n
Serial # (I think): MY97J462XG05G2

Wireless connectivity. Printer, Scanner (flatbed and document feeder), Copier, Fax

Uh oh: wont install on Win 7. Installation says this is not a compatible OS. The OS is listed as "601.64" -- I love it. (That's the version code for Windows 7, 64 bit)

No drivers available at HP yet for Win 7, but it shows in their chart as compat with Win7 and that drivers are available on their site. Liars! (Stace said he just saw Win7 drivers available on his HP update software (but you have to successfully install to get there. Doh)

Woot! Found from the internets to run the install in Compatibility mode: Vista, run as administrator.

Gateway QUAD rebuild

2009-09-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

Windows 7 RTM, take 3

Still having a hell of a time with the Mass Storage Controller on this Gateway machine. Messed around with the order of install of the ITE controller via Windows Update, then Matrix Storage Driver, etc. Nothing worked.

Now I've started over with the BIOS set to use AHCI for the drives instead of RAID. A couple days into it and haven't seen any errors. Fingers still crossed.

Some of this will be a repeat of this one, but with some extra notes where needed.

Olympus Camera Software
Always seem to have trouble getting the correct order on this one. Notes say install from the EOS Rebel CD first, then get web updates for the A540 (small silver unit).

ZoomBrowser update 6.3.1

OK - finally got it working! CameraWindow is the app that shows the little dialog that you want, just that it doesnt start correctly in Win7. Fix: set the compatibility on CameraWindow application to Vista SP 2.

Well that works for the point and shoot A540, but still cant download pics from the EOS Rebel. This page says drivers are not compatible with Vista (let alone Win 7). So far it's looking like we have to take out the memory card and use a reader.

Previous notes...

Mass Storage Controller
Device manager kept showing Mass Storage controller with missing driver. Installed Intel Matrix Storage driver (Intel-Matrix-StorageDriver-IATA89ENU), but that didnt do it. Finally also got a windows update optional offer for ITE Tech Inc Storage (ITE IT8211 ATA ATAPI Controller). At first after this install, machine didn't boot into Windows correctly, 2nd time success and now device manager is happy with the disks.

update 09/17/09 - now getting CDROM and iaStor errors again. ARGH. Talked through the Maxtrix storage driver stuff with Joe. Recommend:

Install Win7 (dont do the F6 RAID drivers thing)
Use Windows Update to get the ITE IT8211 controller driver thingy FIRST (unidentified Mass Storage Device in devices list should now be gone)
Now install Maxtrix Storage Driver AFTER the Windows update Mass Storage Controller

Scanner / Printer candidate

2009-09-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

Our flatbed scanner died - wont power on.

Thinking about a new scanner, and heard from the Lougeay's today that they got the HP OfficeJet 6500 Wireless All-in-one Printer. here

Good news: according to this, it's even compat with Win 7

Disappearing DVD Problems - Solved !

2009-08-01T14:27:00.000-07:00

After upgrading to Win 7 and still seeing the cdrom driver errors, iaStore timeouts, etc. Looked into the latest Matrix storage drivers. (get the official name from the ToolSave dir)

Installed the latest Matrix storage drivers - problem has gone away!!

Update 09/15/2009. Well, not so fast. Problems came back today. Same old thing about iaStor timeout and cdrom driver having errors.

Looking through Gateway Apps & Drivers CD that I made from the original image.
F:\I386\Apps\App002351 looks like the one I need to start with after rebuild.
Installation Readme for Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager.
then come along after that and install the latest vesrsion.

Currently have Intel ICH8R/ICH9R/ICH10R/DO/PCH SATA RAID
v8.9.0.1023
6/4/2009

It looks like I have the ICH9R hardware.

BIOS says currently configured in RAID mode.

Readme says this controller software should be installed at Windows install time with the F6 method of disk software install.

Have a download of Intel-Matrix-StorageDriver-IATA89ENU (not sure if it's the same version as above).

Boot & Install Windows 7 From USB Flash Drive

2009-07-16T21:48:00.000-07:00

I'm giving up on Vista on my home Gateway computer. More of the DVD drive disappearing from the system. Have been through 5 times returning to Gateway. Gonna try Win7, see if that's any better.

Want to try putting the ISO contents on a bootable USB thumb drive. Here's info on how to do that.

How To Boot And Install Windows 7 From USB Flash Drive - Make Tech Easier

Join domain from home

2009-05-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

log in to local admin acct
connect VPN
join the machine to the domain
reboot
log in again local admin acct
connect VPN
add domain acct to local administrators group (this is why need to be on VPN again)
SWITCH users to the domain account (dont logout, this will kill the VPN)
log in to domain account, will cache creds and you're good to go

Sonic Wall Global VPN Client - 64 bit

2009-05-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

Installed Win7 64-bit today. Here's the first in a series of posts on various software issues.

SonicWall Global VPN client. Existing install does not work on 64-bit. Bails at startup.
Here is the updated one. (also saved it here)

After install, get "Error loading IPSec driver".
Fix described here and below.

Open Device Manager

in View menu, select Show hidden devices
expand Non-Plug and Play Drivers
open SonicWALL IPsec Driver and set Startup Type to Automatic
If current status is Stopped, start it.

Notepad++ XML Tidy

2009-04-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

Finally decided to spend a few minutes looking into HTML Tidy for Notepad++ ... I just kept feeling like "surely somebody has built a plugin" to make XML format pretty (like Visual Studio CTRL+K, CTRL+D)

Turns out - HTML Tidy has support for XML. I've always had the HTML Tidy stuff in the Notepad++ menu, but never got it working against XML.

Here's what you need.

HTMLTIDY.CFG needs to be in the Notepad++\Plugins\NPPTextFX directory
and here's it's contents

indent: auto
indent-spaces: 2
wrap: 72
markup: yes
output-xml:yes
input-xml: yes
show-warnings: yes
numeric-entities: yes
quote-marks: yes
quote-nbsp: yes
quote-ampersand: no
break-before-br: no
uppercase-tags: no
uppercase-attributes: no
char-encoding: latin1
new-inline-tags: cfif, cfelse, math, mroot,
mrow, mi, mn, mo, msqrt, mfrac, msubsup, munderover,
munder, mover, mmultiscripts, msup, msub, mtext,
mprescripts, mtable, mtr, mtd, mth
new-blocklevel-tags: cfoutput, cfquery
new-empty-tags: cfelse

14 Feb 2006 version. Tells about TIDYCFG.INI, but could only get things working with HTMLTIDY.CFG

Time Warner HD update

2009-02-25T13:53:00.001-08:00

I've always wondered what all the other x-1 and x-22, etc. channels are that show up after a channel scan.

Here's a list of them (courtesy of HDTV for San Diego )

FOX 6-1
CBS 8-1
ABC 10-1
NBC 39-1
PBS 15-1 (maybe 119-4)
CW 69-1 (maybe 119-3)
4SD (Padres games) 92-4
TWC Guide 111-22
MTV 112-3
Nick Jr 114-3

Costco Gateway Computer Lameness

2009-02-17T07:07:00.001-08:00

Having more and more trouble with the "new" machine.

Started here with losing DVD drive
http://vnerdkb.blogspot.com/2008/12/home-gateway-losing-dvd-drive-letter.html

Now the HD locks up for 1 to 15 minutes, causing apps (Word, Excel, IE) to hang at startup for that long, then finally start. Event viewer has all kinds of errors:

The device, \Device\Ide\iaStor0, did not respond within the timeout period.
The device 'Optiarc DVD RW AD-7203S' (IDE\CdRomOptiarc_DVD_RW_AD-7203S_________________1.06____\4&b343978&0&0.2.0) disappeared from the system without first being prepared for removal.

Gateway wants me to send it in, but without my 2nd drive in there. This morning, unplugged that drive to see how it fares before sending in. (Without that drive, if all ok, what's the point of sending it in?). First boot, wouldn't boot (thought I unplugged the wrong disk - nope)

The following boot-start or system-start driver(s) failed to load:
cdrom

XBox 360 - Red Ring of Death

2009-02-16T18:55:00.001-08:00

Finally got the RRoD on the 360. Sending it in for repair.

Mfr date: 2006-02-14
Serial # 606475760705
Product ID: 77093361606475760705

02/16/09 - started here: repair your console

02/25/09 - sent xbox unit to repair center.
UPS tracking # 1Z 687 4R0 90 1990 2210

Superbowl Ads on Hulu

2009-02-01T14:27:00.001-08:00

I'll be hitting Hulu.com during the game to catch up on some of the commercials. Apparently they have this gadget that will let me show them to you right here:

Intel Matrix Storage Manager - Issue with RAID and Vista

2009-01-14T08:18:00.000-08:00

Having pretty frequent "hangs" of file explorer, even Excel trying to open a file, etc. Found a TON of errors in the system event log:

The device, \Device\Ide\iaStor0, did not respond within the timeout period.

Intel� Matrix Storage Manager - Possible issues with Windows Vista* and Intel� RAID

Some dude named Paul writing about it here

02/01/09 update
Reg changes from above hadn't worked - timeouts and lags hitting the drive were as bad as ever.

Physically moved the devices to SATA ports 3-5 as described in the Intel doc above. So far so good, no problems since that change yesterday.

Happy New Year Zune

2008-12-31T22:04:00.000-08:00

Classic. My Zune was hosed this morning, stuck on the "boot screen". Won't respond to normal reset commands. Finally this eve, searched around a bit.

Turns out it's a clock issue. Will hopefully resolve itself tomorrow.

Official statement from MS

Happy New Year Zune!

Old rec.sport.volleyball post

2008-12-26T18:13:00.001-08:00

I was cleaning out old Firefox bookmarks and came across this one.

A really long, long time ago, back at SAIC I think, I was a frequent contributor to the rec.sport.volleyball newsgroup. (Yes, this was well before the internet was popular, web sites with "forums" weren't around, so this was the way a group of people with similar interests communicated.)

Anyway here's the post (notice the funny email address @SAIC.COM):

ro...@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Robin Amano) writes:

:
: I have a question I though would never get answered, because I don't know
: anybody. So if possible, what does the US team do for strength training?
: Weights? Plyometrics? If so, what do you do? Squats? Depth jumping?
: Bounding? Sorry if you already answered this, but being that the topic
: on the net is vertical leap, maybe a lot of people would be interested.
: I always wondered what the best do. Take Care and Goodluck!!
:
I have seen this type of question quite a bit lately, in the newsgroup, and
in my email. So, here's the general answer to the USA team conditioning,
jump/weight training, etc.
Our season runs from mid-January to mid-November. All of our 'routines' are
based on this 'year' schedule.
Conditioning: For most of year, do cardiovascular work after practice (which
goes from 8-12pm M-F) 2 or 3 times a week. Start the year with 6 weeks or so
of distance running (2 miles) to build a good cardio base. Then start moving
into sprints. Start with 440s, then 220s, 100s, 50s, and even 20s. Stay with
each distance for a month or so. We do a 440 sprint for time at the start
of the year, then the rest of the year, the sprints are at 70/80/85% so we
have to come in at a certain time.
Weights: Lift 3 times a week after practice, on the days we don't run. Again
start the year building a base, high reps, lower weight...then work into lower
reps (down to 4x6 reps or 10,8,6,4,2reps) with increased weight. As for
which lifts: Flat bench, incline bench, shoulder press, lat pulldowns, upright
rows, seated rows, tricep/bicep work, shoulder work (light weight), leg
extensions, leg curls, calf raises. The big question that is always asked is
SQUATS. That is optional for us - a few guys do them. I don't because of bad
knees, and they do more harm than good. We get a lot of work for our legs in
the course of a 4 hour INTENSE practice.
Jump Training: Occasionally (maybe 4 or 5 times a year) we will do a month
or so of jump training after practice. This consists of jumping at the net,
with weight belts or ankle weights, and working on form with our arms/hands.
Other exercises include attaching surgical tubing between our ankles, and
moving side to side (increasing the distance between the feet - thus creating
tension in the bands) on the court. We test our verticals on a 'vertec'
probably about every 2 months.
Lastly: we are tested 3/4 times a year for body fat and VO2 MAX. Our body
fat must be uner 10% or we cannot practice (until you get it down). But the
goal is 8%. Mine is 7.4% VO2 Max is a test of volume of oxygen that your
lungs cycle for a given time, and is a measure of how in shape you are. The
test consists of riding a stationary bike for 5 mins as fast and as hard as you
can while a doctor monitors heart rate, blood pressure, etc. For anyone who
knows what the numbers mean, we must be above 50 to practice.
That's about all I can think of. Feel free to email or post with further
questions.
Good Luck.
-Dan
-------------------
Dan Hanan USA#12
d...@quebec.saic.com
-------------------

Nintendo DS R4 Chip

2008-12-22T21:53:00.001-08:00

Got the R4 chip for the kids DS systems. Here's a run-through of how to get it going.

Bought the R4 chip here.

Thanks to this site for the video walk through.

2 GB Micro SD card (like this one)
Copy 4 items (2 files and 2 dirs) from R4 install disc \system v1.18\English-1.18 to root of the SD card
Add new folder, called "Games"
Copy .NDS game file into the Games folder

That's it. Put the R4 chip in the NDS, turn it on. The Pac-Man looking icon is the "directory" of the R4 chips. DOS looking directory listing, choose the game and go.

(If it asks to create a save file [SAV], make sure to hit YES)

Home Gateway - Losing DVD Drive Letter

2008-12-10T21:01:00.000-08:00

The DVD drive in my Gateway FX7029E machine is there sometimes when I boot into Windows, and then randomly disappears. After it disappears, it doesnt show up in BIOS or then anytime in Windows. I have gotten it to reappear only after changing the SATA cables around.

Currently: SATA0 (HD), 1 (DVD), 2 (HD #2)

Called Costco, they brought Gateway on the line, and the guy quoted me MS KB article 929461 about disappearing drive letters in Vista. (not exactly my case, cuz I didn't upgrade from previous Windows version).

Anyway - deleted UpperFilters as described in the KB article (LowerFilters didn't exist).

Wala ! DVD Drive (F) is there again! Not holding my breath that it will stay there for long. Will keep an eye on it.

Thanks Costco / Gateway !

Olympus 850sw Camera - Updated Firmware

2008-11-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

Finally got around to updating firmware for my Olympus 850sw camera (the underwater, shock proof one). I was thinking this would take me to v1.1 which is advertised as giving unlimited recording length up to card capacity, but actually took me from existing 1.1 to 1.2

Firmware versions:

1.1 - removes limit on recording capacity (on my 2 GB chip, I get about 16 mins of recording capacity - does that sound about right?)

XD M+ 2 GB chip
18:42 capacity according to this chart

1.2 - improved audio quality on recordings.

no more no/low volume for first 5 seconds
sounds like better quality
haven't done a long recording, so not sure if audio cuts out occasionally like it did on Grandma's long recording

How to update firmware here. Use Olympus Master 2 software to check for, download the firmware, and apply the update to the camera.

Cell Phone Ringtones

2008-09-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

Instead of shopping on Verizon's network for ringtones, tonight I discovered myxer (here). Upload MP3, can splice out the section you want (they even offer "popular" splice sections), download it to your PC, and email it to your phone.

Actually I must have found myxer before [mentioned it when talking about my phone], but was skeptical I'd get ads, spam, etc. Just tried it tonight, so we'll see...

New (?) Router

2008-08-01T06:17:00.000-07:00

Well my previous wireless router for home got fried, I think from a glitch in the lines via Time Warner Cable. A few weeks ago, the HD cable DVR went into a bad state saying no service, call TWC. Went so far as to schedule service call. Suspiciously, at the same time, our internet went down. After diagnosing with them on the call, the modem was ok (connectivity ok when connected directly to pc), but not the router (couldn't get an IP address on the public WAN side).

Anyway - buddy Joe at work gave me one of his old routers, Linksys RV042 (tech info here) - this thing has a ton of features: VPN from the outside, lots of blocking features from the inside (think - kids! ), etc.

When the router died, I had to go quickly buy a replacement, and couldnt find any that have the ability to port forward from one port on the outside, to a DIFFERENT port on the inside. This RV042 from Joe does that (although in a funny way - by adding to the UPnP table)

Anyway - tech info here

XBox 360 couldnt connect to xbox live. Complained about insufficient MTU. Found this article here - changed the MTU to 1365. Not sure if that's an optimal setting or not, but makes Xbox live happy. More info about MTU settings here

Archiving Phone Messages

2008-07-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

Finally got all my old cell phone voice mail messages archived to the PC. These are messages mostly from the kids calling me to tell me they lost a tooth, they got the (baseball) game ball that day, asking for password for the laptop to play AoE, etc.

Since I hassled around with various connections, here's the golden setup for future reference:

(Starting from the PC side)

Blue "line-out" connector in back of Gateway PC
Splitter into red/white RCA jacks
Red only side of a red/white RCA cable on one side to a 3.5 mm plug on the other
3.5 mm to 2.5 mm converter
2.5 mm female adapter to proprietary cell phone side plug (3 sided input converter thingy for my Samsung u740 phone)

Software:

Make sure Windows Recording Devices lists the Line-In device (set play through this device in properties to make sure you hear the sound, play a song for example)
Audacity, record from Line-In (Edit, Properties, set Recording Device), Recording channels = 2 (even though this is mono, the SECOND channel is the one that comes through, so you wont see it if you're recording one channel)
Call voice mail, play messages
Crop each message, save as MP3

Here's a screenshot of what the Audacity settings should look like:

And what the windows recording setup should look like:

Port Forwarding for Xbox 360

2008-07-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

I've never really had any trouble with gaming connectivity on the 360, but now that I'm hassling with a dead router and choosing a new one, you never know.

Here's a rundown on what ports are needed for XBox Live.

Set Up Port Forwarding on Your Xbox 360

Firefox AddOns / Extensions

2008-06-15T22:14:00.000-07:00

Latest list of favorite Firefox addons / extensions. (Just rebuilt work machine and always need to reference an existing machine for these - so here's my current list)

FireGestures
Extended Copy Menu
Download Manager Tweak (no replacment, but FF 3 seems to have this)
Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer (own server = ftp://www.servername.com/servername.com/www/firefox/bookmarks/username/foxmarks.json)
IE View (the one that allows "always" for this URL)
LastTab
Live HTTP Headers
ReloadEvery
Save Session
Tabbrowser preferences
Unwrap Text - of course! By yours truly!
QuickDrag (replaces old Super DragAndGo)

(bold are not available yet in FF 3)

New Home PC - Software Installs

2008-05-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

Here goes ... a possibly endless list of crap that I'm installing on the new Vista 64 machine. Info and links on where I got it, how'd it go, etc.

WiRNS
(update 08/14/11 - now using 3.0 after a machine repave. Notes here.)

download here - I'm trying 2.0 preview 04.09.2008

crashes at startup. forum post telling how to get a 64-bit version of SqlLite.
System.Data.SqlLite - here. Specifically 1.0.48 binaries zip download here.
renamed existing \wirns\sqlite.dll (sqllite.dll.original) and using the one from x64 dir

StartWirns.bat, which just runs "wirns.exe -server" Vista asks for permission, then it stops. Looks like reg access denied.
Run as administrator. Still crashes.

Run WirnsMon.exe, then system tray icon, Start/Restart.

During first run, prompts for IP address, etc. Running this as a service, so Vista shows it in another window station - just entered garbage, will have to edit manually.
Configuration, starts browser for garbage IP address I entered in the other window station.

Regedit - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WiRNS\configuration (wirnsip), set IP address hosting the Wirns config. Now I can get to web based config.

WirnsMonitor fails to start at Windows startup.

In Wirns config, there's a setting to "Load WirnsMon at Windows Startup". Normally, this ON is fine, but on Vista, it needs to run with Administrative privs (not sure why). Unchecked this setting, and put WirnsMon in startup folder with an advanced property setting to run as admin. (Still get standard Vista security prompt to allow/cancel)

Wirns machine doesnt have an ISN to download shows to.

http://www.planetreplay.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=13813&highlight=download+isn

In Wirns configuration, enter a "secondary web port" number to be used by the WIRNS machine for replay functionality (primary port is for web based Wirns functionality). Delete the Wirns machine in the Replays list, and rescan for replays.

To have the WIRNS machine show up in the list of download targets: IVS config, check "Enable IVS Tracker" and "Update RDDNS with local ISN". (Actually it still doesn't show up in the dropdown list, but I just realized you dont have to use that list for downloading - downloads always go to the local WIRNS machine (I wonder what happens when you do that operation from a remote pc?). The dropdown list is built dynamically by SENDing shows to various ISNs, which also works on the local network, to a WIRNS pc)

Working with Schedules Direct

Subscribed ($5 for 2 months to start with) to Schedules Direct for guide data. This allows me to have a guide on the WiRNS pages, and set recordings from there.

Setup:
Configuration, Guide Data - enter user, pwd, zip code, lineup 1 and 2 offsets (0, 1000)
(this next part was not obvious)
Configuration, Replays - for each replay: Edit, choose Lineups for each offset in the dropdowns

Now when I update guide data, then go to the channel guide, it's populated!

Replays cant see Wirns in their replay guide

Configuration >> Wirns. Have to turn the UPNP setting ON. (requires Wirns restart)
(also make sure appropriate path checkboxes are checked in Configuration >> Wirns Paths)

TODO: error at startup: WiRNS is already running. (what's starting a second copy?)

Snoop
Crashes when attaching to a process.

Exception is when loading the injector dll - invalid format. The DLL is a 32-bit DLL and is not liking being loaded in 64-bit process space. TODO: figure out how to build a 64-bit version.

My app doesnt show up in Snoop's list of processes.

Original build target is Any CPU for the snoop.exe process. This makes it a 64-bit process and fails to load the 32-bit injector DLL. Added an x86 build target so that the injector DLL works, but now my (any CPU) app that I'm trying to snoop doesn't show up in the snoop list. Looks like it only shows processes of the same "bit-ness".

Added an x86 build target for my app, so that it's creating a 32-bit version to run, now all is well, I can snoop!

IIS 7

Enable Basic Authentication

Haven't had to use IIS 7 for work yet, and it's a bit different in terms of where to set the settings.

IIS Manager, Drill down through the site, to the application (make it an application if it's not), right side pane, "Authentication". Right click and set: Enable Basic Auth, Disable Anonymous. (have to use a user/pwd that are in the ACL list for the assets directory)

Turned on SSL

Pretty easy in IIS 7. Used ScottGu's blog info here

IIS manager, machine node, SSL certs, create self-signed cert.
Web site, bindings, add https / 443, and point to the cert.
To require SSL for a particular app: Web app, SSL settings, require SSL

ORB
Add channel 77 to guide, to be able to watch ReplayTV on home internal channel

From this post at orb forums, add a file called "channelmap.txt" to C:\ProgramData\OrbNetworks\OrbTV\data\fyi (on Vista 64 at least).

Format of file is:
ChannelName (to show up in the guide)
ChannelNumber

So mine looks like this:
ReplayTV
77

Restarted Orb, and it's all good, shows up on the list of channels, and can watch 77 from remote machine. WOOT !

Xbox 360 Media Extender

Setup extender with Media Center on Vista 64

From info here

Run Media Center on the PC
Start 360, go to media center, get setup key
Back to PC, enter key, install from there.
After setup, go into Settings and add folders where media is located (video, pics)

Offered NBC Olympics on the Go from Linovo. More info here.

Sharing Media from PC to Xbox 360

For some reason, I was thinking this was a feature of Media Center on the PC, but I cant see media from my 360. (I think on my old machine, I was running some lightweight sharing thingy, but oh well - it's much easier / aka "built-in" to Vista)

Control Panel, Network and Sharing Center
Media Sharing - turn it on
In the settings, you can establish what devices can see your media.

Where is the list of folders to monitor?

Built into the Windows Media Player library of course! Ugh.
Tools, Options, Library, Monitor folders...

(Even after the progress bar says it has combed all the folders, it seems to take a while for the media to be available to the 360)

Media available to the 360 under the pics and videos folders, not the Media Center (although you can get to them there if they're setup from within Media Center)

Remote Desktop

Lame, Lame, Lame!! Sounds like Remote Desktop is disabled in Home versions of Vista.

Found this blog post with a way to "turn it back on". Didn't work for me. Ran the SP1 version, but get error when re-starting terminal services (193 not a valid Win32 application).

Damn! Now Media Center Extender wont start back up, cuz Terminal Services is a dependency, and it's hosed.

The batch file was trying to help by saving off the original termsrv.dll to .bak, but since like a dummy I ran it twice, I no longer have that original version.

Heading towards system restore, and use logmein...

Command Prompt From Here

(update: now have a .REG file to do all this for you in Vista and Win7. See ...\Public\RegHacks)

XP Power Toy doesn't work on Vista. Old Command Prompt reg keys dont either

Found this post that pointed me in the right direction. Vista has the feature, but just need to delete or rename that "extended" value (Dont know what %V or %L do, but pushd seems to be the trick)

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\directory\shell\cmd
delete "Extended" value

I like the Windows SDK prompt with yellow coloring to show you're set with the vars, so my complete command is:

cmd.exe /E:ON /V:ON /T:0E /K pushd "%V" && "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.1\Bin\SetEnv.Cmd"

Set this on both the following keys:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\directory\shell\cmd\command
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\cmd\command

MISC IIS stuff
IIS 7 - disable anonymous auth, enable basic auth, disable windows auth (dont want to allow passthrough)
Change security on disk folder: remove admins, add own acct as admin, add webuser, add IIS_USR group with read access

New Home PC

2008-05-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

Finally bit the bullet and bought a new PC for home. My old machine has been upgraded a few times now, most recently to a P4 I got from my buddy Paul at work, but it's finally dragging so much that I can't take it.

Got a Gateway FX7029E from Costco of all places. Compared a bunch of choices from Dell and HP, and this one in a box at Costco came out the best.

Purchased: 4/30/2008 Costco $1499

S/N: CSX83 L10 00042

Specs (Gateway info) (list of many different parts here):

Intel Core 2 Quad proc Q9300 (2.5 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB, 6 MB L2 cache) (I think it's an Intel E210882 motherboard) Intel G33 here or here (dont know what's the difference). "Intel (Schroeder Town) G33 Motherboard"
4 GB RAM (PC5400 dual channel DDR2 SDRAM, 2 modules)
500 GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA HD w/ 16 MB cache
18x DVD +/- R/RW with LabelFlash
NVidia GeForce 8800GT 512 MB (factory overclocked dual DVI, VGA, TV out)
Sigmatel IDT HD Audio
15-in-1 media card reader
Windows Vista Home 64 SP1 w/ Media Center and remote

I'm a little leary of 64 bit Vista, but will give it a try. Found it interesting that a note came in the box along with an original Windows Vista 32 bit CD, saying "64 bit is not for everyone..." with complete instructions on blasting the machine back to a 32 bit OS.

A buddy at work is running 64 bit Vista with many of the same devices I have to use (Zune, iPod, digital camera, etc) and has had zero problems.

I'll be putting some more posts up with info as I try to build it out with all the home software I want...

New u740 Cell Phone

2008-01-16T16:09:00.000-08:00

Got a new cell phone over the weekend. The Samsung SCH-u740

I have been thinking about changing providers (from Verizon) for a while, in an effort to get a cheaper data plan, but then on the other hand have been thinking: I dont REALLY want to be always connected to email and such do I? For about the last 3 months, I've been using text messaging and free 411 info to get sports scores, etc. and that seems to suit me. The only downside is I hate typing text messages on the phone number pad.

This Samsung phone is about the best QWERTY keyboard I could find without going up to the full Smart Phones with Windows Mobile, etc. I'll still maybe someday have one of those for all the other things I can do with it (navigation, golf distancing, write and run my own C# software, etc) but for now, this is a good mix.

Anyway - some sites to keep track of...

BitPim (here) - PC software to manipulate data on the phone
Ringtone stuff (here) - create (?) and download free ringtones
FAQ page (here)
USB / Bluetooth drivers and software (here)

Wireless SD Card - Brilliant

2007-12-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

Heard about this on the Today show this morning. Amazing.

SD memory card with wireless technology built-in! You do a one-time sync/setup with your PC and from then on, walk into your house with the camera using that card, if finds your PC, downloads the pictures to it, and can apparently then upload the pics to a photo sharing site of your choice.

Eye-Fi

RAZR Cell Phone

2007-12-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

Scored a RAZR from my buddy at work (thanks Paul!).
Model info: Motorolla RAZR V3m

Motorola RAZR V3m in Silver [Verizon]

RAZR V3m [Motorolla]

ReplayTV Parts

2007-11-19T20:42:00.001-08:00

Found this on the PlanetReplay forums. This guy has all kinds of replacement parts and instructions for ReplayTV.

example: $155 for 200 hour hard drive for Replay 5040 with software pre-installed, ready to boot

ReplayTV Parts

Cable Modem - Speed Upgrade

2007-10-24T21:25:00.001-07:00

Time Warner Cable called me tonight to offer a free upgrade to the next level of cable modem speed for free for the next 12 months. Of course, they hope I'll forget to cancel in a year and start getting charged the extra $10 / month.

He said it should get me 15 Mb / sec.

Just did a speed test (used speedtest.net, LA node) before resetting the modem:

BEFORE: 9638 Kbps up / 1770 Kbps down
AFTER: 10688 Kbps up / 1884 Kbps down

So not a huge change. I guess that gives me the info I need to NOT pay the extra $5 / mo after the year of free service.

Zap2It Labs - Dead

2007-09-13T22:11:00.000-07:00

I've been using Zap2It Labs for a few years now to provide XML based TV listings for various free software packages (WiRNS, xmltv, DVArchive, etc).

Apparently Zap2It decided to bail on this free service (as of Sept 9).

Here is a discussion about some alternatives, looks like the only free one is TitanTV (here) (and not clear whether they provide XML feed that is compatible with XMLTV, WiRNS, etc)

TV Squad article here
Slashdot picked it up too

Lots more info about it from a WiRNS point of view here, including some talk of the 2.0 release of WiRNS that seems like it may have an alternative source for data instead of Zap2It

Firefox Bookmark Sync - Foxmarks

2007-08-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

I was going to use FolderShare to sync bookmarks between machines (info here), but then found this other article about Foxmarks. If you only want to sync bookmarks, this is pretty painless, and can use your own FTP server for the storage.

Hack Attack: Back up and sync your Firefox bookmarks with your personal server - Lifehacker

Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer - here

iTunes Export

2007-07-29T08:40:00.001-07:00

I really hate the need to burn a CD from iTunes to get the music to mp3 format. Thanks to LifeHacker, here's a tool that looks like it can do it for me.

iTunes Export

LifeHacker article here
Tool and download here [ .NET runtime required - fine with me, of course ;) ]

Well, so far it looks like it doesn't convert to MP3 - rather just copies the music files to the output directory. Will keep looking ...

Batch Encode for Zune

2007-07-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

I finally have a decent process down for converting video to the Zune format.

Using Windows Media Encoder, and their Batch Encoder Sample from the SDK, I can batch up N number of videos to be encoded using a profile that I created for Zune (see earlier post about the settings for the no-conversion-during-Zune-sync video format). Since I'm not looking for uber-quality video on the Zune, I uncheck two-pass encoding to speed the process.

It's still just a little better than real-time conversion rate, so it takes a while to churn through a few vids, but it's at least a process.

Microsoft Windows Media - Automating the Encoding Process

(There are a few things I would change about the batch encoder UI. "Output String" is a string prepended to the output file name and is mandatory. Most often I'm not encoding batches that are related like that, so I'll make that optional. The "Title" should default to the filename of the video that you're encoding. And maybe ... I'll setup a way to feed a directory to this app, so I can just run it in the middle of the night after downloading from ReplayTV. )

Running Vista on a MacBook Pro

2007-07-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

Someday when it's time for a new laptop for home, maybe I'll get a MacBook Pro. Although they are expensive, you can run both OSX and Windows on a dual boot system - a growing trend in the software dev industry.

This will be well out of date by the time I'm trying it, but here is some info about it, just FYI.

LifeHacker walkthrough (Parallels plus Boot Camp)

Hands on: Running Vista on a MacBook Pro

Time Warner Cable - New HD DVR

2007-05-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

I'm finally off the Moxi DVR that Adelphia originally gave me for my HD DVR. It apparently won all kinds of awards for best UI design, etc. ... but it's total crap. The lack of a listings guide (instead have a scroll vertical to channel, then horizontal to shows on that channel) and the general slowness of the UI are horrible.

Anyway, Time Warner has taken over for Adelphia in this area, so I finally got the Motorola DCT 6416 from Time Warner last week. Here are some links and info about the DVR.

Remote Control - Info
I have either this one, or this one (cant tell the difference)

Program the remote - add 30 second advance.
30-second advance is available on the device, but the universal remote they provide with it doesn't have a button assigned to it. Based on this article, I entered the magical code to assign an unused button to the appropriate command.

In case it's gone, here's the dirt:

The following technique can be used to map an unused or unneeded button on the "silver" remote to the 30-second skip command. Current versions of the i-Guide software will skip forward 30 seconds into a recording when this command is sent. A good choice is the 'A / Lock' button since many users don't need that function; you can feel both the '15-second-back' and '30-second-skip' buttons with one finger and move between them without looking. Another option is to reprogram the '15-second back' button, since PgDn already provides that functionality.

Press the "Cable" button at the top of the remote to put it into Cable Box control mode.
Press and hold the "Setup" button until the "Cable" button blinks twice.
Type in the code 994. The "Cable" button will blink twice.
Press (do not hold) the "Setup" button.
Type in the code 00173.
Press whatever button you want to map the 30-second skip command to (ex: A / Lock). The "Cable" button will blink twice if successful.

Note: This now works on boxes with the Microsoft TV Foundation Interface (currently Washington State). As of firmware version 12.22 Insight Cable has disabled this feature. Comcast software Version 73.44 disabled this feature, but the latest software, Version 74.53-3321, re-enables it (this has been confirmed on the 3416 w/ 16.20 firmware). See software for more info.

Program the Remote - Volume Controls Receiver
(from here - page 17)

Hold SETUP, last selected device button blinks twice.
Enter 993, last device button blinks twice.
Select the device you want to control volume (i.e. AUD ). That device button will blink twice.

Good starting point for info on the DVR (from AVSFORUM). Discusses the ports (Firewire, SATA, Ethernet) available and video connectivity (DVI / HDMI).

Timeline

2007-05-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

I have toyed for a while with the idea of building a timeline of life events, but have never figured out how I want to attack it. This would contain events like vacations, where I worked, various kid milestones, etc. that would seem to be fun to look back on many years down the road.

A couple months ago I built out a rudimentary Excel spreadsheet, and it kind of gets the job done, but it's very manual. As time goes on, I have to "extend" the currently ongoing items, add new months / years, etc.

My buddy Intern suggested Flickr, and using their timeline in the Organizr, but that's heavily based on the date taken data of uploaded pictures - I'm not sure I will always have at least one pic for every milestone / event I want to track. (I could create a bogus placeholder I guess).

Poking around the web - I ran into Drupal. Check out this timeline. Timeline | drupal.org
Bummer is, the Drupal environment that it runs on is a PHP / MySQL world, so I don't know one thing about getting that up and running. Intern will have to help me there.

Another alternative is to write one myself as a pet project in WPF. Maybe throw some LINQ in there - just for good measure. :)

Update (07/29/07): Here is another timeline tool from xtimeline (thanks LifeHacker for the tip). Looks like it's an online tool, with free subscription. So far I think I like the drupal version a little better, since it's under my control (after I hijack the .js files of course) :)

Solar Power for Zune / iPod

2007-05-01T11:47:00.000-07:00

Just saw this today (time shifted from yesterday's) on the Today Show. A solar powered charger for the iPod (I'm assuming it would work for the Zune).

Company is called Solio - here.

Programmer Joke

2007-03-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

I first heard this today while listening to Hansleminutes, so had to go find it on the web. Found it here: Raganwald: Programming Language Stories

Just inside the gates of heaven, St. Peter sits at a desk checking people in.

Peter: “Welcome to heaven. Programming language?”

The man at the front of the line says, “Smalltalk.”

Glancing at his clipboard, Peter says, “Room 33. Be very quiet as you pass Room Six.”

The process repeats itself with the next person in line:

Peter: “Welcome to heaven. Programming language?”

Person #2: “Common Lisp.”

Peter: “Room 17. Be very quiet as you pass Room Six.”

The next person moves to the front of the line with a look of curiosity on her face.

Peter: “Welcome to heaven. Programming language?”

Person #3: “Python.”

Peter: “Room 54. Be very quiet as you pass Room Six.”

Person #3: “Why do you keep telling us to be quiet as we pass Room Six?”

Peter: “Because the Ruby on Rails People are in Room Six, and they think they’re the only ones here.”

My buddy Intern Joe will love this one, since he's a big RoR guy...

Color Theory Tutorial

2007-03-10T22:02:00.000-08:00

I'm not afraid to admit I'm color challenged. Not that I can't distinguish colors correctly, it's more that I have no idea what colors go with what. It's funny, my wife always bums out when I refer to the RGB color space, which means nothing to her coming from the "real world" of color.

One of my coworkers, JohnB, pointed out the Kuler site the other day. It's a great way to come up with coordinated color pallettes (be it for a web site, painting a room, etc). Killer UI on their color picker to go along with it.

Thanks to nonstatic.com for pointing out the following article about Color Theory. I'll give that a read to see if I can learn at least the bare minimum...

Color Theory Tutorial by Worqx

keywords: color theory Kuler picker rgb cmyk

ReplayTV - WiRNS & IVSmagic

2007-03-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

I know WiRNS (Windows Replay Network Server) has been out for a while, but I just discovered it. Until now, I've been using Personal ReplayGuide - a set of perl scripts that offer a channel guide and recording options for the ReplayTVs on the local network.

WiRNS offers that and a whole lot more. It's written in .NET (a plus!), so no need for perl to be installed (still need to verify this - I think some of the helper modules might still be perl scripts, and maybe they're magically working since I already have ActivePerl installed).

Update: Add IVSmagic to the mix. Apparently they both can sit between your ReplayTVs and the internet and manage guide data, watch/log traffic, etc. Based on some forum posts (see below), IVSmagic has the advantage that it can receive shows, not just send.

A couple places I've poked around for help on WiRNS:

Series of "setting up" questions and lots of answers here
WiRNS PlanetReplay forums here
WiRNS screenshots with explanations here
More help on avsforum in the ReplayTV forums

Some notes on getting things up and running:

Install was pretty painless, just install and use the system tray icon to open the configuration.
Added password for WiRNS config
Have to use port 80 so that other Replays can stream to the PC (moved local IIS to another port)
Not obvious: to get PC running WiRNS to show up as a legit IVS device:

set "secondary web port" on the main config page. This is the (typically) 29000 range port used for IVS communication
go to Replays page, delete the entry representing the PC WiRNS (wait few mins until it is gone from the page), then rescan.
IVS number should be filled in automagically

Still trying to confirm whether WiRNS PC can receive shows, or only send

Answer: WiRNS can only SEND shows. Apparently "IVS Magic" can receive shows (and even auto accept!)

TO DO List:

Force Net Connect - this is supported in WiRNS. I'd like to see if I can do that from my hosted site, in the case where my PC is off.
Run WiRNS from a remote site, with remote IP addresses to the Replays? Doubtful, this is an EXE running.
Look at IVS Magic for accepting IVS transfers.
Create multiple IP addresses for PC for competing apps on port 80

Daylight Savings Time 2007

2007-02-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

We're coming up on the new dates the US government set for 2007 daylight savings time. From a user point of view, Windows update will be (may already have) shoving down a fix for the time change. Use this "wizard" to figure out what to do.

Some interesting issues for us developers writing apps that do conversion from UTC to local time, etc.

MS KB article

My ReplayTVs are affected as well. They've notified us of an update we have to apply. I'm really glad there is enough staff left around these days supporting ReplayTV to offer this to us.

Don't forget about your mobile devices! Most phones will probably update automatically from the cell phone provider, but my Pocket PC that I use for appointment sync, navigation, etc. will most likely be affected. Info from MS here.

keywords: DST 2007

SQL Server Security Cribsheet

2007-02-20T16:55:00.000-08:00

This will probably come in handy one day when I can't remember or come up with some subtle SQL Server security setup ...

SQL Server Security Cribsheet

Mac v PC

2007-02-20T16:51:00.000-08:00

Some additional Mac v. PC ads...

>> Laurie McGuinness | Mac PC Spoofs

Displaying the Sizes of Your SQL Server's Database's Tables

2007-02-20T16:19:00.000-08:00

Very often in the DB circles, the question comes up: "how big is that database?"

Finally, the answer (at least for SQL Server):


sp_spaceused

Thanks to 4GuysFromRolla for pointing this out.

Displaying the Sizes of Your SQL Server's Database's Tables

...and this gem for repeating the command for each table in the DB:
EXEC sp_MSforeachtable @command1="EXEC sp_spaceused '?'"

Windows Mobile Versions

2007-02-13T15:06:00.000-08:00

Sounds like I'm not alone - I can't ever decipher or remember the differences between the various versions of Windows Mobile. The BOL crew went through them today, here's the quick rundown:

PocketPC Edition, windows mobile classic for PDAs

office mobile (word, excel, powerpoint)
ex: Dell Axim

Smartphone Edition

windows mobile standard
non touch screen devices
office mobile document viewers only
ex: Cingular 3125, Samsung Blackjack

PocketPC Phone Edition, Windows Mobile Professional

PDA devices with phone functionality
usually has a touch screen
office mobile
ex: Cingular 8125, 8525, T-mobile MDA, Treo

Burn almost any video file to a playable DVD

2007-02-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

I'm always fiddling with the best (or any) way to get a given video file to a playable DVD to give to someone. Hopefully this article will finally be a one-stop solution...

Hack Attack: Burn almost any video file to a playable DVD - Lifehacker

Apple Disses Vista's New Security Features

2007-02-06T16:04:00.000-08:00

Great take on Vista's new security features that are constantly prompting the user on what to do. Coworkers at my company have already turned the feature completely off...

Adwatch: Apple Disses Vista's New Security Features - Gizmodo

Media Center on Zune

2007-01-30T09:48:00.000-08:00

Ewal.Net

Thanks to Joel for finding this. Some pretty good info on getting Media Center files sync'd to the Zune. Look for ZuneTVwatcher.zip at the bottom of this post

Mobile Phone

2006-12-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

My buddy at Russ had a couple old cell phones laying around (actually got them on their way out to the trash from our company) and graciously gave them to me. I'm currently evaluating the need/desire to have an internet connected phone.

Just so I remember, here are the specs (when looking for software to use on it, it's useful to remember what hardware I have):

Verizon Audiovox XV6600. Engadget's original post here. (Nov 2004)
Runs Windows Mobile 2003 (Second Edition, build 14132)
Intel PXA263 processor
128 MB RAM (whimpy / old school I know)
Bluetooth

Another article about it's release here.

Computer Specs

2006-11-26T07:26:00.000-08:00

After I've built out a computer, I always find myself 6 months down the line trying to remember what exactly I put in it. Sure, device manager can help out to some extent, but many times you can't get the exact model # from there. Here is an attempt to keep a list of what my various computers are composed of:

Home - main desktop

Motherboard - ?? ask Paul
Video - ATI All-in-wonder RADEON 9700 128 MB
1 GB RAM
Sony CD +/- RW CRX185E1
Pioneer DVD +/- RW DVR-710 (11/25/06)
Adaptec Fireconnect PCI Firewire Card

Home - laptop (Dell Inspiron 6000) - purchased 03/07/2005

Intel Pentium M 750 (1.86 GHz / 2MB Cache / 533 MHz FSB)
15.1 " WSXGA LCD panel
1 GB DDR 400 MHz RAM (1 DIMM)
128 MB ATI Mobility Radeon X300 Video Card
60 GB Ultra ATA 7200 RPM HD
Integrated 10/100 Network Card
8x +/- RW DVD
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 (802.11 b/g internal wireless)
80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
(4 year total warranty)

Work - laptop

Alienware

Product: D9T
Model: D900T

Flickr Camera Stats

2006-11-25T23:01:00.000-08:00

Pretty cool stats collected by Flickr showing who is using what kinds of cameras. Lookup a camera by it's make / model and see how many others are using that camera.

Flickr camera stats

Mailbox Locator

2006-11-14T07:12:00.000-08:00

I don't do a lot of snail mail these days, but when I have to get something out, I'm always wondering where the nearest box is, and where I can find one that picks up at the end of the day.

Here is the answer - mailbox locator.

keywords: mailbox locator

Display Contents of Text Files on Desktop

2006-11-08T20:17:00.000-08:00

Rather than have text files scattered around the desktop, if there are some where you want to quickly see the contents - why not *show* the contents of the file ON the desktop?

From Lifehacker

Make IE Crash

2006-11-02T00:10:00.000-08:00

Pretty funny post about a single line of JavaScript that crashes IE but not Firefox.

Original article here.

<script>for (x in document.write) { document.write(x);}</script>

Firefox 2 Tweaks & Tips

2006-10-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

Now that Firefox 2 is out, here is a list of some about:config tweaks that you can do to enhance your FF browser experience!

Here is a list from Firefox of tips & tricks.

Browser appearance (tabs, icons, etc)
Behavior (external links, saving URLs, tweak Find)
Other (copy table cells, speed up rendering, etc)

And here is my own tip:

Tab "flipping" is the concept that you can activate the most recent active tab by clicking on the currently active tab. I can't stand that new feature in 2.0 (I commonly quickly select the tab and gesture down to close it -- with 2.0 sometimes that click on a tab that I thought was in the background turns out to be on the active tab, which selects *another* tab, and I end up closing that one), so I finally found out a way to turn it off.

about:config - filter on "flip". Change extensions.lasttab.enableTabFlipping to false.

How to hide files in JPG's

2006-10-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

This short video tutorial shows how to hide a file inside a JPG. Uses command line WinRAR and the windows COPY command.

How to hide files in JPG's

LiveOffice Free Conference Calling

2006-10-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

What's the catch? This conference calling tool is free for up to 250 callers on a call?

You still have to pay long distance charges, or use their toll-free number for $0.04 / min. A dude added a comment that you can Skype to the long distance number to eliminate that charge.

Cool feature: can record the conference call - it will give you an MP3 to download at the end of the call.

LiveOffice free conference calling

Top Ten Geek Wallets

2006-10-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

My wallet is not yet close to the ones shown at the top of this article, but it's on the way. Maybe it's time to go with one of these shown, or downsize completely to a money clip.

After all, what else do I need besides ID, credit/debit card?

Top Ten Geek Wallets

10 Tips for Moving From Programmer to Entrepreneur

2006-10-06T17:51:00.000-07:00

In some future dream world, I won't be programming until I retire. I didn't even read these tips yet, but the title caught my eye.

10 Tips for Moving From Programmer to Entrepreneur

Windows Vista RC 1 Software Compatibility List

2006-10-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

Might come in handy once I start playing with Vista ...

Windows Vista RC 1 Software Compatibility List - IeXwiki

Announcing HoboCopy

2006-09-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

HoboCopy is a file/directory/volume copy utility by Craig Andera at Pluralsight wrote. He talks about how robocopy is pretty cool, but can't copy files that are in use.

HoboCopy uses the Volume Shadow Service APIs to work it's magic. He's using it for a nightly backup alternative. Check it out.

Announcing HoboCopy

The Zune

2006-09-19T22:19:00.000-07:00

Microsoft's entry into the mp3 player market with the Zune is coming soon. I haven't really been following it ... but here is some info, along with links to blogs by the MS team members.

The Zune production team just loves to blog - PVR Wire

10 Programming Languages You Should Learn Right Now

2006-09-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

My buddy Intern Joe sent me this link. Of course he found it because PHP (the be-all, end-all language in his mind) was at the top.

C# and AJAX are 2 & 3

10 Programming Languages You Should Learn Right Now

California Overtime Facts

2006-09-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

At a recent client, they started a mandatory overtime policy to get through "crunch time". Some of the employees are looking into the overtime laws - which made me curious as well.

Here's a decent site to get started to understand the California OT laws.

California Overtime Facts

Sonos Digital Music System

2006-09-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

My buddy Intern Joe pointed me to this. Pricey at $1000 for the starter system, but something I can dream about.

Sonos is a system to wirelessly stream music from your PC loaded with music on the drive, to any number of "players" throughout the house. RF based remote to control which music is playing in which rooms, etc. 2 different players, one that hooks into existing receiver/speakers or a PC, then another which has it's own amp.

Someday ...

Sonos Digital Music System to stream digital music wirelessly from PC to any speakers in your home

Flickr Support for Blogger

2006-09-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

Interesting arrangement between Flickr (Yahoo) and Blogger (Google). From Flickr, apparently you will be able to post a picture to your blogger based blog.

This is achieved due to Blogger (Google) exposing a way for external sites to authenticate through them, then what -- call APIs to post blogs?

Blogger Buzz: Flickr Support for Blogger in beta

Obscure Command Prompt Commands

2006-09-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

assoc and ftype -- view/set file associations from command line.

Junfeng Zhang's .Net Framework Notes : Find out which application handles a certain file extension

Watch TV Channels Online

2006-08-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

Some dude called into Buzz Out Loud podcast with this info. Decent small snippets of NBC News, various sports, etc. listed on this site.

Watch online news, entertainment, music and sports TV-channels for free.

My Dream App: Coming Monday

2006-08-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

Just want to remember to check back on this to see what the app is going to be...

PhillRyu.com - My Dream App: Coming Monday, Final Details

Write your own Xbox game

2006-08-13T22:18:00.000-07:00

Here is some more info about the development tools that will soon be available - enabling you to write games for the Xbox 360. It sounds like you'll have to first pay $99 to allow you to use the tools and share the games amongst other "subscribers". Ultimately, down the road, you will hopefully be able to sell your game in the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Spaceshot - sweet!...when do we start writing the RDN game? :)

Write your own Xbox game | CNET News.com

Dont Click It

2006-08-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

Heard this on Buzz Out Loud podcast. They were talking about a no-click mouse. Here is a site called "Dont Click It" where once you enter, you don't click the mouse. Navigation is done via mouse gestures.

Sanjay's Coding Tips :: Cool Tools

2006-08-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

Found via Channel9 ARCcast and ISerializable.com

Sanjay's Coding Tips :: Cool Tools

Ski Bonk - Mashup

2006-08-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

Great mashup of Google Maps and ski resorts. In the winter, it seems they'll have lift status, snow conditions, etc.

Ski Bonk - Ski Resorts, Live Weather Conditions, and more on a Google Map

thanks to Intern Joe for this...

Disposable Email Address Services

2006-07-16T20:40:00.000-07:00

I'm still contemplating moving from Yahoo Mail to Gmail (Google's new calendar is a big reason, along with the "threaded" mail message view in gmail). However, one of the things that I'll miss the most about Yahoo Mail is the disposable addresses I have (via a paid account).

I remember the hacks about adding "+whatever" to the end of your gmail account and it will still get to your account. Not the greatest solution, since your "real" address is still in plain sight, but could be good for automated lists, signups, etc.

Anyway - a quick google search tonight shows this article, which lists some sites whos sole purpose is dishing out one-time (many times read-only) addresses.

Disposable Email Address Services March 2006 » gHacks tech news