Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Google Chrome & Chrome Extensions

i am loving google chrome

  • Its fast
  • its not a resource hog like firefox
  • and now it has most of the plugins/extensions that I need


Google Chrome Extensions

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Using Outlook - Leave e-mail messages on your e-mail server

From Microsoft's Website


When you retrieve e-mail messages from a POP3 e-mail account, the messages are deleted from the e-mail server by default after they are downloaded to your computer. For many people, this works great.
However, if you want to check your e-mail from multiple computers, you must configure Outlook to not delete the messages on your e-mail server. This scenario is most common for people who want to check their home Internet service provider (ISP) e-mail account from work and download the messages for permanent storage on their home computer.
When you leave messages on your e-mail server, you can choose from several options to delete your messages. To make your choice, you need to consider several factors about your e-mail usage, such as how long you want the messages to be accessible from multiple computers and the storage limits imposed by your e-mail server administrator. If you exceed your storage limit, you might be unable to receive new messages or might be charged additional fees. Typically, it is best to have one computer set to the default setting that doesn't leave e-mail messages on the e-mail server. When you use the computer to retrieve your e-mail messages, they are downloaded and deleted from the e-mail server. If you choose not to do this, Outlook allows you to select a time duration for leaving e-mail messages on the server.
  1. On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
  2. Click View or change existing e-mail accounts, and then click Next.
  3. Select your ISP account, and then click Change.
  4. Click More Settings.
  5. Click the Advanced tab, and under Delivery, select the Leave a copy of messages on the server check box.
    Internet E-mail Settings dialog box
  6. Select one of the following options:
    • Remove from server after x days   E-mail messages are downloaded to your computer but remain on the e-mail server for the number of days that you specify. This is the most common setting for people who want to read their messages at work but also download them for permanent storage on their home computer. We recommend that you choose the smallest number of days that suits your needs. The longer you leave messages on your e-mail server, the greater the risk of exceeding your mailbox size quota.
    • Remove from server when deleted from 'Deleted Items'   E-mail messages are downloaded to your computer but also remain on the e-mail server indefinitely until you delete the e-mail message in Outlook and empty the Deleted Items folder. Just deleting the message doesn't remove the message from the e-mail server.
    If you do not select either check box, messages are left on the server indefinitely. You can eventually exceed your mailbox quota, unless you connect to the e-mail server from another computer that has Outlook configured to remove messages from the e-mail server.
  7. Click OK, and then click Finish.

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Hirens Boot CD

Handy tool to have
howto use it on a usb drive
http://www.hirensbootcd.net/usb-booting.html

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Windows 7 > All Programs = BLANK / Missing / Empty

To Fix:
Open C:\Users\ [...] \App Data\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu 


right click on the programs folder > properties. 
then i checked the 'hidden' check box to make the folder (and all subfolders) hidden. 
then click apply.





After doing that everything shows up when I go to start menu -> all programs like it should.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

IT Professionals

The economic rewards that an IT professional will enjoy is governed by a few basic economic principles. The most important of them all is the effects of supply and demand.
Any commodity such as your wage is goverened by demand.  Thus you would like to be in high demand.
So how do you get yourself in a position where you will be in more demand? - find where there are high barriers to entry.
e.g. The tougher it is to get a certification, the higher the barrier is and thus the higher the rewards (wage).
A great way to earn a higher wage is to earn a certification that is in high demand such as the Cisco CCIE.
(This is all well and good if you are after a higher wage, but what if you want more time? a better lifestyle, work less and earn more, stop trading hours for $$$, etc)

However there are always upper limits to earning a wage, you can only work so many hours in a day to earn $$$.
No matter how hard you work, there is still a limit to your earning power.
However, if you look at a software vendor, they can release a product to market and sell thousands of copies, (and each copy has very little to no extra effort to sell once the system is setup).  Thus the limit to earning is only limited by the demand or how many people require that product.  The initial work is all at the beginning - creating the product, but one that system is setup - it can be duplicated to be a cash machine.

Applying this to the IT Professional, get yourself in a position where you are raising the upper limits to your income:
  1. If you are working for a wage, work on contract instead.
  2. If you are selling your labor, try to leverage this by getting multiple sources of revenue for the same labor. For example, if you have a contract to install Linux on 100 different machines, do it by getting paid per machine. Then set up one machine (your hours of labor) and then use a utility like Norton's Ghost to replicate this to all the other machines. The more machines you do this to the bigger your rewards.
  3. If you are selling your knowledge, sell to many for a small amount each as compared to selling to one for a lot. For example, if you are an Exchange expert, write a book where you could earn $5 per copy as compared to doing one large install contract that pays a flat fee.
What are you selling to earn your income? - if you sell your labor, you will never get as far as someone selling a "thing" a.k.a. renting your capital.

Being in IT, you have opportunities to see how new technologies can impact and solve problems for clients.  There may be a more efficient way to do something, a new product that is more efficient, a better way to achieve a goal, etc.  Look for these opportunities!  If you can provide a way of doing something even 10% better then currently implemented, then you are solving a problem that can save $$$.  The initial returns may be low, but the long term potential is unlimited.

Modified from: http://www.cramsession.com





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Monday, October 19, 2009

Atassian - Aust software co. - Check out this video

Atlassian - an AUS software co - check out this video -http://bit.ly/465Or5
I really like their values - sounds like a really cool place to work.
The video is awesome too.
This is how Australian software company Atlassian present their values on their web site’s about page:

What we stand for


Atlassian is an Australian software company specialising in collaboration and development tools.
Our mission is to build a different kind of software company — one that listens to client needs, values innovation in development and solves customer problems with brilliant simplicity.

What we value


Open company, no bullshit

Atlassian embraces transparency wherever at all practical, and sometimes where impractical. All information, both internal and external, is public by default. We are not afraid of being honest with ourselves, our staff and our customers.

Build with heart and balance

Everyday we try to build products that are useful and that people lust after. Building with heart means really caring about what we're making and doing — it's a mission, not just a job. When we build with balance we take into account how initiatives and decisions will affect our colleagues, our customers and our stakeholders.

Don't #@!% the customer

When we make internal decisions we ask ourselves “how will this affect our customers?” If the answer is that it would 'screw' them, or make life more difficult, then we need to find a better way. We want the customer to respect us in the morning.

Play, as a team

We want all Atlassians to feel like they work with Atlassian, not for Atlassian. We think it's important to have fun with your workmates while working and contributing to the Atlassian team.

Be the change you seek

We think Gandhi had it pretty right when he said “We need to be the change we wish to see in the world”. At Atlassian we encourage everyone to create positive change — we're constantly looking for ways to improve our company, our products and our environment.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

MSN Messenger Bot

LOL
I got added by a bot called
elizabethzurama@hotmail.com

conversation:
hi
me: hi

how are you?
me: how are you?

my name is paris blah blah blah....

me: block user

How to remove joomla 1.5 copyright info

First:
in cpanel > filemanager

Go to the root folder Of Joomla > languages > en-GB/ en-GB.mod_footer.ini
FOOTER=Footer
FOOTER_LINE1=Copyright © %date% %sitename%. All Rights Reserved.
FOOTER_LINE2=Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License.
MOD_FOOTER=mod_footer
THIS MODULE SHOWS THE JOOMLA! COPYRIGHT INFORMATION=This Module shows the Joomla! Copyright information


Second:
Go to yourtemplate/index.php > bottom of page
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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Joomla - Changing the main title "welcome to the frontpage"

This will guide you on howto change the 'Welcome to the Frontpage' title on your Frontpage.

Go to your Joomla! 1.5 Administration site and login. In your administration site go to:
  • Menus - Main Menu
  • Click on 'Home' link to edit this link.
  • Click on Parameters System and change or delete the Page title.
  • Click SAVE.
alt
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Joomla - SEF not working (404 - Component not found)

Joomla - Search Engine Friendly URLs in the Global Configuration of Joomla 1.5.2 and tested and verified to be true for 1.5.3 as well.

" ... edit configuration.php as var $live_site = 'http://www.mysite.com' "

Note that default configuration.php is var $live_site = ''

Wave hello to the future

WOW google wave is looking awesome.  I never really took notice until recently.  but wow!
http://wave.google.com

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Windows 7 - Show Deskop button

I was always wondering how to "show desktop" in Windows 7.
I only found it by accident!
It's in the bottom right hand corner.



Saturday, October 03, 2009

IIS asking for windows password

IIS was being stupid.
asking for (windows) authentication password
even though the site was setup to be anonymous access.

so I went into IIS manager
right clicked on the site > properties > directory security > Auth and access control
disabled anonymous access
clicked ok

then went back into it and re-enabled anonymous access

that seemed to fix it
:)

LDAP Browser

This tool comes in handy when you need to test LDAP connections - and its free!
Softerra LDAP Administrator & Browser: Directory Management Tool Download
LDAP Browser 2.6

Type
Free
Version
2.6
OS
Windows NT 4.0/2000/XP/2003
Upload date
12/07/2003


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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Add Google Analytics to your Blog

How to add google Analytics to your blog?
  1. Login to Google Analytics at http://google.com/analytics/.
  2. Add a new Website Profile for domain.
  3. Analytics provides you with a code block - so highlight it and copy it (ctrl+c)

Step 2: Now Add the Google Analytics Code into your Blogger Blog Template

  1. Login to http://www.blogger.com/. This will take you to your Dashboard.
  2. Select the blog and click on Layout > Edit HTML.
  3. Scroll down to the end of the template. It will look something like:



PASTE YOUR ANALYTICS CODE HERE

  1. Paste your Google Analytics code directly before the tag.
Congrats! You have now added the Google Analytics Code to Your Blogger.com Blog.
Horray
:)

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Fiddler - The web debugging proxy tool

What is Fiddler?

Fiddler is a Web Debugging Proxy which logs all HTTP(S) traffic between your computer and the Internet. Fiddler allows you to inspect all HTTP(S) traffic, set breakpoints, and "fiddle" with incoming or outgoing data. Fiddler includes a powerful event-based scripting subsystem, and can be extended using any .NET language.
Fiddler is freeware and can debug traffic from virtually any application, including Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and thousands more.

Its a pretty cool tool and will come in handy. I forgot the name of this tool a few days ago and really needed to install it on another computer.
Click here to vidit the homepage



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Thursday, September 24, 2009

How to block IP address ranges in uTorrent – using ipfilter.dat « Decoding the Web

How to block IP address ranges in uTorrent – using ipfilter.dat


In case that you experience lots of hash fails in your uTorrent client, or just simply want to filter out suspicious IP addresses, you should use an IP blocklist.

Here is how:

1. Download an appropriate IP blocklist. Just get the one called "nipfilter.dat.gz" - The file will be saved in .gz format, therefore you will have to unzip it. The result is a file called “ipfilter.dat”, that is the IP blocklist.

2. Copy/paste the ipfilter.dat file into your %appdata%\utorrent folder.
click start > run > and enter:-
%appdata%\utorrent
This folder looks something like “C:\Documents and Settings\Application Data\uTorrent”.

3. Start uTorrent, go into Options > Preferences > Advanced, set the
ipfilter.enable option to True

and hit Apply/OK.
Now load up uTorrent.
If you have successfully executed the above steps, then on the Logger tab of uTorrent, you should see something like
“Loaded ipfilter.dat (xxxx entries)
If you see there “0 entries”, then something went wrong.

You can reload the list without restarting uTorrent, by simply setting the ipfilder.enable option to False/OK and then True/OK.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Install VMware Tools in SLES10 / SLES / Linux on ESXi via online repo

I found the easiest way to install vmware tools was to do the following, as the option to install vmware tools in VSphere Client only gave a tar file.

*You need internet access on the Guest for this to work

From the online docs
http://pubs.vmware.com/guestnotes/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm
  1. Goto: Installing VMware Tools
  2. scroll down "
    To download OSPs and to find important information and instructions, go to http://www.vmware.com/download/packages.html"
  3. To download the Operating System Specific Packages, see the package repository at
    http://packages.vmware.com/tools
  4. From here goto the correct directory(s) - e.g. /tools/esx/4.0/sles10/x86_64
  5. In YAST > Software > Installation Source : add in the URL - e.g. packages.vmware.com/tools/esx/4.0/sles10/x86_64
  6. Click ok
  7. Now in YAsT > Software > Software Management : search for vmware
  8. tick to install vmware tools and click "Check" button - the will automatically add on the necessary packages.
  9. Accept
  10. after the install finished - reboot the guest
  11. Done!- you should now have vmware-tools installed


Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Telnet in Windoiws Vista / Windows 7

  • open control panel
  • Then go into programs
  • Then in programs and features there should be a part that says ‘turn windows features on or off ‘
  • Click ‘turn windows features on or off ‘ then on the list that appears simply choose: Telnet Client


Friday, May 01, 2009

Dreamweaver SFTP to SLES 10

Was unable to connect to my sles box using sftp in Dreamweaver 8.
However, I was able to sftp using mucommander.

To fix this i found this solution.

change the following in /etc/ssh/sshd_config
PasswordAuthentication = no
PasswordAuthentication = yes


Convert VMware to MS Virtual PC iamge

Announcements : VMDK to VHD Converter Available
VMDK to VHD Converter Available


Monday, April 27, 2009

Automatically connect to console in Remote Desktop (OSX)

macosxhints.com - Automatically connect to console in Remote Desktop
When using Remote Desktop Client for Mac to connect to a Windows Server 2003 machine, you can hold down the Command key while pressing Connect to connect to the server's console session.

If you want to save your connection settings to a file, however, there is no option in the GUI to automatically use the console session. To do this, you will need to open up the saved connection file in your favorite text editor, and add the following line:

connect to console:i:1


Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Running IE on your Mac

Found this interesting page regarding running various versions of IE on your Mac. - in a virtual of course...
Its also interesting in regards to using Microsoft Virtual PC for users that do web development to be able to test different versions of IE on a windows platform. 

Running IE6, IE7 and IE8 on your Mac — The Mozmonkey Blog


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Installing VMware Tools on SLES10 Linux on VMWare Fusion

In vmware fusion i installed SLES10 sp2 however when attempting to install the vmware tools there was no RPM install.

On vmware.com there is a link to download an ISO that contains the Linux VMware tools - you can download it from here or direct link to iso

Linux Version | 2008/09/12 | 183 MB
Download .iso file
md5sum: 10ae80986e1532a188f8b93ad878945e

once downloaded, load up fusion and run SLES.
Click on Virtual Machine > CD/DVD > choose disk image
and select the iso file
also, make sure that CD/DVD is Connected


You should now have the following icon on your SLES desktop


double click on VMware Tools
and run the RPM installer




Configure VMware Tools:
Load up a terminal windows in SLES

vmware-config-tools.pl

Respond to the questions the installer displays on the screen. Press Enter to accept the default value.


Restart the VM machine

Thats IT!
vmware tools should now be installed and working!





from vmware.com

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Convert a CD/DVD to an ISO in Mac OSX Lepoard

1. Insert the CD/DVD
2. Open disk utility and select the CD/DVD



3. Select New Image and change Image Format to DVD/CD Master

4. Wait for the image to be created – it will be a .cdr file

To convert from .cdr to .iso
5. Open terminal and issue the following command from the same path as the .cdr file
hdiutil makehybrid -iso -joliet -o FILENAME.iso FILENAME.cdr

Monday, March 23, 2009

How to Connect to and Shadow the Console Session with Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services

If you have installed SP-3 on XP or are running Vista, you'll need to use /admin.

%SystemRoot%\system32\mstsc.exe /F /admin
/F = Fullscreen (optional)

more info @ Microsoft



Wednesday, March 18, 2009

WSUS 3.1 - SQL Express 2005




Install sql express first
then install wsus
select "use existing database"









Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Vista 64bit Novell Client - NMAS Error 0xFFFFF95F

The following error:
Novell Doc: NDK: Novell Modular Authentication Services - NMAS Error Codes: "0xFFFFF95FNMAS_E_INVALID_SPM_REQUESTThe requested password operation is invalid"

"windows is unable to find a system volume that meets its criteria for installation" - DELL COMMUNITY

Attempting to install Vista 64bit on a Dell PC
"windows is unable to find a system volume that meets its criteria for installation" - DELL COMMUNITY: "SOLUTION:
I had been using the F12 prompt to boot to the vista cdrom but the cdrom was set as the first boot device. Once i permanetly changed the boot order to boot to the hard drive first this problem disapeared. (and was then able to use the F12 boot menu to boot off the cd and install windows)"