Sunday, March 11, 2012
The New iPad Screen is Too Resolutionary
The resolution on The New iPad is too high and unwarranted.
Quoted from Apples web site, "so dense that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels when held at a normal distance"
Also, to show off the new screen, they show you the new and old screens side by side, which look equally the same, until you use the magnifying glass. A poor way to demo the new screen. But wait, how many users read books with the iPad of which the screen is too glossy and distracting apps such as Facebook and Twitter are a flick away. The Amazon Kindle Touch blows all iPads away in this department, including the "Revolutionary One"
As we speak there is no screen with a resolution of 2048x1536 to test the current and newly developed apps on as developers try to see their creations perform on the device. There is not even a monitor with the same resolution on the market.
Developers are scrambling to try and solve this major resolution debacle as the current crop of apps will look fuzzy on The New iPad.
There are reports the screens are very difficult to produce at high volumes. A major supply chain headache for a company with a stock price in the stratosphere. Too many mistakes here guys.
http://www.bostonherald.com/jobfind/news/technology/view.bg?articleid=1061116231&chkEm=
http://www.displaysearch.com/cps/rde/xchg/displaysearch/hs.xsl/analysts_rshim.asp
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Can no longer backup SBS 2011. VSS error 22155348129
Did you get your SBS2011 Standard SharePoint update ?
Did your forget to run PSCONFIG on your SBS 2011 Standard Box?
If you did, you just tanked your NT Backup jobs.
By not running PSCONFIG, the VSService can no longer create snapshots until PSCOFIG is run.
Sharepoint will operate. It will throw errors, but it will run without the PSCONFIG update.
The Official SBS Blog on how to perform the update:
1. Open an Administrative command prompt.
2. Change directory to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\BIN
Copy and paste the command below
3. Run PSConfig.exe -cmd upgrade -inplace b2b -force -cmd applicationcontent -install -cmd installfeatures
Microsoft TechNet Link on Updating SBS2011 SharePoint Patch
Actual VSS error #: 22155348129
Did your forget to run PSCONFIG on your SBS 2011 Standard Box?
If you did, you just tanked your NT Backup jobs.
By not running PSCONFIG, the VSService can no longer create snapshots until PSCOFIG is run.
Sharepoint will operate. It will throw errors, but it will run without the PSCONFIG update.
The Official SBS Blog on how to perform the update:
1. Open an Administrative command prompt.
2. Change directory to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\BIN
Copy and paste the command below
3. Run PSConfig.exe -cmd upgrade -inplace b2b -force -cmd applicationcontent -install -cmd installfeatures
Microsoft TechNet Link on Updating SBS2011 SharePoint Patch
Actual VSS error #: 22155348129
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Hacked Gmail Account Sending Malware Links
My sons GMail account was recently hacked. It was an account he never uses or hasn't used in quite some time. This hack is probably connected to GMail/RSA hack against Lockheed Martin which was recently hacked using compromised RSA tokens.
The account will send you an email with a YouTube link, of which my son does to tell me about the latest technology he has seen.
When you open the email and click on the link, the malware pops up and with one click from the computer user, will try to install.
If possible, open task manager, CTRL+ALT+DEL, and close the web browser. This occurred in Internet Explorer.
Once the browser closes, then reopens - IMPORTANT - do restore the web page as you will be directed back to the same infected link.
Being knowledgeable is the best defense against these attacks. More will be arriving in the coming weeks.
Chrome catches the offending web page.
Mozilla 5.0 catches the offending web page.
Malware Pop Up Tips:
The account will send you an email with a YouTube link, of which my son does to tell me about the latest technology he has seen.
When you open the email and click on the link, the malware pops up and with one click from the computer user, will try to install. If possible, open task manager, CTRL+ALT+DEL, and close the web browser. This occurred in Internet Explorer.
Once the browser closes, then reopens - IMPORTANT - do restore the web page as you will be directed back to the same infected link.
Being knowledgeable is the best defense against these attacks. More will be arriving in the coming weeks.
Chrome catches the offending web page.
Mozilla 5.0 catches the offending web page.
Malware Pop Up Tips:
- Change the mail account password or close the offending account if no longer needed.
- Do not click on any offering popups.
- If possible use Task Manager to close the browser if the malware offering pops up.
- Do not have the browser restore the web page if using Internet Explorer.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Is this Apple's New Billion Dollar iCloud Location
Would you put your music in the cloud? I tried Amazon cloud and the novelty wore off real fast. Why do we need to move our data to the cloud? I see Sony getting hacked. I see RSA getting hacked. Now I see Lockheed Martin getting hacked and that's no big deal I guess, but they use RSA. Am I missing something here.
A few weeks back I saw Epsilon get hacked , the keeper of marketing emails for customers of 50 large corporations and now in our shop I see more PCs and now Macs being infected. So you tell me, why put it in the cloud?
Nothing is safe. Keep it in your house. Get a RAID NAS device and store the stuff yourself. you'll thank me for it.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Our First Mac Malware Infected Computer
Our first Mac infected computer arrived in our shop this week. The IMac was infected with the Mac Defender malware program . With market share and smugness running rampant in Apple land, it was only a matter of time.
The included photos show the user trying awful hard to download the malware. The owner supposedly said his children were using the PC.
Some prevention tips include :
PLEASE BACKUP your user directory if you're not sure of what you are doing, or if in the area, stop by the shop if you need assistance.
This type of malware is of the social engineering bunch. It scams you into installing itself on the Mac computer, then asks for money or invites other nefarious programs into the compromised system. The MacDefender Malware we encountered adds a nice variety of porn pop-ups in the browser. This will rattle parents and cause Apples phone to ring off the hook.
I was amazed how it spread itself into the entire system. We scanned with Virus Barrier which found most traces of the program, but we also scanned with the free Sophos Anti Virus for Mac which also found additional files in the java cache folder. After all scanning finished, we went over the system with a fine tooth comb checking for any remnants of the malware in the file system.
These programs all have an extremely convincing pop up to start the process. The click starts the install, which triggers the password box pop up. Users are so convinced , that they type their password and the rest ins history.
Now from what we're hearing the developers have found away around the OS/X password mechanics. Most Mac users don't have any anti-virus on their computers. This could be trouble for Apple as this is a major selling point for the pricey Apple products.
I still have a gut feeling that Iphones and Ipads with an install base of millions, could be next.
all trademarks respected
Some prevention tips include :
PLEASE BACKUP your user directory if you're not sure of what you are doing, or if in the area, stop by the shop if you need assistance.
- Turn off Open Safe Files after Downloading in Safari
- Do not type in your password when asked.
- And if you get past all that and the bell still doesn't go off, please don't type in your credit card info when asked by the malware program. If you did, call your credit card company and dispute the charge or cancel the card.
- Download Sophos for Macs and Virus Barrier. Update each and scan your computer.
- Delete the found quarantine of each anti-virus program.
- Delete your browsing history
- Check your DNS settings in system preferences, networking, your connection, properties, DNS tab to see if they're not compromised. If possible, change them to OpenDNS. add the following 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220 for better more secure surfing.
I was amazed how it spread itself into the entire system. We scanned with Virus Barrier which found most traces of the program, but we also scanned with the free Sophos Anti Virus for Mac which also found additional files in the java cache folder. After all scanning finished, we went over the system with a fine tooth comb checking for any remnants of the malware in the file system.
These programs all have an extremely convincing pop up to start the process. The click starts the install, which triggers the password box pop up. Users are so convinced , that they type their password and the rest ins history.
Now from what we're hearing the developers have found away around the OS/X password mechanics. Most Mac users don't have any anti-virus on their computers. This could be trouble for Apple as this is a major selling point for the pricey Apple products.
I still have a gut feeling that Iphones and Ipads with an install base of millions, could be next.
all trademarks respected
Monday, May 23, 2011
Network Admin Pancakes
I though I'd mix it up a little here, so here we go.
Hey guys, we all know our job can be sedentary, sitting in chair repairing a workstation or in front of a server doing troubleshooting or a drawn out o/s installation.
I created this power packed morning breakfast recipe for us guys on the go. Fast and easy to make. You can even make a batch of pancakes and freeze them for later in the week.
This is a protein packed pancake mix that is absolutely delicious. You can make the mix ahead of time, pour the liquid mix in an old Heinz upside-down ketchup bottle, or just keep the dry mix in a zip lock bag and add the egg, milk and oil another day. This mix is full of protein and has lees carbs than store bought pancake mix. The syrup is absolutely delicious as the agave is great for diabetics allowing for slower absorption of the sweetener into the bloodstream due to its low glycemic index.
Serve them with a side of fresh cut strawberries and blueberries if in season.
Network Admin Pancakes
- 1 ½ Cup of All Purpose White Flower (King Arthur or equiv) or Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour which has a soft hint of whole wheat. Or combine equal amounts for a nice blend mix.
- 1 ¼ Cup of Milk - 2% or whole
- 3 ½ Teaspoons of Baking Powder
- 1 Teaspoon of salt
- 1 Egg
- 2 Tablespoons of Canola Oil
- ¼ cup of ground walnuts
In a large bowl mix together flower, baking powder, salt and walnuts
Make a well in the center of the mix and pour in milk, egg and oil. Mix with a hand wisk about 10-15 turns. I don’t like my batter silky smooth. I like a few lumps. Preference here.
Heat a griddle or large fry pan – I use Loge Logic cast iron. Get the surface nice and hot. You can coat the pan with butter, oil or cooking spray, but a light coating should be all you need. Then pour, wait for bubbles and flip. Reapply some non-stick to the cast iron after each batch.
Syrup – Mix the following ingredients together, and then warm in a microwave for a few seconds. Spoon over your freshly made pancakes. Use sparingly
3 Tablespoons of Raw Blue Agave Syrup – Natural Organic.
2 Tablespoons of Natural Grade “A” Dark Amber Maple Syrup.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Slow Phone or Tablet Performance - Check your SD card speed rating
Speed is everything in memory chips. Recently, SD cards came out with a speed rating based on the original CD-ROM speed (1.2Mbs) being read by the Optical Drive reader. Heres what to look for:
Your phone or other device will benefit from the speed difference with the type of chip you purchase. Your phone scans the media for data each time it boots. A higher speed card will result in faster boot times and program load times.
SD Cards were an issue with the release of the Windows 7 phone from Microsoft as the chips were not fast enough for the phone. Article about SD Card limitations in Windows 7 Phone There are some reports a Class4 card will work.
The Windows 7 Phone will reformat the card and lock it to the phone and assign it a special key. It is not to be removed and is to be treated as permanent storage for your phone. So get a fast big one and stick with it.
I was using a generic Class2 16GB card in my ATT Capivate Android with rooted Firefly 2.5. Booting was slow, typing was sluggish as I used APP2SD with UltraKeyboard. Essentially, My Class2 SD card was killing the speed of my phone. My class 2 was performing like a 4200rpm hard-drive in my laptop. I had enough.
This week, I purchased a Lexar 16GB Class6 card. The card includes a full size SD adapter. I popped the SD card in my PC and copied everything to a temporary directory. I switched out the microSD to the 16GB Class6 and copied everything in my temp folder back to the new card. Rebooted my Captivate Android and the sluggish issues have disappeared. The phone boots faster. The card is scanned much quicker at boot (Media scanner running, Media scanner complete), the keyboard lag is non-existent. Apps now respond much quicker. I now feel like I just installed a 7200 rpm hard-drive. My dream storage at the moment is a Lexar 32GB Class 10 with write speeds of 10Mbps and read speeds of 20Mbps. Lexar gave the card a 10 year warranty! BGR Lexar Announcement.
Interesting Company from Taiwan - manufacturer of very fast memory cards:
Pretec, a Tiapei,Taiwan based manufacturer of small form factor memory cards, just released a Class 16 Speed Card for HD video. The card is a 64MB SDHX chip. They also released the worlds first USB 3.0 card reader.
MicroSD is created by Sandisk. All registered trademarks are respected.
The speed rating
Classes of Speed
Class 2: Rating: 13x Read: 16 Write: 16
Class 4: Rating 26x Read: 32 Write: 32
Class 6: Rating 40x Read: 48 Write: 48
Class 10:Rating 66x Read: 80 Write: 80
Be careful with some chips as the speed rating is loosely interpreted. Manufacturers might rate their speed based on read which is faster. Write is slower and should be the default speed for rating the chips performance. Kingston certifies on their write speed.
SD Cards were an issue with the release of the Windows 7 phone from Microsoft as the chips were not fast enough for the phone. Article about SD Card limitations in Windows 7 Phone There are some reports a Class4 card will work.
The Windows 7 Phone will reformat the card and lock it to the phone and assign it a special key. It is not to be removed and is to be treated as permanent storage for your phone. So get a fast big one and stick with it.
I was using a generic Class2 16GB card in my ATT Capivate Android with rooted Firefly 2.5. Booting was slow, typing was sluggish as I used APP2SD with UltraKeyboard. Essentially, My Class2 SD card was killing the speed of my phone. My class 2 was performing like a 4200rpm hard-drive in my laptop. I had enough.
This week, I purchased a Lexar 16GB Class6 card. The card includes a full size SD adapter. I popped the SD card in my PC and copied everything to a temporary directory. I switched out the microSD to the 16GB Class6 and copied everything in my temp folder back to the new card. Rebooted my Captivate Android and the sluggish issues have disappeared. The phone boots faster. The card is scanned much quicker at boot (Media scanner running, Media scanner complete), the keyboard lag is non-existent. Apps now respond much quicker. I now feel like I just installed a 7200 rpm hard-drive. My dream storage at the moment is a Lexar 32GB Class 10 with write speeds of 10Mbps and read speeds of 20Mbps. Lexar gave the card a 10 year warranty! BGR Lexar Announcement.
Interesting Company from Taiwan - manufacturer of very fast memory cards:
Pretec, a Tiapei,Taiwan based manufacturer of small form factor memory cards, just released a Class 16 Speed Card for HD video. The card is a 64MB SDHX chip. They also released the worlds first USB 3.0 card reader.
MicroSD is created by Sandisk. All registered trademarks are respected.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Rooting my Android Phone
This article is geared to the ATT Captivate, but you can use most of the links and apps for other phones also. Even though it was very easy to root my phone, I take no responsibility in any errors or bricking, should this happen to your phone in the process.
HARDWARE
Need: MicroSD Card – 8GB, 16GB would be better and your phone data cable.
ROOTING SOFTWARE, WEB SITES and ANDROID APPS
SOFTWARE: Galaxy S One Click Root (For ATT Captivate) see below links. Can also be used with other devices.
APP: ROM Manager – This can be found in the Android market on your phone. Search ROM Manager. There are 2 programs, the free one is sufficient for this project. After rooting and replacing your ROM, you can upgrade to the paid version. Check out the paid version features first to see if you would like this capability.
ROM of Choice. They can be found at:
My favorite ROMS include Cognition (latest 4.1.1) and FireFly (latest 2.5). I am using FireFly 2.5 at the moment. This ROM has given my ATT Captivate super powers. Great ROM. Although 2.2 was a little more polished than version 2.5 I have on my phone now. Check out their site as to what they install as standard apps. Here are some excellent ATT Captivate ROM’s
- Cognition for ATT Captivate
- FireFly for ATT Captivate
- Serendipity for ATT Captivate. This site allows you to custom build your ROM which creates the .zip file to copy to your phone.
HOW TO
The almost bricking of my phone
I found if you have your stock ROM in place makes it easier to root. I made the mistake a few months back to upgrade to 2.2 as quick as possible. I used ODIN to upgrade to Froyo. I now had extra capabilities that Froyo gave me. But as time went by, the Rom started to really have issues. Missing shortcuts after reboot. Sluggish performace. I began to hate my phone. Most important I had the Clockwork Recovery error where I could not flash my phone.
So I researched and found I needed to go back to stock and root from there. I found a stock ROM for my ATT Captivate, I used ODIN again, and yes it froze during install. And yes I thought I bricked it.
Thanks to Androids openness, I can do what “I “want to my phone. I don’t have to wait for ATT/Samsung’s latest build as they are still on Éclair 2.1. The phone is now very fast. I now have a custom Froyo build. Included is Gingerbreads keyboard, Titanium backup & Superuser. Most of all, I can now download and install ROM’s of choice. I will update this post as
Eclair to Rooted Captivate Steps:
Odin to remove busted Froyo and install Stock Rom back on phone
One click root for Captivate. (don't mount your SD when you connect to your PC)
Rom Manager - Installs Clockwork Recovery
Firefly 2.5 Rom copied to my SD Card
Ran Rom Manager Cockwork, Booted into recovery and loaded the firefly .zip file.
Eclair to Rooted Captivate Steps:
Odin to remove busted Froyo and install Stock Rom back on phone
One click root for Captivate. (don't mount your SD when you connect to your PC)
Rom Manager - Installs Clockwork Recovery
Firefly 2.5 Rom copied to my SD Card
Ran Rom Manager Cockwork, Booted into recovery and loaded the firefly .zip file.
My Apps:
App 2 SD Free: A Must!
Astro File Manager
myATT: to keep track of the kids minutes, txt's and data.
Barcode Scanner: for Price and Info Lookups
Epicurious: Food Recipe App
App 2 SD Free: A Must!
Astro File Manager
myATT: to keep track of the kids minutes, txt's and data.
Barcode Scanner: for Price and Info Lookups
Epicurious: Food Recipe App
Evernote: Great app for syncing notes, & photos.
Bloomberg: Excellent Finance App
Ebay ( the official Ebay App for Android)
Google Finance: Another Excellent Finance App
GTunes: Download any tune w/ lyrics
Optimum DVR Control App
Pandora: Internet Radio
Stitcher: Podcasts
Voice Search: The most recent updated Google Voice Search App
WavPlayer: to play my voicemails.
Weatherbug
Sunday, January 30, 2011
SBS 2003 Reboot Error - The system is not fully installed.
A couple of days ago we could not remote access one of our clients SBS 2003 box we took over from a fairly new client, So we called during the day told him to reboot the system.
About 8:30pm I got a call saying the system has this message on the screen and it reboots to that message and that's it. Sure enough, I went over to his office and there it was.
I could not do anything to the server on site, so I took it back to the shop did some research and found the following KB Article:
.Article ID: 320279 - Last Review: May 19, 2005 - Revision: 4.1
I followed the KB article, took out each harddrive since we were dealing with RAID1 and placed them in our USB dock. I loaded and navigated to the key and changed the 1 to 0. It is possible that Lenovo used sysprep in their install and somehow the reboot wrenched the registry.
Amazingly, the system booted correctly. I rechecked all log files to see of there was any issue related to the error. None were found.
We now pushed his upgrade cycle a bit closer in time. Also we noticed that we have some surprising issues with servers we did not build or we inherited from previous IT companies.
About 8:30pm I got a call saying the system has this message on the screen and it reboots to that message and that's it. Sure enough, I went over to his office and there it was.
.Article ID: 320279 - Last Review: May 19, 2005 - Revision: 4.1
"The system is not fully installed" error message after you run Sysprep and restart
Also this site had similar solutions: techarena forum
“Click File , and then select Load Hive .Select the main drive letter from the "Look in:" dropdown field at the top of the Load Hive window. Double-click the SystemSetupInProgress Value Name, a REG_DWORD data type, and set the data value to 0. Exit the Registry Editor.
Use Control Panel / System / Advanced / Startup and Recovery [Settings] to make the Default operating system your original install. You can also alter the time to display the list of operating systems.”
Use Control Panel / System / Advanced / Startup and Recovery [Settings] to make the Default operating system your original install. You can also alter the time to display the list of operating systems.”
Amazingly, the system booted correctly. I rechecked all log files to see of there was any issue related to the error. None were found.
We now pushed his upgrade cycle a bit closer in time. Also we noticed that we have some surprising issues with servers we did not build or we inherited from previous IT companies.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Windows 7 - Add a Network PC Attached Printer
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