End of the Experiment: Doomed SX280.

After two tries with eBay Dell SX280s, I'm giving up. A second one arrived a day or two ago, and it doesn't boot, even to the BIOS setup. After researching this it looks like it might involve capacitors on the motherboard. The first eBay seller promptly refunded my money and told me to keep the unit.

The second seller also refunded payment promptly and requested that I send the unit back. I won't be able to try the capacitor replacement fix.

Out of three purchases, one works fine, and two were dead on arrival. Not a particularly great record, and I think I will end this experiment and go back to looking at purchasing at the Dell Outlet, or even new machines.

I just configured a low-end new Optiplex for $371. Of interest is this does not include any floppy, CD, or DVD drive. I added an extra 1 meg of RAM for a total of 2 megs, and kept the Windows Vista home OS with the idea of replacing with a license that I have here for Windows 7 and/or Ubuntu Linux.

So, the upshot is we're still looking at a minimum of around $500 for a basic Dell desktop machine which includes a flat screen. The hardware guys recommend Samsung and Viewsonic flat screens.

A new stock analysis service called Trefis has this to say about the Dell company.

Dell is known primarily for its product line of desktop and notebook PCs, printers, and PC displays. However, much of Dell's value comes from higher profitability businesses, such as managed services and consulting, through which Dell provides business customers with services, such as desktop outsourcing or IT call center support.

We foresee Dell contemplating an exit from the desktops, printers and displays business.

Hmm.. They calculate that desktop machines are roughly 2% of the company value, laptops about 20%, (ten times the desktop figure!) and that the largest proportion of value comes from Dell's acquisition of Perot Systems in "business services".

The $30.00 Windows XP Computer.

Based on Jeff Duntemann's suggestion about the SX270 I went on eBay and bought both an SX270 and an SX280. I bid and got the 270 for $30.00, however, the vendor required a shipping fee of $30.00 for UPS ground which I think is a bit of a ripoff. Still, $60.00 isn't bad (potentially) for a working more-or-less modern computer. For those who have more time than money, who want to try this route, here are a few additional tips.

1. All eBay Dell SX270s are not equal. Many are stripped of their hard drives. This is presumably for security reasons. If yours does have a drive, it will probably have been wiped, so it will need an operating system.

2. Many of the SX270s have what is called a COA sticker included. Sometimes this is simply described as "COA included". This gives you a Windows license key. You still need to be able to install a copy of Windows, so you need to have a CD lying around, and typically this needs to be a single user copy. (I tried installing using the media from our site license. This wouldn't accept the COA as it the one on the sticker wasn't a "volume license" number. I also tried using an old Microsoft Action Pack version of the Windows media and this didn't want to accept the number either. All this nonwithstanding the fact that I *do* have a legitimate Windows XP COA number to input during the installation process. The best solution proved to be a Dell Windows XP "operating system reinstallation disk" of which I have several lying around from previous new Dell machine purchases.

3. Both the SX270 ad SX280 have power bricks, similar or larger to those that you find on inexpensive ink jet printers and laptops. These are by no means generic and you need to be sure you have the right one to fit the machine. The eBay listing may or may not include the power brick....if it doesn't you'll be out another $10-$30.00. I was unlucky, but managed to get a Buy-it-Now brick for $10.00 (plus shipping of, I think $6.00). So, my $30.00 computer now costs $73.00.

4. My machine arrived in reasonably good shape; but was dusty. The CD drive wouldn't read a CD correctly. I bought a CD cleaner disk from Amazon, and that seemed to fix the reading problem; but if it hadn't the PITA factor would have gone up considerably as I'd have to replace the CD drive.

5. Once Windows was installed, I downloaded the network drivers from the Dell site, using another machine... and installed these on the SX270.

Then there is the inevitable faffing about trying to find video drivers for the unit. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a utility that would contain all of the drivers necessary, and that would install them in one batch file? Anyway, according to the discussion on the Dell web site, drivers should be installed in the following order:

1. System driver file...either desktop or laptop. (I never found this for the SX270)
   
2. Chipset (motherboard driver) requires a reboot.
   
3. Video driver. requires a reboot.
   
4. Network driver (already got that, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to download directly to the SX270)
   
5. Audio drivers.
   

When Windows was first installed, the machine wouldn't produce any screen resolution higher than 600x480. Once the video driver was installed, it went to 1600x1200 automatically. Pretty dramatic.

Looking at the specifications on the Dell site, it says that this machine is actually an SX270N. I'm not sure what the difference is between an N and a non-N.

The fan is noisy. Too noisy. Like the wind in Wuthering Heights. The fan noise diminished when I placed the unit on end, with the vent holes in the top. I'll also attempt to peel off a label that the bonehead vendor stuck on the top thereby covering about 20% of the ventilation holes....maybe that will improve the air circulation and keep the machine cooler.

Tech Friday: The Forgotten Art of Scripting

Well, maybe it hasn't been been forgotten by everybody, but it has been a long time since I looked at scripting, which might be considered another name for "accessible programming for casual users".

In the beginning was the shell script.. any of several flavors of command line languages that manipulated UNIX operating system shells. These included component programs with funny names like AWK, and SED that allowed the manipulation of data and (especially) text files. And they all still work and and are used. I'm personally fond of grep, which is a sort of search engine on steroids available on any UNIX variant (like the Mac OS X)

Then there was the DOS batch file, which appeared in the earliest versions of DOS and has been carried up through all versions of Windows with the availability of the Windows Scripting Host. It has now has morphed into the PowerShell... but you can still write and execute a simple batch file if you want. Great stuff for network administrators.

Then there is JavaScript, which has nothing to do with Java, used for calculations and manipulations of web pages. I wrote my TimeCard web page program in JavaScript; and it works, and it it is fast, but working with the language was kind of a mess.

Why bother?

The later versions of the Tandberg Codian Multipoint Control Unit (MCU) for videoconferencing includes an XML-RPC interface to allow programmers to interact with the box without going through the provided web interface. The latter, by the way, is actually quite good. Our idea is to figure out the basic sub-set of functionality that we usually use 90% of the time, and build a custom interface for that 90%.

XML-RPC is, (it appears) to be a languishing standard for having one machine issue calls to another machine, and allow the second machine to execute commands. The reason I call this "apparently languishing" is that Google searches for XML-RPC turn up documents mostly from the early part of the decade. Also, there are few good tutorials on how to get things to work... right now I'm winging it using an (excellent) free client for the Mac which sends XML-RPC commands to the target box from a Mac workstation. Still, XML-RPC is what our box expects to receive...and for the moment at least, that's what it will get. Once we've figured out what to send...we'll figure out how to send it, ultimately using any scripting language that will work, but starting with AppleScript, which is native to OS X and which comes with an editor and dictionary built in.

Tech Friday: Video-The Right Tool For The Job

Two Stories:�

I

I've been participating in a�entrepreneur�boot camp of sorts which requires us to create slide show presentations to introduce our company. Because the leader is using an older Dell laptop with Microsoft Office 2003 installed, we are required to create these presentations to run on PowerPoint 2003 on her laptop. After the presentations have been created, our team was asked to record a voice-over to accompany these slides. This was recorded using Audacity�on a Windows machine using a Samson condenser microphone with a USB interface. We did it in a couple of takes, and listened to the playback. All seemed well, although the team expressed some trepidation at attempting to�synchronize�the playback of the audio with the individual slides, a finicky process which would take some hours. �So the question is, why not use the sound recording function in PowerPoint 2007, (Windows) or Keynote '09 (Mac)?�

II

We've been engaged in a study comparing a 15 week exercise program delivered in three "modes", 1.) a live class at the 'Y', 2.) an interactive version delivered over the internet using multi-point two-way videoconferencing, and 3.) a DVD version of the program. �As part of our telemedicine project we had a contractor create a version of our program for delivery on DVD. We shot great footage with professional audio, lighting, and camera work. The footage was edited to create a 15 week version of our program. �Once the raw edits were created, we sent them off to a DVD guru who used one of those $1,200 authoring programs to put it together. �The result was OK, but non-intuitive. The users of the DVD basically hated it and several dropped out of the study. �

Now, a year has past and the study subjects who participated in the live session and those who took the interactive tele-version of the program want to have a DVD version of the program as a reference so that they can continue their exercise. We decided to provide them with a free DVD, using clips recorded from the telemedicine session. I combined these using iMovie '09 and the result is better than the original professional DVD. (!) �I subsequently bought David Pogue's Missing Manual book on iMovie and iDVD and am looking forward to re-doing our original DVD as well as create some promotional material for sharing on the web. �

Now, video editing isn't my favorite�pastime, but it is certainly no worse than grant-writing, and if the results are near-professional, then why not take advantage of what has really become a disruptive technology?�

On the other hand, here is an example of Eva Sollberger's Stuck in Vermont video blog. Eva is a one-person video production company. She shoots, edits and publishes. This particular episode is about 6-8th graders creating their own news show. �It sure beats Channel 5 eyewitness news.�

�

Cloud Computing Redux

A year or so ago I railed against the cloud. Or rather, I railed against the paid cloud. Notwithstanding the fact that even then I was already paying for the cloud.

The subject came up during the Freedom To Connect conference. We were sitting around having lunch, several pretty hard-core networking types and somebody was grousing about cloud computing. "It's not secure!" "It's slow!" "What if you're not connected to the Internet?", (this at a conference of which the entire point was being connected all the time at ultra-high speed). But, I'm Cloud-Boy.

web site	hosted at my ISP
eMail	hosted at my ISP
virtual disk	iDisk hosted at MobileMe
project management	BaseCamp
time cards	Harvest
Calendar	Google Calendar
RSS reader	Google Reader
word processing	Google Docs (occasionally)
invoicing	QuickBooks via eMail

Then there are the mandatory online applications when dealing with the federal government:

• Employee withholding and tax payments
  
• Applying for federal grants at Grants.Gov
  
• NIH Commons for managing those grants once you've got them.
  
• Electronic Funds System for drawing down funds.

Unfortunately, our state of Vermont is far behind... they actually require paper for virtually every step of the grant application and management function. Hmm....I wonder if you can file for a gay marriage license online?

I guess the point is that you'd be nuts not to take advantage of some hosted applications, and even if you are dead set against the cloud, you might be using something in the cloud and barely realizing it.

As usual, the MobileMe suite of applications from Apple have a little extra. Theoretically at least, you can sync your Safari links, and dashboard applications. (I still can't get the dashboard apps quite right). The iDisk is effective in that it essentially mirrors one or more folders that are present on a particular machine, my desktop iMac for example, and replicates that disk to one or more other machines. (can work for Windows too...although I haven't tried it. ) The neat thing about the iDisk though is that there is still a local copy of the folders on each machine. This unloads many of the objections to Cloud Computing...the notion that if you aren't connected, you don't have access to your files. True disk transfer happens at "FTP" speeds, so sometimes it takes awhile to sync with the cloud.

Tech Friday -- WES and Ruby

Microsoft has made available considerable information about Windows Embedded Standard, (WES) which is the latest version of Windows Embedded, based on Windows XP.

There are (roughly) three versions of embedded operating systems from Microsoft:

Windows Embedded Standard: Allows a stripped down version of Windows XP for powering set-top boxes, game boxes, and machines dedicated to a single application. This is what we're using in one version of our telemedicine set-top box.

Windows Embedded POS: An enhanced version of WES for cash registers and checkout scanner applications.

Windows Embedded CE: This is the version of Windows used for mobile phones and other hand-held and portable devices. The code base and software development tools for CE are different than Windows Embedded, with many of these related to WES.

There are a total now of twenty-nine (29!) training videos related to Windows Embedded Standard.

The Windows Embedded Developer Center site is the gateway on Microsoft's Developer Network to all things related to Windows Embedded.

The Windows for Devices web site has information related to all version of Window Embedded as well as hardware that runs under Windows Embedded.

Other Notes:

Smashing Magazine has a nice introduction to Ruby on Rails.

Revisiting

After more than two years, a former and much loved non-profit client called for some help in sorting out their donor database. That's another story which may be worth telling, but I was interested in seeing how they have weathered the economic downturn, and how some of the networking decisions that we took some years ago have held up. They have a main office and several field offices scattered among three counties. They have about 55 employees.

1. By the time I had left, most of field offices had a broadband connection. That work was completed, and each office now has a DSL broadband connection, either from a local ISP, or from Fairpoint (the company who bought the Verizon landline and consumer data service in the three northern N.E. states). After working with it for a couple days, I'd say performance is OK.. although today, curiously, there was a twenty minute outage.
   
   
2. With broadband available, they how have remote access software going to EVERY computer in EVERY office, as well as their central file server. Much desktop maintenance that required an on-site visit, can now be accomplished over the wire.
   
   
3. Electronic mail accounts are hosted by the local internet service provider. People use Outlook or Outlook Express as their desktop eMail client....and access their eMail account when away from the office via webmail.
   
   
4. They refreshed their desktop hardware with Dell Optiplexes that were donated by a local large employer. Although the machines are hand-me-downs, they are more than adequate for eMail, web browsing, and running the database application. The donor also gave them several laser printers that were only a few years old. Everyone is running XP, with Office 2007. (Without prompting, they said that Office 2007 is fine.) They have Norton Anti-Virus which is managed from the file server. No less than three of the staff said, in casual conversation... "well, I do have a Mac at home". I nodded toward my Macbook, running Parallels, wondering if this turns out to be a longer term gig, if I will need to get a new Windows laptop.
   
   
5. Their Dell file server is probably going on five years; but it is built like a tank, with RAID drives, and the original HP backup tape system. They have HP Procurve 2124 ethernet switches, and HP continues to keep replacing them under a lifetime warranty, when the fans go bad. I think we've replaced two or three switches with this client, and a couple of them with other clients. It takes one phone call.
   
   
6. Several old battles were, well, old, if not forgotten. They have made their peace with a state-mandated performance data application which gave us all fits for years. The Executive Director attributes this success to attentive support from the state agency which mandated the system.
   
   
7. If there is one especially popular non-business application being used by the staff, it is streaming audio. In fact, today, the first indication that there was a glitch in the internet connection was when a staff member came in and asked why her "radio" wasn't working.
   

In short, it Just Works. I think this is attributable to the existing staff who have educated themselves over the years, and new staff who have come on board with full expectations of a functioning network and desktop workstation and how to use it. Add in some longstanding support from management who recognize the value of investing in technology and training, and the efforts of the current part-time network manager who keeps it all humming.

Tech Friday: Programming the Logitech Orbit Webcam

Just dabbling.

The Logitech QuickCam Orbit AF Webcam is a motorized point/tilt/zoom (PTZ) web camera with outstanding resolution and performance.�Logitech has provided some additional documentation on manipulating the webcam. In Windows this is done through the DirectView API. To get as far as "Hello World", i.e just to demo the whole thing, I first downloaded a sample C++ program provided by Logitech called. PTZ.exe Then I realized that I better see if the camera works in the first place, so I downloaded the current QuickCam driver set qc1150 from the Logitech site. Once that was installed, it worked fine when testing.

Then I tested PTZ.exe. This seemed to work fine. It is a command line program which does the following:
* Scans existing USB ports to find the webcam.
* Issues a series of commands to exercise the mechanical and digital PTZ functions of the camera.

Because my camera is an older version, just the zoom seemed to work. I'll have to test it again with current AF.

Since PTZ.exe also comes as C++ source code, I downloaded and installed Visual Studio C++ Express Edition. This is the free version of Visual C++ . I opened the PTZ "solution", when showed the various header files, and the main routine in a "folder" hierarchy to the left of a standard editing pane.


[Click picture to see full size]

Just like old times. You compile. You link. You run the application in a command box. This all works pretty reliably, even in Vista, running on my Mac through Parallels.

I then downloaded a USB port sniffer, and watched the messages merrily going to and fro between the web cam and the USB port. Much more on USB in Jan Axelson's books and on her web site.

Next steps: Get the proper webcam, and try modifying the PTZ program myself to see if I can change the parameters. Oh, and maybe get a proper Windows development system.

By the way, the Logitech support forum has support for Linux and Solaris.

Death to Microsoft LifeCam

... and Logitech Orbit MPs as well.

One reason I convinced myself that it would be good to move to the Mac is that I've been really tired of trying to solve Windows problems. I figured that there would still be problems, but at least they would be new problems. I was coming off a Vista disaster, where we attempted to install Vista on ten production machines, (because the University's license with Microsoft specified that they can't use XP) and Vista never worked. Hey what's a hundred or more hours down the tubes for the sake of Microsoft?

Like childbirth, one forgets the pain with time, and I have merrily installed application after application on the Macbook and the iMac. This almost inevitably is a two-step process which takes at most two minutes:
1. Download file
2. Drag file to the Applications folder.

On the other hand, installations for Windows usually involve an opaque installer program which may or may not have an option to install things that you don't want. Then there is the Windows registry... a nightmare. To make a long story short:

I had a Logitech Orbit AF camera installed on one box, and I removed it to substitute an older Orbit MP. The MP didn't work, even after attempting to reinstall the drivers three times. I don't know if if it is a USB issue...or what. So, I had a Microsoft LifeCam VX6000 lying around, and I figured I could use that. Hey its from Microsoft, right? This installer got into some kind of infinite loop, pegging the processor to 100% and basically hanging. Twice. Finally after five reboots, and a lengthy process where I just ignored the machine for awhile (fifteen minutes or more), it finally did install, and the camera does in fact work with my application. Elapsed time almost an hour.

A similar thing has happened multiple times with Hewlett Packard ink jet printers, and even my LaserJet 2420. The hardware is crap. How is it that a $500 LaserJet 2420 overheats after 30 minutes and stops printing when my Laser 2000 is still going after something like ten years? (I gave it to a non-profit.) HP has hundreds of printer models, each requiring separate support and drivers, many of which don't work well. (Even the Indian tech support people have said that HP driver installer programs are useless).

Both HP and Microsoft have lost control, desperate to foist any half-assed product on to the market in an attempt to maintain their market share. And each of these sorry products can represent tens of hours of lost time and frustration. Grrrr!

MacBook Hard Drive Replacement

They say bad things happen in threes. Ok...I broke my foot three weeks ago, I blew a loudspeaker on my stereo (but it was 36 years old, "The Smaller Advent") and now a week out of warranty, my MacBook hard drive headed south, giving a forlorn "click, click, click"... I found this out on a Saturday as I attempted to syncronize some files between the MacBook and the iMac. So far the aftermath has been relatively painless.

1. I put in a call to Small Dog Electronics. Within two minutes I was talking to a knowledgeable tech support person, who immediately verified that they had a replacement drive in three sizes in stock at both of their stores.

2. Went to the South Burlington store, stood in line at their repair window (equivalent to a genius bar) and got the replacement drive. I took the opportunity to upgrade it to 320 gig, from the 250 gig drive that failed. $120.00 for the drive. I also asked if they could do the replacement on the spot, but they demurred, saying it would be a couple of days before they would be able to get to it. Having seen several explanations on how to do this myself, including a YouTube video, I had no fear.

3. Disassembled everything per instructions. Vexacious. Tiny screwsheads easily stripped. The worst are the TT8 Torx screws that hold the shield on top of the drive. Naturally, I've never needed a #8 Torx screwdriver in my entire life, and didn't have one. Ran to the hardware store, they didn't have one either except as part of a Christmas special of 40 screwdrivers packaged in a blister pack for $13.99, product of China and evidently fabricated of pressed cardboard. Never mind, it worked.

4. Fiddled with restoring the operating system. The install disks from the iMac don't work. The MacBook Leopard install disk was an "upgrade" disk, and since I haven't already installed the earlier version of it said it wouldn't install Leopard, until I had installed Panther. However, in the disk installer menu there was a restore option to restore from Time Machine.

5. Booted again with the Time Machine disk attached. Went around in circles as the restore program didn't see the new disk. I hadn't formatted the disk, so how could it have seen it? (some things would have been second nature in Windows, oh, and by the way, a format on a Mac is called "erase"). Once I did format the disk I was able to start the restore process , and it has been merrily restoring now for about 90 minutes with another 30 or so to go. I'm excited...will my new Parallels installation with Office 2007 and Vista survive the restore? Will my eMail be there and the VPN?

So far so good... everything works; Parallels, Mac Mail, Safari, iWork, iTunes and all the bits are there. Nice.

More on Time Machine

While at the 'Dog, I took a look at the new alumininum MacBooks, trying to justify a full replacement. Something equivalent to mine would be about $1600, I think... a little steep, considering that I'm happy as a clam with my current plastic one from November of '07. The performance appeared to be better on the new one, of course, and it seemed substantially lighter. In short..they are nice.

Newbie Guide to Asterisk Pitfalls

The good folks over at Nerd Vittles continue to hack away at Asterisk, and publish a terrific blog. Their May 12th posting is great. Asterisk Hell: A Minefield Navigation Guide for Newbies.

Ubuntu Linux rescues Windows XP Embedded

This being summer, we're back on the Windows XP Embedded kick. After generating an image, the question was..how do we get this on to our target machine?

We wasted a lot of time on this one. As recommended in the docs, we installed "regular" Windows XP on the target machine to make sure that it would run Embedded. No problem there, it installed without problems from CD. We ran the Target Analyzer, to get our device.pmq. Copied device.pmq back to the development machine and generated the image.

At this point, we started fiddling with a second partition on the target machine. We created and formatted this using Acronis Disk Doctor, which comes on a bootable CD. Our plan was to install our target image on this partition, change the ARC listing in boot.ini to point to the second partition as the boot partition. We spent a day fooling with this, including changing the drive letters, hiding the partition, moving stuff around. Didn't work.

Finally, we reformatted the hard drive on the target machine. Now you'd think that Microsoft would have something like a "LiveCD" for this purpose, which would boot a version of Windows enough to allow copying to an existing hard drive. It doesn't, but Ubuntu, Suse, and Fedora Linux all have this, and Ubuntu had drivers that would read the USB drive where we stored the image, as well as the NTFS formatted hard drive.

A quick drag and drop, and we're done!

Have they no shame? (Microsoft that is...) There is a Community Technology Preview out for a new version of Embedded...let's hope this issue might be addressed with a couple of extra tools.

Mac Conversion: A progress report and some backsliding

The Spousal Unit always wonders why I upgrade my computer and operating system as frequently as I do. The fact is I think the world has enjoyed a pretty long run with Windows XP, wasn't it out in 2001? She doesn't sympathize with my explanation that sometimes I just get to the point that I'm tired of solving old problems, and I would just as soon solve new ones.

I bought a Macbook back in November. I was just coming off a bad experience with Microsoft Windows Vista. Partly I needed a new laptop...my Dell Inspiron keyboard was terrible, even after two replacements. So even thought the Inspiron is as great laptop, it was essentially useless for actual work, like word-processing. It was also heavy, but considering it could be a replacement for a desktop machine, I was willing to live with the weight.

So, an update on the Macbook, and my (non)-conversion to all things Mac.
The hardware is terrific. Even thought Apple upgraded the processor speed and hard drive capacity shortly after I bought mine, both have been more than adequate. What is really nice is that the weight is about half of the Inspiron. I can keep this machine in a LL Bean Sportsman Briefcase, along with the essential accessories and a leather-bound pad for note-taking. It has an excellent and usable keyboard. It has a track pad which mimics a single-button mouse. This is still a pain for us two-button mouse users, but it something you can live with if you want to go naked, or you can buy a Microsoft two-button notebook mouse to carry in the briefcase.

The Macbook plays nicely with external non-Apple peripherals. When you aren't traveling, you can plug it into one of those Dell 19" monitors from Staplesand work at 1440x900 resolution. If put the notebook to sleep, and then attach the external mouse, keyboard and monitor, you can restart it with the lid closed. Not as convenient as a docking station, which might be something to try next.

I've got the Macbook printing to an HP OfficeJet Pro K5400 ink-jet printer. Two of these printers have been working reliably and well for the past eighteen months under what I would call light duty. The printer has a USB interface. If you need to plug this in with a USB keyboard and USB mouse, then you need an external USB hub. I note that the docking station advertises five USB connections, which is another reason to consider it. Right now I'm using $14.95 keyboard from Logitech as the external keyboard. It is a little scary to realize that this dirt-cheap keyboard is superior to that of the Dell laptop keyboard.

Having all this paraphernalia connected to the Macbook detracts considerably from its sleek and smooth look. The Macbook is considerably more attractive running alone on a battery, connected wireless to the unseen network cloud. I've gotten well over three hours on the battery when running wirelessly which is fine. With the wireless connection enabled, the machine will sniff out the strongest local network connection and walk you through the connection process. If you have done this once already, the connection will be automatic the next time. It works fine on the university's VPN with the addition of the Cisco VPN client which requires manually logging on.

Mac heads rave about the Mac software and operating system. I think the OS is fine. I don't care really for the "Finder", but that is partly because I haven't really transitioned comfortably from the Windows "Explorer". But I really like that fact that the OS on the Macbook is the same as the OS on all other Macs, and that it is available in one version only. It is an operating system instead of a demanding lifestyle. Apple doesn't try to bludgeon its competition or its customers with its operating system. Really, can you imagine the Apple OS getting the same kind of treatment and publicity that Vista has gotten in the past two years? Upgrades and patches are a fraction of what comes out for Windows every week.

As for the backsliding, well, I installed Vista using the Parallels software. I did this strictly so that I could run OneNote, the one essential Microsoft program that doesn't seem to have a Mac equivalent. Except for the onerous secondary startup process of booting Vista within Parallels and then starting OneNote, this seems to work fine. In fact, the Macbook would really make an ideal Windows laptop.

Other Mac Software

Safari is much maligned in the blogosphere, and it has crashed several times. I installed Firefox as an antidote, but it crashed even more, so I'm sticking with Safari on the Mac side of the house at the moment. IMail doesn't really compete with Outlook, and I've had trouble trying to duplicate the series of folders that I have in Outlook with rules that automatically move new messages into specific folders. The calendar and address book have separate interfaces, and I guess I prefer how Outlook integrates all these into a single (albeit bloated) application.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that I'm really attached to this notebook. It is a fine combination of price and functionality with a sleek and comfortable design. I'm not sure if I would recommend it for an office, but for an individual's private machine it is ideal. With the addition of some inexpensive peripherals, it doubles nicely as a desktop machine as well.

Books Books Books

Trying to get some of this stuff off my desk, chest, mind, whatever... A spate of new books:

The Big Book Windows Hacks by Preston Gralla
This is a compilation of tricks for Windows users. Although addressed primarily to people struggling, er, working with Vista, many of the hacks work with XP. The book contains a lot of more generic information as well, regarding wireless networking, Microsoft Office, and PC hardware.

Windows Registry Guide, Second Edition This second edition does not include Vista, but is primarily oriented toward XP and Windows 2003 Server. It includes a couple chapters of basic registry description...how the registry is organized, how to back it up, and then goes into some detail about how to change registry entries on your own. Lots of practical advice here. For example:

• Customizing Folders
  
• Renaming Desktop Icons
  
• Adding Desktop Icons
  
• Reorganizing the Control Panel
  
• Adding File Templates
  
• Preventing Messenger from Running
  
• Customizing Internet Explorer
  
• Logging on Automatically.
  

Some of this we've covered ourselves, (indeed using using the same sources). And some of these things are covered by utility programs such as TweakUI and other PowerToys..

The Practice of System and Network Administration - Second Edition
This very fine book of systems administration is broad enough to provide help for everyone from entry-level to senior management. It includes a balance of nuts and bolts tactical information with high level planning and strategic ideas which is a rare thing in a single volume. Backups, disaster planning, and staffing are discussed alongside open source vs. closed source, supporting mixed environments, maintaining your asset inventory, and maintaining your sanity. This is the one book I'd take on a desert island, assuming there was a network to maintain there.

And a trio of hardware books by Jan Axelson...

These editions are by Nuts & Volts and Circuit Cellar author and tech columnist Jan Axelson. If you want to know anything about interfacing computer hardware, she is the go-to author.

USB Complete - third edition
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) has evolved to replace "legacy" connectors on many computers, including serial RS232, keyboard, mouse, and printer ports. In addition, almost anyone who wants to connect to a PC these days will provide a USB interface. This book explains how to develop and debug such interfaces and describes the hardware and software necessary to make them work.

USB Mass Storage
This sub-class of USB devices encompasses things like interfacing a digital camera to a PC via the USB interface, where the mass storage is actually contained on a chip in the camera, or a removable card. Although generic mass storage units (USB thumb drives) are ubiquitous these days, there are a variety of emerging applications for this kind hardware.

Embedded Ethernet and Internet Complete
This is the classic "internet web server on a chip", where you have a device or sensor located remotely that you want to access over the web, or as the subtitle describes:

Create tiny Web servers and use TCP/IP to communicate over local networks & the Internet

The book as a thorough and readable discussion of the internal parts of TCP/IP. She even talks about crimping cable connectors. But then the book continues on to work through example applications using two popular modules: The Rabbit RCM2300 and the Dallas DSTINIm400. Want to interface your toaster to the web? This book will show you how.

Tech Friday: Programming the Logitech Orbit AV webcam

Logitech provides a site for programmers who are interfacing the Logitech webcams to their own applications. There is support for both Windows and Linux, and there are forums to ask questions. Very nicely done using Plone, the open source CMS system.

I'm hoping to spend a lot of time here, after we finish installing about 12 end-user sites using Vista.

Photos of a Intel "Mini-ITX" type system

Wanted to show some photos of the little systems picked up from Logic Supply. Here's a look at the exterior of the fanless one. The top and sides are perforated to let the heat out. Click on the photos to see a larger image.



Here's a look with the covers off. You can see the massive heat-sink that sits over the processor, to the right...the smaller, shiny heat sink sits above the hard drive.



A look right down on the top...



And, a view with both heatsinks removed. You can see the mini hard drive to left. It is mounted into a carrier that has the hard drive heat sink already attached.

System specs:

Intel Celeron M440 (Yonah) 1.86Ghz
1 meg of Ram
2.5" Samsung hard drive SATA 80 GB

Tech Friday: Lightening up Vista Business

As with all Windows installs, there are lots of possible deviations that you might want to make with the default. We're shoehorning a Vista Business on to a Mini-ITX machine with 1 meg of RAM and 1.86Mhz Celeron processor (socket M) and we want to keep the level of background processing down. Here's what we've found you can do to reduce the footprint.

• Turn off User Account Control [link]
  
• Turn off Vista automatic searching [link]
  
• Set for automatic login - (eliminate the log-in screen)
  
• Set Window resolution to 800x600
  
• Turn off the enhanced graphics and Aero [link]
  
• Turn off Windows firewall. [link]
  

Both Vista and the Mini-ITX machine that it is running on, from Logic Supply, are growing on me. I attached a $179.00 Dell monitor from Staples to the machine as well as an inexpensive Logitech keyboard and Microsoft mouse. You are better off using newer peripherals; there are no 'legacy' connections on the machine. Even the monitor requires a digital connector. Fan noise is a problem when using the unit for video or VoIP calls, so we'll also be testing a fanless version and crossing our fingers that it won't run too hot. Cost for the unit, plus Windows, plus the peripherals will put you in the $1000 range. On the other hand, a colleague is testing an Acer 4620 laptop that he got at a special at Best Buy for $499. Comes with Vista Home, (here are the differences between home and business) and it has been running everything that he can throw at it.

Tech Friday: Installing Ubuntu on the Mac and the PC

I've been drinking a lot of coffee today, and I think it affects my ability to concentrate. So, one thing has been leading to another and another, and I've ended up installing the latest version of Ubuntu Linux on both my PC and my MacBook using virtual machine software.

Why Virtual Machines?

A virtual machine allows you to host multiple operating systems on a single physical computer. The classic reason for doing this is to run some form of Windows on the Macintosh OS because you just can't live without some crucial Windows program. (Think Quickbooks, or OutLook, or in my case OneNote). The Virtual machine program is a thin layer of software which sites between the original OS (on the Mac this is OSX), and one or more "guest" operating systems, (in my case Windows Vista). There are a couple to choose from. The people at our university recommended Parallels. Installing Vista and Parallels went pretty smoothly. So, as I hadn't seen a Linux desktop for while, I thought I'd try installing the latest and greatest Ubuntu.

Why Ubuntu?

Ubuntu appears to the current favorite for a "desktop" Linux. It is available on some Dell machines. It comes with a large number of applications, and an attractive desktop. There are several versions available for specific purposes. It is well supported.

I started with this step-by-step tutorial, which is available for a couple different combinations of Parallels and Ubuntu.

While waiting for this to install, I fiddled with Microsoft Virtual PC on my Windows box and found that I was using an older version 2004. I downloaded and installed version 2007. Looks just like 2004, but includes support for Vista as reported at Linux.com. After a couple of false starts dealing with the mouse, I was able to get Ubuntu installed.

Once installed there are several additional tweaks that need to happen which required editing the boot loader parameters and some config files to get the mouse working. Then a similar process is required for sound drivers, and network drivers.

Rather than go through all that, I downloaded VirtualBox and installed it on my workstation. Then I reinstalled Ubuntu. Mouse worked immediately. Networking came right up. The sound card worked as soon as I changed the default VirtualBox configuration to include the sound card. So far, Ubuntu works fine, and is surprisingly fast, and VirtualBox appears to be superior to Microsoft Virtual PC, at least when installing non-Microsoft operating systems.

Meanwhile, back on the Mac, its been more of a struggle. Here a couple issues and solutions:

1. When choosing which version to install, choose the "alternate" form of the Ubuntu installer. (There is a checkbox for this on the download screen.) This is a text-based installer. Otherwise, it will just hang as you start to do the install, and you'll get a funny message saying somthing like "Tried 6 times to start the X-Server and something is seriously messed up".
2. When you download the .iso file from the mirror, it will appear on the desktop as a disk. However, this is actually, just a pointer to the file ubuntu-7.10-alternate-i386.iso which is located in your download directory. This caused a lot of confusion, because when you attempt to assign an "image" for the installation process through Parallels, you have to point to the actual file with the .iso extension. (If in doubt...just burn it to a physical CD for heaven's sake; I should have done this and saved myself an hour of futzing. To be honest, my problems with the disk and the .iso are due to unfamiliarity with OSX on the Mac, not the fault of Parallels or Ubuntu.)
3. When installing, you'll be given the opportunity to select the screen resolutions that you want to install. The excellently named Muffin Research discussion page suggests selecting two resolutions: 1440x900 for using full screen, and 1280x800 for use when you have Ubuntu running in a window. Once you have installed, if there is still a problem, you can run the following command to start the selection process again:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg
   
   
4. Parallels gives you the opportunity to set up networking to use the existing Mac network addressing, (shared), or the not-so-well-named (bridge). The bridge will treat the Ubuntu VM as a separate machine, so it will get an IP address separate from the Mac. There is an icon in the "system tray", located in the upper right hand of the Ubuntu desktop window, that shows if you are connected. If not, just click once on the icon and select "Wired Nework", if that is how you're connected.
   

More from LifeHacker on running Parallels on the Mac.

Battery Blues

My cellphone battery died the other day and I was in a hurry. I went to the local Verizon store only to be told that my two-year old phone was "obsolete", and they didn't have any batteries for it. Rushed around to a couple Radio Shacks, and the almost had batteries, at least they looked similar but no deal. The batteries at Radio Shack, by the way were going to be about $50.00 a pop.

Back to Verizon and I bowed to the inevitable, and got a new phone. Since I have a prepaid plan, I paid full price, more the $200, after paying for the phone a 12 volt charger and case. Its an OK phone, it flips...and has a camera.

Back home several days later I went on the Internet to check, and sure enough there was a battery for my old Kyocera phone for $17.95 Cell Power plus $4.95 shipping. It arrived the next day. Moral: You have a lot more control of your budget and impulses before a deadline.

Tiny Computers from Logic Supply

I'm testing a tiny computer from Logic Supply It has the following specs:

Intel Celeron M440 (Yonah) with a Front-side bus of 533Mhz
1 gig of memory
A 2.5" Hitachi hard disk 5400 rpm
Panasonic DVD/CD reader
No OS
Build and test for additional $45.00

The case is about 7" x 7" and maybe 1.5 inches tall.

Total price is $661 before tax.

They gave me an awesome tour of the assembly plant. Dozens of these little guys being assembled, tested and burned in.

The one caveat that I would bear in mind is that the ones without fans can run hot...really hot, like hard to hold your hand on to them hot. This was the case at least when they were running the test program which exercises the processor.

I ordered mine with a fan; and the noise is acceptable, just a low swoosh (so far).

It came without an OS, so I'm installing Vista just for grins.

So far the buying experience has been terrific. They are really helpful on the phone. They specialize in small machines using mini-ITX motherboards using either Intel, AMD or Via systems. This unit is a candidate platform for our embedded application, and a successor to our beloved Pundit pizza-box sized system.

Windows 2008 Server: Joining my existing domain

Or not. I attempted to join my existing domain with this server being a member server, and received a message:

An attempt to resolve the DNS name of a DC in the domain being joined has failed. Please verify that this client is configured to reach a DNS server that can resolve DNS names in the target domain.

OK...I actually know how to fix this, I think... when configuring IP addresses, I didn't put the local address of my domain controller in as one of the DNS possibilities. Once this change was made...it worked.

So far so good. Now I'm trying to promote the Win 2008 server to a domain controller; it will be interesting to see if this works with Small Business Server as the master domain controller; I recall that one of the restrictions of SBS was that it could be the only DC.

So I can run this remote desktop. I change the permissions to allow logging in under Remote Desktop. Now I can watch this run from my main workstation, with full video support, and avoid the maddening mess on the native monitor screen.

Before actually running the upgrade wizard, there is a utility called adprep which is provided win Win2008. This version is run on the master DC (ie the SBS 2003) to upgrade the AD database to match the level of the Win2008 database. A message suggests that this upgrade takes the existing AD level 30 to AD level 40.
So, I copy the entire adprep folder from the Win2008 machine to the SBS2003 machine, then on SBS2003, I run the following commands:

adprep /forestprep

adprep /domainprep

Then in response to a message from the result of the domain prep, I run the following to update permissions on the group objects:
adprep /domainprep /gpprep

There is a nice help screen which explains this process.

Now, in on the new machine, running the AD Domain Services Installation Wizard, I will "Add a domain controller to an existing domain."

Now I get an error: "You will not be able to install a read-only DC in this domain because adprep /rodcprep was not yet run. Do you want to continue?" Since I don't want a RO DC here, that is fine, and I just continue.

It asks to select a site:
Defualt-First-Site-Name

It now asks if I want to install additional services; a DNS server, and a Global catalog. This dialog includes some additional stuff about a Read-Only domain controller, that is irrelevant because I don't want to install a Read Only domain controller.

So, while I would prefer not to install the DNS server and Global catalog, since eventually I want to promote the Win2008 machine to the master domain controller, I'll allow these two items to be installed. I hit the "next" button.

Now an error message comes up:

A delegation for this DNS Server will not be created because the authoritative parent zone cannot be found or it does not support dynamic updates. To ensure this DNS Server can be resolved as authoritative for the domain mxdesign.local, you can create a delegation to this DNS Server manually in the parent zone. Do you want to continue?

Well, OK...let's continue.

Now it asks for locations for the database, log files and SYSVOL, suggesting that these should be on separate volumes. Ain't gonna happen. Next.

The Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator account is different from the domain Administrator account. Assign a password for the Administrator account that will be used when this domain controller is started in Directory Services Restore Mode.

I give it my normal admin password. There is this talk about the password being the correct complexity and length, and conforming to the correct history.

So far so good, the DNS install goes ahead and completes in about two minutes. This requires a reboot, so I'm psyched to see how this will work when it comes back up.

Windows Server 2008

I've installed a beta of Windows Server 2008 on a new partition that I carved out on my secondary workstation. Installation went fairly smoothly, but both my sound card and the onboard Intel graphics chipset are not supported, so I'm stuck with the generic VGA driver which, frankly, looks like hell. Still, since most server management will take place remotely, this shouldn't be a show stopper.

The install creates a dual-boot menu at startup, which allows me to choose betweein Win 2008 or a "legacy windows system"...that is, my existing Windows XP workstation.

The beta is good until April 2008. After about 20 minutes, everything is copied to the hard drive, and you can start playing.

A major advantage of 2008 is that the wizards previously available on small business server have been added to 2008 to provide "accidental network managers" some additional support.

I quickly changed the default IP address obtained from the DHCP server on my router to a fixed IP4 address. I also nailed down the admin password.

Right out of the box the server doesn't do a thing; you have to assign "roles" from the extensive list provided:

• Active Directory (several items)
  
• Application Server
  
• DHCP server
  
• DNS server (and is this required for AD as in previous versions?)
  
• Fax server (the application that apparently will never die)
  
• File Services (our first role)
  
• Network Policy and Access services (functionality provided by the previous add-on application, including VPN services and fewalling)
  
• Print Services (shared printers)
  
• Terminal Services
  
• IIS
  
• SharePoint
  
• Windows Deployement Services

Picking one of the roles above then allows you to pick additional functionality related to the main role.

Roles that require other roles as a prerequisite will automatically let you know.For example you can't install Sharepoint without installing IIS and the Net Framework 3.0. Makes sense, of course.

For starters, I've installed print services and file services. Once the installation is complete, I received a message saying I had to restart the server.

Trixbox Appliance: New Baby

Just unwrapped the new baby here... a Trixbox appliance (the so-called "base" model for about $999) that comes without landline interface cards. In its base configuration it is suitable for those who want to implement a fully IP-based VoIP system. I'll be adding hardware to this; an existing Sangoma A200 card which provides two landline connections. I'll only be using one of the two connections to start. I couldn't resist starting it up, and sorry, but contrary to all the assurances; the thing is noisy. Too noisy to have setting next to my desk. Damn.

The dual power-supply version that was demonstrated back in June sounded like a jet engine. Definitely that one is a unit for the server room, not deskside.

We had our first real snow that stuck today, about three inches. The Trixbox will be a great project on those cold winter days.

Low Cost Laptop: ASUS Eee PC

While the One Laptop Per Child gets most of the ink, there is an alternative out there. The ASUS Eee PC is available for about $400. Here is a mention on Gizmodo, and a listing at Directron, (currently out of stock with delivery projected for November 30th.) A longer review with photos is here. And there is already an Eee blog.

I can imagine some terrific learning projects with, say, a group of five of these for $2000, or even $1500 ($299 apiece) if you can manage without a built-in web cam and slightly less memory.

Here is a google groups thread with additional information regarding the concept of individual machines for each student. An excerpt:

Having run a 1:1 laptop program, I also know that the arrangement is also not without its downsides. The distraction factor alone of having such a rich, engaging device at hand can be overwhelming for a child. (Of course, it can for an adult as well, a lesson learned from many laptop-enabled meetings. Those are topics for another day, however.) In my opinion, the more significant downside to 1:1 programs is the unsuitability of current devices to the task. That's the second lesson I've drawn from my experience running laptop programs. Currently available laptops, designed for the corporate or consumer markets, are ill-suited for use by children. They are too fragile, too bulky, and too expensive, with too little battery life. There are exceptions, of course, but most attempts to address these problems have succeeded only in fixing one at the expense of exacerbating the others. A subnotebook computer might be light, but it becomes more expensive & more fragile. It may be ruggedized, but then it becomes bulkier & more expensive. Or it may be cheap, but then it's bulky and still breakable. Anyone who has supported school laptop programs knows how often one is replacing keys on keyboards that have "mysteriously" popped off or sending in for repair laptops that have suffered breakage due careless drops or compression in overstuffed backpacks, or replacing batteries that have been discharged one too many times, or just fixing the myriad of niggling errors that modern complex operating systems (read: Windows) pop up daily. The churn of equipment and drain on staff time is wasteful, expensive, and distracts from the learning process. And given these realities, I do understand why most teachers have not yet embraced the promise of "anytime, anywhere" laptop learning.

Fixing Personal Hardware

There is a bunch of ideas in this NYT article about how to get personal hardware, like IPods fixed.

Borders installs Video Screens (!)

Many years back our local Grand Union supermarket installed TV screens at the checkouts. They lasted about nine months, and finally were removed because of customer complaints, vandalism, and customers who would surreptiously turn them off when standing in front of them being subjected to a barrage of advertising.
Now, according to this story in the New York Times, Borders is installing these things in their stores. Maybe this is the onset of senility, but I think this is a terrible idea. It is getting harder and harder to move around in a public space without having a video screen in your face. It makes interacting with real people in a public space much more difficult, if not impossible. It distracts from the ability to quietly read a book.
What were they thinking?

Stuff That Works November 2007

Looking at the Enthusiasm Score from a year ago, I'm amazed how unchanged most ideas are. So in this year's edition, I'll take a different approach rather than trying to score things incrementally

• Stuff That Really Works
  
• Stuff That Works with Minor Problems
  
• Stuff That Works with Major Reservations
  
• Stuff That Doesn't Work
  

Stuff that Really Works

The following technology items that I take for granted on a daily basis, that never seem to require troubleshooting. It is a short list.

• My landline. Verizon, with MCI long distance
  
• Verizon pre-paid cell phone plan.
  
• My ISP and web host:intermedia.net
  
• The FireFox web browser
  
• Microsoft Office 2003 - the file formats and interface changes of Office 2007 haven't been internalized by either me or colleagues with which I exchange Word or Excel documents.
  
• Microsoft OneNote 2007 - Solid as a rock.
  
• SightSpeed desktop videoconferencing
  

Stuff That Works With Minor Problems

• HP Procurve 2xxx Network Switch. Ended up replacing a couple of these because of a fan failure. The process was relatively painless, with excellent support from HP, and free warranty replacement.
  
• Microsoft Windows 2003 Small Business Server. I installed on a repurposed Dell Optiplex workstation, and the combination has worked almost flawlessly for over two years. And yet, the SBS is more than most small shops need...eventually I can see a replacement with a straight Windows Server with added SharePoint, leaving aside things like Fax, and Exchange.
  
• On workstations, Microsoft Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2. This is starting to get more difficult to find. Upgrade any workstations now, or you'll have to cope with Windows Vista.
  
• WiFi. As long as you keep expectations reasonable, and remain aware of the security implications, WiFi is great.
• BaseCamp web-based project manager.

Stuff That Works with Major Reservations

These are things that we're using, but we are still looking, or items that are not yet ready for prime time.

• VoIP - I had hoped to be a lot farther along with VoIP, both on a casual occasional basis using applications like Skype and Gizmo, and with a PBX solution such as Trixbox or Asterisk. To date there has been unreliable connection quality when using Internet VoIP connections. Like some other aspects of life, when it is good is very good, but when it is bad it is unworkable. Are expectations unreasonable here?
  
• Windows Vista
  
• The Mac OS X and Linux. The reason these are on the list is that indeed they work, but they don't necessarily play easily with Windows, particularly when it comes to printing and sharing files. The problems here aren't insurmountable, but they require more than a casual engagement and technical expertise. I think this is a reasonable major reservation...and it remains the reason to insist on a single operating platfom for your IT infrastructure. It should be easier than this.

Stuff That Doesn't Work

In general, I can just point to John Dvorak and the Cranky Geeks for endless tales of chaos and disfunction.

Switching from PC to MAC

I've been fiddling with my MacBook for the better part of a week and, for the most part, I really like what I see. I'm still wondering about discarding certain applications; notably OutLook (with the X1 search capability) and OneNote. Eventually, I may install Windows on the machine, but to keep things interesting, I'm determined to to push the Mac as far as I can before caving. Below are some web sites that I've found that help with the transition. Maybe we need an organization for Windows Users Anonymous for those of us attempting to kick the habit.

General Hints and Overview

The Tao of Mac has a good page with of hints for switchers.

Another similar essay is located at Apple Matters.

Listings of keyboard equivalents

The Mac keyboard has additional modifier keys, including the "Apple" key, and the "Option" key. David Pogue posed the question of how to get a right-click from the Mac one-button mouse or trackpad when you are running Windows on a Mac via Boot Camp. The short answer seems to be.."spend $20.00 and get a two-button mouse" but there are also odd combinations of keystrokes that appear to work. This has been an issue so far when attempting to switch from Windows to the Mac OS... I feel like I've lost a hand, not being able to right-click. And it isn't as if there aren't things that pop up on the Mac side when you right click... Both the Finder and Safari, for example have right-click menus just like a Windows application.

Loose Ends and Unsolved Mysteries:

• I can't print to networked printers, or at least to any printer that isn't connected directly via a USB port.
  
• While I know there is a "dashboard"... a combination of applets like clocks and so on, I don't know how to switch between the dashboard and regular applications.
  

Tech Friday: New MacBook with Leopard OSX 10.5

In the Pournelle tradition, "we do these things so you don't have to"... and contrary to advice to clients, I've remixed my operating systems, and gotten an Apple Macintosh, a MacBook. This is the little laptop with a 13.3 inch screen.

It was fun to place the order last Friday and then watch the machine wing its way over from China to Anchorage Alaska, and then down to the lower 48 over the course of the next couple of days on the FedEx tracking site. I was told that the unit would come with the latest version of the Mac operating system installed. It wasn't, but there was a CD enclosed, and the first thing I did was to do an OS update, which went without a hitch. Now I've been reading on-line discussions about the update, but since I had zero experience with Mac operating systems since the first Mac was introduced about twenty years ago, I was blissfully ignorant about all the changes. My baseline is simply the latest and greatest...and my early experience has been favorable.

There are still a few hold-overs from the earliest Macs. The startup sound is the same. The finder "logo" with the two faces is still the same. I wonder if someone, somewhere, has a digital recording of the first Mac floppy drives as they sort of clicked away. I can still remember that sound.

The OS comes with an embarrassment of riches. Like Ubuntu or other Linux distributions, there are enough applications in there to keep you busy (and unproductive) for days. So far the only things I've added are the iWork suite (word-processing, presentations and spreadsheets), and an upgrade from the standard GarageBand recording software called Logic Express. I also installed the Cisco VPN client for our university's wireless network. A second power brick for the office is $70.00.

Frankly my first impetus for the change was to solve a hardware problem. My Dell Inspiron is falling apart, and the keyboard never worked the way it should.

The MacBook hardware is quite complete. It includes an integrated microphone and camera. There is integrated Airport wireless networking which works flawlessly. Integrated BlueTooth, (haven't tried it yet...need to get one of those nerdy headsets). A FireWire port. Two USB ports. External microphone input, and headset output. All this is wrapped up in a sleek black package which weighs a little over five pounds.

Of course the underlying OS is Unix, so all the Unix command-line goodies are available. And Boot Camp, which allows you to set up a dual-boot Mac/Windows is now out of beta and integrated directly into the Mac OS. So, even if I relegate the Mac to "personal" use, I'll still be able to use it with Windows XP or Vista.

HP Printer Drivers - Foiled Again!

Honestly, I just don't get it. I'm trying to install my printers to a new MacBook. I can open the printer dialog box and see the printer, the K5400 ink-jet, but when the installer searches for a driver, it doesn't find one. So I trot out the CD that came with the printer, and attempt an installation. All I want is THE DRIVER. I don't want PhotoSmart, I don't want to participate in the HP customer participation program. I don't want to install a bunch of third-party crapware. I just want to PRINT.

But there is no single driver file available either on the CD, or the CD image that you can download from the HP site. You have to run the HP installer. Fine.

So I run the installer and just after I say I don't want to participate in the HP Customer Satisfaction Program, and receive valuable offers and updates, the thing hangs. And it stays hung.

So, HP, I won't be printing to my HP K5400 today, and using up all those expensive inks.

Could it be a Leopard thing?

Update: Still not entirely satisfactory; I installed the printer directly by connecting the USB port. On a whim, (just lucky) I chose the OfficeJet Pro K550 driver which was in the list. This seems to work, when the printer is connected directly. It doesn't yet work, over an IP network, even though the printer shows up with a "Bonjour" connection.

Community Voice Mail

Hmm..if you are ever wondering what to do to with a Trixbox...

Community Voice Mail is a service that provides free phone numbers and voice mail boxes to clients without reliable access to a telephone.

Their phone may have been cut off; they may live in a group shelter; they may be fleeing domestic violence. For many poor, homeless, or otherwise needy people, the privacy afforded by a personal voice mailbox is an impossible luxury.

CVM is a hosted service which is run out of their national office in Seattle. They reserve blocks of phone numbers in their host cities. Local programs are hosted by an existing social-service agency or program, who must provide one FTE person as staff.

From the CVM web site:

The CVM Model

Each CVM site around the United States is hosted by one main social or health service agency ("Host Agency") which is responsible for funding and managing the CVM service for the whole city/community. The host agency gives out the voicemail boxes to other participating agencies who then give them to the end users/clients. The key to the program is the fact that clients receive a local telephone number at which to receive messages from potential employers, landlords and others --and case workers can utilize CVM to stay in contact with their clients, doubling the impact of the service.

Another fine article...hidden behind the "premium" firewall at the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Disk Partitions

I am reminding myself of how disk partitions work, and how they can be manipulated. The impetus for this is an attempt to load Windows XP Embedded (XPe) on my target machine, an ASUS Pundit. Using Acronis Disk Director Suite, ($49.00) I created a separate small partition for the XPe installation. The problem then was trying to figure out how to boot the extra partition.

Partitions can be marked several ways
a. Active Primary - this is the boot partition. There can only be one of these on a disk.
b. Primary - This can be either a bootable partition, or not.
c. Extended - A physical partition that can be further subdivided into other partitions.
d. Logical - A subdivision of an extended partition.

The upshot for the test machine is that I want to have two partitions; one for the original Windows and software installation, that includes all of the necessary application software and a second testing partition for the Windows XPe image which contains all the applications and drivers already burnt into the XPe image.

Also, I need to be able to designate one partion or the other as the boot partition. This is done by marking the partiion as �Active�, and insuring that the boot drive letter is designated drive C:. The first part, designating the partition as the boot partition, seems to work fine within the Acronis program. Changing the drive letter, on the other hand, does not seem to be so intuitive as it involves a registry edit.

The drive letter desgination is important, because many programs rely on the designated drive letter to find their own executables and data.

To boot the XPe partition, I changed it to the �active� partition, and then renamed the drive letter to C: A final change involved changing the Boot.ini file which is present in the root directory of the partition. This file looks like this:

[boot loader]
timeout=0
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows
 XP Embedded" /fastdetect /noexecute=AlwaysOff

and it gets modified to change partition(1) to partition(2) in both instances, so that the boot designated boot partition is indeed the 2nd partition on the drive. I recall from my distant MCP days, that although disk drives are numbered beginning with 0, the partitions are numbered beginning with 1. The diagnostic for this is that if you have already designated the second partition as active, but still boot into the �wrong� partition, it means that the OS files that are loaded are the ones that are pointed to be the boot.ini. To make this even more confusing, there is the notion of the �system� partition and the �boot� partition. This is a distinction which I think is only talked about when dealing with Microsoft operating systems. Perversly, the names seem to be reversed�.it is the �system� partition which contains NTLDR and boot.ini. and the �boot� partition which contains \Windows, and \Windows\System32, and all the operating system binary files.

In 99% of the cases, of course these files are are all on the same partition and in most cases there is a single partition on a drive anyway.

Microsoft Action Pack Update for July

One reason why I like the Microsoft Action Pack is that it gently feeds you a trickle of the tsunami of new Microsoft products, betas, Community Technology Previews (CTPs), samples, trials, and templates. This months quarterly update is no different and includes a couple of interesting products:

• The 64 bit version of Vista Business
  
• Beta 3 of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise in both 32 bit and 64 bit versions.
  
• System Center Essentials 2007
  
• Office Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition
  
• Windows Server 2003 R2 32 and 64 bit
  

I've been running Windows BackOffice 2003 on my server for what I think is at least two or three years, so I'm contemplating installing one of the straight Windows Servers as a replacement. BackOffice is fine if you want to run Microsoft Exchange, and you want to have some beefed up management tools, but I've never been convinced of its utility over the regular Windows Server product. Exchange is a whole trip in itself, (can you say backup and spam control?) and in small offices that would otherwise be the typical customer for BackOffice, I would normally recommend just going with mailboxes from your internet service provider.

Live Communications Server is the Microsoft VoIP back-end product...something I'm interested in looking at; but was unable to install on my Win 2003 BackOffice server.

The Action Pack is a quarterly shipment to Microsoft Partner subscribers, and is suited for small consultancies or businesses with ten or fewer desktops. You get the full office suite with all the goodies like Visio and MapPoint, as well as all the server operating systems. No development tools--that is for the Microsoft Developers Network Subscription, but so many of those are available as trials and free versions that you can get pretty far without spending a lot in that area.

New Dell Lines

Comrades!

Dell's new "services and systems for small business" adds a new line called "Vostro". Maybe it is because I just enjoyed "The Hunt for Red October" on DVD with Sean Connery and Sam Neill, but the the name sounds like shades of the 1950's and the cold war. Dell was never one for particularly attractive designs, the units even look a little bit like something designed in the former Soviet block, relentlessly unadorned and practical..and actually more attractive than the standard designs for desktops a few years back. Still, I wish they'd hire the Apple designers.

Apparently the features of units for small business include:
1. Tech support delivered from the U.S.
2. Elimination of all the shovel-ware that they used to put on the hard drive.
3. Software to allow Dell technicians to log into the machine remotely.

And yet, Latitude and Optiplex live on. So does this mean the death of the Dimension? and the end of the Dell Precision?

Building a Windows XPe Test Environment

Back in May I worked through a Microsoft Virtual Lab online that created a test target environment for a Windows XPe device.
Today, I'm attempting to build my own version of a target device using Microsoft Virtual PC, following instructions from MSDN, How to Demonstrate Windows XP Embedded.

Continuing with the "virtual" theme, I was pleased to see instruction for creating an image on a Microsoft Virtual PC.
If you have never used this, it is available now as a free download, and it is great for trying things out without trying to scrounge another PC someplace. An essential developer's tool, Virtual PC can be used to try different operating systems, (including non-Microsoft O/S's), program builds, simulated client environments, virtual networks with multiple workstations, you name it.

But back to Windows XPe. I'm a newbie, so there were several non-obvious issues that I noted in the MSDN instructions.

The procedure describes using the Windows Preinstallation Environment. This is the equivalent of a DOS boot disk with a bunch of command-line utilities that you can use to prepare disk drives, copy drivers, and so forth. Windows PE has been around awhile, it appears to have been initially designed for use by "white box" computer system builders who wanted to configure hardware before installing Windows. So, essentially what you are doing to prepare the virtual PC is the following:

1. Create a new virtual PC and virtual hard drive for the embedded XP application.
Be sure the networking setting is set for "shared networking".


2. Boot this new virtual PC using the first CD from the Windows XPe Evaluation Kit. This CD 1 contains the boot image for Windows PE. It will boot up the virtual PC and come to a command line with X: as the drive letter. The X:, in this case refers to the CD drive NOT the disk drive that you created for the virtual PC. This is because�you have to partition and format the virtual drive, per the instructions above in the MSDN article.

3. The article then describes the process of running TAP, the "Target Analyzer Tool" which captures the configuraton of the hardware that you are running on. This creates a file called devices.pmq

4. You need to get the devices.pmq to your host machine, either by running TAP with the output switch or copying the file to a share. This is a little confusing in the instructions; here is how I interpreted it.

a. Create a folder on the host machine called C:\Windows Embedded Images"

MD "C:\Windows Embedded Images"

b. Share this folder with a name XPe

NET SHARE XPe="C:\Windows Embedded Images"

c. On the virtual machine, Map the Z: drive to the shared folder using the IP address of the host machine as the server name.

NET USE Z: \\192.168.0.102\XPe

You may have to supply a name and password for this, (actually, this is a good thing..); I had to use my admin name and password to get in.

d. On the virtual machine drive C:, copy the devices.pmq to the shared folder

COPY  C:\ devices.pmq Z:

After completing this portion of the instructions, I continued on with the discussion of the compnent designer. This is one of the tools included in the Microsoft Windows Embedded Studio

1. Go to File Import, and choose the devices.pmq


The import function takes a few minutes to run. (10 or more). Once it is completed and you close the import dialog, you'll get a first look at the component tree with the imported devices shown on the right.




Photo: c:\componentdesigner.png

2. Ok, moving right along the next step is to "finalize" the component.


This screen shot matches the one in the MSDN article.

3. Saving this file (from File|Save) creates an sld file.

4. Now the sld file needs to be imported into the Windows XPe component database using the Component Database Manager. This step is described in the MSDN document.

Finally, you get to build the Windows XP image using the Target Designer. This is where the components are chosen for the Windows image. Of course, the componet that you've just created needs to be added, as it contains all of the information about the target hardware.

The instructions say you should update the User Interface Core Component, but as this wasn't added yet, I first added this manually. My guess is this would get added if you updated the dependencies before this step. By changing these, you have the opportunity to manipulate the user environment, similarly to the way you can set options using group policies.

Then, when you do the Dependency check, hundreds of components will be added. This step takes several minutes. When it completed, it showed that there were 10430 components included.


When all dependencies are resolved, you then build the run-time image. This took about 3 minutes, resulting with an image of 129.0 mb compressed, and an estimated uncompressed size of 179 megs. Not something that will fit on a floppy disk!

Doesn't this look familiar?

As part of the process of installing this on to the virtual machine, the instructions call for using the Microsoft Resource Kit utility RoboCopy. This is XCOPY on steroids. Not only does it copy files and directories, but it preserves any attributes and settings on the files and directories. I did the copy. Occasionally it would stop because it claimed the network connection was down. I don't think think so�.as it copied from the the same physical machine. But in the end it looked OK.

This shows the result of the copy operation, and the root directory of the target machine. Recall that this is a command window within the Windows PE Environment (the graphic backround image), appearing in a virtual PC (the title bar and toolbar). Let's see if the XPe image will boot!

The first boot agent starts. This writes the registry, installs system security, registers components, registers class installers, installs hardware devices, in short, completes the process of installation. Once configured, it forces a reboot again, and Voila! We're into a session of XP embedded.

Unreview: HP OfficeJet K5400

After working with a crippled HP c2000 OfficeJet printer for almost a year, I finally gave up, and purchased an HP OfficeJet K5400. I still have a LaserJet 2420 for black and white, but I found I was missing having color. So far the color inkjets surpass the laser versions, at least in my price range.

The K5400 was selling at Staples for about $175.00. I was so tickled that they would recycle the old printers for $10.00 each, that I went right ahead and followed the salesperson's recommendation for the replacement. At the same time they attempted to sell me a separate warranty, a USB cable, and extra ink cartridges. Had I bought all those, I'm sure I would have spent over $300.00.

This is a "conventional" (i.e. not photo) printer, with 4 ink cartridges. Still, the photo printing is acceptable. The version I bought, which may acount for the difference in price between Amazon and Staples, includes a duplexer and a network interface. I plugged the printer into my hub, and it went out and got a network address from DHCP.

One thing I wasn't used to: the printer actually takes almost 20 minutes to set itself up to align the print heads. I guess hardware is getting dumber, and software is getting smarter.

It is amazing all the disposible junk that comes with the printer, by the time you've unwrapped the ink cartridges and the printer heads.

The sticker on the printer advertises that it is "cheaper than a laser". We'll see.

Jeff Dunteman's Shop Tips

Jeff Dunteman has put together a very nice summary of tips for building a shop. He mostly does electronics and metalworking so most of the tips apply to those sorts of activities as oppposed to woodworking. Some of the definitive woodworking shop ideas come from Taunton Press

More on Dell

More "inside information" on purchasing from Dell. All I can say is...who has time for this nonsense?