.home

A new day

2009-01-17T06:49:00.000-08:00

It is a new day and I decided to pick a non-mainstream language and learn it from the inside out. My choice was Python and I have been picking away at Dive Into Python since last Friday and so far so good. It is an interpreted language which means there are obvious limitations including speed, but for quick and easy jobs that require multi-platform support I think it will come in handy.

After I finish the book, I am going to write a web script to enable syncing in my new PasteBox project. This will allow sharing and multiple desktops to access the same data. It will allow me to use it in a real world application so I can get more familiar with the ins and outs.

Next I will be brushing up on my java, since it seems everyone is looking for java these days ;)

Windows 7: First Impressions

2009-01-11T11:50:00.000-08:00

Since my hard drive died this week and I needed to re-install Windows XP I figured I would leave a little space for the newest edition of Windows. After an entire day and a few restarts I managed to grab the Windows 7 beta from Microsoft.

To start with I am impressed to say the least. The installation was a breeze, it installed all of the drivers except those for the built in card reader, but that is not the end of the world. And it installed the default Microsoft drivers for my Intel graphics chip, which does not allow me to use the TV out, but again this is a beta. The install went faster then my install of XP and was simple in asking me where I wanted it to live and it went about it's business.

On the first boot it loaded in a snap. Of course, the first thing I did was reconfigure the desktop and install Firefox. All of my regular applications installed like a charm.

The only thing I noticed right off that will take some getting used to is the new task bar. I have only been using it for an afternoon, so far it is a little akward, but I expect it will grow on me.

I originally got this Toshiba Satellite with Vista Home Premium and it chugged out of the gate, after 8 months I broke down and bought an XP license, now I am pondering a Windows 7 license when it is released. Since this machine was a steal at 800.00 plus an XP license 150.00 and a new hard drive this week 90.00 and a Windows 7 license at least 185.00 I am looking at the potential of a 1225.00 laptop with 3 different Windows licenses on it. I am starting to think Microsoft planned Vista this way on purpose.

I love it so far and fear for Ubuntu's grand future since Microsoft may have a new contenter.

MySQL Enterprise Monitor Test Drive

2008-11-22T19:19:00.000-08:00

In our quest to optimize our MySQL powered application I decided to take MySQL Enterprise Monitor for a test drive. It is easy a snap to install and configure the Service Manager and remote Agents on 2 different servers to test. The only real hitch was the Query Proxy, which I am yet to get working.

I figured for $2999 a year their support should be extremely responsive, and I was not disappointed as I received an email in approximately 10 minutes with some troubleshooting steps. Hopefully this issue will be resolved quickly so I can get on with testing the Query Analyzer (the reason for this experiment).

Otherwise the database and server monitoring is rather sophisticated and robust. However for 3k a year US it is a little steep for our operating budget. The plan is to start from the top and work our way down to something in our price range that meets our need to optimize our database and application query usage.

From what I can see MySQL Enterprise Monitor is definitely tops in that regard.

I think their advertising is working

2008-11-20T02:57:00.000-08:00

Serious, I got a new generation 8GB iPod Touch for my birthday over a month ago and I am more hooked on this thing then when I got it. I am not sure what it is. This is my first Apple product so I guess I am not used to the simpilicity of it all. I grew up in Microsoft world, so simplicity is not a word I heard too often.

Apple's advertising make it seem exciting to own an iPod Touch or iPhone 3G or MacBook or any Apple product, because when my Toshiba Satelitte dies (hopefully not anytime soon) I will most likely be investing in a MacBook as my next mobile office.

Don't get me wrong the iPod Touch is truly the "Funnest iPod Ever", with it's slick interface, fancy gestures and sturdy hardware design, but there is one basic function that would prevent me from replacing my Blackberry with an iPhone: copy & paste.

At the end of the day I don't own an iPhone, so really what am I complaining about.

(Image Credit: Apple)

Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex

2008-11-08T05:07:00.000-08:00

I was already running Hardy Heron (8.04), but did not feel like working the other night so I thought I would waste that time upgrading to Intrepid Ibex. With a little help from TorrentFreak I was quickly on my way. It took about 3 hours over my wireless connection, but it was worth not having to reinstall applications and reconfigure every aspect of the OS to get it the way I like it.

My only complaint about the upgrade (and this is minor) is that it lost my saved wireless keys. Not a big deal for my home network, but a few of the other networks I visit on a regular basis use a ASCII Hex password which is a pain to re-enter.

According to BootChart I am booting at 38 seconds which is an improvement over not only Hardy Heron, but my XP install as well.

If you are looking for a cheap Windows alternative Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex is a good place to start.

Missing in Action

2008-11-01T04:41:00.001-07:00

Since my last visit a lot has changed. Jobs, toys and location.

My hours of tinkering with Gentoo, Debian and LFS have given me what I needed to be responsible for the configuration and admin of 4 production quad-processor Sun servers all running Debian and hosting websites for a major media organization.

With a looming host migration I expect to be around more with a updates on what it takes to make the transition with near zero downtime.

Stay tuned.

Ubuntu validates as Genuine Windows

2007-06-18T03:19:00.000-07:00

This is worth a share:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=475709

Since Wine can run as Windows 2000 or 98se I can see how this could happen. But it is still funny.

Vista: Can I get... oops ?

2007-03-29T03:27:00.000-07:00

Well the vista saga continues. I had tried out vista on the weekend and a day after I left the poor soul who owned the computer tried installing Alcohol 120% and the PC rebooted mid-install and did an auto-recovery putting him back to purchase day.

Mind you this is an HP PC, but something tells me this is a Vista feature. Instead of asking for a CD when a kernel level file is messed with (like previous versions) just recover the whole system. Sounds like something Microsoft would do.

Well that is all. And oh ya. Go Vista!

Vista: Not what I expected

2007-03-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

Considering all the hype and yeeaeeerrrs of development I would have expected something larger and better by leaps and bounds. I guess it is the only thing I can come to expect from Microsoft.

I had the chance to take Vista Home Premium for a test drive this weekend and was not surprised or wowed in anyway. (I was more impressed by Linux/KDE improvements in the past years). It seems like they have taken all this time to make the interface look more like a mac and less time innovating simple things.

The other issue is that all the programs that were used with ease on windows xp are not totally compatible with Vista. But that is to be expected I guess.

And as for security, it is more irritating then useful. I use Debian/GNU on a daily basis and am used to putting in my root password every time I want to install a program or change a system setting. The PC having been preloaded with Vista, there is nothing more disconcerning then trying to uninstall an application and being told that this action is prohibited by the administrator (I am the admin !!).

I guess I set my expectations too high. But I was hoping for more bang for the buck.

Anyway that is all for now. And as for Windows I will stick with XP and 2K until I have no choice. Otherwise Debian/GNU will be gracing my desktop for the years to come ;)

Funny thing about Linux

2007-01-20T10:38:00.000-08:00

I guess I have not posted much lately about my Linux adventures. This is just because I have moved onto another (larger) organization and I don't the luxury to toy with gadgets anymore. (Or at least not as much as I used to). But I noticed something strange that crossed my mind when I was just reading a few articles over at slashdot.

I work for one of the largest employers in my area and they are predominately a Microsoft shop. I mean all the desktop tops are Windows XP, running all the latest and greatest Microsoft packages. And I would say that ~90% of the servers are running Windows 2003 Server. The other 10% of the servers, the ones that count at the end of the day (offer customer content) run Debian Sarge. When I think of this it kind of makes me chuckle. To think that all the hard work and critical services are sitting on a Linux box.

Anyway that is just my thoughts on it. I guess at the end of the day, it is the penguin that gets the job done ;)

Later.

Linux Manathon

2006-11-10T03:41:00.000-08:00

Well I am working on box #3 today. I am slowly sneaking the lil penguin into our organization. I started almost a year ago with a harmless FTP Server (Gentoo), and then yesterday I finished the touches on a gateway/router (Gentoo). And today I am finishing up the touches on a Debian/GNU box for the boss.

I have been going at this full time for over a week now. I start last week by installing KDE on the FTP Server (everyone likes a little GUI right?), so that we could use it for testing through VNC.

So I thought I would pop a few notes on here about some issues I have run into and solved. If not for someone else's benefit it is for my own.

1. Wheel mouse on XFree86 - X Windows
I Ran into this problem when setting up my latest Debian/GNU box, but I don't remember this happening before on my home PC, but the mouse navigation wheel would not work. So I broke down and compared the /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 with the one on the working server and it turns out that the mouse has to use the imPS/2 protocol. I was sure it asked be during my last install but I could wrong.

2. Adding init.d scripts to boot time
I accomplish this (which I forgot until some nice person at #debian reminded me) by running the update-rc.d command as root.

That is all for. I may be back soon ;)

One Thumb for Microsoft

2006-10-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

I was wonder what the big rush to become legitimate is lately ? Everytime I turn around someone wants there free version of Windows XP Professional made legit. And I have had may headaches in the process. But today I said "this is crazy, there has to be an easier way to do this". So after googling a little I came up with a tiny little piece of software from Microsoft called the Windows Product Key Update Tool. Which is exactly what I was looking for. It lets you easily change your key and fixes any tampered with files.

Thanks Microsoft and I give the tool One Thumb Up (Because who needs two ?)

LFS - Day 8

2006-09-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

Well I am finally on the home stretch of my Linux From Scratch base system install. After some hiccups and minor reading difficulies I am on the final round of the base system. I have spent 4 days off and on compiling "building environment" tools that would be replaced when the base system is in place.

It was a monumental moment 2 days ago when I stepped into my chrooted building enviroment to compile GLibc, Bintuils & GCC for the last time. Besides the fact that GCC & Glibc take a combined 1 day to compile and install I have done both 3 times now. (Currently working on the last build of GCC after messing up on attempt).

So after today I was be on vacation, so there will be no more updates until the middle of the month.

It is an interesting exercise that is teaching me value in the work that goes into most distros. Something that Gentoo never really taught me since I started with a Stage 3 install.

That is all for now and thanks to the people at #lfs-support on irc.linuxfromscratch.org for their help so far ;)

Later.

LFS - Yet Another Experiment

2006-08-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

In yet another attempt to expand my Linux knowledge (as if I didn't learn enough from Gentoo), I am going to attempt to build Linux From Scratch. Since I am lacking hardware (who has the money) I am going to run the experiment on Virtual PC, then will eventually graduate to real hardware if it is benifical. Otherwise this is going to be a learning experience to help me learn what makes Linux tick.

It should be fun. I will keep this up-to-date with my journey. Right now I am building pass 1 of GCC. Which is why I am taking the time to write this (because it is taking forever).

Anyway. Later.

The Debian/Kubuntu Experiment

2006-07-31T09:16:00.000-07:00

Ever since deciding to take the Gentoo Linux plunge when building a server for work, I realized there is life after RPMs. And that life was a far more superior packaging system Portage. After spending 3 weeks getting my Gentoo Linux server rock solid, I determined that a source distribution is probably not exactly what I need to run a desktop PC. So I moved onto the next best packaging system, APT for Debian. Since Kubuntu is about a 15 minute (full desktop) install and based on Debian I tried this distro to get my feet wet in APT. After being impressed by the package management, I decided to give Debian a run on my home desktop. After downloading the Network Install CD and blowing away Mandrake Linux 10.1, I had a base Debian system installed in 15 minutes. From there I installed KDE then began installing all my fav applications and configuring my hardware. (Thanks to guys at #debian on FreeNode for the help)

After a week of configuration (because Linux is more fun to setup then Windows), I had a Desktop running without a hitch. I don't think I will ever be able to go back to an RPM distro, but APT & Portage definately have my vote.

For the new comers Kubuntu is definately an easy way to get started with Linux, having solid UI design and superior package management. But for me there was not enough control over what I wanted and I ended removing a lot of the Kubuntu base install packages and reconfiguring, so it was easier to install Debian and install only the packages I needed, instead of working backwards.

Well that is all, and I give these distros Two Thumbs Up ;-)

Later.

WxWidgets 2.7 CVS and VC++ 2005 EE

2006-03-06T08:06:00.000-08:00

Most times when I am building applications with WxWidgets I use latest CVS to keep up with the times. Today I ran into a few snags that I thought I would pass along.

1. wx_dll.dsw no longer builds debug lib files. The easy solution is to use wx.dsw to build your static wx libraries

2. There is no longer a requirement for odbc32.lib, which makes it easier since Microsoft not longer distributes it with the Windows XP SP2 PSDK. So you can just remove it from your library dependencies under the project settings.

And somehow I can compile Debug + Release configurations for all wx projects in less then 10 minutes. It just keeps getting better and better.

Anyway that is all for now. If there are any other snags I will pass them along.

Diilb : -)

2006-02-28T16:34:00.000-08:00

Just to note that after 5 years of development all projects will be terminated effective immediately.

Best regards : -)

Office 2000 under Linux

2006-02-03T01:50:00.000-08:00

Well my transformation to a completely Windows free desktop is almost here. I have 2 problems that have kept me from completely removing Windows from my Desktop PC

1. OpenOffice.org Impress is incomplete and missing a few features that I commonly use in PowerPoint. Simple things like printing handouts with 6 slides on a page

2. PocketPCs w/ Windows Mobile are not so well supported plus the fact that I sync my PocketPC with AvantGO everyday causes a problem as well.

Well I found the solution to the first problem and here it is:

Required
a) Working Linux Desktop installation (I am using Mandrake Linux 10.1 right know with KDE 3.2.3)

b) WINE 0.9.6 or higher
c) wine-config-sidenet-1.9.1 or newer

d) A legit copy of Microsoft Office 2000

Procedure
1. Install WINE and make sure it is working correctly. You can test your install by using trying the following command: wine notepad This will pop open the Windows Notepad application
If you already have WINE installed, backup your ~/.wine directory, then delete it. You can than recreate your WINE data directory by typing: wine notepad

2. Run the Sidenet WINE config script once you unpack it. This is a key part of the installation since Internet Explorer is required for Office 2000 to install properly. The script will optionally install Windows Media Player as well, but it is not required for Office 2000 to install correctly. My suggestion when installing Internet Explorer is to select a Minimal install with only the base components, to minimize hassel.
You will probably see some errors related to Windows Updates as you are going through the install, just ignore them and keep on trucking.

3. Installing Office 2000 is the next step. Mount your cd drive as Root to the /mnt/cdrom folder with the following command: mount -o unhide /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom Now execute the installation program: wine 'z:\mnt\cdrom\setup.exe' Run through the Office setup as usual. You will again probably see some errors popup about Windows Update, but just ignore them.
For my install I only needed PowerPoint and thought I would try out Word as well, so I did not install anything else, including the extra components (Office Shared Components, Office Tools, etc). When it asks to restart Windows I just ran the following command: wineserver -w I am not sure if it did anything, but PowerPoint worked afterwards.

To run PowerPoint I just created a script and linked it to my desktop:

#!/bin/bash
wine "c:\program files\microsoft office\office\powerpnt.exe"

And it worked like a charm.

A Few Notes
- Office XP does not work and has been reported not to work under WINE (of course I tried this first). It will give "Corrupt Source" errors during the install because there are files that Linux cannot read.

- Printing from PowerPoint and Word worked without a hitch since CUPS was already installed and working on my Desktop.

- Complete install of Office 2000 should work and was reported here, but it is not what I required so I did not test it.

- Thanks to a posting on the WINE Wiki that pointed me in the right direction.

That is all for today folks : -)

Woot

2006-02-02T17:41:00.000-08:00

Wine Rules!!! Will tell you all about it later :)

Windows Update Died

2006-01-27T01:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I woke up to the fact that I should not have install EXT2 IFS since my system did not like it and greeted me with a nice STOP Blue screen of death. So I booted into my trusty Linux partition of which had messed up data due to the EXT2 IFS software. I copied the registry files from the the repair directory over my live registry setting me back 4 years. Booted my PC to be greeted by a Network Identification wizard (the very being). My first thought was to do a clean install, but decided against it since I did not have the time, and went to work repairing an re-linking all my applications to my task bar.

Then came the Windows Updates (my firewall was not installed yet and my Antivirus network shield was going nuts), it just kind of hung at "Checking your PC for the Lastest Version of Software" message. I actually left it there until the next morning.

Turns out that Windows Update folder in Program Files is important. The actual problem was trying to figure out what was wrong without having an error message. After googling for awhile and finding nothing but the fact that there is a Windows Update.log file in the WINNT folder, I decided to check it out. When I was looking at the log I noticed that when Windows Update is installed it downloads a iuident.cab and extracts iuengine.dll and iuctl.dll. Since I had forced software to reinstall before by renaming the files, a gave it a go and retried Windows Updates again.

Well I had it right and Windows Update coughed up an error: 0x80070424. After a little Googling I came up with this newsgroup posting:

And from an recent post by Mark Brown [MSFT], you could try this:

Action:
==========================
Accessing Windows Updates Site

Result:
==========================
0x80070424

Cause:
==========================
Certain required DLL files unregistered

Resolution:
==========================
Action Plan
**********
1. open "wordpad"
2. copy this text (below) into the "wordpad"
3. save the "wordpad" file as "IEreg.bat" to your desktop and then "double
click" to launch
******************************

cd /d %SystemRoot%\system32
regsvr32 comcat.dll /s
regsvr32 shdoc401.dll /s
regsvr32 shdoc401.dll /i /s
regsvr32 asctrls.ocx /s
regsvr32 oleaut32.dll /s
regsvr32 shdocvw.dll /I /s
regsvr32 shdocvw.dll /s
regsvr32 browseui.dll /s
regsvr32 browseui.dll /I /s
regsvr32 msrating.dll /s
regsvr32 mlang.dll /s
regsvr32 hlink.dll /s
regsvr32 mshtmled.dll /s
regsvr32 urlmon.dll /s
regsvr32 plugin.ocx /s
regsvr32 sendmail.dll /s
regsvr32 scrobj.dll /s
regsvr32 mmefxe.ocx /s
regsvr32 corpol.dll /s
regsvr32 jscript.dll /s
regsvr32 msxml.dll /s
regsvr32 imgutil.dll /s
regsvr32 thumbvw.dll /s
regsvr32 cryptext.dll /s
regsvr32 rsabase.dll /s
regsvr32 inseng.dll /s
regsvr32 iesetup.dll /i /s
regsvr32 cryptdlg.dll /s
regsvr32 actxprxy.dll /s
regsvr32 dispex.dll /s
regsvr32 occache.dll /s
regsvr32 occache.dll /i /s
regsvr32 iepeers.dll /s
regsvr32 urlmon.dll /i /s
regsvr32 cdfview.dll /s
regsvr32 webcheck.dll /s
regsvr32 mobsync.dll /s
regsvr32 pngfilt.dll /s
regsvr32 licmgr10.dll /s
regsvr32 icmfilter.dll /s
regsvr32 hhctrl.ocx /s
regsvr32 inetcfg.dll /s
regsvr32 tdc.ocx /s
regsvr32 MSR2C.DLL /s
regsvr32 msident.dll /s
regsvr32 msieftp.dll /s
regsvr32 xmsconf.ocx /s
regsvr32 ils.dll /s
regsvr32 msoeacct.dll /s
regsvr32 inetcomm.dll /s
regsvr32 msdxm.ocx /s
regsvr32 dxmasf.dll /s
regsvr32 l3codecx.ax /s
regsvr32 acelpdec.ax /s
regsvr32 mpg4ds32.ax /s
regsvr32 voxmsdec.ax /s
regsvr32 danim.dll /s
regsvr32 Daxctle.ocx /s
regsvr32 lmrt.dll /s
regsvr32 datime.dll /s
regsvr32 dxtrans.dll /s
regsvr32 dxtmsft.dll /s
regsvr32 WEBPOST.DLL /s
regsvr32 WPWIZDLL.DLL /s
regsvr32 POSTWPP.DLL /s
regsvr32 CRSWPP.DLL /s
regsvr32 FTPWPP.DLL /s
regsvr32 FPWPP.DLL /s
regsvr32 WUAPI.DLL /s
regsvr32 WUAUENG.DLL /s
regsvr32 ATL.DLL /s
regsvr32 WUCLTUI.DLL /s
regsvr32 WUPS.DLL /s
regsvr32 WUWEB.DLL /s
regsvr32 wshom.ocx /s
regsvr32 wshext.dll /s
regsvr32 vbscript.dll /s
regsvr32 scrrun.dll mstinit.exe /setup /s
regsvr32 msnsspc.dll /SspcCreateSspiReg /s
regsvr32 msapsspc.dll /SspcCreateSspiReg /s
exit

******************************

Now I received another error from Windows Update: 0x800A01AE. After a little more googling I came up with this Microsoft KB article. Even though it is for Windows XP and higher it still kind of worked. Just skip the parts labeled not for Windows 2000, if you get any errors, no worries just keep on going.

Now I was rolling except my first update (Windows Genuine Advantage Tool) kept failing to download. After checking the update log I found another error: 0x80246008. A little more googling and I came up with this page:

SYMPTOMS
When you try to connect to the Microsoft Windows Update Web site or to the Microsoft Update Web site, you receive one of the following error messages:
•
The necessary services are disabled or unavailable. Error 0x80246007
•
The necessary services are disabled or unavailable. Error 0x80246008
CAUSE
This problem occurs if the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) is not correctly registered on your computer.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, register the Qmgr.dll and Qmgrprxy.dll BITS files. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, type regsvr32 qmgr.dll in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Click OK.
3. Click Start, click Run, type regsvr32 qmgrprxy.dll in the Open box, and then click OK.
4. Click OK.

I posted some of the articles in case they disappear (MS KB Lives forever :).

I learned a few things from this experience:
1. DO NOT DELETE Windows Update Folder
2. Restoring registry hive to default IS BAD
3. DO NOT second guess yourself
4. Gentoo Linux ROCKS!

Later.

Configuring Visual C++ 2005 Express for WxWidgets

2005-12-21T04:01:00.000-08:00

Required
- Visual C++ 2005 Express Beta
- Windows XP SP2 Platform SDK
- WxWidgets 2.6.2

Here is a link to Gareth's Notes on Compiling WxWidgets with Visual C++ 2005 Express.

Additional Notes
- This list of library includes are required when building an application against any of the configurations. In addition to the appropriate wxWidgets libraries.
shell32.lib gdi32.lib kernel32.lib user32.lib comdlg32.lib ole32.lib oleaut32.lib advapi32.lib

- It is easier to compile the library with the wx_dll.dsw workspace since it takes care of all dependencies

- Cleaning your solution (removing all of the compiled files) will dump your setup.h for whatever reason so keep a backup copy.

WxWidgets Application redist with VC 8 Express Edition

2005-12-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

I have run into some distribution nightmares with Visual C++ Express Edition. And have come up with the solution thanks to Nikola Dudar's WebLog and an article over at CodeProject by oshah.

Installation on Windows 98 SE:
Requires only the msvcm80.dll, msvcr80.dll and msvcp80.dll files to be in the same directory as the application or in the system folder. I have tested this with my WxWidgets application and it works perfectly.

Installation on Windows 2000:
Right now the installation seems to work the same on Windows 2000 as it does with Windows 98. I just tested it on my VPC. It only requires the msvcm80.dll, msvcr80.dll and msvcp80.dll files to be in the same directory as the application or in the system folder.
Tested with:
- Service Pack 4
- All Updates

Installation on Windows XP:
Follow the steps in this article on Nikola Dudar's WebLog. Run the steps and create a msi that needs to be run on all PCs the application will be installed on. Therefore there are no DLLs necessary.
Tested with:
- Service Pack 2
- A Few minor Updates

Installation on newer then Windows XP
Unfortunately I don't have any version of Windows newer then XP, so if anyone tests these theories please post the results.

A big thanks to oshah for pointing me in the right direction, since I have been stumbling around looking an answer for a few weeks now.

Later :)

Diilb