Today I had to create a print ad for the XNET Fusion that we are promoting for World eXchange. I used to use MS Publisher for this sort of thing back when I thought Windows was the only option and even though I tried with earlier versions of Open Office I always got a little frustrated and would end up digging out my old Publisher Disks.
Well I have OO 3.0 now which is not even the latest version and it was just too easy.
The earlier versions of OO could not rotate stuff on the page which is the something that I often want to do in promotional material. No problem for OO draw now.
I also used to get frustrated with scaling stuff. It would be very jittery and snap to odd positions.
The point I am trying to make is that if you have tried OO and didnt like it maybe its time to give it another go.
Friday, 23 April 2010
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Not all routers are created equal
A mentor once instilled in me the following mantra:
In other words technology should "just work". (Unfortunately we all know this is not entirely true all the time.)
Yet I try to live by that mantra, and not get sucked in by the "complicated fix". But over the last three days, I have been doing battle with routers - or more specifically one router in particular. A Cisco WAG310G. I installed successfully as the end point for a VOIP solution. [That part went very well, by the way and WAS simple].
However, in trying to get a VPN to work through the new router, I'd forgotten to apply the check the simple things first... (no, not "is the damn thing plugged in?",) but, "did you read the spec of the machine to see it can do what you are asking it to do?". The answer is "no".
In my defence, the fact that the router had the GRE47 protocol as a service that could be chosen for pass-through, would have indicated ( I would have thought) that the router was capable of VPN.
I mean, is not a VPN a simple, basic requirement of all modern routers?
One would have thought so.
To confound matters, I was also blinded by the oft and varied reports of Win7 and the troubles of getting a VPN to work with that new beast. The old, stable XP-based VPN was still working fine - even with the new router installed. (But actually it, too had stopped and I hadn't noticed). grrr
On the support site for this router - there is a prominent link on How to setup a VPN.
http://www.linksysbycisco.com/ANZ/en/support/WAG310G
A much more helpful article has screengrabs that show the missing VPN tab in the security settings of the router's gui:
http://linksys.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/linksys.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=4239
and if you are "encountering difficulties" try:
Encountering Difficulties Connecting to the VPN Tunnel Using a ADSL Gateway
not that this will help if you don't RTFM !
"it shouldn't be that hard".
In other words technology should "just work". (Unfortunately we all know this is not entirely true all the time.)
Yet I try to live by that mantra, and not get sucked in by the "complicated fix". But over the last three days, I have been doing battle with routers - or more specifically one router in particular. A Cisco WAG310G. I installed successfully as the end point for a VOIP solution. [That part went very well, by the way and WAS simple].
However, in trying to get a VPN to work through the new router, I'd forgotten to apply the check the simple things first... (no, not "is the damn thing plugged in?",) but, "did you read the spec of the machine to see it can do what you are asking it to do?". The answer is "no".
In my defence, the fact that the router had the GRE47 protocol as a service that could be chosen for pass-through, would have indicated ( I would have thought) that the router was capable of VPN.
I mean, is not a VPN a simple, basic requirement of all modern routers?
One would have thought so.
To confound matters, I was also blinded by the oft and varied reports of Win7 and the troubles of getting a VPN to work with that new beast. The old, stable XP-based VPN was still working fine - even with the new router installed. (But actually it, too had stopped and I hadn't noticed). grrr
On the support site for this router - there is a prominent link on How to setup a VPN.
http://www.linksysbycisco.com/ANZ/en/support/WAG310G
A much more helpful article has screengrabs that show the missing VPN tab in the security settings of the router's gui:
http://linksys.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/linksys.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=4239
and if you are "encountering difficulties" try:
Encountering Difficulties Connecting to the VPN Tunnel Using a ADSL Gateway
not that this will help if you don't RTFM !
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Keeping a Win7 printer share shared to XP SOLVED
Just when I though Win7 was infallible - Vista-like inconsistencies appear where you least expect them...
I needed to share a printer off Win7Pro to an XP Home machine. Despite all the best efforts going both the old-fashioned way [create identical userid and password on both machines], and the new way every says it's done: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-7/share-files-and-printers-between-windows-7-and-xp/.
No cigar. I still got prompted for the userid and password after each restart. (As reported by lots of other posters.)
However, it occurred to me that by mapping a shared folder using a simple net use batch file, the user id and password if valid for the share, would eliminate the need for it again when reconnecting to the printer share.
Voila.
It worked.
net use z: \\win7pcname\foldershare /user:win7pcname\username passwordhere
Now put THAT in your pipe and smoke it win7 !
I needed to share a printer off Win7Pro to an XP Home machine. Despite all the best efforts going both the old-fashioned way [create identical userid and password on both machines], and the new way every says it's done: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-7/share-files-and-printers-between-windows-7-and-xp/.
No cigar. I still got prompted for the userid and password after each restart. (As reported by lots of other posters.)
However, it occurred to me that by mapping a shared folder using a simple net use batch file, the user id and password if valid for the share, would eliminate the need for it again when reconnecting to the printer share.
Voila.
It worked.
net use z: \\win7pcname\foldershare /user:win7pcname\username passwordhere
Now put THAT in your pipe and smoke it win7 !
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
XNET & HHA
A couple of years ago when were shifting the Office for HHA we decided to have a look into a VOIP system. After deciding on XNET from World Exchange we haven't looked back.
A big concern for any business is that the phones keep working and it has taken us this long testing the XNET VOIP offering to get to a stage were we trust it enough to recommend it to our customers. We have now signed a reseller agreement with XNET and will be offering their services to our clients.
The first thing that attracted us to a VOIP system was not the cost, which is what attracts most people, but the flexibility of the system. Once voice data has been turned into IP data it makes it a lot easier to manage. We have the most basic XNET package but with that we get features of a PABX which 10 years ago would have cost thousands.
PABX's also become a lot simpler. Standard computer hardware can now be used to route voice traffic within your business, voice menus, Automated call systems, recording phone conversations and a whole lot more. At a fraction of the cost of traditional systems.
If you are interested in giving a VOIP system a go give us a call.
A big concern for any business is that the phones keep working and it has taken us this long testing the XNET VOIP offering to get to a stage were we trust it enough to recommend it to our customers. We have now signed a reseller agreement with XNET and will be offering their services to our clients.
The first thing that attracted us to a VOIP system was not the cost, which is what attracts most people, but the flexibility of the system. Once voice data has been turned into IP data it makes it a lot easier to manage. We have the most basic XNET package but with that we get features of a PABX which 10 years ago would have cost thousands.
PABX's also become a lot simpler. Standard computer hardware can now be used to route voice traffic within your business, voice menus, Automated call systems, recording phone conversations and a whole lot more. At a fraction of the cost of traditional systems.
If you are interested in giving a VOIP system a go give us a call.
Thursday, 28 January 2010
VPN - it can't be THAT hard (- can it?)
The VPN solution sounds perfect.. "just set up a tunnel through the public network for your private use..."
However, one can do a LOT of reading around a subject without getting to the nitty gritty of what to do.
This is one of those rare occasions, however, when I found a how-to summary that succinctly described what to do, without too much technical detail, but with enough of what you need to know to get it working.
Rather than rewrite Larry's words, I will quote his post in full here
http://forums.techarena.in/small-business-server/955926.htm
Oh - and to answer the question of browsing - simply map a drive on the client machine to \\ip.address.of.server\share using the domain authentication.
Easy.
However, one can do a LOT of reading around a subject without getting to the nitty gritty of what to do.
This is one of those rare occasions, however, when I found a how-to summary that succinctly described what to do, without too much technical detail, but with enough of what you need to know to get it working.
Rather than rewrite Larry's words, I will quote his post in full here
http://forums.techarena.in/small-business-server/955926.htm
Oh - and to answer the question of browsing - simply map a drive on the client machine to \\ip.address.of.server\share using the domain authentication.
Easy.
 24-04-2008 | |||
| |||
Re: VPN Connects but unable to browse Network HELP!! Hi: In general, I recommend RWW over VPN for connecting remotely. If you have a particular issue that requires a VPN connection, I would appreciate if you would share. To use VPN with your SBS you must first run the CEICW and permit that service to be used. Then run the RRAS wizard to setup the WAN ports. These are the second and third wizards on the To Do List in Server Management. You must have a router/firewall that has port 1723 forwarded to your SBS and that allows GRE 47 to pass. Some older devices do not allow this. And theother hardware related issue is that the SBS ip ranges and the remote ip range must be different. That is, if SBS is 192.168.16.x internal, and 192.168.100.x external, the remote cannot have the same numbers in the first three octets. Are there any specific errors in your event logs, or specific messages that occur And as always, I recommend the SBS BPA. Run that and do what it recommends. http://www.sbsbpa.com/ -- Larry Please post the resolution to |
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Legacy commands
Don't you hate it when you come across really powerful quick ways of doing things, just when the OS they apply to is taking its last gasp and they are calling it "Legacy" already? (although I feel XP will be around for another 10 years!)
For example the control command in XP:
Now I have used it many a time, but only in the sense of overcoming XP Home's User Accounts limitation:
which, by the way, I can NEVER remember :)
Here are some more to add to your quick typing skills...
(thanks to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc144191%28VS.85%29.aspx?ppud=4) or to be honest, google's search ;)
For example the control command in XP:
Now I have used it many a time, but only in the sense of overcoming XP Home's User Accounts limitation:
control userpasswords2
which, by the way, I can NEVER remember :)
Here are some more to add to your quick typing skills...
(thanks to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc144191%28VS.85%29.aspx?ppud=4) or to be honest, google's search ;)
Legacy Control Panel Commands
When you use the WinExec function, the system can recognize special Control Panel commands. These commands predate Windows Vista.
| control.exe desktop | Launches the Display Properties window. Note Starter and Basic Editions do not support this command. |
| control.exe color | Launches the Display Properties window with the Appearance tab preselected. |
| control.exe date/time | Launches the Date and Time Properties window. |
| control.exe international | Launches the Regional and Language Options window. |
| control.exe mouse | Launches the Mouse Properties window. |
| control.exe keyboard | Launches the Keyboard Properties window. |
| control.exe printers | Displays the Printers and Faxes folder. |
| control.exe fonts | Displays the Fonts folder. |
For Windows 2000 and later systems:
| control.exe folders | Launches the Folder Options window. |
| control.exe netware | Launches the Novell NetWare window (if installed). |
| control.exe telephony | Launches the Phone and Modem Options window. |
| control.exe admintools | Displays the Administrative Tools folder. |
| control.exe schedtasks | Displays the Scheduled Tasks folder. |
| control.exe netconnections | Displays the Network Connections folder. |
| control.exe infrared | Launches the Infrared Monitor window (if installed). |
| control.exe userpasswords | Launches the User Accounts window. |
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
NTFS, FAT FAT32 and large harddrives.
PROBLEM: connect a USB drive to a device that prefers FAT32 or FAT (and not NTFS).
Sub-PROBLEM: Windows cannot go bigger than 32GB using FAT32.
The possible solutions are copiously stated here: http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/formatting-external-hard-drive-to-fat-32/, but I foundthe command line provided by http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?fat32format.htm absolutley instantaneous.
Had I a Paypal account I would even have donated :)
Here's how easy it was.
Download and unzip
Sub-PROBLEM: Windows cannot go bigger than 32GB using FAT32.
The possible solutions are copiously stated here: http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/formatting-external-hard-drive-to-fat-32/, but I foundthe command line provided by http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?fat32format.htm absolutley instantaneous.
Had I a Paypal account I would even have donated :)
Here's how easy it was.
Download and unzip
C:\>cd fat32f
C:\fat32f>dir
Volume in drive C has no label.
Volume Serial Number is 5F1F-5DF5
Directory of C:\fat32f
06/01/2010 09:15 p.m. <DIR> .
06/01/2010 09:15 p.m. <DIR> ..
02/03/2009 11:47 p.m. 49,233 fat32format.exe
1 File(s) 49,233 bytes
2 Dir(s) 21,392,437,248 bytes free
C:\fat32f>fat32format g:
Warning ALL data on drive 'g' will be lost irretrievably, are you sure
(y/n) :y
Size : 40GB 78170242 sectors
512 Bytes Per Sector, Cluster size 32768 bytes
Volume ID is 1ce9:3957
32 Reserved Sectors, 9540 Sectors per FAT, 2 fats
1221111 Total clusters
1221110 Free Clusters
Formatting drive g:...
Clearing out 19176 sectors for Reserved sectors, fats and root cluster...
Wrote 9818112 bytes in 0.49 seconds, 18.94 Megabytes/sec
Initialising reserved sectors and FATs...
Done
C:\fat32f>
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