AD & Vista Group Policies

I've been troubleshooting some AD group policies, and came across this guy's website which has some excellent links, including a hotfix that I need to deploy.

GPOGUY.COM--The Windows Group Policy Information Hub!

I also thought the "ADMX Migrator" tool from Microsoft sounds interesting. Will have to download and have a play. I haven't done anything with the new Group Policies in Vista, so this site could be a good reference.

Vista RTM and Audio issues

Well I finally got Vista RTM on my Toshiba M400 last week (Office 2007 too - very nice). It works really well, total eye candy, even if it is missing some functionality due to lack of driver support. The basic functions are supported well by the native Microsoft drivers.

The major issue I had was with Audio,and it took me days to work it out. Even though Vista (and the Toshiba drivers) both installed correctly and recognised the audio device I couldnt get any sound out. I found out that it was due to the software mute that I had on while running XP Tablet Edition. Pressing Fn+Esc in XP (with the Toshiba driver support) mutes the Audio device. As Vista obviously can't access this function of the tablet without vendor drivers it musn't have realised that the audio was muted. Luckily I still have my XP install on another hard disk, so by going back to the old OS, pressing Fn+Esc again, shutting down and booting Vista I now have sound again!

I found another person with similar experiences here:
Incremental Blogger: Installing Vista RTM on Toshiba M400

Update: I've just found Toshiba created a utility to specifically address this problem!
Sound Utility to Turn Mute Off After Upgrading to Vista (v1.0 r2; 02-12-2007; 1.07M)

Vista Lanyard and comment moderation

I was reading James Senior's blog today and his post on:
Views on Vista : Vista Lanyard Competition

Reading through the comments to this post really made me laugh. It just proves there are some crazy ass people out there on the web. Prime example (posted re: how often do you wear a lanyard? in order to win a Windows Vista lanyard).

Quote: "seXXI said:
i never use lanyard of any kind and i use mac. and i don want any of those becouse if i wear one i will look like a computer freak and some guy will definitely gimme a kick

so wear them yourself smart guy"

LoL :-D

Maybe he should moderate his comments. Or maybe he does moderate them, and found these comments as funny as I did.

Bootable USB BartPE

As part of my (never ending, it seems) quest to upgrade my HDD to a 160GB SATA, and install Vista, I recently struggled through booting to a USB stick.

The reason being: If I have an internal HDD in my M400 (the current 80GB) and a secondary HDD in the multi-bay (the new 160GB) I have no CD-Rom capability, which I'll need to boot BartPE and GHOST. I wanted to GHOST from my 80GB to the 160GB so I can keep working, while using the 80GB to try out Vista.

So after much trial and error I followed the following process:
1. Format the USB stick with the HPUSBFW utility (which HP have removed from their download site, but I managed to find here.)
2. Run pe2usb.cmd -f F: to build a BartPE installation on the USB disk (where F: is the drive letter of the USB disk).
3. Change the M400 BIOS setting to boot to USB first. Surprisingly enough this is done through a Windows Control Panel applet. Quite nice really.

So after getting this to work, I can now boot to my 512MB USB key, which runs BartPE and GHOST. So I GHOSTed my HDD (disk-to-disk) and set about changing the drives around, so the 160GB was internal, and what'dya know I ran into another snag.

The 80GB drive is held in a Toshiba drive case, presumably to protect from vibrations etc, and there's a sticker on it which warns against removing the drive from the case. There's only four screws holding the drive into the case, so I thought "no worries" I'll just remove the disk and swap them over. That would have been easy had I not cross-threaded one of the screws when I tried to get it out :-(

I'm now in the search of a suitable tool to remove the offending screw, and/or a Toshiba disk case to store the 2nd HDD in. I'm sure I'll get Vista running one day...

Firefox 2.0

I've been using Firefox as my primary browser (again) for a few months now, and am quite impressed with it. I downloaded Firefox 2.0 today and it looks really nice so far. I like the Ctrl-ScrollWheel zoom feature, as I use that in Office products quite a lot. It's hot on the heels of the IE7 release, which is no coincidence I'm sure.

Update: OK, so I'm less sold on Firefox 2.0 after a few days serious use. It seems to have a few bugs still. The firefox.exe task seems to run as a zombie after shutdown, meaning you can't start Firefox again until you kill it. Not good. Others are finding similar problems, it seems.

Scar Tissue?

I've spent a large percentage of my free time recently reading Anthony Kiedis' autobiography "Scar Tissue". Its a pretty crazy book - he has a crazy life story - but its a really interesting read, although at times something of a rollercoaster ride (on drugs, off drugs, on drugs, off drugs...). While reading I went searching for Chili Peppers-related sites. Checked out RedHotChiliPeppers.com - quite nice. The "FleaMail" is a bit of a laugh. Its definitely made me think more about their music - which I've liked for many years now (although Blood, Sugar, Sex Magic - my 1st album of theirs - was pretty late in their career).

One thing I found really interesting about his book is his strong connection with New Zealand. He bought a house up north, and visited many times. (Although a section of the book detailing one of his relapses is pretty scathing of the NZ doctor that prescribed him the wrong meds!) :-D

Vista RC1 on Toshiba M400

Excellent - someone has put a nice howto up on their blog for getting Vista RC1 on a Toshiba M400, like mine.

Will have to try that out. First I need another SATA hard disk, I guess :-( I just bought a 2nd hard disk a few weeks ago, to insert in the "Ultra Slim Bay". But I bought a 100GB 7200RPM IDE disk - and it needs SATA! Doh!

Back to Akihabara...

VMware Announces New Product for Apple Mac OS X Users

Finally! Maybe my next laptop will be a Mac afterall. With VMware for Apple Mac OS X the Mac is becoming an even better option.

I wonder how much influence the Petition had on their decision. Not much, I would guess. I'm sure its just a very good business decision.
It'll be interesting to see just how well it performs, especially in comparison to Parallels and Microsoft's Virtual PC.

Slashdot | Commodore 64 Confuses Austrian Police

I thought this was fantastic:
Slashdot | Commodore 64 Confuses Austrian Police

A great way to secure your data from Security Investigations - just use a computer thats 20 years old :-)

I guess if you're a competent security consultant (with a few years under your belt) you might have had a C64 when you were growing up, so it might not be so much of a problem ;-)

NZ Google Maps

Google have finally update Google Maps including New Zealand. The street-level maps are really nice.
Google Maps API Official Blog: Aussie Maps! Kiwi Maps! Beauty Mate!

I started using Google Earth the other day too, to track down exactly where I'm working in Tokyo at the moment. Very cool.

MediaCenter nightmare!

I have an Alienware DHS-2 system, which runs Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. Ever since the recent update rollups have started coming out I've had all sorts of stability issues with MCE. I looked at using Vista in February - but it was WAY too early. So recently I thought of moving to a Linux/OpenSource Media Centre/HTPC alternative (like MythTV).

And it's been a nightmare!

I've had all sorts of issues just getting Linux onto the DHS-2.
Fedora Core 5 - Installed, but wouldnt boot (hang at "starting udev")
Fedora Core 4 - Crashed during installation
KnoppMyth - Hung during CDrom boot

So I searched and found a BIOS update. The DHS-2 is based on an Intel D915POM motherboard, so from the Intel website, I downloaded the latest BIOS. Now I have even more problems!

Fedora Core 5 - Wont install, crashes on DVDrom boot. (Kernel Panic)

So I've downloaded the Debian install DVD image, and I'm going to give that a try - but what a drama. I'm going to search everywhere to see if anyone else has got Linux running on a DHS-2 or any other PC with a D915POM motherboard. Why does Windows seem so simple alongside Linux?

Maybe I'll go back to Windows and try out: MediaPortal

NASA Microsatellites

I thought these were pretty crazy - tiny satellites about 2ft across - launched in threes from a jet-launched rocket. Even though they're so small they're fully functional, with propulsion systems and communications. Soon everyone'll want one!

Wired News: NASA Microsatellites
Nasa.gov Page

Vista...Ultimate!...?

I spent this evening installing Windows Vista Ultimate for the first time on my Media Center PC (Alienware DHS-2). While it didnt exactly go smoothly...no audio drivers...wrong TV Tuner drivers...no Front Panel display...it gave me a good taste for whats to come. Looks very cool. This is the first time I've tried Vista - never even bothered messing with Longhorn - and I like what I've seen.

I tried installing again, this time as an upgrade to the XP Media Center build (from the Alienware Respawn image). But that failed. Vista rolled back the installation successfully though, which I was impressed with.

So I'm trying a fresh install again. Maybe this time I'll give it more time trying to work around the driver issues.

UMPC - Origami right?

This is even more bizarre. Intel's UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC) website, apparently hinting at the same device that Microsoft refers to in the Origami Project, also has a teaser for something about to be unveiled. But whereas the Origami site says 9th March, Intels date is the 7th March.

Is Intel going to gazump Microsoft then?

"Stay tuned"

hello...do you know me?

This must be the most bizarre marketing launch Microsoft has ever been involved in:
Origami Project

Quite a crazy set of flash animations - part 1 and part 2 have been released to date.

Apparently this is the project to deliver Microsoft's iPod-killer device. I guess we'll know more on the 9th March.
CNN Money News Article

Maybe Checkpoint won't get Snort after all

I thought this news was pretty crazy. The FBI & DoD are objecting to CheckPoint's acquisition of SourceFire (which was announced last year), as they don't want security technology such as Snort to be owned by a foreign company. I wonder whether they'll get their way...seems a bit strange when Snort is an Open Source product anyway. Maybe it's the proprietary "Sourcefire" pieces that they don't want to see going offshore.

U.S. Objects to Snort Purchase by Israel-Based Check Point

Laptops...Tablets...

I need to get myself a new laptop...but which make/model should I select? There's so much choice when you're shopping for yourself, and not stuck to any corporate standards or budget constraints.

My top choices so far:

1. Apple MacBook Pro
- Would get one tomorrow if VMware for Mac was available
2. Toshiba Portege M400
- Would be nicer with a screen larger than 12"
+ Might be nice and light though...
3. Toshiba Tecra M4
- Would be nicer with a dual-core processor and a fingerprint reader ;-)
4. Acer Travelmate C310
- Would be nicer with a dual-core processor and SXGA res

I also like the new Asus laptop with the "SideShow" external display designed for Windows Vista. Very cool idea...but can't wait that long.

BREAKS CO-OP

I was flying back from Singapore on the weekend, flicking through the various entertainment channels and came across some new music released by NZ band BREAKS CO-OP. I thought it was very cool, so bought the CD "The Sound Inside" yesterday...been listening to it since. There's some great songs on it.

I used to listen to one of the threesome, Zane Lowe, on BBC Radio-1 in the UK. Excellent radio show, with some great music. Not sure how he's fitting in the radio show while recording/touring/performing with Breaks Co-Op...must be busy!

Web Flights

I've spent the past week trying to book some international flights. What I found was that most of the Travel websites in New Zealand are rubbish. Only the airlines give you any sort of online booking/costing functionality. All the other travel agents etc. fall far short, usually with just a 'Contact Us' page.

I ended up booking through a great travel agent, from http://www.indulge.net.nz/. Sharon @ Indulge was really helpful, and quite simply put all the others to shame by way of customer service.

It left me thinking though, what a hole there is in the .nz market for a good online travel company, like they have in the uk (expedia, opodo, thomascook, and ebookers). Long-haul airline travel is a market where you really need good price comparisons, as most places are going to be selling exactly the same flights - but usually at different prices.

Runners up:
www.finetravel.co.nz
www.flightcentre.co.nz

Steve Gibson's WMF Backdoor & Mousetrap

Since I bought my iPod I've been sampling a few of the technology podcasts that are available in the iTunes music store. One of them being "Security Now" with Steve Gibson from GRC.com. I found the recent episodes (22 and 23) about the WMF vulnerability quite entertaining.

Steve's opinion: The recently announced WMF vulnerability is a backdoor intentionally created by a programmer at Microsoft. He's dubbed the exploit M.I.C.E (Metafile Image Code Execution) and created a vulnerability testing utility, called "MouseTrap" :-)

More on Slashdot

An iPod convert at last

One of my Xmas presents to myself was an Apple iPod (Black, 60GB, Video) which I bought to use in the car (with my Dension iCeLink). I've resisted the iPod for so long (after having bought a 1GB Sony NWE507 only 3 months ago). One of the main reasons I didn't want to go for the iPod was being stuck with iTunes.

The Sony MP3 software (SonicStage) is awful, though. It runs horribly slow on my PC, so bad its hard to use - it makes Media Player 10 seem lightening fast.

So I thought iTunes couldnt be any worse. And its not that bad. Although there are a few things I don't like. One of them is its terrible management of the music library. If I rip songs using Media Player, iTunes wont detect they've been added - you have to do it manually. Now that sucks. Deleted songs stay in the library etc. I'm sure I'm not the first iTunes user to hate these little 'features'.

I discovered the iTunes Library Updater today. It worked like a treat! Now all I've got to figure out is how I can run it on a regular basis - without it tying up 100% cpu for 15 minutes.

Lets try that again

Well I've decided its time to start Blogging again. Hopefully I'll be able to make a better effort of it this year. Only time will tell I guess...you never know what life will throw at you.