I got an iPhone today for my birthday and it's been great except for my little update problem.  After installing a bunch of apps I got around to installing iTunes on my computer and syncing it up.  It prompted me to install the latest iPhone code, version 3.1.3, which I did.  Unfortunately, after doing so, none of the apps I installed would work:

• Facebook
• Tweetdeck
• Twitpict
• VNC
• Pandora
• Flashlight
• Weather Channel

Clicking any of these apps would flash the opening sequence and then return me right back to the home screen.  I figured I'd try reinstalling them.  Thankfully, that fixed the issue.

To remove them, I had to press and hold an app icon until they all began to shake and the red X's appeared.  Tapping the red X removes the icon, which I did for each one.  I then went back to the app store and installed them all over again.  Annoying yes, but shame on me for not updating the OS first.

I wonder... will this happen with every update?

I'm dual booting Windows 7 Ultimate x64 and Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) x64 on a Lenovo Thinkpad T61p laptop.  I installed Windows first, then Ubuntu, and then updated the boot loader to default back to Windows.  The following list describes getting Ubuntu up and running, which was surprisingly easy.

1. Get the latest updates.  System -> Administration -> Update Manager.
    
2. After reboot it was obvious there were problems with the display driver.  The screen was choppy and flickered but luckily it was usable.  I browsed to System -> Administration -> Hardware Drivers and was pleased to see a few Nvidia graphics drivers waiting to be installed.  After installation and a reboot, video playback has been crystal clear.
    
   
    
3. Verify software sources are correct.  The top 4 sources should be checked.  System -> Administration -> Software Sources.
    
   
    
4. Reload the Synaptic Package Manager.  If you don't do this, you may encounter problems when trying to locate and download packages through the package manager or the Ubuntu Software Center.  System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager.
    
   
    
5. Install the Ubuntu Restricted Extras package.  Applications -> Ubuntu Software Center and search for restricted.
    
   
   

After installing Ubuntu (dual booting with Windows 7), the Grub boot loader sets Ubuntu as the default OS.  To set a new default value, follow the steps below:

1. As root, edit the grub configuration file:
    
   sudo gedit /etc/default/grub
    
   
    
2. Set the GRUB_DEFAULT value.  The list of items you see at the grub menu begins at 0, so a new install is usually 4 for Other/Windows, or 6 if Ubuntu has been updated.  I also like to bring the GRUB_TIMEOUT value down to 5 seconds:
    
   GRUB_DEFAULT=6
   #GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
   GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
   GRUB_TIMEOUT="5"
   GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
   GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
   GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""
    
3. Save changes and then run update-grub to finalize the changes:
    
   
   

Unfortunately Windows doesn't take monitor position into account when applying wallpaper across multiple screens. With a triple monitor layout most of us would set our center screen as the primary monitor (now called main display in Window 7) so that the taskbar and message boxes appear here by default.  The problem is Windows always begins the wallpaper on the primary monitor regardless of it's position.  So when you setup your ultrawide image of Jessica Alba lying on the beach you'll see toes, then head, then midsection; obviously this is a problem!

You could chop up your image so it'll look right (unique website idea?), but that's a lot of work.  The only acceptable workaround is to make your primary monitor your left most monitor.  You can then unlock and drag the taskbar to any monitor you like, but pop-ups will still default to the left most screen.

I'll get right to it, I can't find enough reasons to use this thing!  I'm going to call it the best home office all-in-one (aka, MFC, Multi-Function Center) printer/scanner/copier/fax money can buy!  Not that I have any experience with other units, so take it for what it's worth, but I've been putting this thing through it's paces over the last week and I couldn't be more satisfied with Brother's MFC-7840W.

Although this unit has built-in wireless capabilities, I chose to hard wire mine using the ethernet port in the back.  It obtained an IP immediately and I haven't had connectivity issues.  The web administration interface is easy to use and I didn't encounter any problems there either.

The Brother software installation was painless on both Windows 7 and Mac OS X (10.5) clients.  Configuration is straight-forward and the software isn't bloated with any junk.  It's lean, unobtrusive, and does what it should.

The print quality is great.  It practically spits out pages and the blacks are dark and crisp.  Copies are quick and simple.  No complaints here.

I haven't tested the fax functionality, so I can't comment there, but the scanning functionality is fantastic.  The automatic tray feeder allows you to insert a stack of papers and simply walk away, very convenient.  The most impressive feature however, is Scan to FTP.  I setup an FTP server (FileZilla) to share a few folders from my file server and the scanner saves them there with the press of a button.  It's made life so much easier!  I come home from work, find a bill in the mail, put it in the scanner and choose scan to ftp.  Seconds later the document is sitting on my network share and I can toss the bill away, no worries.  The quality settings for ftp scans are more limited than a scan using the Brother software, but still quite adequate.  I did a number of tests on speed, quality and file size.  I settled on 300 DPI color scans in PDF format (jpeg is the only other option).  Using the feeder, a single page takes 28 seconds from start to finish and the size averages about 500kB.  Checkout the result below:

Download my Brother MFC-7840W test scan.

Now, I browsed a ton of reviews before making the purchase and the most common complaint I heard was that scans through the feeder were often crooked.  Maybe they didn't bother to adjust the rails; mine have been straight.  A few others mentioned printed pages would curl and that hasn't happened to me either.  Quite a few reviewers said the lights would dim briefly when the thing powered on for a print or a copy and I can confirm that happens to me too.  I'm in an older building, and it hasn't affected anything, so I don't mind in the least.  Overall, it's a great machine.  I recommend it highly.

I don't know why Windows is prompting me with the following warning every time I try to move/copy a file from a network share.  All my machines are on the same domain, and I'm running Windows 7 clients with Windows Server 2008 R2.

Windows Security - These files might be harmful to your computer.

So here's why I love Windows.  I'm well into my 2nd decade of familiarity with their products so I just had a hunch on how to fix it and it took but a minute.  But for those of you who don't, well Mr. T said it best, "I pity the fool".  Open INTERNET EXPLORER and add your domain as a trusted domain site.

1. Internet Explorer -> Tools -> Internet Options
    
   
    
2. Security Tab -> Local Intranet -> Sites Button -> Advanced Button
    
   
    
3. Close down all instances of IE and Windows Explorer and try again; you shouldn't be prompted.

First and foremost, where should I install FPE?  My small Exchange environment consists of an Edge transport server in the DMZ and 2 Exchange servers in the LAN (MBX/HUB and CAS).  Forefront Protection can be installed on any Exchange server in your domain but it will function differently depending on which roles are installed.  The long and short of it is, I want to install FPE on both my perimeter Edge and internal MBX/HUB servers.

Installing FPE on a Mailbox / Hub Transport Exchange Server

• During installation you'll be asked whether or not to enable Antispam, the default will be to not enable it.  That's what we want, we'll leave that task to the Edge server.
   
• FPE on an internal machine will provide Antivirus and Antimalware protection.  You'll also be able to run on-demand scans of individual mailboxes if you so choose.

Installing FPE on an Edge Transport Exchange Server

• This time the default will be to enable Antispam, which is exactly what we want.
   
• Edge servers don't have direct access to any mailboxes, so you can't run scans on selected objects from here.

Update FPE Spam Definitions and Engines

• Spam/Virus/Malware definitions should come through Windows update automatically.  Just be sure they'll install automatically.
   
• To update your FPE Engines, browse to your Policy Management -> Global Settings -> Engine Options and choose Update All Engines Now from the options pane.

Send Test Emails

• To test if Antispam is functioning properly head on over to Gtube.net.  Send a Gtube test from an external domain and you should receive an automatic reply that the mail is undeliverable:
   
  #550 5.7.1 Message rejected due to content restrictions ##
   
• To test Antivirus/Antimalware, use EICAR.org.  Send the EICAR signature as an attachment from an external domain and you should receive the email, but the attachment will be quarantined:
   
  FILE QUARANTINED
  Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server removed a file since it was found to be infected.
  File name: "winmail.dat->EICAR.txt"
  Virus name: "EICAR-Test-File"
   

PS - Looks like Forefront TMG is doing it's job, it won't let me download eicar.com.txt

I've got a simple home office VoIP solution.  I'm running a TrixBox CE IP-PBX virtual machine hooked up to a single Linksys SPA941 IP phone.  My VoIP provider is Teliax.  They offer SIP/IAX2 connections and have a basic pay-as-you-go plan which basically allows me to make any call in the US for 2 cents a minute.

Originally I configured my Teliax connection to use SIP but I couldn't get the firewall settings correct.  I tried every possible combination of the Configure VoIP wizard but the result was always the same, my internal SIP connections would work fine but my external connection to Teliax would never succeed.  And despite having numerous firewall rules to allow SIP traffic from my PBX to Teliax, the logs would always show SIP traffic from my PBX was denied to Teliax by the Default Deny Rule with an error code of 0x800733f5 WSA_RWS_ERROR_ACCESS_DENIED.  A few quick searches lead my to believe that it has something to do with NAT traversal, a double NAT'd scenario, or possibly a bug in Threat Management Gateway.  Whatever, I gave up on it, I've got other options.

Configure my Teliax VoIP Provider for IAX2

Manually Publish IAX2 Connection in TMG

* voip and 172.16.2.119 are the same machine but publish rules insist on not using alias's, which is annoying.

Configure Internal SIP Communication using TMG Configure VoIP Wizard

It's been a while since I've setup a new TrixBox IP-PBX VoIP Server so I thought I'd post a quick tutorial for future reference.  I've downloaded the latest ISO, version 2.8.0.3, and installed it on a virtual machine with 1GB of RAM and 50GB hard disk space.  That's a bit overkill but I have the resources at the moment.  I'd feel comfortable scaling it back to 256MB RAM / 20GB HD space if necessary.

Installation

1. My first installation attempt failed because of the default Hyper-V Virtual Network Adapter.  A Legacy Network Adapter is required.
    
2. The installation process requires a root password, so provide one.
    
3. After installation completes the machine will reboot and you'll see the same Press <Enter> to install Trixbox menu.  Remove the installation disk, reboot the machine and you'll be greeted with the following screen:
    
   
    
4. Login as root and then set the master password for the Web GUI (like the message says you can type help-trixbox for a list of available commands):
    
   
    
5. Run logout to return the console to the homescreen.  You can now login using the Web GUI.
    

General Configuration

1. Browse to your TrixBox IP (or setup a DNS host record) and click Switch.  The username is maint and the password is what you set from the console.  You'll then be logged in as the master administrator.
    
   
    
2. Next I like to update my hostname to match the records in my DNS server, but it's not really necessary.  System -> Network -> Edit Network Parameters.
    
   
    

PBX Configuration

1. NOTE:  After making any changes to your PBX Settings make sure you click the Apply Configuration Changes  menu option or they won't be in effect!
    
   
    
2. Now it's time to get to the heart of it.  Click PBX -> PBX Settings.  You'll land on the System Status page and it's always good to take a look at any Notices that might require your attention.  In previous versions there was a warning about MySQL credentials, but it appears they've taken care of that.  I'll ignore this email address notice for now...
    
   
    
3. Next I'll setup my Extensions.  I have a Linksys SPA941 IP Phone so I'll be setting up Generic SIP Device extensions.
    
   
    
4. Now it's time to add a Trunk.  I use Teliax for some pay-as-you-go VoIP service.  They offer IAX and SIP service, I've configured my account for IAX2.  Following Teliax's setup guide, I'll configure a new IAX2 Trunk in my Trixbox PBX.  After configuration you should notice the following warning...
    
   
    
5. Time to setup some routes.  Click Outbound Routes and let's just edit the 9_Outside route that already exists.  Set the trunk from the default ZAP/g0 to the one you just created.  By default, you'll need to dial a 9 before you make any external calls.  I'd like to be able to dial numbers directly like any other phone, so I'll pull down the Dial Patterns Wizard menu and choose Local 7/10 Digit which will set the following pattern:
    
   
    
6. Click Inbound Routes and create a new one called All Incoming Calls.  Set the Destination to one of your extensions for this route.
    
   
    
7. At this point, your PBX should be successfully configured.  If you've already configured your phones and firewall then you should see some successful status messages.
    
   
    

Troubleshooting:

1. Click PBX -> PBX Status for connection details.  Peers should have a status of OK and registrations should have a status of Registered.
    
2. Configuring phones is straight forward.  You just want to match them with the settings you've configured for each of your Extensions.  If you haven't purchased an IP phone, you can use a soft phone like Counterpath's X-Lite.
    
3. Configuring your firewall can be a bit tricky.  I've documented my TMG firewall rules here.

The latest incarnation of Microsoft's Remote Desktop Services RemoteApp (formerly TS Web Access) has changed the way it displays it's title on each page.  Don't waste any time trying to manually change the source of each page, it doesn't work.  The value comes from the <WorkspaceSettings Name=""> config key in:

/RDWeb/App_Data/RDWebAccess.config (c:/Windows/Web/RDWeb by default)

* While the app is running you won't be able to edit the file directly.  Save the config elsewhere, then copy it over.

I'm running Outlook 2010 Beta remotely from a Windows Server 2008 R2 RDS (Remote Desktop Services) machine.  Lately I've noticed the following warning to install Windows Search 4.0:

Outlook 2010 Windows Desktop Search is unavailable.

Clicking the notice for more information and then following the provided link indeed takes me to the Windows Search download page, but there isn't a choice for Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 machines.  I tried the 64-bit Vista installation file but it failed.

Instead, you need to add the File Services role to the server and install the Windows Search Service.

Note:  The installation completed with the following error but the service is running correctly and Outlook no longer displays the warning.  I could always open Indexing Options and add the entire C: drive if I wanted, but I think I'll leave it as is.

Windows Search Service installation succeeded with errors.  The volumes that you selected could not be added to the list of indexing locations because the service is not ready.

The following list of Windows 7 enhancements I find especially useful.  After searching for their official names, I realized there are quite a few Windows 7 Features that I haven't even tried yet.  Play To, Snipping Tool, and Sticky Notes sound pretty good.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/features/index.aspx

• Windows Search - Tap the Windows key and the start menu opens.  Begin typing and search results start to appear but it also includes all the functionality of the Run prompt.  You can quickly open cmd, mstsc, paint, word, a path, a url, etc.
   
• Jump Lists - Right-click a taskbar icon for a quick menu specific to that application.  Not all applications support this feature yet, but those that do are very helpful.  Often you'll see a list of recently opened files, favorites, quick links, etc.
   
• Pin Item to Jump List - Drag a folder to the Windows Explorer icon on the taskbar, or a URL from IE to the IE icon and that item will be pinned to that jump list.  It's a quick alternative to favorites.
   
• Shift+Click Taskbar Icon - to open a new instance of that application.
   
• Ctrl+Shift+Click Taskbar Icon - to open a new instance of that application 'as administrator'.
   
• Snap - Drag a window to any edge of the screen and it snaps into place.  A side effect I find helpful is the unsnap feature.  Instead of double clicking a maximized window and then moving it, I can just grab it and move it and it automatically restores to it's previous size.
   
• Snap Shortcut - This is especially helpful if you have multiple monitors since windows won't automatically snap on inner edges.  Win+Left, Win+Right, Win+Up, or Win+Down.
   
• Shake - Shake a window to minimize all others or shake again to restore all others.  I haven't quite been able to train myself to use this one yet, but I'm trying.  I still instinctively hit Win+D to minimize all windows, or again to restore them.
   
• Peek - Hover over a taskbar icon for a preview of any open applications.
  

I recently upgraded my Community Server 2007 site to CS 2007 SP2.  The only difference I've noticed so far is that recent comments aren't showing up in the What's New section of the homepage. It turns out they purposely stopped that from happening after so many requests to remove comments from the homepage.  Fair enough, but I still want mine!

Edit /Themes/Default/Common/Home.aspx and at the bottom, find <CSControl:TagCloud> and immediately after the <LeaderTemplate> tag I inserted the following code which will create the Recent Comments sidebar menu you can see on the homepage.

<div class="CommonSidebarArea">
               <div class="CommonSidebarRoundTop"><div class="r1"></div><div class="r2"></div><div class="r3"></div><div class="r4"></div></div>
               <div class="CommonSidebarInnerArea">
                <h4 class="CommonSidebarHeader">Recent Comments</h4>
                <div class="CommonSidebarContent">
               <CSBlog:WeblogPostList ID="WeblogPostList1" runat="Server">
              <QueryOverrides BlogPostType="Comment" PageIndex="0" PageSize="10" runat="server"
                SortBy="MostRecent" SortOrder="Descending" PostConfig="Empty" />
              <HeaderTemplate>
                 <ul style="margin-left:0;padding-left:20px;">
              </HeaderTemplate>
             <ItemTemplate>
                <CSBlog:WeblogPostFeedbackData ID="WeblogPostData1" runat="server" LinkTo="Feedback"
                   Property="Body" TruncateAt="65" Tag="Li" />
             </ItemTemplate>
             <FooterTemplate>
                </ul>
             </FooterTemplate>
           </CSBlog:WeblogPostList>
                      </div>
               </div>
               <div class="CommonSidebarRoundBottom"><div class="r1"></div><div class="r2"></div><div class="r3"></div><div class="r4"></div></div>
              </div>

We've all written that logon script to map a network drive when a user logs in, something like:

@echo off
net use Z: \\MyServer\MyShare

But how many have tried it the new way?  Today I'm going to toss away my login.bat script and use Group Policy Preferences instead.

Create a Separate Organizational Unit and Group Policy Object

I'm very meticulous about keeping my changes separate from anyone/anything else's so the first thing I do when configuring a domain controller is to create my own OU, in this case called Headquarters. This is where I add my own domain objects (users, groups, etc) and today I've added a new GPO.

Add a Group Policy User Preference

Once you've got your own GPO, or if you're feeling brave enough to modify the default policy, right-click the GPO and choose Edit.  Browse to User Configuration -> Preferences -> Windows Settings -> Drive Maps.  Adding a new mapped drive is straight forward, but if you have any questions just click the Help button for a detailed explanation of all the options.

Force a Group Policy Update

To test out the changes, run gpupdate /force from a client machine.  You'll be prompted to logoff and when you log back in you should see that mapped drive!