Ramblings, ideas, problems, and solutions

Category: Tools

  • FotoWare Color Factory checks whether a share is offline

    In Service Release 4 of Color Factory 7, FotoWare introduced a new feature, enabling it to check whether a network share is offline. When it finds that the share is offline, the channel is temporarily stopped, allowing other channels on the server to keep running.   When a share is found to be offline, this…

  • Blogging on the go, WordPress for iOS

    While I do most of my blogging on my computer, uploading the posts and images directly through the control panel. However, from time to time I will write a post while on the go, using my iPad or even (shudder) my iPhone to write and post the update.   Whenever I do that, my choice…

  • Travel adapter kit

    Whenever I go travelling, I bring a number of devices with me. I will always bring a cellphone and my Kindle, and depending on the trip, I might also bring a bike computer, iPad and camera, to mention a few possibilities. I have made it a habit to bring as few chargers as possible, as…

  • Using MSTSC to connect to a console mode session.

    One of the most important tools in any sysadmin’s tool kit is the ability to remote control servers and client computers. Being able to quickly connect to Terminal Services is a great way to do so. If you’re like me, you leave a few windows open whenever you leave a machine, and a neat trick…

  • Creating your own ringtones on iPhone

    One of the most annoying things to me as a user, is the fact that I’m not able to assign my music files as ringtones. The “offical” way of adding more ringtones, is by buying them from Apple, however, you can generate them yourself, using your iPhone and a computer. To do so, you need…

  • The power of remembrance: TK

    A while back, one of the blogs I read on a regular basis TK had an article about the authors’ own greatest weakness when it comes to writing, namely getting too caught up in research TK. While he admitted that it made for deep articles, it also meant that he sometimes lost the ideas in…

  • BitLocker asks for BitLocker Recovery Key at restart

    Having gone from Windows XP to Windows 7, we are seeing a rash of new problems. One of these is that a lot of our users are unable to boot into Windows, as they are prompted for a BitLocker Recovery Key. The temporary fix for this is simple enough; look up and tell the user…

  • The iPad reviewed

    First off, I know I said I wasn’t going to get an iPad. That decision was based on the hype and buzz about it, after laying hands on one myself, though, I’ve got to say I was simply wrong. Probably not about my concerns, as I still feel they are valid, but about my decision…

  • Controlling the version of Java installed

    Every so often, I encounter computers that, among other things, have very specific prerequisites. For SAP CRM and Mobile Sales, more often than not, a specific version of Java should be installed. If it isn’t, problems ensue. Now, while you’ll always have the option of finding out what version is installed through the control panel,…

  • Toolkit essentials – Software tools part two – Executables

    Like their physical counterparts, software tools are absolutely necessary for successful IT support. I usually divide them up into two categories; CD images and executables. In my last post, I covered CD images, now to the executables I bring with me: Autoruns Autoruns is a nifty little app from SysInternals that lets you quickly and…

  • Toolkit essentials – Software tools part one – ISO files

    Like their physical counterparts, software tools are absolutely necessary for successful IT support. I usually divide them up into two categories; CD images and executables. The first are usually distributed in the form of iso-files. I usually carry the following with me, along with blank CDs, so that I can make the tools I need…