Big J Walk

Firefox consolidation – Omnibar

desktophero — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 04:49:15 +0000

Firefox Add-ons:

Omnibar (link)

Easily integrate search and address bars into one with Omnibar

Works great!

Protected: WGU LDO1 eReserves

desktophero — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:02:58 +0000

Office Area

desktophero — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 01:47:10 +0000

I have NO IDEA how to layout the office. We’re trying to basic desks from Ikea to see if we can get them to layout nicely. Problem is the layout of the room itself. Ugh.

Box Count

desktophero — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 01:27:33 +0000

We’ve unpacked about 20 boxes this week. However, we brought in about 10. So the net box breakdown is sitting at 10.

I feel like I’m spending so much time just moving boxes from one space to another. Boxes labeled garage get shuffled from one section to another. I need shelves in the garage…

DIY Network is my new best friend

desktophero — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 01:08:36 +0000

DIY Network is my best friend. No offense to those out there who have always got my back, but DIY Network has probably saved me 120 hours and $500 this week alone. If nothing else, I have to think differently about the actions I have to take to get some stuff done.

The Lawn

I have a lawn (~ 3 acres) that will never look like this:

But that’s okay. As long as it doesn’t look like this:

At least not forever… that’s basically what I have now. Harumph!

After watching some great shows and reading multiple articles, I have pulled it back to doing a small section of the yard at first to get the hang of what needs to be done. I don’t plan on leaving too soon from this new house, so I have some time. (right?)

The Paint

I need to get some more information on wallpaper removal and painting. I have a ton of wall repairs I need to do… small stuff for the most part. But it adds up to a ton of things that need to get cleaned up before I can really start on the primer and paint.

Microsoft Security Essentials

desktophero — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 02:20:30 +0000

Microsoft Security Essentials

I have been using MS Security Essentials (MSSE) since the beta release for Windows Vista and Windows 7 Beta/RC. I have had really good success with MSSE finding/blocking security threats. Also, so far, the performance of MSSE has been pretty good as well:

CPU usage is typically @ 0% active

RAM sits around 32MB

And blogs are starting to review and report that the MSSE product is scoring very well in the “Free Options for AV” niche.

PCMag.com

190 points and 3 stars

http://blogs.pcmag.com/securitywatch/2009/12/av-comparatives_rates_anti-mal.php

Ubuntu 10.4 Alpha 1 released

desktophero — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:15:39 +0000

Canonical has released Alpha 1 of the Ubuntu 10.4 distro slated for GA release late April 2010. Over the coming weeks, I will be capturing my installation and testing of the Ubuntu alpha releases and attempting to do so with some videos.

The main method I’ll be using includes Virtual Box to leverage the hardware I have on a Windows host. I don’t have hardware acceleration on this particular Windows host as the CPU doesn’t support this feature.

Once I feel comfortable with the alpha release and the capture of the progress, I’ll move it over to my Ubuntu 9.10 server for some X-Windows execution. Basically:

Ubuntu 9.10 SERVER – Virtual machine host
Ubuntu 10.4 Alpha – Virtual machine guest
XMing to leverage X Windows to deliver the Ubuntu 10.4 desktop to any of my networked machines
- With the last bullet, I will use Virtual Boxes “headless” capabilities to connect natively, I think/hope

More to come…

Why Tech Support Portals Suck

desktophero — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:13:12 +0000

This is happening right now at work… Left shift and the number 9 key sometimes stop responding. Increases the difficulty to use the open paren…READ FROM THE BOTTOM UP.

BigJWalk
10/21/2009 11:07 AM

Is this a glitch?Not sure what a faulty keyboard (ie. the left Shift key sometimes doesn’t work) has to do with undocking the laptop.No issues with docking or undocking. Just need a keyboard swap.

Thanks.

Client Support Center
10/21/2009 10:59 AM

BigJWalk,
are you sure you undocked your laptop?
go to Windows:
Select Start Menu >undocking the computer
This will put the computer in Standby mode.
Remove the laptop from the docking station
Please let us know if it is still locking after this procedure.

BigJWalk
10/21/2009 10:36 AM

Already provided. =)

Client Support Center
10/21/2009 10:34 AM

Hi BigJWalk,
Is your workstation nameXXXXX? I also need the model number of your PC.
If it is Dell, is it an Optiplex? ie: GX280??
Once I get this info I will place the call right away.

BigJWalk
10/21/2009 10:18 AM

Ah yes… it is a Dell Latitude 630 laptop. And that is my workstation name.

Client Support Center
10/21/2009 10:15 AM

Hi BigJWalk,
Is your workstation nameXXXXX? I also need the model number of your PC.
If it is Dell, is it an Optiplex? ie: GX280??
Once I get this info I will place the call right away.

BigJWalk
10/21/2009 10:08 AM

My keyboard keys continue to get stuck or stop responding. Would like the keyboard replaced, please.

I’ll update as the entertainment continues… I’m wondering if someone’s AutoHotKey macro is a bit whacked out today…?

NAS #4:: New things to do with my Ubuntu Server

desktophero — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:10:55 +0000

I have been running VirtualBox for virtual guests going on 2 years or so. I mostly use them for trying out new software or for any other time that I want to create a distinct barrier from my physical PC and any potentially nefarious actions I might execute that could do harm.

I decided to kick my VirtualBox guests over to the NAS server and run VBox as a headless virtual option.

The easy part was the installation of VBox – a quick apt-get command had that squared away quickly enough. I then went down the path of moving my virtual disks, configuring new machines, and then registering all the bits together so that MACHINE X can access DISK Y, and so on.

I went the headless route as to allow RDP sessions directly to the NAS. I don’t run any desktop management on the server, so using the VBox (or any virt GUI) doesn’t do me any good. Eventually, moving to the VBox web controls will take place, but that tool isn’t as mature as just executing my own VBoxManage commands. Eventually, I will move to the web console as well.

Thus far, the performance is about as good as you would expect from a small-ish NAS server running a guest OS.

Soon, I’ll post my build and run scripts. Sometime….

G1, Android 1.6, and Cyanogen 4.1.9999 ROM

desktophero — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:03:46 +0000

After self-inflicting some panic around the build and stability of my G1 but downgrading the ROM and firmware to V1.0, I was able to get the Android V1.6 (donut), root access, and CyanogenMOD 4.1.9999 installed within an issue.

The browser issues I experienced, specifically with forced close (FC) immediately on launch, are all now gone. Also, I am using a different camera application that gets me the ZOOM that I think any/all digital cameras should offer – to some extent.

The V1.6 build, with CYAN 4.1.9999, is pretty fast. I haven’t had any issues with being able to go from one app to another.