Its the reboot aspect that causes the most issues especially if you have a startup Pin/Password, i encountered this recently in an environment i was managing. The issue was that after software updates were installed PC’s would simply staff offline because they would be stuck at the password/pin prompt screen for bitlocker. Hmmm well thats thrown a spanner in the works!

Its actually something microsoft have documented well quiet well here 

For your convenience ive listed them here:

What this doesn’t say however is what to do if you have a startup pin ? In a way it actually does but you have to read between the lines on this one, if you suspend the bitlocker protectors on the OS drive it will temporarily stop the startup PIN/Password from prompting.

You can accomplish this by running the following command before every reboot:

manage-bde –protectors –disable c:

If you run this command on your machine you will see your Hard disk icon change:

To This

A quick restart later and your all patched up! Simples!

It turns out, it’s a pretty common error after uninstalling chrome http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Chrome/thread?tid=4c894d24ab6fac2d&hl=en

The fix is relatively easy:

1. Click Start, click Run, type Regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate the following subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.html
3. On the File menu, click Export.
4. In the Export Registry File dialog box, enter HKCU_Classes_HTML_Backup.reg and click Save.
Note: This will create a backup of this registry key in the My Documents folder by default.
5. Right click the (Default) value for the .html key and select Modify…
6. Change the value from “ChromeHTML” to “htmlfile”

Its odd given the age of the problem that this isnt included in the chrome uninstall.

By default in arma you start off with a AN/PRC-343 Short range radio (between 1 and 2 clicks coverage), you can see this by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+V  this is a local radio more suited to Squad Coverage and is poor + Non effective at range. To Transmit Press Caps Lock and talk, an indicator down below like the following will be displayed:

Long range Radio (SINCGARS [Single Channel Ground to Air Radio System])

In order to command or communicate over a longer distance you will need to pick up a Sincgar set from a gear box at the spawn point (Normally a big silver box), with the sincgars equiped you will be unable to equip any rpg or rocket launchers. The designation in ARMA 2 with ACRE for the Sincgars is: AN/PRC-77 go ahead and pick this up and equip.

Using CTRL+Shift+C you can switch quickly between both radios, using CTRL+Shift+V will allow you to select manually which radio you will actively transmit on, you can also increase signal power on the set to compensate for urban or longer distances to improve signal quality.

Transmitting with this set is the same as the other, it may be an option to press CTRL+Shift+[Direction Arrow] on the PRC-343 to keep it on one ear and the PRC-77 on the other.

People with PRC-77 sets will be able to hear and transmit to people who are near enough with the PRC-343 sets, remember though people with PRC-343 Sets will not be able to hear PRC-77 sets that are out of range.

!!!!!Remember!!!!!

A squad should always have 1 person with a Long range set, so that that person can speak to other teams that may be in the air or back at base.

Requirements:
Teamspeak 3 – http://www.teamspeak.com/?page=downloads
Six Updater 2.0 – http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=13213
Arma 2 + Operation Arrow Head (Steam or Stand Alone)

Installation

Open Six updater and select @ACRE from the Mods tab, then hit Add Selected; You will notice to the left side you will have two additional items under your ACE selections as below.

From here Click on the Action menu and make sure install or update is selected, then press Run ‘Install or Update’, from this point the messagebox below the mods window will start downloading ACRE and JayArma2Lib and install. They will appear green in the menu when up to date.

Teamspeak Configuration

Copy the acre.dll (or acre_x64.dll) from C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\arma 2 operation arrowhead\@ACRE\ts3 plugin ; into your teamspeak plugins folder located in C:\Program Files (x86)\TeamSpeak 3 Client\plugins

In teamspeak Click Settings then Plugins and make sure your ACRE Plugin is selected as below:

If so continue on.

Arma 2 Configuration

Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\arma 2 operation arrowhead\@JayArma2Lib and copy dsound.dll into this folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\arma 2 operation arrowhead

Copy your existing Arma 2 ACE Shortcut and paste a new copy, name it so you know its the ACRE version and make sure you have the following string as your launch string:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\arma 2 operation arrowhead\ArmA2OA.exe" -window -nosplash "-mod=C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\arma 2;Expansion;@CBA;@ACEX_USNavy;@ACEX;@ACE;@ACEX_SM;@ACEX_RU;@Maps;@JayArmA2Lib;@ACRE

Launch Arma 2 from the shortcut you just created. Make sure you see the following on the left and right when you load up:

That’s it for the installation!

However unaffected were the IE6 users… Strange huh ? Well apparently the guys over at the internet explorer team decided that it was time for people to start using the zone assignments correctly, large business has a habbit of adding everything into the trusted sites zone (ment for external trusted sites) instead of placing it in the Intranet zone… Bold large business!

So i began my mission of correcting this problem, but noticed straight away that Dr. Google was a wash with half answers and untested answers… So i was going to have to work this one out on my own.

Scope

As the internet explorer 6 users were able to function correctly without issue, it became apparent that we don’t want to disturb this in any way, so we have to rely on some cunning features of group policy. Unfortunately nearly all the group policy settings for internet explorer are agnostic to the version, meaning we couldn’t simply create a second gpo with different specific IE7/8 settings.

How do we do this ?

Its impractical for us to do AD Groups, especially as this problem is across a large enterprise of 10k+ clients; So this meant we had to try leverage a function/component/feature of windows that could decide for itself what policy (IE6 or IE7/8 based policy) needs to be applied dynamically.

The only real clean way of doing this is by leveraging WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation).

What to do

1. Clone your existing IE Policy (Export and import) and put IE8 on the end when naming it.
2. Move your internal sites into the intranet zone, leaving external trusted sites in the trusted zone.
3. Create two filters (call them IE6 filter and IE7/8 Filter)

In Filter 1 (IE6 Filter) Place the following Code:

root\CIMv2

SELECT * FROM CIM_DataFile WHERE Filename = 'iexplore' AND Path = '\\Program Files\\Internet Explorer\\' AND version<'6.00.9999.9999'

In Filter 2 (IE7/8 Filter) place the following Code:

SELECT * FROM CIM_DataFile WHERE Filename = 'iexplore' AND Path = '\\Program Files\\Internet Explorer\\' AND version>'7.0'

Link & Apply

Simply set your filters in your GPO and test and see if they are applying correctly.

On Windows XP Open a command prompt and type:

gpresult

On Windows Vista/7 Open a command prompt and type:

gpresult /R

I made a switch back in September and left my reliable iphone 3g which had organised the chaos of my life for such a long time and started using two devices for the latter half of the year… these were my thoughts..

Palm Pre (WebOS 1.4)

I got issued with a Work Palm Pre UMTS with 8gb of storage, i hadn’t really heard of WebOS until a few months back around HP’s acquisition of Palm; So i went into using the phone without knowing much about the device itself.

For starters WebOS is the proprietary operating system for Palm Pre devices, meaning that the devices will only ever run WebOS and WebOS will not run on other devices. People have been telling me for a while that this is the next greatest thing that WebOS will bring the cloud to the consumer…

From my point of view i understand cloud and SaaS, PaaS etc very well and i understand the architecture even better.

It does however allude me how WebOS would be better than say Windows Phone 7, Windows Mobile, Apple iOS or RIM’s propriety OS on their blackberries.

The good

There are some genuinely good things i do like about the Pre, the two biggest would be the Idea of a Card Deck for App Multitasking and gestures…

It seems to just nail both of these perfectly, it was a bit confusing at first as to how it all worked but once i got the hang of it then it was just a natural reaction when i wanted to close or switch apps.

Unified Contacts, i think this is a pretty sweet idea the concept behind it is that you can go into your contact list and if you have integrated your gmail you will see if some of your friends are online; It give’s a nice unified interface in which to communicate with your contacts, rather than a modular approach by iOS.

The Bad

The bad parts i think about the OS and device itself are the build quality and a lack of immersion;

Build Quality – At times i found myself unable to open the keyboard with one hand, resorting to two which just about opens the device, the surface leaves for a difficult grip if your anyway perspiring or have greasy palms, this was by far the most off putting thing for me; The Keyboard was difficult to type with sometimes due to the key spacing, overall the device felt cheap and not as rigid as other phones i have had, i would consider my HTC TYTN II to be more rigid than the Pre.

Immersion – I found alot of the time i wanted to do something on the device but couldn’t quiet figure out how to do it, copying and pasting was completely un natural for me i just couldn’t work out the key combinations; It ended up i just painfully selected text i wanted then used the top left menu to copy. Alot of the other time i struggled to find where to configure options like say an APN for my Mobile operator so i can get data on the phone.

Lack of Quality Software – On the desktop i found i was pretty much on my own and ended up using Windows Media Player to sort out my music.

Annoying Palm Signup Process – The signup process is retarded, i found myself scrabbling on forums for a long time so i could find my Mobile providers APN details so i could signup to the palm service so i could use my device, i think palm has something to learn here; Android and Windows Phone users aren’t forced to signup to Windows Live or Create a google account, you can use the device without one.

Battery Life – I averaged about 8 hours with no talk time and about 4 with talk time, i found myself constantly having it on charge in the car or in the office.

For a Mobile OS that isnt really a big player, you can expect a lack of quality applications; The big players like Facebook, Foursquare and LinkedIn are there, but decent apps to do your finances or RSS readers just dont exist.

Final Thoughts

Overall, i was disappointed, i expected more out of the device than what i got. My phone is important to me for so many things, but i just found myself constantly worrying about if ill have enough battery to ring someone or how many emails can i do before its flat. The feel really disappointed me, it seems like everyone these days can build a great device; Coming from an HTC and Apple background it just felt like i had gotten the Lada of mobile hardware.

If i had the option to buy this phone, i wouldn’t and its truly put me off WebOS and Palm Products.

HTC HD7 (Windows Phone 7 Build 7004)

After the palm, i waited eagerly for the launch of the HTC HD7 here in Ireland with Windows Phone 7, it was released here in Ireland sometime between the end of October and start of November.

Windows Phone 7 replaced Windows Mobile 6.5 as the latest Windows based operating system on smart phones, its not proprietary (i.e not stuck to one device) and multiple manufactures are releasing Windows Phone 7 based devices.

I knew alot about Windows Phone 7 before i got my HTC HD7, but i had high expectations due to the fact im someone who likes Microsoft Products and Windows Devices in General.

The Good

The most surprising thing about WP7 is its responsiveness; Windows based devices have always been mocked for years about their responsiveness (or lack there of) but im glad to see that in Windows Phone 7, its alarmingly responsive.

I felt alot more immersed with Windows Phone than i did with WebOS, Microsoft have used visual que’s and aids to the maximum, its also reassuring that if i need to change some settings that the option is always at the bottom of the screen.

Unified contacts (People) – i liked this alot, i was fearful about how it was going to work, i sync’d my facebook, Windows live and exchange contacts to the phone and automatically the OS recognised people correctly and assigned them to the correct contact information, this means that anytime my friends change their profile photo on Windows Live or facebook, its automatically tracked to my phone.

Me Hub – this is a great idea i was always sick of updating my status on multiple applications to basically just say the same thing, but by going into the me hub i can update my status on all the social networking sites im on in one tap!

Sync’d Photo Albums - this was a surprised i found that after i connected my Windows Live account and my Facebook account, the phone automatically downloaded my facebook and Windows Live albums to the phone; This is very hand if you want to show someone a photo you’ve taken that’s not on your phone, it means you don’t have to sign into the facebook app an wait ages for it to stream over the Cellular network!

Email and text messaging are simple but effective, i enjoy writing emails more on this device for some reason!

The Bad

Zune -  would of liked the Zune app to do more, i find it cumbersome and i never know if the application if selected to install has installed, or if its still downloading etc… I was really disappointed to see that the app doesn’t backup anything on the phone outside of videos, music and pictures.. Even at that, if you reset your phone you’ll have to manually sync all these again, this is where apple and itunes defiantly has an advantage.

Carrier unlock – My phone is carrier unlocked legitimately, but unfortunately i still have to use all the O2 branding on my device, this is because the devices are configured at a bios level to be identified to certain carriers, its disappointing but im sure the folks over at xda-developers.com will fix this for me in time!

Lack of Quality Apps – The store itself is fine but the amount of apps is not great, im disappointed that there’s no proper linkedin or skype app yet, the quality of apps outside of the main vendors is poor and is generally targeted to a US Based consumer group. Its something that will take some to resolve itself.

Final Thoughts

Overall i was extremely happy with buying a HTC HD7 with Windows Phone 7, it fulfils everything i need to do day in day out, its a great phone for work and socialising with friends, i would highly recommend it to anyone who was in the market for a new phone. Its encouraging to see how much the Mobile OS has grown up, i can only see bigger and better things happening with it!

Download my scripts here and extract to your desired location (important to include the folders), then go and download googlecl from here extract into a folder called googlecl where you extracted the first lot of scripts and folders.

Open a command line and navigate to Googlecl directory and run:

google.exe youtube list

You should be taken to a webpage in order to provide your details. After this open the youtube.ps1 file in notepad and edit the following lines to point to the correct directories:

$dir = "F:\youtube\"
$wrkdir = "F:\youtube\Processing\"
$FinDir = "F:\youtube\Finished\"
$logs = "F:\youtube\Logs\"
$gcl = "F:\youtube\googlecl\google.exe"

By default the script uploads all videos to “Games” (gaming category) have a look at the catalogue for youtube categories here and see what “term” you can use for the following line and replace Games with your desired term:

invoke-expression "$gcl youtube post --category Games $wrkdir$vid" | out-null

Finally modify the run.bat located in the scripts folder to point to your paths and give it a go, to automate simply create a scheduled task. I have this set on my server and a network drive shared out, so i simply drag a wmv file to the network drive and at 2:30am every day the server uploads to youtube.

The script isn’t perfect but it works.

Code for youtube.ps1 script:

$date = get-date -uformat "%d%m%Y-%H%M"
$file = "$date.txt"
$dir = "F:\youtube\"
$wrkdir = "F:\youtube\Processing\"
$FinDir = "F:\youtube\Finished\"
$logs = "F:\youtube\Logs\"
$gcl = "F:\youtube\googlecl\google.exe"
get-childitem $dir -name -filter "*.wmv" > $dir$file
$vid = Get-Content $dir$file -totalcount 1
$vid
move-Item $dir$vid $wrkdir
$timer = get-date 
"Starting at $timer" | out-file $logs$file
invoke-expression "$gcl youtube post --category Games $wrkdir$vid" | out-null
$timer = get-date 
"Finished at $timer" | out-file $logs$file -append
move-Item $wrkdir$vid $Findir
Remove-Item $dir$file

Recently Apple released iOS 4 (the new name for the operating system that runs on iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads). Since its release there have been numerous reports (link, link, link) of a number of issues with new iPhone 4s (and older iPhone models running the updated software version) when using Exchange ActiveSync (EAS). I wanted to put up a quick posting about what issues users may be seeing and what we’re doing about it.

Issues:

1. Exchange administrators are seeing heavier than normal loads on their servers from users with iOS devices: We are in contact with Apple’s engineering team and are trying to help them fix this issue. In the meantime Apple has released a support article (link) which directs administrators who are experiencing this issue to push an iOS profile (link) that changes the timeout their Exchange ActiveSync connection uses to their users to four minutes which should be long enough for the vast majority of users. Those that need longer can edit the XML file in any text editor by searching for ‘240.0’ (no quotes) and changing it to the desired number of seconds, or you can use Apple’s configuration utility editor (link) to make this change.

   Update @1:10 PM: We had suggested using Apple’s configuration utility to make this change. Apple has informed us that you should not use the configuration utility to edit or install the update. Use a text editor such as Notepad to edit the timeout value in the update, if required.

2. Email, calendar, or contacts are not syncing: We believe this is the same issue as #1. The support article and solution listed above are the current recommendation from Apple while a fix is being worked on.
3. iPhone is not working with Google Apps over Exchange ActiveSync: Google licenses the server portion of Exchange ActiveSync from Microsoft (link) but Google wrote their own software to implement the protocol. Google is responsible for making sure their implementation of Exchange ActiveSync runs correctly and in this case Google claims that they had a server issue (link).

We have been in contact with Apple about each of these issues (as well as some others that seem to not be directly related to EAS but are more email related in general). Apple has assured us that a fix is being worked on though they have not commented on a release timeline for the fix. We will be continuing to work with Apple to help resolve the current issues relating to iOS 4 using Exchange ActiveSync.

Adam Glick
Sr. Technical Product Manager

Great Tool pointed out by my colleague alex verboon.