Priceless Geek

This is a note to USB Developers: It appears that the autorun.inf file is useless in computers running Win XP SP3 or higher. Recent Microsoft updates have kept the autoplay feature, but disabled the autorun feature in XP SP3 and Vista. It is also set this way by default in Windows 7.

If the user is motivated to do so, there are work-arounds. However, promotional USB developers must keep this in mind as a statistically large portion of users will no longer be able to use their USB drives as effectively.

I am putting this here so that it may save you time trying to find a solution when this happens to you.

I will also update this blog if I find a valid solution other than ensuring the root directory of your USB only contains a file that say CLICKME.

Hope this helps.

If you aren’t reading this at Priceless Geek, you should be.

 

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I had intended to put this topic on my previous ICVerify post, but I felt it needed its own entry.

Getting ICVerify (I was using v4) to work on Windows 7 is pretty simple.

When I first installed it, the program would fatal error when the program called the receipt printer.

However, the solution is NOT reinstalling.

• Just go into the folder where ICverify.exe resides and Right click on ICVerify.exe.
• Go to properties
• Go to the Compatibility tab
• Check “Run this program compatibility mode for:” Windows XP SP3
• Also, check “Run this program as administrator.”

From there everything should cooperate.

 

Another user is already logged on Error 

If ICVerify crashes and you cannot log back in because you get an error message stating that the user name you are loggin in as is already loged in, don’t panic. This is also an easy, quick fix.

• Open the ICVerify User Manager. Log in.
• Go to the Log On Tab
• Select the option that is not User manager from the drop down box.
• You should see your user ID showing as logged in.
• Select that line, then click the log out button.

You should now be able to log back in.

Hope that helps. Do you have any tips or tricks for this program you would like to share? Please comment if so.

If you aren’t reading this at Priceless Geek, you should be.

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I had the pleasure of working with ICVerify 4 again the other day.  This time I had a machine on which I was getting an error that went Something like “Cannot start program to due to an error.”

If you have dealt with this program, then you know it is easier to uninstall and reinstall than to try and troubleshoot it. That is the path on which I journeyed. It failed to take me home.

After some frustrating time spent on it, I discovered the uninstall features did not remove the hook into the SQL database. Once I deleted the reference on the SQL Server, I was able to run the program without incident.

Also, if you did not know this, you can export the ICVERIFY.SET file from a working installation and copy it over to your new installation. You just have to open the ICVerify setup program and export it from there. It takes two seconds and can save you some time if you are manually setting up your configuration.

What are some of your experiences and/or tips with this program?

If you aren’t reading this at Priceless Geek you should be.

 

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Have you wanted to setup fancy digital signage like that in banks, airports and hotels, but don’t have the budget?

Well, you aren’t out of luck. If you have a slim LCD (or LED) TV with a HDMI port and a computer with PowerPoint 2010 you can setup some decent digital signage.

Step 1: The Hardware:

• Slim LCD TV (I prefer 1080p models)
• A PC with a bare minimum of
  • a 2.0Ghz processor
  • 2GB Memory (More is Better)
  • I’m a Microsoft guy so I prefer Windows, but the premise is the same with an Apple
  • PowerPoint 2010 (or Apple Keynote)
• A VGA to HDMI Upconverter
• and a HDMI over Cat5 Extender (if TV will be located away from TV)

The setup is pretty simple your slide show software goes on your PC. The VGA output from the computer goes to the VGA to HDMI Upconverter. The HDMI port on the Upconverter goes to the HDMI port of the Cat5 extender. The other box of the Cat5 Extender has an HDMI port that goes to the back of the TV. Run two Cat 5 Cables from your computer location to where your TV is located. Make sure you mark the cables. Port 1 on the host unit must go to port 1 on the receiving unit. Plug in the Cat5 cables to the the Cat5 extender ports respectively.

You can setup the TV as your primary monitor or an extended desktop. I recommend an extended desktop (means you’ll need an extra monitor), since you will not be able to see what you are doing on the computer with the TV located far away. If you don’t want to bother with an extra monitor, make sure you dial in all your PowerPoint settings before you install everything.

You should now have a display on your TV from your computer. Make sure you crank up the screen resolution to 1080x1920 to get the maximum screen real estate. Now, on to the presentation.

The Slideshow:

Be creative. Just remember to set your page settings to 16:9 ratio an to loop your slideshow endlessly.

If you are using PowerPoint, I recommend the following plugins to maximize your presentation capabilities:

• LiveWeb – Updates embedded websites every time the slideshow loops.
• LiveImage – Updates linked images every time the slideshow loops.
• Update Links – Updates linked items every time the slideshow loops.
• Find more at skp.mvps.org.

I also found that MPEG4 in PowerPoint seem to have a memory leak that will crash your presentation after a day or so.

Conclusion:

That is really it. It only costs approximately 300 dollars if you already have PowerPoint, a compatible TV, and the computer. I had to get the TV and PowerPoint for my project, but it still only cost about $2000. That is a big change from say TightRope which would be about $6000 for a single display installation.

I did get to demo TightRope. The setup we just discussed above is no replacement for TightRope. It is an excellent professional product with extremely more features and functions than PowerPoint.

I also looked at SCALA, but it seems overly complex for what I wanted to do. It is extremely versatile and would be excellent for complex multimedia displays. I am intending to just give a small business the opportunity to display digital signage at a reasonable cost.

PowerPoint will run for months without issue as long as you configure the computer properly (aka disable anything unnecessary). 

Consumer grade TV’s will also work fine as long as you don’t go super cheap and turn it off during non-business hours. I used a 60 inch Sharp Aquos LCD TV for my installation $1300 at Best Buy).

These are pictures on the display recessed into a wall. For perspectives sake, the wall is about 9 feet wide and 10 feet high. So it is a big, bright display. Here it is showing a hi-def picture that doesn’t identify the installation location.

Good luck with your efforts. Please comment or ask questions. I’ll be happy to answer.

 

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Sometimes repairs stop being about a quick fix and become a vendetta. This is one of those instances.

Recently, a Toshiba Satellite L305 was given to me for repair. The OS had been accidentally removed, but the person had the Vista 32-bit recovery disks. I figured no problem, I can do this in a hour.  Well, the recovery went find until disk 2 went into the recovery process and hit about 30%. I received a 10-FC12-0017 error.  A search of the net found nexperts (net experts) divided between bad recovery disks or bad hard drive.

The hard drive wasn’t acting or sounding bad. Plus ,my friend had said the only reason she ran the recovery disks originally was because the touchpad wasn’t working. It’s ok to laugh. I assumed the HDD was fine since she didn’t complain of operating issues.  So I figured it was the recovery DVD’s, as they had some serious scratches on them even after I cleaned them.

The L305 had a 64-bit processor so I figured, let me try my OEM 64-bit Vista disk.  It actually installed fine with no errors.  However, I had no valid product code and the product key on the bottom wasn’t validating.  So I knew I had to use the recovery disks.

Toshiba has quite a racket with these recovery disks. It’s $25 for a new set. I wasn’t about to go that route. 

I booted freedos off a CD and made sure all the partitions on the drive wiped before attempting a new recovery, With a raw drive, I attempted the recovery again, using the recovery disk to setup the partitions. It failed again.

At this point I was frustrated. I also think Vista sucks. I re-wiped the drive with freedos and attempted an install of windows 7 32-bit. It is what I had laying around. It failed with a “cannot install on this hardware error.”

At this point I knew something was up. I then ran CHKDSK on the drive and it took damn near 8 hours to complete.  I ran the recovery and it failed again.

So extremely frustrated, I put a spare SATA drive in it, and ran the Vista recovery disks. 

After about 14 hours of attempted recovery, the OS came to life.  So error 10-FC12-0017 on a Toshiba recovery, is a bad hard disk.  Save yourself the trouble and just replace the HDD.

What is most frustrating about this is the touchpad never did work, it was bad. The owner opted for an external mouse instead of paying to fix it.  It didn’t work during the recovery. That should have been my clue that more hardware (like the HDD) could be damaged.

And that is one of the lessons I learned.  The other lesson is, check the disk before running a recovery (something I normally do anyway for computers I don’t know the drive’s history).  The third lesson is never detour from your usual practices because you are doing a favor for someone.

I hope someone finds this helpful.

Also, if you aren’t reading this at http://beavmetal.blogspot.com, you should be.

 

This is a quick article on how to download videos from youtube (or any other supported site) and batch convert them into mp3 files.

First, how do you get the videos downloaded from youtube? I use the software from http://www.downloadhelper.net/   . It is a Firefox plug in.  Unfortunately, I have not found a Chrome equal.  SO I used Firefox for this task.

Using Download Helper, you just select download from its toolbar when you find your desired video.  You can select between flv and m4p file types.  I choose flv as personal preference.

Now the real reason for writing this, step 2: converting the video to a mp3.  I spent a portion of today trying out freeware that is supposed to do this easy task.  It all pretty much angered me.  Let me tell you what I tried so you don't go down the same path:

Freez FLV to MP3 - Not Free, can use once before getting a registration prompt. If you don't register, the program closes.  It also wouldn't batch encode more than 30 items.
FLV2MP3.org - It kept giving me 0 byte mp3 files.
A file from richapps.de: It wasn't a batch converter.

The program I ended up using, was VideoLan player.  It is an absolute favorite program of mine. There is no batch conversion feature of VideoLan.  However, a quick and dirty BAT file will do the trick.  I found the following code on the videolan help wiki and changed it for flv files.

Create your BAT file (How to create a bat file) in the top most directory where you downloaded your FLV files.  I plan to use this frequently so I called mine vlanFLV2mp3.BAT. It will convert all the files in that directory and in all the sub-directories below it. For instance, if you downloaded the flv files into C:\Documents and Settings\MYPC\Desktop\FLV and then have sub-directories of musical artists, you would want the BAT file in that top ..\Desktop\FLV directory.


Here is the code you need to past into the BAT file:

@ECHO OFF
REM ########################################################################
REM # A Windows XP cmd.com script to batch convert flv files to mp3. #
REM # #
REM # Copyright (C) 2008 Andrew Boden #
REM # (boden@graduate.uwa.edu.au) #
REM # #
REM # This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify #
REM # it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by #
REM # the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or #
REM # (at your option) any later version. #
REM # #
REM # This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, #
REM # but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of #
REM # MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the #
REM # GNU General Public License for more details. #
REM # #
REM # You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License #
REM # along with this program. If not, see .#
REM # #
REM # Version 1.0 (June 27th 2008) #
REM # Uses VideoLAN VLC 0.8.6h (www.videolan.org) #
REM # Gracefully handles commas and apostrophes in file names. #
REM # Not aware of any other characters needing graceful handling. #
REM # 512kbps encoding with 44100 sampling. #
REM ########################################################################

@ECHO OFF
FOR /R %%G IN (*.flv) DO (CALL :SUB_VLC "%%G")
FOR /R %%G IN (*.flv.mp*) DO (CALL :SUB_RENAME "%%G")
GOTO :eof

:SUB_VLC
SET _firstbit=%1
SET _qt="
CALL SET _newnm=%%_firstbit:%_qt%=%%
SET _commanm=%_newnm:,=_COMMA_%
REM echo %_commanm%
CALL "C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc" -I dummy -vvv %1 --sout=#transcode{acodec="mp3",ab="512","channels=2"}:standard{access="file",mux="raw",dst="%_commanm%.mp3"} vlc://quit
GOTO :eof

:SUB_RENAME
SET _origfnm=%1
SET _endbit=%_origfnm:*.flv=%
CALL SET _newfilenm=%%_origfnm:.flv%_endbit%=.mp3%%
SET _newfilenm=%_newfilenm:_COMMA_=,%
COPY %1 %_newfilenm%
DEL %1
GOTO :eof

:eof


This is the original code, it might be easier to copy.  Remember to change m4a to flv if using the linked code.


If you already have all of the software, it isan easy 2 step process. 1: download all the videos you want. 2: run the bat file.

I am posting this because I couldn't find a solution to the problem online while I was working with ICVERIFY 4.0.  It is a relatively dated program used to process credit cards.  Basically it is just a GUI on top of a few SQL databases.

In the past, if some one changed or lost the admin password to the user manager and forgot it, deleting the UserDB files from the SQL directory and reinstalling the app cured the problem.

However, yesterday, I was doing a new install on a XP machine. I choose a custom user name and password for ICVERIFY, as is an option, then completed the install.  When I went to open ICVERIFY, it thew back an error saying invalid user name password. After making sure I wasn't making a typo, I tried the default password and it didn't work.  Neither password would let me into User Manager either.

So I did as above, deleted the database files, uninstalled user manager, rebooted, then reinstalled. I tried to let it use the default login info this time.  I kept getting errors saying invalid login basically.

There was a great deal of trial and error after that.  I won't go into it.  However, my fix is the following: Uninstall ICVerify, User Manager, and the MSDE.  Go into Windows Explorer and delete the ICverify data, and the SQL data.  Use Regedit, to remove any instance of ICVERIFY, UserDB, and the SQL path.

Now, I was using a user account that was set as a local admin.  But after removing all that info, I went into my actual local admin account and reinstalled everything.  Worked fine for all users on the machine after that.

Last note, don't bother with calling their tech support line anymore.  I called today and once about 3 years ago.  Prior to today, I got a English speaking person who was well acquainted with the software and solved my problem quite quick. Today, the tech support number got me to what was obviously a 3rd party, English as a second language shop. Dude actually made it worse poking around turning off services and crap.  When he couldn't solve the problem, he gave me the "Oh you don't have a 2nd tier support contract, please buy one to continue" speech.

Anyway, I hope this helps someone out there.

The game Territory War Online is a simple turn based stick figure assault. You build your team very simply by picking names and hats. Then you play against other people worldwide while trying to eliminate their stick figure team first. It amuses me greatly.  Anyone else play? What's your handle?

Hopefully, you read my post from early this morning about the issues I was having with my phone, CBW, and their insurance.

The phone issue has been resolved by some very diligent CBW employees. The beginning of the resolution comes quite abnormally.

This morning I received a comment on my previous CBW blog post from a CBW rep named Katie asking me to contact her via email. After verifying the email was valid and not a scam, I emailed her my phone number.

Two hours later the manager, Kent, from the Fairfield Commons CBW store called me to find a solution. He was quite helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable. He offered to replace my phone on a tiered pricing scale. That means I was given the choice of a nice discount on the 2 better models and offered the most similar model at no cost. I decided to go with the 8520 Blackberry (no cost) as I really just wanted my 8320 replaced. I certainly tried to justify my price of the newest model, but ultimately sided with the more financially practical.

I went to the store to pick up the phone and everything was ready for me. The employee, Shaun, was also friendly and professional. Since I didn't need my data copied, I was out of there in 3 minutes.

And this is why I always recommend CBW. It is this high level of service that always leaves me smiling. Aside from the initial snafu, CBW has always made sure I felt appreciated as a customer. And as a long time customer, I can say that I have never had a problem with their network coverage.

That is saying a lot as I have had issues with TMobile, Verizon, and AT&T (a long time ago). Furthermore, I used to work for Sprint, so I know they blow.

Lastly, another commentor suggested I wasn't aware of how the insurance worked. Quite the opposite actually. Granted I was more familiar with Sprint's insurance (their TEP is pretty good), but my issue was expecting to much from what is not a Total equipment protection plan. The insurance I HAD was basically a discount plan. I am also very familiar with equipment warranties. As a technology contractor, I deal with them frequently. The problem with dealing directly with the manufacturer is that they are usually intentionally slow. It forces you to buy a replacement.

Anyway, I am a happy CBW customer again. Thanks everyone

If you aren't reading this at http://beavmetal.blogspot.com, you should be.

Microsoft's Courier 'digital journal': exclusive pictures and details (update: video!) -- Engadget

I just checked my myspace account to verify my links are going through.  They are not.  All the other sites I auto-update are working fine as far as I know.  I want to apologize for the slew of broken links and false malicious site warnings.

However, I have come to learn that myspace blocks all shortened URL's such at bit.ly.  That is very annoying. Myspace claims it is because spammers were abusing the service, but I think it is to force people to log on to the actual site to update statuses.  It also doesn't allow http://beavmetal.blogspot.com or other blogspot addresses. Which is even more annoying. Ihaven't found or received a good reason for this. It says it is a malicious website which is false. What is the point of using a social service that doesn't let me share my work?  I am coming to find Myspace even more anti-social than Facebook.

The way I update my accounts to let you know I posted a blog post consists of 3 steps. First, I post the actual blog. Then twitterfeed.com parses my RSS feed and sends it to ping.fm. Ping.fm then sends a message to all my social networking services stating a blog has been posted, so you can see them.

I would like very much if I could turn off link shortening in twitterfeed, but we can't, so I have to deal. I have changed from bit.ly to digg. So we will see if myspace blocks that one too.

This was also awesomely funny and must be shared.



The original source is here. Click on picture to view complete pic.
If you aren't reading this at http://beavmetal.blogspot.com, you should be.

I got a kick out of this and wanted to share.


Original source is here. Click on the image to be able to view the whole thing.
If you aren't reading this at http://beavmetal.blogspot.com, you should be.

I'm a techie and understand that every IP address is traceable.  While I understand how Google Analytics works, I still get a huge kick out of the map overlay section. I love that it can tell me down to the city the originating locale of my traffic. Since I am a very small little blog, I can definitely tell which friends are reading and which aren't.  Some location aren't surprising (like Dayton/Springfield), some locations are quite a surprise. I've gotten hits in California from San Francisco to LA. I only have like 3 friends in CA and one that I know specifically is in LA (Hi Amy). Thanks for the love Southern half of CA. I've even started getting more foreign hits. Germany, India, China, etc; of course those may be the same locations that spammed me the other day.

Furthermore, I find the referring sites section extremely interesting. I have gotten a couple of surprises there. A nice web design site called CSSMania.com has sent me some traffic.  I haven't figured out why yet as I don't see any links to my blog or anything.  Regardless, thanks :)

I wanted to write this to let Google know I appreciate their tools.  They have taken quite a beating in the media about their Google Buzz social networking app. While I haven't used it but for 2 seconds, I still love Gmail, Google Docs, Analytics, Reader, and Blogger.  I am also looking forward to seeing how Google works out the whole book scanning, giant digital library scheme. That should be cool.

http://www.isuppli.com/News/Pages/Mid-RangeiPadtoGenerateMaximumProfitsforApple,iSuppliEstimates.aspx

Not a bad profit for Apple huh?

http://www.isuppli.com/PublishingImages/Press%20Releases/2010-02-10_Apple%20iPad.jpg