Monday, January 31, 2005

Homesite/Coldfusion Studio DLGASKDESTTS_MSG1 error

"String DLGASKDESTTS_MSG1 was not found in the string table."

The solution is provide in a comment on Uninteresting.info by Gianluca Neri of http://www.gnueconomy.net:

Here's what I've just found using Google Groups (God Bless Google):
--------
The "String DLGASKDESTTS_MSG1..." error message that you received may have been caused by other running applications when you launched the Install Wizard. I suggest that when you install,
close all other applications including any applications that are running in the background. If you have an anti-virus installed in your system, temporarily disable this while doing the installation.

As an additional safeguard that will minimize the chance of having those error messages again, I also suggest you follow these instructions:
1. Please delete the Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Engine
folder
2. Clear out the Temp folder
3. Delete the following folders (IF they exist):
\Program Files\InstallShield Installation
Information\{b8d35119-e9ce-4258-9813-9715dacdca0a}
\Program Files\InstallShield Installation
Information\{a4d64993-5175-4534-8583-355f925644d4}
\Program Files\InstallShield Installation
Information\{53437f29-e703-11d4-a51f-0010b541cdae}
\Program Files\InstallShield Installation
Information\{94492602-f802-48fa-a5ab-ac13dc358475}
Note: Please make sure you can view hidden files and folders before
trying those steps


Uninteresting.info has this to say about his stats and this error.


Posted by: djuggler | 8:59 PM |

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Laptop use may impair sperm production

Laptops may fry your sperm
Judy Skatssoon
ABC Science Online


The increasing use of laptop computers could produce a generation of men with fertility problems, a new study suggests.

The study by U.S. researchers in the journal Human Reproduction found laptops increased the temperature of the scrotum by almost 3°C.

The researchers said after one hour the average increase in temperature in the left and right side of the scrotum in men working with laptops was 2.6°C and 2.8°C respectively.

Some studies suggest an increase of just 1°C is enough to suppress sperm production.

The frequency and duration of heat exposure needed to impair sperm production was not known but the study recommended teenage boys and young men should limit use of their laptops.


Posted by: Jethro | 11:08 PM |

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

10 things to do with a live Linux CD

1/21/05 The links are now fixed.
(:^ tux.org lists 10 things to do with a live Linux CD:
  1. Try Linux without installing it
  2. Use as a portable desktop (see also)
  3. Maintain hard drive/recover data
  4. Install Linux
  5. Try Linux software
  6. Reset forgotten Windows passwords
  7. Build your own distribution
  8. Watch/listen to multimedia
  9. Play games
  10. Scan safely for virus's
Tuxs.org futher mentions
This is a small selection of all the live Linux CDs, Frozentech has a comprehensive list.
which in turn references more resources at LiveCDNews.com.
Special thanks to Mike Oliveri for getting us to tuxs.org with his blog post on 10 Tasks for Live CDs!
djuggler's personal blog is Reality Me


Posted by: djuggler | 4:07 AM |

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

AUSTRUMI is updated to 0.9.2

AUSTRUMI has been updated to version 0.9.2. All programs and version changes are listed here. The iso for Astrumi can be found on SourceForge.

I first found Astrumi while trying to find an NT administrator password to recover a Windows XP installation. Excellent CD!


Posted by: djuggler | 4:05 AM |

Monday, January 17, 2005

Trillian - One application, all chatting

Some of your friends and co-workers use AIM while others use Y! and still others use MSIM aka MS Instant Messenger aka MSN (a misnomer). Yet we have only scratched the surface of the instant messenging world.

I personally like Trillian very much. It's features include the ability to connect with all the popular instant messengers and accepts plug-ins to adapt to any instant messenger you may need. So instead of having several applications open at once, you need only to have Trillain(download) open. So with Trillian my business clients on AIM can reach me at the same time my friends on MSN, Y! and ICQ can send me messages while I simultaneously use IRC as a resource to troubleshoot coding problems. Trillian even allows multiple accounts from the same type of messenger to be used at once. So if you have more than one AIM nick you can have both active at the same time! Trillian's IRC client allows you to be connected to multiple IRC servers and across multiple IRC networks at the same time. Trillian comes in a free version that offers all features except for video chatting and a pro (paid) version that includes the video chatting.

Other instant messengers include:

I could sit around and list these all day. I am quiet sure the list would run well off the viewing area of your monitor. We haven't even broached video chatting.

Instant messaging has also moved to our phones. My phone supports MSN, AIM and Yahoo at the moment. I am certain I could find many other WAP or Java instant messaging clients.

Download Trillian 3.0 today!

For the instant messenging addict! (interesting parental controls)
Here's a book on dealing with teens and instant messengers: Moms' Survival Guide to Instant Messaging

  
djuggler's personal blog is Reality Me


Posted by: djuggler | 7:20 AM |

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Windows 98 Boots Only in Safe Mode

The following is a stream-of-conscious/log of a Windows98 repair.

I'm repairing a machine, a Compaq Presario 5834, that is running Windows 98 (not se) and only boots in safe mode. So far I have run scandisk and regclean.

Rick suggests:

Something you might be able to do is use scanreg to restore a previous backup of your registry. Windows 98 keeps 5 different registry backups dating back about 1 day each.

Boot into DOS / Command prompt when the safe mode menu appears and type in scanreg /restore

You will then be able to choose a previous registry configuration. Go back before the problem started and you should be able to boot.
Trying Rick's suggestion produces the "Microsoft Registry Checker" with 5 dated copies of the registry. I choose the 2nd most recent. My restart takes me to Safe Mode. Not a good sign. After the safe mode I tried for a regular boot and the system just hung and hung.

I tried "scanreg /restore" again and learn that a more recent backup was made and my absolute oldest registry backup dropped off. Oops. Should have started with the oldest! The now fails to restore. I work through the list until I get a registry restoration "without errors". Now it boots into Safe Mode.

Next attempt is going to be a reinstall of some critical files. Since this is old Windows 98, safe mode has no CD-ROM so I can't use Norton WinDoctor or other useful utilities. I tried booting UBCD but this computer doesn't have the umph to run it.

Annoyances.org suggestions looking for setup in c:\windows\options\cabs\setup. Wow! It's there. Next error message
Setup does not have enough conventional memory to check your computer's hard disks. You need to free some conventional memory before continuing.
Whoa! There's some memories. Anyone remember all the DOS tweaking we did to get enough conventional memory to run our games?

That error caused setup to quit but there was another error underneath the message mentioned:
If you run an MS-DOS program in safe mode, you risk corrupting the video display or experiencing other anomalies. Do you want to run the program anyway?
After making that message go away with a "Yes" I am able to run c:\windows\options\cabs\setup.

Setup informs me that my registry is corrupted. I cancel setup with the intention to run regclean 4.1. I see the message
Cannot find the file "C:\WININST0.400\scanreg.exe". Make sure that the file exists on your system and that the path and filename are correct. OK.
I make the error go away and run Regclean.

Regclean runs and gives me the opportunity to "Fix Errors" Now I run c:\windows\options\cabs\setup again only to receive the conventional memory error. So I exit, click "Yes" on the video message then run setup again. This time it appears to run fine.

Another conventional memory message. Going to keep trying and see if I can get through this. I think if I can get past the "system is checking your system" then things will be fine.

Knock on wood the installation is continuing. I have had to reenter the user's name and organization name but the CD key was remembered. Perhaps the name and org had never been entered but it worries me that perhaps some information has been lost in this process.

Eeek! After the re-install a normal boot still hangs on the Windows98 screen.

Ah! I've found a reference that suggests a bios flash may be in order. Now let's see.. Do I own a floppy disk? Oh yes. I get a "Compaq" boot screen instead of a regular screen that shows me the bios information and tab and esc fail to show me the bootup information. Now. I guess I can use "del" or "f1" to get into the bios. I wonder if the version information will be presented there.

New direction. Trying UBCD. Not enough memory to run the program. I really need to virus scan this machine. Doesn't look like UBCD is going to work.

Seeing a boot message that says the virus definitions have not been updated for 66 months (5 ½ years) has spurned me to 1) boot from Norton Utilities to do an emergency virus scan and 2) suggest to my friend that this computer be ditched for a new machine.

No viruses found. 1 hour left to return the machine.

del key does not go to bios. Could this be as simple as starting without startup options? Isn't that holding down the control or shift key during boot?

I've tried booting without windows drivers and that fails.

Now I booted into safe mode and used msconfig to disable autoexec.bat and config.sys to no avail.

Wahoo! F10 got me into the bios. This is a Compaq PC, Celeron, 500/66 MHz, 64MB Ram, Rom Date 09/08/99 Rom Family 686C2. Found the bios! "Fixed issue with certain VGA cards causing lock-ups." New date will be 10/03/00. Bios successfully flashed.

Drum roll! Splash screen comes up. Cycles a few. Machine reboots into safe mode.

I give up. I'm sure with much more time this could be defeated. This time the computer wins.


Posted by: djuggler | 1:21 AM |

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

More legal action by MPAA and RIAA

Robin Good has posted a great article outlining the new attack by the MPAA on bit torrent sites including Loki Torrent. However unlike most sites targeted for legal action by the deep pocketed MPAA (read funded by over priced music sales that havent helped the musicians at all) Loki Torrent is fighting back, and the file sharers are helping!
Read the whole article.
Read previous articles by myself here and here


Posted by: Jethro | 9:49 AM |

Saturday, January 08, 2005

Government Uses Color Laser Printer Technology to Track Documents

Fro the Tip of the Day Blog
Government Uses Color Laser Printer Technology to Track Documents

source

Practice embeds hidden, traceable data in every page printed.

Jason Tuohey, Medill News Service
Monday, November 22, 2004

WASHINGTON--Next time you make a printout from your color laser printer, shine an LED flashlight beam on it and examine it closely with a magnifying glass. You might be able to see the small, scattered yellow dots printed there that could be used to trace the document back to you.

According to experts, several printer companies quietly encode the serial number and the manufacturing code of their color laser printers and color copiers on every document those machines produce. Governments, including the United States, already use the hidden markings to track counterfeiters.

Peter Crean, a senior research fellow at Xerox, says his company's laser printers, copiers and multifunction workstations, such as its WorkCentre Pro series, put the "serial number of each machine coded in little yellow dots" in every printout. The millimeter-sized dots appear about every inch on a page, nestled within the printed words and margins.

"It's a trail back to you, like a license plate," Crean says.

The dots' minuscule size, covering less than one-thousandth of the page, along with their color combination of yellow on white, makes them invisible to the naked eye, Crean says. One way to determine if your color laser is applying this tracking process is to shine a blue LED light--say, from a keychain laser flashlight--on your page and use a magnifier.

Crime Fighting vs. Privacy

Laser-printing technology makes it incredibly easy to counterfeit money and documents, and Crean says the dots, in use in some printers for decades, allow law enforcement to identify and track down counterfeiters.

However, they could also be employed to track a document back to any person or business that printed it. Although the technology has existed for a long time, printer companies have not been required to notify customers of the feature.

Lorelei Pagano, a counterfeiting specialist with the U.S. Secret Service, stresses that the government uses the embedded serial numbers only when alerted to a forgery. "The only time any information is gained from these documents is purely in [the case of] a criminal act," she says.

John Morris, a lawyer for The Center for Democracy and Technology , says, "That type of assurance doesn't really assure me at all, unless there's some type of statute." He adds, "At a bare minimum, there needs to be a notice to consumers."

If the practice disturbs you, don't bother trying to disable the encoding mechanism--you'll probably just break your printer.

Crean describes the device as a chip located "way in the machine, right near the laser" that embeds the dots when the document "is about 20 billionths of a second" from printing.

"Standard mischief won't get you around it," Crean adds.

Neither Crean nor Pagano has an estimate of how many laser printers, copiers, and multifunction devices track documents, but they say that the practice is commonplace among major printer companies.

"The industry absolutely has been extraordinarily helpful [to law enforcement]," Pagano says.

According to Pagano, counterfeiting cases are brought to the Secret Service, which checks the documents, determines the brand and serial number of the printer, and contacts the company. Some, like Xerox, have a customer database, and they share the information with the government.

Crean says Xerox and the government have a good relationship. "The U.S. government had been on board all along--they would actually come out to our labs," Crean says.

History

Unlike ink jet printers, laser printers, fax machines, and copiers fire a laser through a mirror and series of lenses to embed the document or image on a page. Such devices range from a little over $100 to more than $1000, and are designed for both home and office.

Crean says Xerox pioneered this technology about 20 years ago, to assuage fears that their color copiers could easily be used to counterfeit bills.

"We developed the first (encoding mechanism) in house because several countries had expressed concern about allowing us to sell the printers in their country," Crean says.

Since then, he says, many other companies have adopted the practice.

The United States is not the only country teaming with private industry to fight counterfeiters. A recent article points to the Dutch government as using similar anticounterfeiting methods, and cites Canon as a company with encoding technology. Canon USA declined to comment.


Posted by: Jethro | 11:45 PM |

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

How fast is your internet connection?

There are many sites to help you evaluate your ISPs connection speed. http://www.testmy.net/ is the latest I've tried. Be forewarned that the activity on your connection such as downloading files or playing online games will impact the test results and that most of these sites are not truly accurate. These tests are useful for seeing if something is dramatically affecting your bandwidth and are not intending to be used in arguing with your ISP about a few megabits per second.


Posted by: djuggler | 10:06 PM |

Bloggers Browser Choices

Jeremy Zawodny posts about blogger browser choices quoting from numerous other sources and with pretty coloured graphs. Seems Firefox is battling with IE for first place now - and in some places is overtaking it.

He makes an interesting point that this may reduce again once the general population start to read blogs more.


Posted by: Jethro | 9:40 PM |

Monday, January 03, 2005

Fly-eating robot powers itself

(CNN) -- Scientists at the University of the West of England (UWE) have designed a robot that does not require batteries or electricity to power itself.

The EcoBot II uses human sewage as bait to catch the insects. It then digests the flies, before their exoskeletons are turned into electricity, which enables the robot to function.



Posted by: djuggler | 6:39 AM |

Anarchy Online

Check out this game!
Anarchy Online have a great deal!



FREE Download (using Bit Torrent)
FREE registration before Jan 15.
FREE play til Jan 2006 (non upgraded version only).

I am registered and will play as soon as it downloads.
More later...
Thanks Doug for the link.


Posted by: Jethro | 3:26 AM |

Saturday, January 01, 2005

Digital Picture Frames Reviewed

David Pogue of the New York Times has written a detailed review of Digital Picture Frames.

He reviews the following models.

Basic displays and card readers:
Mobi Technologies Digital Picture Frame
ArtPix dgAlbum50
Ziga VDPF2

Online and connected systems:
Vialta Vista Frame VF-100
Ceiva 2

Half Picture Frame and Half Computer - the geeks choice:
Pacific Digital's 10.4-inch, 800-by-600-pixel Memory Frame
Wallflower


Posted by: Jethro | 5:31 PM |