Recently in Techie Stuff Category

I'm seriously considering changing to WordPress again.  I really hate it when the template breaks for no apparent (or even sensible) reason.  Also, I need to update MT anyway.  Whatever happened to MT?  When did it stop being fun to use?

I live right across the tracks.  It’s pretty literal, on one side of the tracks, you can see people dressed like hookers and skanks with too many babies waiting for the bus.  On my side, there are manicured lawns and cute little condos and midrises and stuff.  I live in the buffer zone in the middle of nowhere.  The farther north you walk from my condo, the nicer it gets.  But there are still weird pockets of not-niceness.

So when I was buying the condo, and insurance, the first thing the insurance agent asked me was “Do you have an alarm system?”  So I went online and searched for alarm systems for the home; I was pretty sure I was going to go with ADT since that’s what my mom has.  But I felt compelled to search and compare anyway.  I ended up with ADT, and a nice discount on my insurance and a really big ol’ thing on my keychain.  I need to get a smaller one.

Also, do remember that if you buy a security system, you usually have to register it with the local police/fire department or something.  It’s a teensy extra cost, but something you have to consider and usually you have to fill out the form again every year so that all your information is up to date.  Also, if you have DSL you will have to get a wireless solution as the system can’t be on the phone line.  It’s not much of a hassle, really.  I think the peace of mind is worth it.

Well isn’t that annoying!

Root cause: incorrect printer driver for your OS (in my case, HP Network Printer Installer selected the Vista HP LaserJet 6M driver for my HP LaserJet 5M on the computer running Windows XP Pro)

Resolution:

I started with this page: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;312052 but it seemed a little drastic.  I dug deeper and found http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/CleanPrinterDrivers.htm which was also a big help.

I also started with the knowledge that it WASN’T a virus, or spyware, or adware.  I knew this because this problem started immediately after I had reinstalled my network printer using the HP Network Printer Installer.  I noticed that it had selected the wrong driver, but I didn’t realize how wrong it was.

To summarize (You can only follow these steps if you have administrative rights and are running Windows XP Professional or Vista Business or higher; you will need to be able to run regedit and go into Services.  If you can’t do that, find someone who can.):

1. Remove all printers.  (In retrospect, I should have just removed the HP one to start)  To remove printers, right-click on the printer in the Printers window and select Delete.  Click Yes to confirm.
2. In the Printers window, go to File and click Server Properties.
3. On the Drivers tab of the Properties window, remove all the installed printer drivers.  (note to self: make sure you can reinstall all the printers again after you do this.  Grumble grumble where is that stupid O2K3 disc?)  To remove the driver, click Remove and then Yes to confirm.

Now it’s time for some registry editing.  You made a backup, right?

Start Regedit.

• Delete any items listed under these keys (do NOT delete the keys themselves)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers\Version-2
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers\Version-3
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers\Version-2
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers\Version-3

• Check the following keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Print\Monitors

And delete any items that are not on this list:

1. AppleTalk Printing Devices (When Services for Macintosh is installed)
2. BJ Language Monitor
3. Local Port
4. PJL Language Monitor
5. Standard TCP/IP Port
6. USB Monitor
7. Windows NT Fax Monitor (When a Fax Modem is installed)

Exit Regedit.

Now for the final phase of cleanup:

1. Go to Services (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services) and stop the Print Spooler service.
2. Go to C:\Windows\system32\spool\printers\ and delete everything in there (not the folder itself).
3. Go to C:\Windows\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86.  If you see any folders with 2 or 3 in the name, delete them.  If you see any folders starting with the name of your printer manufacturer(s), delete those too.  Don’t delete the default windows printer stuff.  You’re looking for stuff like “hpprint” or “hewlett_packard” or “lex_” or “lexmark” blah blah blah.
4. Restart your machine.

You should no longer get the Data Execution Prevention error.

You will now have to reinstall your printers.  This time, use the printer driver from Windows if possible, and then manually go to the manufacturer’s website for an upgrade.  Make sure you get one that is appropriate for your printer and your OS.

Voilà !

Seriously.

Ok then… WTF is going on here?

Oooookay.

All I did was use the IE8Blocker Toolkit.  I have no idea how that fucking invalidated SP2.  I don’t really care.  Shitty ass Vista, you’re TRYING to make me a Linux user aren’t you Microsoft?  JUST ADMIT IT ALREADY.

Also, in what fucked up world is IE8 an Important update?  It’s just a shitty browser, come on dudes.  You know better than that.

So I got this letter today from the “Fairview Property Tax Recovery, L.L.C.” letting me know that I “might” be eligible for a property tax refund for the last four years, and that they would help me at “no charge” unless a refund was received, in which case they would take 1/3 (33%) (not in quotes).

That was bad enough, but looking at the paper I noticed that many of the more important phrases "(“If you do not receive a refund, you pay nothing”) were printed in light green, whereas all the important stuff (like, "you agree to pay”) was in standard black.  So they could easily photocopy the form and claim that you had agreed to something you didn’t, and that you had signed a contract with a totally different company.  (Yes, every time their name appears on the form, it’s in easily replaceable light green, as well as their address – and for that matter, their BBB symbol.)

Who would fall for this?

How could this NOT raise huge red flags in your common sense?  (or even light green ones?)  In fact, it’s completely obvious from the way the letter is printed that a) it’s a form and not a document they created themselves and b) they have in the past put a different name in there because c) whoever printed this copy didn’t pay attention to the alignment of the company name and the rest of the text.

Cheesy.  Stupid.  Who would fall for this?

Why am I not in this racket?  Oh, that’s right, I wasn’t raised by bottom feeding scum-suckers and I don’t prey on the weak-minded or the disadvantaged.

1.  These new templates are the bane of my existence.

2. You upgrade an awful lot.

3. Your manual still sucks ass.

So I switched back to IE7 just to make sure I wasn't deluding myself.  Nope, I have all my toolbars stacked back into two neat little rows.  Not four.  Two.  I'm perfectly aware that this is a Beta.  I just really, really dislike the ideals inherent in the development.  The User Interface is frankly, a piece of garbage.  I haven't even tested to see how well it works for websurfing, aside from having it crash on GraphJam (IE7 does too, tho; crappy coding on one of their advertisements I think) because it just enrages me so much when I try to do something basic (like, say, move a toolbar to a spot where it won't waste half my screen) and discover that I just can't.  For no good reason.

For the love of God, why have all the new browsers released lately been such utter fucking useless garbage?  Google Chrome was a complete waste.  It didn't pick up any of my bookmarks. (I have a lot.)  The first time I installed it, it picked up four out of almost two hundred.  (I read fast, lemme alone.)  I tried to force it to import more, and it wouldn't.  It also crashed on loading my three homepages.  (Yahoo, Google, and my webmail account.)  I was not impressed.  I went back to try it again later.  This time it got NONE of my bookmarks.  Not a one.  Not even a sausage.  I tried to import, and got a fatal error message.  I opened an exported bookmark file and started remaking my bookmark list inside Chrome, saved, exited, and the next time I started Chrome they were all gone.  I went from not impressed to wanting to find someone and kill them, but I don't have any quicklime handy and apparently they notice bodies in the Chicago River now.

Firefox 3 is ... well... more of the same.  It's thoroughly adequate for anything you want to do, but not exceptional.  Can't argue with it.  Have nothing against it.  It's like dating your not-so-good friend's boyfriend behind her back.  Satisfying, but not really what you're looking for in a permanent relationship.  It's also kinda slow sometimes (still works with the analogy) and sometimes, you just have to use IE because nothing else will work.

And now IE8.  Trash.  Just trash.  I'm not even going to go on about how Microsoft still doesn't know how to degrade gracefully (why render a web page readable when you can enforce "standards?") or various bugginess - my installs went without a hitch for IE8 but this machine is on Vista (DON'T ASK).  All I ask is the ability to control my computer.  Is that so wrong?  Why would you implement a user interface that prevents that?  What goes through the head of a developer to decide that "No, no one will ever need to see all these toolbars at the same time so let's just make it impossible for them to do it!"  Ok, so it's not really impossible if you're willing to waste half a toolbar row and have no ambition to set up your interface the way you want it.  But I'm not a Mac user.  I'm a Windows user.  I want to be able to change anything and everything on my screen whenever I feel like it.  The very idea that there is an arbitrary jackass somewhere who has decided how to arrange my toolbars for me makes my blood boil.

Anyway, I discovered the hideous memory problems I was having with IE7 were the fault of Sun Java.  I can live without Java.  I can't work properly with a limit of twelve open tabs in IE7.  Java went.

I'm going to try Google Chrome again, it's been a while....

I know I've bitched about this before, but seriously:

Give me back control of my menus and toolbars.

I don't want the 'Completely destroy your Links list' button on the toolbar.  I don't want it to exist in IE period, but at least for the LOVE OF GOD let me take it off so I don't accidentally click on it and... destroy my carefully arranged Links list.  Why the fuck are you punishing me for using Links since IE6 by making it irredeemably irritating to use now?  I can't even take that stupid button off the toolbar.  I can't even arrange my toolbars the way I want to, and instead I have to put up with 75% wasted space.  GREAT IDEA GUYS.  WAY TO GO.

Yes, I suppose if I had someone missed the convenience of Links and setting up my toolbars for fast access to my most used Favorites for two iterations of your product, then yes, maybe you do need to throw it in my face.  But guess what?  I DIDN'T and now you've made it so that I CAN'T FUCKING USE IT ANYMORE.  Because you know, I want to just dump crap links all over my toolbars and then have to manually go in and organize them.  WOW WHY DON'T YOU MAKE A BUTTON THAT HELPS ME ADD A SHORTCUT AND ORGANIZE IT AT THE SAME TIME!  Oh wait, YOU DID.  And then somehow for an UPDATE YOU TOOK IT AWAY.  Why doesn't this strike anyone besides me as utterly asinine?

Speaking of asinine....  Give me one good reason why I can't move a toolbar up to the same level as the Menu bar.  I could before.  I can in Firefox, Opera, even fucking Safari will let me move toolbars around the way I want to.  This is some seriously gimp ass shit, and you know it.  It's not innovative, it's just goddamn annoying.  I seriously hope a meteor hits whatever jackass came up with this idea for a GUI that YOU CAN'T FUCKING USE and is, in fact, CRIPPLED by it's graphic limitations.

Oh sweet merciful heaven, I can't take it anymore.  Off you go.  I can't look at the screen that way anymore, I'll come back and try again in another month.

After a few painful days of incessant memory leaks in IE7, I was contemplating installing Firefox on my main PC and using that as my default browser when someone asked me about IE8 in a job context. Well, as it happens I've been avoiding IE8 like the plague (oozing bleeding sores and all). But given my claim of being on the cutting edge with Microsoft products, I knew I would have to try it sometime. I'm guessing... today is that day. And for more than 10 seconds this time, as I need to give someone a bulleted list. Mrfle flergling IE8.

Mozy:

PROS

• 2 GB free
• small, fast client
• easy setup
• easy web restore option (a neat way to securely move files around)
• full restore has an option to get a DVD with all your files on it
• Macintosh version

CONS

• 2 GB?  doesn't that seem kind of small?
• monthly pricing means it costs more per year for unlimited backup than Carbonite
• If you pay for a full year upfront, you get a month free making Mozy unlimited a touch cheaper than Carbonite
• will not backup certain types of files (at least on the free version)

Carbonite:

PROS

• easy setup
• intelligent client, excellent right-click integration on Windows
• versioning available
• backs up anything and everything if that's what you want
• Macintosh version
• seems expensive, until you have to do one full restore, then it doesn't seem so costly after all (and it is actually cheaper than MozyHome Unlimited)

CONS

• does not recognize it's impact on MMOs (disable it before that important raid, but it does share bandwidth well with VOIP and downloading)
• full restore takes days, no DVD option (ok, that might just have been the size of my backup, but still)
• on a yearly basis, Mozy may be cheaper

OVERALL

They're both very good, for different reasons.  My Mac has MozyHome, and so does my work computer (for my personal files, of course).  My Vista desktop has Carbonite, and I call down blessings up them for being the one thing that Vista hasn't screwed up.  In fact, Carbonite's full restore was a complete success when I had to reinstall Vista from scratch.  I only lost one file, and that was actually my fault for clicking like a crazy person.  It wasn't a vital file anyway, but if it had been, I apparently could have called Carbonite's customer service to get it restored.

Mozy works flawlessly on the Mac and on the PC, but the free version doesn't give me as much control-freak control as I would like.  Nevertheless, it is significantly better than having no backup at all.  It is free, but you get a lot more than you pay for.  There's no excuse not to have some kind of backup with these kind of options.  Go back up your files.

Keep in mind that ANY BACKUP is better than no backup at all.  You just have to decide what works best for you.  Trust me, after one hard drive failure, it will be worth it.  My recommendation is to start with MozyHome (totally free) and at least make sure your email and contacts and important documents are backed up regularly.  Then give the paid services a try for a few months.  You should be able to convert to a yearly subscription on whichever one you choose.  Enjoy the peace of mind that comes with a good backup!

P.S. In case you were wondering, both Mozy and Carbonite uninstall very easily, in case you ever have to take it off for some reason.

(revised 5/11/09)