tinyapps.org / blog

Two newly-added floppy OSes #

• 🌱 KolibriOS 0.7.7.0 [1440k] {S}+ A small x86 assembler hobby operating system, forked from MenuetOS in 2004.  📺
• 🌱 Visopsys 0.69 [1440k] {S}+ A fully multitasking, 100% protected mode, virtual-memory, massively-monolithic-style kernel with a bare-bones C library and minimal suite of applications.  📺

/misc | Dec 31, 2009

Black screen with many white exclamation points / marks on boot... #

• Vista Grapics/Boot Failure
• "screen shows a black background and a lot of white exclamation points"
• Exclamation points & random characters during boot-up
• "black screen filled with a ton of white exclamation points"

/misc | Dec 29, 2009

Postcardware Windows apps by Piotr Chodzinski #

• Tooler - Easily create shortcuts that allow you to: run, enable, or disable screensaver; eject or close optical drive tray; set volume; turn off monitor; disable mouse and keyboard; logout, restart, or shutdown.
• V-Grep - Search and replace text with visual grep
• Rainbow Folders - Customize folder colors

/windows | Dec 27, 2009

Freeware Mac apps by Colin Henein #

• SlimBatteryMonitor - "Space-efficient power meter monitors laptop and UPS batteries." Especially welcome is the ability to change the low battery warning to appear at a level other than twenty percent.
• DateTree - "Organize files, photos and movies by copying them into dated folders"
• SkeyCalc - "An RFC-2289 Compliant OTP (S/Key) calculator"

/mac | Dec 27, 2009

Downloading DjVu files from Internet Archive (archive.org) #

1. Right click and copy the DjVu link: http://www.archive.org/stream/wonderfulvisit00welluoft/wonderfulvisit00welluoft.djvu
2. Paste the link into your browser's address bar
3. Add an extra forward slash before "stream": http://www.archive.org//stream/wonderfulvisit00welluoft/wonderfulvisit00welluoft.djvu
4. Press Enter to begin downloading the DjVu file

/misc | Dec 27, 2009

Reading HTML files on a Kindle #

• Kindle 1: Change HTML extension to TXT and copy file to the Kindle's documents folder - it will appear on the Home screen. Simple HTML formatting is preserved.
• Kindle 2: Copy HTML file to Kindle's documents folder, launch Basic Web browser, and enter file URL as follows: file:///mnt/us/documents/filename.html

/eink | Dec 27, 2009

Ensign, Demint to force vote on health care bill unconstitutionality #

/misc | Dec 22, 2009

Notes #

• Xcopy - skip copying of files that exist in both source and destination (only checks filenames, not size/date/content/etc):
  echo n|xcopy "src\*.*" "dest\" /e
  (Tested in XP; nonessential syntax removed from original tip)
• AddRuby - Add furigana (aka rubi / ruby) to Japanese web pages or pasted text
• In Vista and Windows 7, C:\Users\All Users is a junction point that points to C:\ProgramData

/misc | Dec 19, 2009

Xcopy Windows to a new hard drive #

1. Wiped all partitions on the 500GB drive and created a single NTFS partition
2. Installed Vista normally on 500GB drive
3. Booted from Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) CD
4. Erased all files from C: on 500GB drive
5. Copied all files from 160GB drive's OS partition (F:) to 500GB drive (C:) via xcopy:
   xcopy f:\*.* c:\ /b /c /e /h /k /o /r /x /y
   • /b : Copies the symbolic link instead of the files. This parameter was introduced in Windows Vista.
   • /c : Ignores errors.
   • /e : Copies all subdirectories, even if they are empty
   • /h : Copies files with hidden and system file attributes. By default, xcopy does not copy hidden or system files.
   • /k : Copies files and retains the read-only attribute on destination files if present on the source files. By default, xcopy removes the read-only attribute.
   • /o : Copies file ownership and discretionary access control list (DACL) information.
   • /r : Copies read-only files.
   • /x : Copies file audit settings and system access control list (SACL) information (implies /o).
   • /y : Suppresses prompting to confirm that you want to overwrite an existing destination file.
6. Booted from 500GB drive - still no joy: "Missing operating system"
7. Booted from Vista install disc and selected "Repair your computer" (with the vague idea of trying fixboot and perhaps fixmbr)
8. The following message appeared: "Windows found problems with your computer's startup options. Do you want to apply repairs and restart your computer?"
9. Clicked "Repair and restart" and booted from 500GB drive
10. Windows Vista started normally, with all data and apps intact!

UPDATE: Robocopy replacement (covers another interesting tool, strarc.exe)

/windows | Dec 19, 2009

Bundled Snow Leopard Upgrade DVDs do *not* work on older Macs with blank drives #

However, the Snow Leopard upgrade DVD does not require that you have Leopard installed; it's a full install disc that works on any Intel Mac.

Can I install the Snow Leopard upgrade on a blank hard disk?
Yes. According to a number of reports, you can even install it on a Mac that does not have a Leopard disk attached.

Mac OS X can't be installed on this computer. This disc requires that Mac OS X 10.5 or later already be installed on your computer. If you want to restore your system from a Time Machine backup, click "Restore from Backup".

• How to Convert a MacOS X 10.5 Leopard Upgrade DVD into a Retail MacOS X 10.5 Leopard
• $29.00 Snow Leopard. Can I do a clean install?
• OS X Upgrade disks
• Snow Leopard; up-to-date disc version
• Installing Snow Leopard on a Mac supplied with Leopard; the bottom line
• $9.99 upgrade SL Disk same as $29 upgrade Disk?

/mac | Dec 14, 2009

Random Harvest #

• CanoRemote - "Easy to use remote control for most Canon Power Shot Cameras without built in remote control receiver. The only things you need is the CanoRemote receiver, a USB cable and a standard Apple Remote. The range of the receiver is more than 10 meters."
• R1Soft Hot Copy "takes online volume snapshots on your Linux server. It does NOT use LVM so it can work on any Linux system and any block device ... Hot Copy creates a point-in-time online volume snapshot of the disk while the system is running, without interrupting applications even on the busiest Linux servers. As block level changes are made to the device, Hot Copy makes a backup copy of only the changed blocks instead of replicating the entire drive. These changed blocks are then efficiently stored in the unused space on the hard disk."
• IntelligentFind 3.2.2 - The best Palm OS Find replacement, though it suffers from an ungainly installation and registration process.
• Vegetarian low protein diet could be key to long life
• VMLite XP Mode - Like Microsoft Windows XP Mode, but without the hardware virtualization requirement. (via Claus)
• Fotografix - Tiny (367K) image editor with layer support, magic wand selection tool, more. (via Phan)
• Fossil - "Simple, high-reliability, distributed software configuration management" (via ec)
• Doszip Commander "is an LFN-aware TUI file manager (NC clone) for DOS with built-in unzip. The original program was written in Borland C, but the latest version compiles with Open Watcom 1.8 and the JWasm assembler." (via Mike Mills)

/misc | Dec 13, 2009

Batch replace text in PDF files #

• stamppdf.pl - Apply a mark to each page of a PDF
• extractallimages.pl - Save copies of all PDF images to a directory
• deletepdfpage.pl - Remove one or more pages from a PDF
• appendpdf.pl - Append one PDF to another

$ perl -MCPAN -e shell

cpan> install CAM::PDF

$ pdfinfo.pl pcasm-book.pdf 
File:         pcasm-book.pdf
File Size:    1071411 bytes
Pages:        195
Author:       Paul A. Carter
CreationDate: D:20050320210800
Creator:      LaTeX with hyperref package
Keywords:     80x86 assembly programming
Producer:     pdfTeX-1.10b
Subject:      80x86 Assembly Language Programming
Title:        PC Assembly Language
Page Size:    variable
Optimized:    no
PDF version:  1.4
Security
  Passwd:     none
  Print:      yes
  Modify:     yes
  Copy:       yes
  Add:        yes

$ changepagestring.pl -o pcasm-book.pdf Borland Inprise output.pdf

#!/usr/bin/perl
use warnings;
use strict;
use CAM::PDF;
 
my $infile = '/path/pcasm-book.pdf';

#open file
my $doc = CAM::PDF->new($infile) || die "$CAM::PDF::errstr\n";
 
#look for string
for my $page (1..$doc->numPages) {
	my $content = $doc->getPageContent($page);
		print $content
		}

Borl)1(and)1('s
Borlan)1(d's)-2
Borlan)1(d)-497
Borl)1(and)-241

/nix | Dec 13, 2009

Recursively reassign owner #

chown -R new_username:new_group directory

/mac | Dec 13, 2009

Lock or unlock files recursively in OS X #

$ chflags -R uchg directory
$ chflags -R nouchg directory

$ ls -lO
-rw-r--r-- 1 user staff uchg 0 Dec 13 07:19 locked_file
-rw-r--r-- 1 user staff -    0 Dec 13 07:19 unlocked_file

Unlike the Read-only attribute for a file, the Read-only attribute for a folder is typically ignored by Windows, Windows components and accessories, and other programs. For example, you can delete, rename, and change a folder with the Read-only attribute by using Windows Explorer. The Read-only and System attributes is only used by Windows Explorer to determine whether the folder is a special folder, such as a system folder that has its view customized by Windows (for example, My Documents, Favorites, Fonts, Downloaded Program Files), or a folder that you customized by using the Customize tab of the folder's Properties dialog box.

OS X honors the Read-only attribute by dutifully locking the directories, leading to unexpected and generally undesirable results.

UPDATE: OS X also hides (in the Finder) files and folders that were hidden in Windows (Local Settings, AppData, etc). chflags can be used to unhide these as well:

$ chflags -R nohidden directory

$ chflags -R hidden directory

/mac | Dec 13, 2009

Blosxom alternatives, microblogs, etc. #

This blog post has been sporadically updated over the years, but that is no longer necessary thanks to StaticSiteGenerators.net ("The definitive listing of Static Site Generators — all 460 of them!"), Awesome Static Web Site Generators, and Static Site Generators for Jamstack Sites.

• BashBlog is a simple blog system in 500 lines of bash with support for RSS, automatic validation, and more.
• Chisel is "a simple Python static blog generation utility".
• Chyrp "is a blogging engine designed to be very lightweight while retaining functionality. It is powered by PHP and has very powerful theme and extension engines, so you can personalize it however you want."
• FlatPress "is an open-source standard-compliant multi-lingual extensible blogging engine which does not require a DataBase Management System to work."
• GugoDoc is "a little [Python] script that generates a static html website from a collection of markdown files."
• Jekyll "is a blog-aware, static site generator in Ruby." (via Jalada)
• makesite.py - "Have you used a popular static site generator like Jekyll to generate your blog? I have too. It is simple and great. But then did you yearn to use something even simpler to generate your blog? Do you like Python? Perhaps the thought of writing your own static site generator crossed your mind but you thought it would be too much work? If you answered 'yes' to these questions, then this project is for you."
• NanoBlogger (first covered over 5 years ago; still under active development) "is a small weblog engine written in Bash for the command line. It uses common UNIX tools such as cat, grep, and sed to create static HTML content."
• Ode is "a single Perl script, with content generated from plain text files, and look/layout determined by standard (X)HTML and CSS".
• plain-blog is a self-modifying Perl script which generates a static blog. The author, Spencer Tipping (formerly at Google), runs a fascinating consultancy.
• Pelican is a simple, static weblog generator written in Python with support for themes, Atom/RSS feeds, importing from WordPress, Dotclear, or RSS feeds, and more.
• PluXml "is a script to create a site or a blog, no need for knowledge in programming nor d' need; a database on its lodging, a traditional environment php is enough for him. PluXml wants to be light and easy d' use thanks to an interface d' simple administration and the storage of your writings in easily transportable XML files." (translation via Babelfish)
• Poole is a Markdown-driven static website generator written in Python.
• PyBlosxom "is a lightweight file-based weblog system. The project started as a Python clone of Blosxom but has since evolved into a beast of its own. PyBlosxom focuses on three things: simplicity, extensibility, and community."
• reprise - "Minimal static blog with atom and tag support." Available as a single Ruby or Python file.
• simpleblog is "a simple Python blogging system" that uses static rendering.

/blosxom | Dec 03, 2009

Top-notch Dell sales rep #

/misc | Nov 27, 2009

Code collections #

• CodeCodex - "Browse and use pre-written code; learn new algorithms and methods for common programming tasks ... request code that you'd like to see added; supply code that has been requested."
• DZone Snippets - "A public source code repository. Easily build up your personal collection of code snippets, categorize them with tags / keywords, and share them with the world"
• Progzoo - Code examples in a number of languages which can be compiled and run in your web browser.
• refactory.org - "Peer-reviewed code snippets that anyone can edit."
• Rosetta Code - "Solutions to the same task in as many different languages as possible, to demonstrate how languages are similar and different, and to aid a person with a grounding in one approach to a problem in learning another. Rosetta Code currently has 353 tasks, and covers 160 languages." Includes a list of similar projects.

/misc | Nov 26, 2009

Plutarch's "On the Eating of Flesh" #

Can you really ask what reason Pythagoras had for abstaining from flesh? For my part I rather wonder both by what accident and in what state of soul or mind the first man did so, touched his mouth to gore and brought his lips to the flesh of a dead creature, he who set forth tables of dead, stale bodies and ventured to call food and nourishment the parts that had a little before bellowed and cried, moved and lived. How could his eyes endure the slaughter when throats were slit and hides flayed and limbs torn from limb? How could his nose endure the stench? How was it that the pollution did not turn away his taste, which made contact with the sores of others and sucked juices and serums from mortal wounds? ...

It is certainly not lions and wolves that we eat out of self-defense; on the contrary, we ignore these and slaughter harmless, tame creatures without stings or teeth to harm us, creatures that, I swear, Nature appears to have produced for the sake of their beauty and grace. But nothing abashed us, not the flower-like like tinting of the flesh, not the persuasiveness of the harmonious voice, not the cleanliness of their habits or the unusual intelligence that may be found in the poor wretches. No, for the sake of a little flesh we deprive them of sun, of light, of the duration of life to which they are entitled by birth and being.

/misc | Nov 22, 2009

Have ls return human readable formats (KB, MB, GB, etc) #

$ ls -l
 505223 aida16en.zip
  10273 atomicwebserver.zip
1359260 camstudio20.zip

$ ls -lh
494K aida16en.zip
 11K atomicwebserver.zip
1.3M camstudio20.zip

/nix | Nov 16, 2009

Create multiple empty files #

$ for i in {1..3}; do dd if=/dev/zero of=/path/$i bs=1m count=1; done
or,
$ for i in {1..3}; do mkfile 1m /path/$i; done

C:\>for /L %x in (1,1,3) do fsutil file createnew %x 1048576

• mkfile can generate sparse files with the -n option.
• The Windows for loop set is (start,step,end).
• See also Generate Files with Random Content and Size in Bash, which introduces this script:
  no_of_files=10;
  counter=1;
  while [[ $counter -le $no_of_files ]];
   do echo Creating file no $counter;
    dd bs=1024 count=$RANDOM skip=$RANDOM if=/dev/sda of=random-file.$counter;
    let "counter += 1";
   done

/nix | Nov 13, 2009

Resume an interrupted file copy #

UPDATE: Added the ill-explained "--ignore-errors" option above. While the man page says its purpose is to "delete even if there are I/O errors", Mark Carroll points out that it would be more accurate to say something like "Go ahead even when there are IO errors, instead of regarding them as being fatal".

/nix | Nov 13, 2009

Convert man pages to PDF in Snow Leopard #

$ man -w rsync
/usr/share/man/man1/rsync.1.gz
$ gzcat /usr/share/man/man1/rsync.1.gz | groff -man > rsync.ps
$ open rsync.ps

/mac | Nov 13, 2009

Convert between Mac, Unix, and DOS/Windows EOL characters (CR, LF, CRLF) #

Mac to Unix:
   perl -i -pe 's/\015/\012/g' mac-file
Mac to DOS:
   perl -i -pe 's/\015/\015\012/g' mac-file
Unix to Mac:
   perl -i -pe 's/\012/\015/g' unix-file
Unix to DOS:
   perl -i -pe 's/\012/\015\012/g' unix-file
DOS to Unix:
   perl -i -pe 's/\015\012/\012/g' dos-file
DOS to Mac:
   perl -i -pe 's/\015\012/\012/g' dos-file

Mac -> UNIX: tr '\r' '\n' < macfile > unixfile
UNIX -> Mac: tr '\n' '\r' < unixfile > macfile
DOS -> UNIX: tr -d '\r' < dosfile > unixfile
UNIX -> DOS: '{ print $0"\r" }' < unixfile > dosfile

/nix | Nov 08, 2009

OS X: Batch find and replace text or filenames #

/mac | Nov 08, 2009

Installing CHDK on a Canon PowerShot A540 #

0. Plug SD card into card reader and card reader into Windows-based computer
1. Download CardTricks from http://drop.io/chdksoft
2. Launch CardTricks (screenshot of the following steps)
   1. Click SD card icon and browse to correct drive letter
   2. Format as FAT (SD card will be erased; make sure to backup any files)
   3. Make Bootable
   4. Download CHDK
   5. CHDK->Card
3. Unmount SD card and flip write protect switch to on (photos will continue to be written to the card just the same)
4. Make sure camera is off and insert SD card
5. Put camera into playback mode (i.e., move Mode Switch from red camera icon to blue playback icon) and turn it on
6. Print/Share button flashes blue, and CHDK splash screen appears on LCD
7. To access CHDK features, press the Print/Share button (which serves as the ALT button) followed by the Menu button. See also: What are the key settings and shortcuts?

/misc | Nov 07, 2009

Detailed hardware information for Linux #

• Download and install for Ubuntu (or grab the source): sudo apt-get install lshw
• Help (more detailed man page also exists): lshw -help
• Some interesting options:
  • Abbreviated output: sudo lshw -short
  • Hide serial numbers, IP addresses, etc: sudo lshw -sanitize
  • Output as HTML: sudo lshw -html

/nix | Nov 05, 2009

Warning when attempting to rename, move or delete folder #

Renaming, moving or deleting 'New Folder' could make some programs not work. Are you sure you want to do this?

[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\HijackThis.exe]
@="C:\Documents and Settings\username\Desktop\New Folder"

/windows | Nov 04, 2009

Newly added to OS X page #

/mac | Nov 02, 2009

Dressing like a gentleman #

  The knack gentlemen have of dressing badly and getting away with it is best illustrated by the story of the gentleman who was accosted by a friend walking along Piccadilly in clothes which were well below the best sartorial standards.

  'It does not matter how I dress in London,' he claimed. 'Nobody here knows me.'

  Later the same friend visited him in the country where his clothes were no better.

  'It does not matter how I dress here', he said, 'Everybody knows me.'

/misc | Oct 24, 2009

Write on the walls #

/misc | Oct 22, 2009

Control USB drive letter assignment #

• Automatically avoid conflicts with mapped drive letters
• Reserve letters
• Assign drive letter based on user, drive type, connection type, USB port, volume label, size, and more
• Assign a letter to a specific USB drive by including an INI file on the drive

/windows | Oct 21, 2009

Elementary Computer Mathematics #

/misc | Oct 18, 2009

Giving domain users administrative rights on local machine #

• giving local administrative rights in active directory environment
• Adding Domain user as local administrator of an XP machine
• Making domain user admin of local machine
• Insert domain user in local adm grp
• Unable to add domain account to local Administrator group

/windows | Oct 17, 2009

Remote Desktop crashes host when connecting from client #

• Nvidia Drivers Break Remote Desktop
• bandom rastard's post on NVIDIA Forums
• Remote Desktop Disconnects at logon
• Yakelaen's post on Microsoft's Windows Home Server Forum. He adds: "Other posts on the nVidia forum above have reported that 32 MB didn't work for them but by increasing the size (Value data setting) of the sessionimagesize they overcame the problem. 00000020 = 32MB, 00000040 = 64MB, 00000060 = 96MB, 00000080 = 128MB"

/windows | Oct 17, 2009

Unixy goodness: command compendiums, dd, acronym origins, and a shell stopwatch #

• Unix Toolbox - "Collection of Unix/Linux/BSD commands and tasks which are useful for IT work or for advanced users... practical guide with concise explanations."
• Linux Command for Beginners - Examples of common commands with brief explanations
• Learn The DD Command - Massive list of dd examples
• Wikipedia's dd entry has a number of interesting usage examples
• The Unix Acronym List - Settle that dispute with a coworker over the meaning of dd.
• Quick and dirty stopwatch via the Mac Terminal - It's as simple as $ time cat to start and Ctrl+C to stop and display time.

/nix | Oct 11, 2009

dd block size #

"The default block size is 512 bytes, but we can specify anything we want using the bs= flag. We can copy 1 byte at a time, or we can copy 1GB at a time. Any value will work, but some values will give you better performance than others. Most disks read a minimum of 512 bytes at a time and can easily read more at the same time. Using a value that is too small is wasteful because the disk will need to be frequently read, and time will be wasted in the copying process. If you choose a value that is too large, you will waste time filling up the buffer in dd before the copy is performed. I have found that values in the 2KB to 8KB range work well."

/nix | Oct 11, 2009

Concatenate (cat) TIFF files in OS X #

1. File > Convert & Modify
2. Function: = Convert
3. In the left pane, browse to and select desired TIFs
4. In the right pane, browse to desired save location
5. Dest. Format = TIFF
6. Options... > Multi Page File
7. Click "Go"

/mac | Oct 11, 2009

Securely wiping floppy disks under OS X in Terminal #

Faced with several dozen floppy disks that needed wiping, Disk Utility.app was looking a bit cumbersome: Disk Utility > click floppy drive > Erase > Security Options... > Zero Out Data > OK > Erase... > Erase

I decided to give sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/fd0 a go:
dd: /dev/fd0: Operation not supported.

Ah! Perhaps OS X does not use fd0:
$ ls /dev/fd0
ls: /dev/fd0: No such file or directory.

In that case, let's have a look at what we've got:

$ diskutil list
/dev/disk0
  #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
  0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *111.8 Gi   disk0
  1:                        EFI                         200.0 Mi   disk0s1
  2:                  Apple_HFS MacBook HD              111.5 Gi   disk0s2
/dev/disk1
  #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
  0:                            TEST                   *1.4 Mi     disk1

OK, how about:

$ sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/disk1
dd: /dev/disk1: Resource busy

$ sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/disk1
dd: /dev/disk1: Operation not supported

A quick search turned up the answer - unmount from within diskutil, not the Finder:

$ diskutil unmount /dev/disk1
Volume TEST on disk1 unmounted
$ sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/disk1
dd: /dev/disk1: end of device
2881+0 records in
2880+0 records out
1474560 bytes transferred in 110.617912 secs (13330 bytes/sec)

That worked beautifully, if slowly: it took almost two minutes to wipe a single floppy disk (fiddling with the block size seemed to help, but I was not inclined to spend much time investigating further see update below). Macworld and the diskutil manpage turned up a much faster method that had the additional benefit of not requiring root privileges:

$ diskutil secureErase 0 /dev/disk1
Started erase on disk1 TEST
Finished erase on disk1 TEST

This single-pass zero-fill erase took less than 30 seconds to complete. Wiping the floppies was now a breeze:

$ diskutil unmount /dev/disk1 && diskutil secureErase 0 /dev/disk1

UPDATE 1: Rather than using /dev/disk1 (which is the block device, AKA buffered device or cooked device) I should've been using /dev/rdisk1 (the raw device). This made the dd process slightly faster than even diskutil when using block sizes of 1440k and 360k. Connected raw devices can be listed by issuing the ls /dev/rdisk? command. See Block device versus raw device performance for more information.

UPDATE 2: diskutil zerodisk disk# (replacing "#" with the disk's number) will automatically unmount the floppy then zero it out.

For those who doubt the efficacy of zeroing a disk, see:

• Single Drive Wipe Protects Data
• Secure deletion: a single overwrite will do it
• Secure data deletion, "dd" and the Great Zero Challenge
• UPDATE 3:
  • Can data be recovered from a zero-filled hard drive?
  • Is it possible to recover data from a drive overwritten with zeros once?

/mac | Oct 10, 2009

Scanning in OS X with the Canon imageClass MF4150 #

/mac | Oct 07, 2009

Manipulate windows from the keyboard #

/windows | Oct 05, 2009

Insanely awesome PCI scan service #

/misc | Oct 04, 2009

Make a custom, bootable recovery partition or DVD #

• Create a custom, bootable recovery partition:
  • Acronis True Image includes Secure Zone, which creates a hidden partition for storing backup images. Accessible at boot time via F11.
  • Ghost Recovery Kit apparently allows for creating a custom recovery partition, but the process looks rather involved.
  • Paragon's Drive Backup 9.0 has a feature called Backup Capsule that creates a hidden partition to store images and allows the user to assign a Function key (F3, for example) to access during boot. This is the only solution I tested, with unfortunate results: at virtually the end of the restore process from Backup Capsule, the screen went blue and the hard drive activity went crazy for over an hour before I had to kill it. Thankfully, I had made an earlier image with Drive SnapShot, which I restored to the hard drive in just a few minutes.
• Creating a custom, bootable recovery DVD:
  • Storing an image on a Bootable ISO with PING
  • How to Create a Restore / Recovery Disc and Partition with Ghost
  • How to create a CD/DVD based image of your hard drive with Acronis True Image: MSFN | Neowin

/windows | Sep 28, 2009

Manipulate windows from the command line #

/windows | Sep 28, 2009

Google Chrome: Checkboxes and radio buttons missing #

• Right click the taskbar, click Properties and then click Cancel, or
• Open the Windows Task Manager and then close it

/windows | Sep 26, 2009

Cannot access GMail via POP or IMAP #

/misc | Sep 26, 2009

A better Cardfile for OS X #

/mac | Sep 23, 2009

Wipe MBR / Track 0 #

• cat /proc/partitions
• sudo fdisk -l
• sudo parted -l

/nix | Sep 22, 2009

SFK #

"This tool is a collection of tiny applications itself: grep, tree size list, instant ftp server, text line filter, text replace, duplicate file finder, split/join files, create md5 lists, run command on many files, extract strings, and more- all in one executable still matching your size limit (below 1.4 MB). It has no installer, no dependencies, needs no DLL's - nothing, just type 'sfk' to get the overview of all available subcommands."

/misc | Sep 20, 2009

Compress, encrypt, and copy data to offsite server #

1. /Applications/file/BetterZip.app/Contents/Resources/7z Call the 7-Zip file archiver contained in BetterZip (which I happened to have from a MacUpdate Promo Bundle). There are several other Mac binaries available or you can download and compile from source.
2. a Add file(s) to archive
3. -mx9 Maximum ("Ultra") compression
4. -pSECRET Set password to SECRET
5. -mhe Encrypt archive headers (i.e., filenames will be encrypted also)
6. ~/Desktop/file.7z Name of archive to create or add files to
7. ~/Documents/file.ext File to compress and encrypt

8. && Execute next command only if previous command returns an exit status of zero (i.e., wait for command to complete successfully before proceeding)

9. scp Secure copy command
10. -P 2012 Connect via port 2012
11. ~/Desktop/file.7z Local file to copy
12. user@example.com:/home/ Remote username and domain followed by directory where file will be copied to

13. && Execute next command only if previous command returns an exit status of zero (i.e., wait for command to complete successfully before proceeding)

14. rm ~/Desktop/file.7z Delete 7z archive from local computer

• As the command list is rather long, you may want to make a permanent alias in OS X by adding a line like this one to your ~/.bash_profile:
  alias bkup='/Applications/file/BetterZip.app/Contents/Resources/7z a -mx9 -pSECRET -mhe ~/Desktop/file.7z ~/Documents/file.ext && scp -P 2012 ~/Desktop/file.7z user@example.com:/home/ && rm ~/Desktop/file.7z'
• After adding the above line, you can load your .bash_profile without logging out: $ source ~/.bash_profile
  and list current aliases with: $ alias -p
• Archive all text files in current directory: $ 7z a file.7z *.txt
• Extract all files from file.7z: $ 7z x file.7z

/mac | Sep 19, 2009

Unpack / extract Dell driver EXE files under OS X #

$ unzip -L ~/temp/R173412.exe 
Archive:  /Users/user/temp/R165147.EXE
  inflating: iastor.sys              
  inflating: txtsetup.oem            
  inflating: iaahci.cat              
  inflating: iaahci.inf              
  inflating: iastor.cat              
  inflating: iastor.inf              
  inflating: version.txt             

/mac | Sep 13, 2009

Print photos with date taken or other EXIF data #

1. Launch FastStone Image Viewer
2. Open photo directory
3. Create > Contact Sheet Builder > Caption > click "..." at top right > EXIF DateTime ($Hx) > Date and Time ($H1)
4. Save the output to a file (PDF, TIF, PNG, GIF, BMP, and JPG supported) or send directly to printer.

UPDATE: On a related note, file date and time stamps can be set to those found in the EXIF data via jhead -ft *.jpg .

/windows | Sep 11, 2009

Rename photos based on thumbnail order #

1. Navigate to folder containing photos in Windows Explorer
2. View > Thumbnails
3. Click and drag thumbnails into desired order. It may be advisable to enable View > Arrange Icons by > Align to Grid.
4. Edit > Select All
5. Right click on first photo and rename to desired_name (1). That is, the desired file name, followed by a space, followed by an open parentheses, followed by the number one, followed by a close parentheses.
6. All photos will be renamed to desired_name (#), where # corresponds to the photo's position in the thumbnail layout.

1. Launch ReNamer
2. Settings > General > check "Use natural order sorting algorithm..." > Save (you may need to restart the program for this to take effect)
3. Add Folder
4. Add rule > Serialize > check "Incremental" > check "Pad with zeroes to reach length" > insert 3 for the number of zeroes > click "Add Rule"
5. Add rule > CleanUp > check "(...)" to the right of "Strip out content of brackets:" > click "Add Rule"
6. Review results before committing changes. The new filenames should look something like: 001name, 002name, 003name ...

/windows | Sep 10, 2009

IchiGeki's ZeroRemote #

/windows | Sep 08, 2009

It's up to you #

You can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.

— Widely attributed to Albert Einstein, though the quote appears apocryphal.

/misc | Sep 03, 2009

Migrating from WordPress to Blosxom #

/blosxom | Aug 31, 2009

Gandhi meets the A-Team #

/misc | Aug 30, 2009

RAID not supported by EASEUS Partition Master Server Edition Boot CD #

• Resize NTFS partitions using the GParted live CD - Himuraken successfully repartitioned a Dell PowerEdge 2800 PERC 4 RAID 5 array using the free and open source GParted. Several other reports indicated possible trouble with GParted and NTFS-formatted RAID, so backing up is critical (as it always is before repartitioning).
• Paragon's Partition Manager 10 Server seems to fit the bill. Peter Banz has a glowing review, but I cannot be sure that the boot CD actually includes the necessary RAID drivers. Since it is Windows PE-based, they could be manually added via floppy during boot, but that adds another layer of hassle.
• Acronis Disk Director Server 10.0's documentation mentions a "Rescue Media Builder", but does not explicitly state whether or not it supports RAID. UPDATE: Darren kindly informs us that Disk Director Server's boot disc supports a number of RAID controllers. He sent along a list of all files included on the CD, and points us to /lib/modules as well as /etc/driverspack (for those that run in compatibility mode) to review said drivers.

/windows | Aug 24, 2009

"There is only one success ... #

/misc | Aug 20, 2009

The firmware on this system is not configured to allow the Cardbus controller to be run in Cardbus mode. #

1. Install Windows XP Home with Service Pack 2 OEM
2. Successfully install Linksys WPC54G ver. 3.1 CardBus wireless adapter
3. Update Windows XP SP2 to SP3
4. Wireless continues to work

1. Install Windows XP Home with Service Pack 2 OEM
2. Update Windows XP SP2 to SP3
3. Insert Linksys WPC54G ver. 3.1 CardBus wireless adapter
4. Receive following message: The device "Texas Instruments PCI-1410 Cardbus Controller" has detected a Cardbus card in its slot, but the firmware on this system is not configured to allow the Cardbus controller to be run in Cardbus mode. The operating system will currently accept only...
5. Spend hours tracking down antiquated answers, hacking away at the registry, uninstalling SP3, etc before formatting hard drive and using the first process.

/windows | Aug 17, 2009

Formatting partitions over 32GB as FAT32 in Windows XP #

C:\>format drive_letter /fs:fat32

The type of the file system is RAW.
The new file system is FAT32.

WARNING, ALL DATA ON NON-REMOVABLE DISK
DRIVE D: WILL BE LOST!
Proceed with Format (Y/N)? y
Verifying 40960M

The volume is too big for FAT32.

C:\>fat32format d:
Warning ALL data on drive 'd' will be lost irretrievably, are you sure (y/n) :y

/windows | Aug 17, 2009

Windows Firewall settings grayed out #

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\DomainProfile]
"EnableFirewall"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\StandardProfile]
"EnableFirewall"=dword:00000000

/windows | Aug 16, 2009

Best lightweight antivirus #

/windows | Aug 16, 2009

Malware causes "Access is denied" error #

C:\Program Files\Prevx>cacls prevx.exe
C:\Program Files\Prevx\prevx.exe Everyone:(NP)(special access:)
 DELETE
 READ_CONTROL
 WRITE_DAC
 WRITE_OWNER
 STANDARD_RIGHTS_REQUIRED
 FILE_READ_DATA
 FILE_WRITE_DATA
 FILE_APPEND_DATA
 FILE_READ_EA
 FILE_WRITE_EA
 FILE_EXECUTE
 FILE_DELETE_CHILD
 FILE_READ_ATTRIBUTES
 FILE_WRITE_ATTRIBUTES

C:\Program Files\Prevx>cacls prevx.exe /g administrator:f
Are you sure (Y/N)?y 
processed file: C:\Program Files\Prevx\prevx.exe

C:\Program Files\Prevx>cacls prevx.exe
C:\Program Files\Prevx\prevx.exe ComputerName\Administrator:F

Updates:

• Ran into a similar issue after removing a Security Tool infection, which had altered permissions on the C:\%WinDir%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file after inserting rogue entries. Having completely forgotten about cacls, I rebooted into Safe Mode and reset permissions via the Security tab. Interestingly, attempting to delete or rename hosts from a Knoppix 6 Live CD also failed; I later learned that NTFS-3G can be set to honor or ignore ownership and permissions.
• Malwarebytes FileASSASSIN and IObit Unlocker are also handy for deleting recalcitrant files throwing errors like:
  • Cannot delete file: Access is denied
  • Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use
  • The source or destination file may be in use
  • The file is in use by another program or user

/windows | Aug 16, 2009

Ubuntu 9.04 and Dell Inspiron B130 wireless #

/nix | Aug 16, 2009

Remove Documents, Help and Support, and Log Off from Windows XP Classic Start Menu #

/windows | Aug 16, 2009

Computer hardware chart #

Sonic840 has put together a massive, 24MB poster of computer hardware. It includes RAM modules, power connectors, CPU sockets, and the like. Available for free download (under a CC license) or purchase as a print.

/misc | Aug 10, 2009

Windows 7 includes a system recovery disc creator #

/windows | Aug 01, 2009

Cross-platform money manager #

/misc | Jul 12, 2009

OS X software sites #

• HyperJeff's OS X Apps - Reportedly the oldest and largest list of OS X apps. Unique filtering options by license (open source, freeware, shareware, etc), type (Cocoa, Java, Unix, etc), and more.
• OSX Freewares - Bears more than a passing resemblance to TinyApps.Org. Though the site is in Japanese, Babelfish can help.
• Pure Mac - An excellent collection of the very best OS X, Classic, and iPhone apps. It's reported date of establishment (1996) is three years older than that of HyperJeff's OS X Apps.

/mac | Jul 11, 2009

Abandonware #

What is UP with the website vestusware.com? After going to the site and registering (several times) there was never a password supplied, either real-time, or by email. Even using the "lost, or forgotten" password reset function (P/W was to be sent to email address) did not result in a password being given. I am beginning to suspect a *re-direction* to a malicious site....?

I had no problem at all with Vetusware - I signed up, received my password by email, logged in, and was able to download a program (it wasn't what I hoped for - but that's not Vetusware's fault). I'd suggest that Brian in Fort worth has a problem with his email.

/misc | Jul 10, 2009

Printing multiple years with Unix cal command #

/nix | Jul 09, 2009

Just say no to HTML email and proprietary attachments #

/misc | Jul 02, 2009

Howto: set up your new unmanaged VPS #

/nix | Jun 30, 2009

FastCopy and Ycopy #

• 🌱 FastCopy 1.99r3 [100k] {S}+ "The fastest copy/delete software on Windows." Supports Unicode, paths exceeding MAX_PATH (260 bytes), regex filters, and more.  📺
• 🌱 Ycopy 1.0d [184k] + Copies files, skipping and logging those that are corrupt or unreadable.  📺

/windows | Jun 30, 2009

Live CD-based antimalware #

• Avira AntiVir Rescue System: must download a Windows-based installer which burns rescue CD directly to disc; reportedly "updated several times a day so that the most recent security updates are always available", but definitions were almost a month old; froze computer completely when Configuration and Updates options were clicked.
• BitDefender Rescue CD: standard ISO image; online update worked flawlessly; confusing interface for selecting scan target (volumes do not seem to automount); detected infections could not be cleaned or removed (this may be due to NTFS mounting issues)
• Dr.Web LiveCD: standard ISO image updated regularly; failed to find anything on a heavily infected system.
• F-Secure Rescue CD (updated version): zipped archive includes ISO image, release notes, and PDF manual; files containing malware are renamed (this behavior cannot be modified); online update appeared to have worked, but reported database version was 2008-11-07_10 (more than 7 months old).
• Kaspersky Rescue Disk: standard ISO image; online update worked flawlessly; drop-dead simple scanning, cleaning, and log viewing. UPDATE 1: This tool seemed to work perfectly, removing all detected infections. However, during reboot, it gave a warning about being unable to unmount a volume, and ended up ERASING THE ENTIRE HARD DRIVE. As always, use this and all tools at your own risk (and joy). Backup. Backup. Backup. UPDATE 2: It appears others have suffered the same fate. Tags: Kaspersky Rescue Disk, NTLDR is missing

See also SOS - Anti-virus Rescue Disks to the rescue and Bootable rescue CDs can fix your damaged Windows. Note that these reviews are from last year; the products seem to have changed rather markedly since then.

Microsoft's Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset, also known as DaRT (and which is built on Winternals Administrator's Pak / ERD Commander 2005), is a bootable CD which includes "Standalone System Sweeper". Definition updates can be found here or downloaded from within the program. It has been the most effective bootable antimalware tool I've found. Microsoft TechNet subscribers can download DaRT as part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP).

UPDATE 1: Standalone System Sweeper's definition updates (whether from the network or local storage) no longer seem to work on Windows XP systems. The AVG Rescue CD has worked well for me, though it failed to uncover an MBR infection which was causing a BSOD (0xBA4C7524,0xC000034,0x00000000,0x00000000). Running fixmbr from the Recovery Console did the trick. Also had to manually remove evil DNS servers (93.188.164.33 and 93.188.160.103) from network adapters.

UPDATE 2: Standalone System Sweeper now available free to all on a pre-built WinPE image!

/windows | Jun 24, 2009

It's better to green your diet than your car #

/misc | Jun 20, 2009

Brother MFC-6490CW default password #

/misc | Jun 19, 2009

Editing ISO images #

1. Download and install ISO Master via Synaptic Package Manager (search for "isomaster" without the quotes.)
2. Launch ISO Master from Sound & Video in the Main Menu.
3. Tools > Options > replace "mousepad" with "gedit" (again, without quotes)
4. File > Open > select desired ISO image (in this example, we'll use the Windows XP ISO mentioned above)
5. Let's edit SETUPP.INI: In the bottom pane, double click the I386 folder, right click SETUPP.INI, and click Edit
   
6. gedit will open SETUPP.INI. Make desired changes.
7. In gedit, click File > Save > and then close gedit
8. In ISO Master, click File > Save As > type a new filename (it will not allow you to overwrite the original ISO image) and click Save.

UPDATE: Had trouble adding a file to an existing ISO image with ISO Master, but UltraISO did the trick.

/nix | Jun 19, 2009

Convert retail Windows XP to OEM #

Unlocking WinXP's setupp.ini explains how to force Windows XP to accept retail, OEM, or volume license keys during installation (as well as how to change the CD's behavior). This is especially useful for installing Windows XP on a computer with an OEM license when you've only got a retail CD handy. Working from a retail ISO image, simply open I386\SETUPP.INI in a text editor and replace the last 3 digits of the Pid with "OEM" (sans quotes). Tested successfully with HP, Gateway, and Toshiba OEM product keys. See also: Editing ISO images and Product IDs (cached copy).

UPDATE: The My Digital Life Editorial Team has put together a guide with additional details, including:

• The first 5 digits of the PID are the Microsoft Product Code (MPC), which determines the version of Windows XP that will be installed. The last 3 digits are the channel ID, which determines the type of product keys that the installation wizard will accept.
• Generally, the channel ID is 335 for retail, OEM for OEM, and 270 for volume licensing, e.g.,
  • Windows XP RTM
    Retail: 51882335 (Retail edition accepting Retail CD keys)
    Volume License: 51883270 (Volume License edition accepting Volume License keys or VLK)
    OEM: 82503OEM (OEM edition accepting OEM keys or COA keys)
  • Windows XP SP2
    Retail: 55274335
    Volume License: 55274270
    OEM: 55277OEM
  • Windows XP SP3
    Retail: 76487335
    Volume License: 76487270
    OEM: 76487OEM
• Newer Windows XP discs may check whether the CD’s volume label matches the type of CD. In this case, the wrong volume label may render the disc unusable. Here’s a brief list of known English version of Windows XP CD volume labels:
  
  XP Home and Professional Combo = WXPHFPP_EN
  
  XP Home Retail = WXHFPP_EN
  XP Home Retail with SP1 = XRMHFPP_EN
  XP Home Retail with SP1a = X1AHFPP_EN
  XP Home Retail with SP2 = VRMHFPP_EN
  XP Home Upgrade = WXHCCP_EN
  XP Home Upgrade with SP1 = XRMHCCP_EN
  XP Home Upgrade with SP1a = X1AHCCP_EN
  XP Home Upgrade with SP2 = VRMHCCP_EN
  XP Home OEM = WXHOEM_EN
  XP Home OEM with SP1 = XRMHOEM_EN
  XP Home OEM with SP1a = X1AHOEM_EN
  XP Home OEM with SP2 = VRMHOEM_EN
  XP Home Volume = WXHVOL_EN
  XP Home Volume with SP1 = XRMHVOL_EN
  XP Home Volume with SP1a = X1AHVOL_EN
  XP Home Volume with SP2 = VRMHVOL_EN
  
  XP Professional Retail = WXPFPP_EN
  XP Professional Retail with SP1 = XRMPFPP_EN
  XP Professional Retail with SP1a = X1APFPP_EN
  XP Professional Retail with SP2 = VRMPFPP_EN
  XP Professional Upgrade = WXPCCP_EN
  XP Professional Upgrade with SP1 = XRMPCCP_EN
  XP Professional Upgrade with SP1a = X1APCCP_EN
  XP Professional Upgrade with SP2 = VRMPCCP_EN
  XP Professional OEM = WXPOEM_EN
  XP Professional OEM with SP1 = XRMPOEM_EN
  XP Professional OEM with SP1a = X1APOEM_EN
  XP Professional OEM with SP2 = VRMPOEM_EN
  XP Professional Volume = WXPVOL_EN
  XP Professional Volume with SP1 = XRMPVOL_EN
  XP Professional Volume with SP1a = X1APVOL_EN
  XP Professional Volume with SP2 = VRMPVOL_EN
  XP Professional Tablet PC with SP1 Disc1 = XRMPFPP_EN
  XP Professional Tablet PC with SP1a Disc1 = X1APFPP_EN
  XP Professional Tablet PC with SP2 Disc1 = VRMPFPP_EN
  XP Professional MSDN = WXPFPP_EN
  XP Professional MSDN with SP1 = XRMPFPP_EN
  XP Professional MSDN with SP1a = X1APFPP_EN
  XP Professional MSDN with SP2 = VRMPFPP_EN
  XP Professional Evaluation = WXPEVL_EN

See also Lunarsoft's Product IDs page for yet more information.

/windows | Jun 19, 2009

We may be the sons of whomsoever we will #

We are wont to say that it was not in our power to choose the parents who fell to our lot, that they have been given to men by chance; yet we may be the sons of whomsoever we will. Households there are of noblest intellects; choose the one into which you wish to be adopted; you will inherit not merely their name, but even their property, which there will be no need to guard in a mean or niggardly spirit; the more persons you share it with, the greater it will become. These will open to you the path to immortality, and will raise you to a height from which no one is cast down. This is the only way of prolonging mortality -nay, of turning it into immortality. Honours, monuments, all that ambition has commanded by decrees or reared in works of stone, quickly sink to ruin; there is nothing that the lapse of time does not tear down and remove. But the works which philosophy has consecrated cannot be harmed; no age will destroy them, no age reduce them; the following and each succeeding age will but increase the reverence for them, since envy works upon what is close at hand, and things that are far off we are more free to admire. The life of the philosopher, therefore, has wide range, and he is not confined by the same bounds that shut others in. He alone is freed from the limitations of the human race; all ages serve him as if a god. Has some time passed by? This he embraces by recollection. Is time present? This he uses. Is it still to come? This he anticipates. He makes his life long by combining all times into one.

/misc | May 12, 2009

Dell Inspiron 600m - Disable flashing orange LED (dead battery indicator) #

/windows | May 12, 2009

Copy corrupt files #

/windows | May 06, 2009

OS X: Move data from an old user account to a new one on the same computer #

Migrating data from an old user account to a new one under OS X (without first copying it to another device) can be a little tricky due to permissions issues. This procedure worked well for us, but it might not for you; proceed at your own risk (and joy):

1. BACKUP all critical data to an external drive and then disconnect that drive. Do not reconnect until you are SURE that everything has worked out.
2. Create the new user account and log in at least once. Do not create any new data under this account, as it would simply be overwritten in the ensuing steps.
3. Enable the root account
   • In Tiger: Applications > Utilities > Netinfo Manager > Security > Enable Root User
   • In Leopard: Applications > Utilities > Directory Utility > Edit > Enable Root User
   • In Snow Leopard, Lion, and Mountain Lion: /System/Library/CoreServices > Directory Utility > Edit > Enable Root User
4. Login as the root user and drag desired directories (iTunes, iPhoto Library, Keychains, etc) from the old user account to the new one. We are moving, not copying, the data.
5. Login as the new user and open a Finder window.
6. Right click on the new user's Home directory and select Get Info.
7. Under Sharing & Permissions, click "Apply to enclosed items" (Leopard users will need to click the gear icon first to reveal it).
8. That's it! If you run into any troublesome directories, try BatChmod for adjusting permissions (BTW, BatChmod can also remove ACLs added to a folder or file under Leopard). You may want to delete the old user account (System Preferences > Accounts) when you're sure everything is good. Finally, don't forget to disable the root account.

/mac | May 06, 2009

Missing Sync for Palm OS won't launch #

Missing Sync for Palm OS[335] An uncaught exception was raised
Missing Sync for Palm OS[335] *** -[NSPlaceholderString initWithString:]: nil argument

/palm | May 05, 2009

Running L2TP VPN Server under OS X Client #

Newly added to the Docs section: Enable VPN server in OS X for remote access via iPhone, Windows, and OS X clients

/mac | May 03, 2009

Taking timed screenshots in OS X #

Looking for a simple way to take screenshots at a set interval, I happened upon this solution which relies on cron. Unfortunately, cron cannot schedule jobs in increments of less than one minute, and I wanted to take screenshots every 3 seconds. Adding delay and repeat to the same script did the trick (note that the save directory has also been changed to the current user's Pictures folder):

repeat
	set DATE_TIME to do shell script "date +%Y_%m_%d_%H%M%S"
	set fname to DATE_TIME & ".png"
	do shell script "/usr/sbin/screencapture -x ~/Pictures/" & fname
	delay 3
end repeat

UPDATE: Just found an open source REALbasic app called Timed Screenshot (2.5MB) that apparently does essentially the same thing. Haven't tried it yet since the AppleScript solution worked beautifully.

/mac | May 01, 2009

Forget eBooks, Kindle offers free web access #

• Kindle: Web Browsing Experience Is Horrible
• No,.. just no. If this was 1995 and there was no dynamic content on pages this browser would have fit perfectly.
• Wow. The Kindle 2's browser really sucks. Granted, it's "experimental", but still. Awful.

• View all of your RSS/Atom feeds as a single HTML page with SimplePie
• Visit Google Mobile to access Kindle-friendly versions of Reader, Calendar, News, Docs, Blogger, and more.
• Browse FreeKindleBooks.org
• Surf the web with fewer distractions (goodbye annoying popups, advertisements, Flash, etc.)
• Roll your own or use free simple server-side apps for email, FTP, etc. (Just checked Mail2Web and Net2FTP on the Kindle 2 - both work great.)
• Check out the default bookmarks, like Wikipedia, BBC, CNET, Lonely Planet, etc.

• The e-ink screen is a joy to read, like a pillow for tired eyes. Yes, that sounds like really bad advertising copy, but it's true.
• The Kindle simply blows away the iPhone (and all backlit LCDs) for reading electronic text with minimal eyestrain (Photo of an iPod Touch and Kindle)
• Worst. Keyboard. Ever. It's hard to overstate just how mushy and unresponsive the keyboard is. In short, it makes the Treo 755P thumbboard feel like an IBM Model M. (Photo of the Treo and Kindle side-by-side)
• Touch screen desperately needed for better navigation, especially on the web. At the very least, allow scrolling to loop so that you can (for example) jump from the first link to the bottom by pressing up once.
• Replace "Home" button with "Prev Page". Virtually all right-handed people will understand this in a few seconds. Even better: make all of the buttons programmable.
• Text-to-speech still so poor that the recent fuss over Amazon caving to publishers is rather puzzling.
• Two free apps for converting PDF, HTML, DOC, etc to Kindle-friendly formats:
  • Mobipocket Creator (Windows)
  • calibre (Linux, OS X, Windows)

/eink | Apr 30, 2009

Image optimizer for OS X #

/mac | Apr 27, 2009

Decoding rotated strings #

/windows | Apr 22, 2009

Split dual EXEs #

/windows | Apr 20, 2009

Sunday Links #

• John-Paul kindly informs us of his fledgling apps, all of which run under Windows 98 - Vista, require no installation, and do not write to the registry. Current offerings include: Favorites Menu, Process Killer, Random Memory Tester, and Quick File Catalog-UE.
• MESS is a free emulator which emulates a large variety of different systems, including the Apple ][, Atari 2600, BeBox Dual603-133, and Commodore 64 among many more.
• 8086 Microprocessor Emulator - "The interactive system to study assembly language, computer architecture and reverse engineering."
• SecurityTube - Like YouTube for computer security / programming videos. Creator Vivek Ramachandra has produced many excellent tutorials, including an entire series on assembly programming.
• DOS debug & assembly
  • A Guide to DEBUG
  • Writing .com files with DOS debug
  • Debug/Assembly tutorial
  • "Hello world!" in old school assembly
  • Computer debug routines
  • Learning Assembly

/misc | Apr 19, 2009

A rich reverse engineering resource #

• Reversing ROL-1 Malware
• YACoSTO ("Yet Another Case of Security Through Obscurity")
• Playing With Authenticode and MD5 Collisions

/misc | Apr 19, 2009

Random harvest #

• Dupseek - Open source deduper written in Perl. "It starts by grouping files by size. Then it starts reading small chunks of the files of the same size and comparing them. It creates smaller groups depending on these comparisons. It goes on with bigger and bigger chunks (of size up to a hard-coded limit). It stops reading from files as soon as they form a single-element group or they are read completely (which only happens when they have a very high probability of having duplicates). This algorithm is much more efficient than competitors when dealing with large files of the same size. When files differ, reading usually stops after very few reads."
  $ dupseek -b delete /directory will delete all duplicates recursively (while preserving one original).
• DataRescue's DD (DrDD) - Freeware "graphical disk imager intended for data recovery and backup of partially corrupted storage devices... The creation of the copy can be done by reading the device forward or backward... Copying backward may be interesting because, in some cases - typically hard drives - it disables the look ahead buffer and therefore reduces the risk of lock up on a full track." Windows and OS X versions available.
• Greenshot - Open source screenshot tool for Windows. Capture windows, regions, or full screen; apply text and shapes to screenshots; more. Installer-free download available; .NET required. (Thanks to Angela for sending this in)
• Easy Code - Visual assembly programming environment for building 32-bit Windows applications. Video
• Data analysis in WinHex - "Recognize the type of unknown data... by sole use of visual representations"
• Comparison table of hex editors
• 🌱 FindAll [21k] + Find files that contain (or don't contain) a given search string.  📺

/misc | Apr 17, 2009

Newly-listed Palm app: AsciiChart #

AsciiChart 2.0.4 [17k] ASCII chart which displays decimal, octal and hexadecimal values for characters as well as their height and width.  📺

/palm | Apr 12, 2009

Extract InstallShield CAB files with unshield #

/windows | Apr 12, 2009

Learn C programming at Harvard for free #

Computer Science 50: Introduction to Computer Science I is a first course in computer science at Harvard College for concentrators and non-concentrators alike. More than just teach you how to program, this course teaches you how to think more methodically and how to solve problems more effectively. As such, its lessons are applicable well beyond the boundaries of computer science itself. That the course does teach you how to program, though, is perhaps its most empowering return. With this skill comes the ability to solve real-world problems in ways and at speeds beyond the abilities of most humans.

/misc | Apr 12, 2009

Removing simple watermarks from images #

1. Open image in SnagIt
2. Colors > Color Substitution...
3. Use the dropper next to "Old color:" to select watermark color
4. Click box next to "New color:" to select replacement color (generally this would be the background color)
5. Goodbye watermark!

UPDATE: CyberDoc and Mike Mills kindly recommended the freeware PhotoFiltre (installer-free version available), which worked every bit as well as SnagIt. It's as simple as clicking Adjust > Replace color and using the droppers to select. Initially, most menu items were grayed out for the GIF I had opened, but Mike informed me of the solution: Image > Mode > RGB color. Thanks to you both!

/windows | Apr 12, 2009

Glenn Gould - Genius made manifest #

(The original link has been updated.)

/misc | Apr 04, 2009

Henry David Thoreau - Original Hacker #

After leaving the University, he joined his brother in teaching a private school, which he soon renounced. His father was a manufacturer of lead-pencils, and Henry applied himself for a time to this craft, believing he could make a better pencil than was then in use. After completing his experiments, he exhibited his work to chemists and artists in Boston, and having obtained their certificates to its excellence and to its equality with the best London manufacture, he returned home contented. His friends congratulated him that he had now opened his way to fortune. But he replied that he should never make another pencil. "Why should I? I would not do again what I have done once." He resumed his endless walks and miscellaneous studies, making every day some new acquaintance with Nature, though as yet never speaking of zoology or botany, since, though very studious of natural facts, he was incurious of technical and textual science.

/misc | Apr 04, 2009

A better NOD32? #

Edge has been developed with speed and optimization in mind. The entire program of Edge consists of one executable and one driver. All of the cleanup, realtime protection, self protection, rootkit detection, malware detection, and high-color user interface are tightly integrated into these files, requiring only about 800kb on disk. In the system, Edge only requires one service and one driver to be registered - no other registry keys are required and no other libraries need to be installed, and all user accounts on the local computer are fully supported and protected automatically, even under UAC, with the GUI process of Edge switching between users as they log in.

Installation and un-installation of Edge require only seconds and can take place without rebooting the system and there is no need to uninstall any other security software when installing or using Edge.

/windows | Apr 03, 2009

nmap not displaying MAC addresses #

$ nmap -sP 192.168.1.0/24

Starting Nmap 4.68 ( http://nmap.org ) at 2009-04-03 07:05 HST
Host 192.168.1.1 appears to be up.
Host 192.168.1.3 appears to be up.
Host 192.168.1.6 appears to be up.
...
Nmap done: 256 IP addresses (10 hosts up) scanned in 1.373 seconds

The -sP option sends an ICMP echo request and a TCP ACK packet to port 80 by default. When executed by an unprivileged user, only a SYN packet is sent (using a connect call) to port 80 on the target. When a privileged user tries to scan targets on a local ethernet network, ARP requests are used unless --send-ip was specified.

$ sudo nmap -sP 192.168.1.0/24
Password:

Starting Nmap 4.68 ( http://nmap.org ) at 2009-04-03 07:12 HST
Host 192.168.1.1 appears to be up.
MAC Address: 00:18:39:xx:xx:xx (Cisco-Linksys)
Host 192.168.1.3 appears to be up.
MAC Address: 00:0D:0B:xx:xx:xx (Buffalo)
Host 192.168.1.6 appears to be up.
MAC Address: 00:1F:F3:xx:xx:xx (Apple)
...
Nmap done: 256 IP addresses (10 hosts up) scanned in 4.809 seconds

/nix | Apr 03, 2009

Self-contained Apache, MySQL and PHP for Mac #

/mac | Apr 01, 2009

vi for nano lovers #

Switch to insert mode (from which you can enter text)
i

Switch to command mode (from which you issue the commands below)
ESC

Quit without saving changes
:q!

Save (write) the file
:w

Save (write) the file and quit vi
:wq

Delete characters under and after cursor (like Del key in most apps)
x

Delete characters before the cursor (like Backspace key in most apps)
X

Find previous
?

Find next
/

Cursor up, down, left, right (arrow keys may also work)
k, j, h, l

/nix | Mar 31, 2009

Bypass Dell Inspiron 1100 battery check during BIOS update #

Installing Ubuntu (or any Linux distro for that matter) on a Dell Inspiron 1100 requires updating the BIOS to version A32 for video to work properly (8.10 instructions).

Unfortunately, the BIOS flashing utility (I1100A32.exe) will halt if it does not detect a charged battery:

ERROR
Battery must be installed.

ROM update not performed.
Press any key to exit.

Perhaps there are some documented command line switches or arguments? Apparently not:

A:\>I1100A32 /h

 Flash BIOS Update Program - Version A32
 Copyright 1990-2003 Dell Computer Corporation.  All Rights Reserved.

usage: I1100A32

The scanty documentation was equally unhelpful, as were my attempts to reverse engineer the flasher with IDA Pro and OllyDbg. Running strings for a clue to some switch or other proved fruitless as well.

---

UPDATE 1: I finally found the hidden switches in I1100A32.exe with a standard hex editor - they were "encrypted" with a ROT-1 Caesar cipher!! The first group is from the DOS app, the second group from Windows (both versions are included in the EXE, which can be split using DualEXE Manipulator):

OPQBVTF GPSDFJU KBCJM EXJN OWSBN XJQFOWSBN WFSCPTF QSHCPPU CPPU SFBEH[GJMF SFBESPNGJMF XSJUFSPNGJMF XSJUFIESGJMF OPSFCPPU JOGP GBDUPSZ TFSPVU C:711 GPSDFUZQF NJOJWV
...
DMBTTJD SFQPSUTUBUVT OPSCVSFTVMUT SCVSFTVMUT XSJUFSPNGJMF XSJUFIFYGJMF XSJUFIESGJMF XJQFDMFBO XJQFBMM WFSCPTF QSHCPPU OPSFCPPU OPQBVTF JOGP GPSDFUZQF GPSDFJU GBDUPSZ FEWV CPPU

Let's rotate them: $ tr '\60-\72\101-\172' '\57-\71\100-\171'

NOPAUSE FORCEIT JABIL DWIM NVRAM WIPENVRAM VERBOSE PRGBOOT BOOT READGZFILE READROMFILE WRITEROMFILE WRITEHDRFILE NOREBOOT INFO FACTORY SEROUT B9600 FORCETYPE MINIVU
...
CLASSIC REPORTSTATUS NORBURESULTS RBURESULTS WRITEROMFILE WRITEHEXFILE WRITEHDRFILE WIPECLEAN WIPEALL VERBOSE PRGBOOT NOREBOOT NOPAUSE INFO FORCETYPE FORCEIT FACTORY EDVU BOOT

Additional information on these switches can be found here and here. Don't play with these unless you know exactly what you are doing and are willing to take responsibility for your actions.

UPDATE 2: Didier Stevens kindly updated his open source XORSearch app (which helps uncover obfuscated strings) to support ROT encoding. Usage example: C:\>XORSearch -f file.with.list.of.strings.to.find file.with.obfuscated.strings

---

Thankfully, Christopher Muto had posed the following question to alt.sys.pc-clone.dell back in 2004:

   does anyone know of a way to flash the bios on an
   inspiron 3800 that does not have a battery?

Even more fortuitously, Bill Joy had responded:

   I have heard of a /forceit option when executing
   the flash. Another option I have seen is /jabil
   when forcing it to flash when it thinks it has an
   incompatible BIOS update -- maybe try it if the other
   option does not work?

   Since these batteries are available on eBay for only
   $40-50, it is probably not worth the risk of damaging
   your system.

Throwing caution to the wind, I decided to give the /forceit option a try (readers: do so at your own risk and joy). Lo and behold, the evil battery check was miraculously bypassed! Hallelujah!

/misc | Mar 29, 2009

Who needs a database when you've got sed and awk? ;-) #

As a simple text-based site, TinyApps.Org is ideal for parsing with *nix text processing commands. Here is a one-liner to calculate the average file size of the Palm apps:

[58k]
[62k]
[296k]
...

58
62
296
...

112.324

...
1454
     <-- Note the blank line here
30
...

Do you have a faster/leaner/tinier method? Or perhaps another interesting one liner? Please share the goodness!

/nix | Mar 28, 2009

Random harvest #

• UBIK "is a minimal, console only, utility for managing small fragments of info like your book or CDROM collection, URLs, etc, from the commandline." (via the author, Mike Sanders)
• MemPad "is a plain text outliner and note taking program with a structured index. All pages are stored in a single file." Like a mini version of Treepad. (via Mike Mills)
• Gaijin.at freeware apps - A rich bounty of neat little tools, from port mapping, to USB write blocking, to offline registry viewing - a must-visit for tiny app fans.
• Comparing and merging folders in OS X: via Terminal, Xcode's free FileMerge, and Changes, a very cool shareware app that handles conflicts (like filename collisions) well.
• PixaMSN v0.61 - Tiny open source MSN Messenger clone. "It consists of a small executable file and nothing else. Nothing is written to your hard disk, nothing is stored in your registry." (via Corrado)

/misc | Mar 28, 2009

Regular expression builders and tutors #

• Windows
  • Rad Software Regular Expression Designer - "Learn, develop and test Regular Expressions"
  • The Regex Coach - "Experiment with (Perl-compatible) regular expressions interactively"
  • RegEx Builder - "A small utility to help you build regular expressions"
  • EasyPatterns - "Regular expressions for dummies"
  • RegexBuddy - "Learn, create, understand, test, use and save regular expressions"
• Mac OS X
  • RegExhibit - "Shows you what your regular expressions match as you type on a sample text you provide"
  • Reggy - "Open-source OS X regular expression tester/viewer"
• Platform-independent (and my favorite)
  • txt2regex - "A regular expression wizard that converts human sentences to regex." It is a single, self-contained bash script - just download and run.
    
    

/misc | Mar 28, 2009

Calculate wattage for your PSU #

/misc | Mar 22, 2009

Bypass Seagate DiscWizard's brand check #

/misc | Mar 21, 2009

Command line time tracker #

/nix | Mar 15, 2009

Instant search for NTFS volumes #

/windows | Feb 28, 2009

Windows-based RAM tester #

/windows | Feb 27, 2009

Beauty #

/misc | Feb 22, 2009

Open source app for syncing or updating folders #

/windows | Feb 17, 2009

Change Palm user name #

/palm | Feb 16, 2009

Find the latest 100 changed files #

• doesn't require runtimes
• doesn't require installation
• doesn't write to the registry
• doesn't modify files outside of its own directories
• isn't adware

/windows | Feb 11, 2009

Installing Windows XP on a Sony VAIO laptop with SATA hard drive #

/windows | Feb 11, 2009

Two passages from W. Somerset Maugham's "The Razor's Edge" #

"Has it occurred to you that transmigration is at once an explanation and a justification of the evil of the world? If the evils we suffer are the result of sins committed in our past lives we can bear them with resignation and hope that if in this one we strive towards virtue our future lives will be less affected. But it's easy enough to bear our own evils, all we need for that is a little manliness; what's intolerable is the evil, often so unmerited in appearance, that befalls others. If you can persuade yourself that it is the inevitable result of the past you may pity, you may do what you can to alleviate, and you should, but you have no cause to be indignant."

"He is without ambition and he has no desire for fame; to become anything of a public figure would be deeply distasteful to him; and so it may be that he is satisfied to lead his chosen life and be no more than just himself. He is too modest to set himself up as an example to others; but it may be he thinks that a few uncertain souls, drawn to him like moths to a candle, will be brought in time to share his own glowing belief that ultimate satisfaction can only be found in the life of the spirit, and that by himself following with selflessness and renunciation the path of perfection he will serve as well as if he wrote books or addressed multitudes."

/misc | Feb 11, 2009

Webpage to screenshot #

/mac | Jan 28, 2009

Tiny Letters #

/misc | Jan 25, 2009

iPhone vs. Palm Treo 750p #

/palm | Jan 25, 2009

Details, details, details #

• Trifles make perfection and perfection is no trifle. —Michelangelo

• If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great Streetsweeper who did his job well. —Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. —Angelique Arnauld

/misc | Jan 25, 2009

List of device bandwidths / data transfer speeds #

/misc | Jan 16, 2009

Opening and creating password-protected zip files in OS X #

/mac | Jan 11, 2009

"A duplicate name exists on the network" error when attempting to change Computer Name #

/windows | Jan 09, 2009

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