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• ImgBurn fails to burn data CD-R disk due to "Layouts do not match" error

  - by 0xAether

  I have a reoccurring problem with the program ImgBurn. Whenever I try and burn anything to a CD-R using ImgBurn it burns just fine, except for when I go and verify the disk. It tells me that the "Layouts do not match". Windows 7 shows the disk as completely blank. Although, I see on the bottom of the disk it has been written to. I can burn ISO files to DVD-R's just fine. This only seems to happen with CD-R's. The CD-R's I'm using are Memorex Cool Colors 52x CD-R's. I have looked on Google, and it seems like I'm not the only one this happens to. Unfortunately, no one is able to provide an explanation. I have included the log file from the last CD I just burnt. If you need anything else to better diagnose this problem, I will gladly provide it. ; //****************************************\\ ; ImgBurn Version 2.5.7.0 - Log ; Monday, 19 November 2012, 16:11:57 ; \\****************************************// ; ; I 16:04:55 ImgBurn Version 2.5.7.0 started! I 16:04:55 Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Edition (6.1, Build 7601 : Service Pack 1) I 16:04:55 Total Physical Memory: 4,156,380 KB - Available: 3,317,144 KB I 16:04:55 Initialising SPTI... I 16:04:55 Searching for SCSI / ATAPI devices... I 16:04:56 -> Drive 1 - Info: Optiarc DVD RW AD-7560S SH03 (D:) (SATA) I 16:04:56 Found 1 DVD±RW/RAM! I 16:05:37 Operation Started! I 16:05:37 Source File: C:\Users\Aaron\Desktop\VMware Workstation 9.iso I 16:05:37 Source File Sectors: 223,057 (MODE1/2048) I 16:05:37 Source File Size: 456,820,736 bytes I 16:05:37 Source File Volume Identifier: VMwareWorksta9 I 16:05:37 Source File Volume Set Identifier: 20121119_2102 I 16:05:37 Source File File System(s): ISO9660, Joliet I 16:05:37 Destination Device: [1:0:0] Optiarc DVD RW AD-7560S SH03 (D:) (SATA) I 16:05:37 Destination Media Type: CD-R (Disc ID: 97m17s06f, Moser Baer India) I 16:05:37 Destination Media Supported Write Speeds: 10x, 16x, 20x, 24x I 16:05:37 Destination Media Sectors: 359,847 I 16:05:37 Write Mode: CD I 16:05:37 Write Type: SAO I 16:05:37 Write Speed: 6x I 16:05:37 Lock Volume: Yes I 16:05:37 Test Mode: No I 16:05:37 OPC: No I 16:05:37 BURN-Proof: Enabled W 16:05:37 Write Speed Miscompare! - MODE SENSE: 1,764 KB/s (10x), GET PERFORMANCE: 11,080 KB/s (63x) W 16:05:37 Write Speed Miscompare! - MODE SENSE: 1,764 KB/s (10x), GET PERFORMANCE: 11,080 KB/s (63x) W 16:05:37 Write Speed Miscompare! - MODE SENSE: 1,764 KB/s (10x), GET PERFORMANCE: 11,080 KB/s (63x) W 16:05:37 Write Speed Miscompare! - MODE SENSE: 1,764 KB/s (10x), GET PERFORMANCE: 11,080 KB/s (63x) W 16:05:37 Write Speed Miscompare! - MODE SENSE: 1,764 KB/s (10x), GET PERFORMANCE: 11,080 KB/s (63x) W 16:05:37 Write Speed Miscompare! - Wanted: 1,058 KB/s (6x), Got: 1,764 KB/s (10x) / 11,080 KB/s (63x) W 16:05:37 The drive only supports writing these discs at 10x, 16x, 20x, 24x. I 16:05:38 Filling Buffer... (80 MB) I 16:05:40 Writing LeadIn... I 16:06:07 Writing Session 1 of 1... (1 Track, LBA: 0 - 223056) I 16:06:07 Writing Track 1 of 1... (MODE1/2048, LBA: 0 - 223056) I 16:11:00 Synchronising Cache... I 16:11:18 Exporting Graph Data... I 16:11:18 Graph Data File: C:\Users\Aaron\AppData\Roaming\ImgBurn\Graph Data Files\Optiarc_DVD_RW_AD-7560S_SH03_MONDAY-NOVEMBER-19-2012_4-05_PM_97m17s06f_6x.ibg I 16:11:18 Export Successfully Completed! I 16:11:18 Operation Successfully Completed! - Duration: 00:05:41 I 16:11:18 Average Write Rate: 1,522 KB/s (10.1x) - Maximum Write Rate: 1,544 KB/s (10.3x) I 16:11:18 Cycling Tray before Verify... W 16:11:23 Waiting for device to become ready... I 16:11:47 Device Ready! E 16:11:47 CompareImageFileLayouts Failed! - Session Count Not Equal (1/0) E 16:11:47 Verify Failed! - Reason: Layouts do not match. I 16:11:57 Close Request Acknowledged I 16:11:57 Closing Down... I 16:11:57 Shutting down SPTI... I 16:11:57 ImgBurn closed!

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• Hundreds of unknown entries in Linux logwatch

  - by Saif Bechan

  I have a dedicated server which runs centos. Today i got an email from loginwatch on my server with hundreds of lines of 'errors'. I don't really know what they are becasue i am fairly new at this. The lines are in a few sections, I will display the first 10 of all of them, i hope someone can help me fix these problems. --------------------- Named Begin ------------------------ **Unmatched Entries** client 216.146.46.136 notify question section contains no SOA: 8 Time(s) client 92.114.98.10 query (cache) 'adobe.com/A/IN' denied: 4 Time(s) network unreachable resolving '11.254.75.75.in-addr.arpa/PTR/IN': 2001:7fd::1#53: 1 Time(s) network unreachable resolving '136.176.97.93.in-addr.arpa/PTR/IN': 2001:13c7:7002:3000::11#53: 1 Time(s) network unreachable resolving '136.176.97.93.in-addr.arpa/PTR/IN': 2001:500:13::c7d4:35#53: 1 Time(s) network unreachable resolving '136.176.97.93.in-addr.arpa/PTR/IN': 2001:500:2e::1#53: 2 Time(s) network unreachable resolving '136.176.97.93.in-addr.arpa/PTR/IN': 2001:610:240:0:53::193#53: 1 Time(s) network unreachable resolving '136.176.97.93.in-addr.arpa/PTR/IN': 2001:610:240:0:53::3#53: 1 Time(s) network unreachable resolving '136.176.97.93.in-addr.arpa/PTR/IN': 2001:660:3006:1::1:1#53: 1 Time(s) network unreachable resolving '136.176.97.93.in-addr.arpa/PTR/IN': 2001:6b0:7::2#53: 1 Time(s) network unreachable resolving '136.176.97.93.in-addr.arpa/PTR/IN': 2001:dc0:1:0:4777::140#53: 1 Time(s) network unreachable resolving '136.176.97.93.in-addr.arpa/PTR/IN': 2001:dc0:2001:a:4608::59#53: 1 Time(s) network unreachable resolving '146.250.19.67.in-addr.arpa/PTR/IN': 2001:5a0:10::2#53: 1 Time(s) network unreachable resolving '149.207.106.87.in-addr.arpa/PTR/IN': 2001:7fd::1#53: 1 Time(s) network unreachable resolving '178.62.24.195.in-addr.arpa/PTR/IN': 2001:7fd::1#53: 1 Time(s) this goes on for hundreds of lines with all different domain names. --------------------- pam_unix Begin ------------------------ Failed logins from: 78.86.126.211 (78-86-126-211.zone2.bethere.co.uk): 111 times 93.97.176.136 (93-97-176-136.dsl.cnl.uk.net): 113 times 121.14.145.32: 136 times 190.152.69.5: 248 times 209.160.72.15: 572 times 210.26.48.35: 2 times 212.235.111.224 (DSL212-235-111-224.bb.netvision.net.il): 140 times 218.206.25.29: 140 times Illegal users from: 78.86.126.211 (78-86-126-211.zone2.bethere.co.uk): 2665 times 93.97.176.136 (93-97-176-136.dsl.cnl.uk.net): 2539 times 121.14.145.32: 116 times 190.152.69.5: 34 times 209.160.72.15: 324 times 218.206.25.29: 8051 times proftpd: Unknown Entries: session opened for user cent_ftp by (uid=0): 15 Time(s) session closed for user cent_ftp: 14 Time(s) sshd: Authentication Failures: unknown (218.206.25.29): 8051 Time(s) unknown (78-86-126-211.zone2.bethere.co.uk): 2665 Time(s) unknown (93.97.176.136): 2539 Time(s) root (209.160.72.15): 558 Time(s) unknown (209.160.72.15): 324 Time(s) root (190.152.69.5): 246 Time(s) unknown (121.14.145.32): 116 Time(s) root (121.14.145.32): 106 Time(s) root (dsl212-235-111-224.bb.netvision.net.il): 70 Time(s) root (93.97.176.136): 44 Time(s) root (78-86-126-211.zone2.bethere.co.uk): 37 Time(s) unknown (190.152.69.5): 34 Time(s) mysql (121.14.145.32): 30 Time(s) nobody (218.206.25.29): 26 Time(s) mail (218.206.25.29): 24 Time(s) news (218.206.25.29): 24 Time(s) root (218.206.25.29): 24 Time(s) --------------------- SSHD Begin ------------------------ **Unmatched Entries** pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user tavi : 2 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user pam : 2 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user konchog : 1 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user stavrum : 2 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user rachel : 1 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user affiliates : 24 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user nen : 1 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user cobra : 1 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user pass : 7 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user hacer : 1 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user chung : 1 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user zainee : 1 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user radu : 2 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user alka : 4 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user albert : 5 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user turcia : 2 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user cordell : 2 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user silver : 2 time(s) pam_succeed_if(sshd:auth): error retrieving information about user dragon : 3 time(s) If someone wants to see the whole log i can upload it somewhere. Am i being hacked, what is this all?? I hope someone can help me, this does not look good at all.

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• Server 2003 R2 doesn't allow logon after a few days of uptime

  - by Bryan

  We have a server 2003 R2 standard (which I'll refer to as SRV01) that's knocking on a bit now, but it still acts as a file, print and SQL server on our company's network. SRV01 hosts user profiles, home directories and pretty much all our business data. Note our AD is currently at 2008 R2 level. This server is due to be upgraded in the next 12 months, but I've no budget to spend on it just yet. A bit of history of this server follows: When SRV01 was first commissioned, it acted as a domain controller (with the same 2003 R2 install it has today), paired with another server that ran Server 2003 R2 SBS. A few years ago, we purchased a pair of dedicated DCs (2008 R2) and at this point we decommissioned the 2003 SBS server, and SRV01 was DCPROMOed out of the AD. Up until very recently, SRV01 used to run Exchange 2003, however we've recently purchased a dedicated server for Exchange 2010 and upgraded (following Microsoft recommended upgrade path). Exchange 2003 was recently uninstalled. - Cleanly to the best of my knowledge. Ever since Exchange was removed from SRV01, I'm finding that after a few days of uptime, when I attempt to logon, pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL just hides the Welcome to Windows Server 2003 banner, and never presents the logon dialog. All I see is a moveable mouse pointer and a blank background. It's a similar story with an admin TS session, the RDP client connects and gives me a blank background, but no logon dialog is presented. The RDP session indefinitely hangs until I give up and close it. The only way I've been able to gain access to the server is to pull the plug on it. Whilst the server does have a battery backed up RAID 5 controller, I'm unhappy about having to do this, so as a temporary measure, I've created a scheduled job to reboot SRV01 each night. Not only do I not like the idea of scheduling a reboot of a server like this, but it is also causing problems for users that leave desktop PCs left logged on overnight. Users complain of 'Delayed Write Failures', and there has also been a number of users that have started to complain about account lockout problems, as well as users not able to connect to shares on SRV01 until they reboot their desktop PCs. I've examined event logs on SRV01 and on the DCs looking for clues as to what the problem is, but there really is nothing untoward being logged. How could I being to investigate this problem when nothing of any relevance is being logged? Is there some additional logging that can be enabled that might give some clues as to what could be causing this problem? Could performance monitor help me out here, and if so, what counters would you consider monitoring? It's worth mentioning that whilst the server is unresponsive via the console and TS, it does still respond to clients connecting to shares without problems for several days, but after about a week I then start to hear users reporting problems accessing shares, but this seems quite sporadic. I've also tried leaving the console logged on (and locked), when I notice I can no longer logon via TS, I can unlock the server console without problem, but it refuses to reboot/shutdown, and subsequent attempts to reboot report that a system shutdown is already in progress and the system then completely hangs. I've tried playing the waiting game for several hours thinking that a timeout might allow the shutdown to continue, but to no avail.

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• SSH-forwarded X11 display from Linux to Mac lost after some time

  - by mklein9

  I have a new and vexing problem with ssh forwarding my X11 connection when logging in from a Mac (10.7.2) to Linux (Ubuntu 8.04). I have no trouble using ssh -X to log in to the remote machine and starting an X11-based application from that shell. What has recently started happening is that additional invocations of X11 applications from that same shell, after a while (on the order of hours), are unable to start because the forwarded display is being blocked (I presume). When attempting to start xterm, for example, I get the usual message about a bad DISPLAY setting, such as: xterm Xt error: Can't open display: localhost:10.0 But the X11 application I started right when I logged in is still running along just fine, using that exact same display (localhost:10.0), just that it was started earlier. I turned on verbose logging in sshd_config and I see this in the /var/log/auth.log file in response to the failed xterm startup attempt: sshd[22104]: channel 8: open failed: administratively prohibited: open failed If I ssh -X to the server again, starting a new shell and getting assigned a new display (localhost:11.0), the same process repeats: the X11 applications started early on run just fine for as long as I keep them open (days), but after a few hours I cannot start any new ones from that shell. Particulars: OpenSSH sshd server running on Ubuntu 8.04, display forwarded to a Mac running Lion (10.7.2) with the default Apple X server. The systems are connected on an Ethernet LAN with a single switch between them. Neither machine is running a firewall. Until recently (a few days ago) this setup worked perfectly so I am mystified as to where to look next. I am by no means an X11 or SSH expert but have good UNIX/Linux experience. Nothing obvious has changed in either client or server configuration although I have tried changing a few options to try to debug this, like setting sshd_config's TCPKeepAlive to no, and setting "host +localhost" (you can tell I've been Googling). When logging in from a Linux 11.10 laptop to the same remote host over the same network and switch, this problem does not occur -- an xterm can be invoked successfully hours later from the same ssh login shell while the same experiment from the Mac fails (tested this morning to be sure), so it would appear to be a Mac-specific issue. With "LogLevel DEBUG3" set on the remote machine (sshd server), and no change made in the client connections by me, /var/log/auth.log shows one slight change in connection status reports overnight, which is the port number used by the one successful ssh session from the Linux machine (I think), connection #7 below: sshd[20173]: debug3: channel 7: status: The following connections are open:\r\n #0 server-session (t4 r0 i0/0 o0/0 fd 14/13 cfd -1)\r\n #3 X11 connection from 127.0.0.1 port 57564 (t4 r1 i0/0 o0/0 fd 16/16 cfd -1)\r\n #4 X11 connection from 127.0.0.1 port 57565 (t4 r2 i0/0 o0/0 fd 17/17 cfd -1)\r\n #5 X11 connection from 127.0.0.1 port 57566 (t4 r3 i0/0 o0/0 fd 18/18 cfd -1)\r\n #6 X11 connection from 127.0.0.1 port 57567 (t4 r4 i0/0 o0/0 fd 19/19 cfd -1)\r\n #7 X11 connection from 127.0.0.1 port 59007 In this report, everything is the same between status reports except the port number used by connection #7 which I believe is the Linux client -- the only one still maintaining a display connection. It continues to increment over time, judging by a sequence of these reports overnight. Thanks for any help, -Mike

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• Screen -X exec commands not working until manually attached

  - by James Watt

  I have a batch script that starts a java server application inside of a screen. The command looks like this: cd /dir/ && screen -A -m -d -S javascreen java -Xms640M -Xmx1024M -jar javaserverapp.jar nogui After I run the batch script, it starts the server and puts it inside the correct screen. If I list my screens after, I see something like this: user@gtwy /dir $ screen -list There is a screen on: 16180.javascreen (Detached) 1 Socket in /var/run/screen/S-user. However, I have a second batch script that sends automated commands to this server and runs on a different crontab interval. Because of the way the application works, I send commands to it like this (this command tells it to alert connected users "testing 123"): screen -X exec .\!\! echo say testing 123 I've also tried: screen -R -X exec .\!\! echo say testing 123 screen -S javascreen -X exec .\!\! echo say testing 123 Unfortunately, these commands DO NOT WORK. They don't even give me an error message, they just do nothing. HOWEVER - If I manually attach to the screen first (with the below command) and then detach, now I can run any of the above commands flawlessly. I can demonstrate this with a video, if I wasn't clear enough here. screen -r -d Thanks in advance. Update: here is the important parts of /etc/screenrc. It should be totally vanilla, I've never edited this file. # VARIABLES # =============================================================== # No annoying audible bell, using "visual bell" # vbell on # default: off # vbell_msg " -- Bell,Bell!! -- " # default: "Wuff,Wuff!!" # Automatically detach on hangup. autodetach on # default: on # Don't display the copyright page startup_message off # default: on # Uses nethack-style messages # nethack on # default: off # Affects the copying of text regions crlf off # default: off # Enable/disable multiuser mode. Standard screen operation is singleuser. # In multiuser mode the commands acladd, aclchg, aclgrp and acldel can be used # to enable (and disable) other user accessing this screen session. # Requires suid-root. multiuser off # Change default scrollback value for new windows defscrollback 1000 # default: 100 # Define the time that all windows monitored for silence should # wait before displaying a message. Default 30 seconds. silencewait 15 # default: 30 # bufferfile: The file to use for commands # "readbuf" ('<') and "writebuf" ('>'): bufferfile $HOME/.screen_exchange # # hardcopydir: The directory which contains all hardcopies. # hardcopydir ~/.hardcopy # hardcopydir ~/.screen # # shell: Default process started in screen's windows. # Makes it possible to use a different shell inside screen # than is set as the default login shell. # If begins with a '-' character, the shell will be started as a login shell. # shell zsh # shell bash # shell ksh shell -$SHELL # shellaka '> |tcsh' # shelltitle '$ |bash' # emulate .logout message pow_detach_msg "Screen session of \$LOGNAME \$:cr:\$:nl:ended." # caption always " %w --- %c:%s" # caption always "%3n %t%? @%u%?%? [%h]%?%=%c" # advertise hardstatus support to $TERMCAP # termcapinfo * '' 'hs:ts=\E_:fs=\E\\:ds=\E_\E\\' # set every new windows hardstatus line to somenthing descriptive # defhstatus "screen: ^En (^Et)" # don't kill window after the process died # zombie "^["

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• Windows 7: How to place SuperFetch cache on an SSD?

  - by Ian Boyd

  I'm thinking of adding a solid state drive (SSD) to my existing Windows 7 installation. I know I can (and should) move my paging file to the SSD: Should the pagefile be placed on SSDs? Yes. Most pagefile operations are small random reads or larger sequential writes, both of which are types of operations that SSDs handle well. In looking at telemetry data from thousands of traces and focusing on pagefile reads and writes, we find that Pagefile.sys reads outnumber pagefile.sys writes by about 40 to 1, Pagefile.sys read sizes are typically quite small, with 67% less than or equal to 4 KB, and 88% less than 16 KB. Pagefile.sys writes are relatively large, with 62% greater than or equal to 128 KB and 45% being exactly 1 MB in size. In fact, given typical pagefile reference patterns and the favorable performance characteristics SSDs have on those patterns, there are few files better than the pagefile to place on an SSD. What I don't know is if I even can put a SuperFetch cache (i.e. ReadyBoost cache) on the solid state drive. I want to get the benefit of Windows being able to cache gigabytes of frequently accessed data on a relativly small (e.g. 30GB) solid state drive. This is exactly what SuperFetch+ReadyBoost (or SuperFetch+ReadyDrive) was designed for. Will Windows offer (or let) me place a ReadyBoost cache on a solid state flash drive connected via SATA? A problem with the ReadyBoost cache over the ReadyDrive cache is that the ReadyBoost cache does not survive between reboots. The cache is encrypted with a per-session key, making its existing contents unusable during boot and SuperFetch pre-fetching during login. Update One I know that Windows Vista limited you to only one ReadyBoost.sfcache file (I do not know if Windows 7 removed that limitation): Q: Can use use multiple devices for EMDs? A: Nope. We've limited Vista to one ReadyBoost per machine Q: Why just one device? A: Time and quality. Since this is the first revision of the feature, we decided to focus on making the single device exceptional, without the difficulties of managing multiple caches. We like the idea, though, and it's under consideration for future versions. I also know that the 4GB limit on the cache file was a limitation of the FAT filesystem used on most USB sticks - an SSD drive would be formatted with NTFS: Q: What's the largest amount of flash that I can use for ReadyBoost? A: You can use up to 4GB of flash for ReadyBoost (which turns out to be 8GB of cache w/ the compression) Q: Why can't I use more than 4GB of flash? A: The FAT32 filesystem limits our ReadyBoost.sfcache file to 4GB Can a ReadyBoost cache on an NTFS volume be larger than 4GB? Update Two The ReadyBoost cache is encrypted with a per-boot session key. This means that the cache has to be re-built after each boot, and cannot be used to help speed boot times, or latency from login to usable. Windows ReadyDrive technology takes advantage of non-volatile (NV) memory (i.e. flash) that is incorporated with some hybrid hard drives. This flash cache can be used to help Windows boot, or resume from hibernate faster. Will Windows 7 use an internal SSD drive as a ReadyBoost/*ReadyDrive*/SuperFetch cache? Is it possible to make Windows store a SuperFetch cache (i.e. ReadyBoost) on a non-removable SSD? Is it possible to not encrypt the ReadyBoost cache, and if so will Windows 7 use the cache at boot time? See also SuperUser.com: ReadyBoost + SSD = ? Windows 7 - ReadyBoost & SSD drives? Support and Q&A for Solid-State Drives Using SDD as a cache for HDD, is there a solution? Performance increase using SSD for paging/fetch/cache or ReadyBoost? (Win7) Windows 7 To Boost SSD Performance How to Disable Nonvolatile Caching

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• Multiple data centers and HTTP traffic: DNS Round Robin is the ONLY way to assure instant fail-over?

  - by vmiazzo

  Hi, Multiple A records pointing to the same domain seem to be used almost exclusively to implement DNS Round Robin as a cheap load balancing technique. The usual warning against DNS RR is that it is not good for high availability. When 1 IP goes down clients will continue to use it for minutes. A load balancer is often suggested as a better choice. Both claims are not completely true: When the traffic is HTTP then, most of the HTML browsers are able to automatically try the next A record if the previous is down, without a new DNS look-up. Read here chapter 3.1 and here. When multiple data centers are involved then, DNS RR is the only option to distribute traffic across them. So, is it true that, with multiple data centers and HTTP traffic, the use of DNS RR is the ONLY way to assure instant fail-over when one data center goes down? Thanks, Valentino Edit: Off course each data center has a local Load Balancer with hot spare. It's OK to sacrifice session affinity for an instant fail-over. AFAIK the only way for a DNS to suggest a data center instead of another is to reply with just the IP (or IPs) associated to that data center. If the data center becomes unreachable then all those IP are also unreachables. This means that, even if smart HTML browsers are able to instantly try another A record , all the attempts will fail until the local cache entry expires and a new DNS lookup is done, fetching the new working IPs (I assume DNS automatically suggests to a new data center when one fail). So, "smart DNS" cannot assure instant fail-over. Conversely a DNS round-robin permits it. When one data center fail, the smart HTML browsers (most of them) instantly try the other cached A records jumping to another (working) data center. So, DNS round-robin doesn't assure session affinity or the lowest RTT but seems to be the only way to assure instant fail-over when the clients are "smart" HTML browsers. Edit 2: Some people suggest TCP Anycast as a definitive solution. In this paper (chapter 6) is explained that Anycast fail-over is related to BGP convergence. For this reason Anycast can employ from 15 minutes to 20 seconds to complete. 20 seconds are possible on networks where the topology was optimized for this. Probably just CDN operators can grant such fast fail-overs. Edit 3:* I did some DNS look-ups and traceroutes (maybe some expert can double check) and: The only CDN using TCP Anycast seems to be CacheFly, other operators like CDN networks and BitGravity use CacheFly. Seems that their edges cannot be used as reverse proxies. Therefore, they cannot be used to grant instant failover. Akamai and LimeLight seems to use geo-aware DNS. But! They return multiple A records. From traceroutes seems that the returned IPs are on the same data center. So, I'm puzzled on how they can offer a 100% SLA when one data center goes down.

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• COPSSH RSA only authentication connection problem

  - by Siriss

  Hello all- I am trying to setup an RSA Authentication only SSH/SFTP server. The SSH will be used primarily for RDC. Everything works just fine if I use password authentication. I am using Putty Key Generator to create he keys and I have pasted the key into authorized_keys file and restarted the OpenSSH server. I am using FileZilla to test the SFTP connection as that is the most important. For my tests I have created the keys without password correction. It will not work with a standard SSH connection either. It says "Server refused our key". I have recreated the key twice double checking with a guide on google, and I am pretty sure I did it correctly. I load the key file into FileZilla under settings/SFTP and try to connect and I get the following error: Disconnected: No supported authentication methods available. I have been playing with the different settings all night and I cannot figure it out. Here is my sshd_config file: # $OpenBSD: sshd_config,v 1.80 2008/07/02 02:24:18 djm Exp $ # This is the sshd server system-wide configuration file. See # sshd_config(5) for more information. # This sshd was compiled with PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin # The strategy used for options in the default sshd_config shipped with # OpenSSH is to specify options with their default value where # possible, but leave them commented. Uncommented options change a # default value. #Port 22 #AddressFamily any #ListenAddress 0.0.0.0 #ListenAddress :: # Disable legacy (protocol version 1) support in the server for new # installations. In future the default will change to require explicit # activation of protocol 1 Protocol 2 # HostKey for protocol version 1 #HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_key # HostKeys for protocol version 2 #HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key #HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key # Lifetime and size of ephemeral version 1 server key #KeyRegenerationInterval 1h #ServerKeyBits 1024 # Logging # obsoletes QuietMode and FascistLogging #SyslogFacility AUTH #LogLevel INFO # Authentication: #LoginGraceTime 2m PermitRootLogin no #StrictModes yes #MaxAuthTries 6 #MaxSessions 10 RSAAuthentication yes PubkeyAuthentication yes AuthorizedKeysFile .ssh/authorized_keys # For this to work you will also need host keys in /etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts RhostsRSAAuthentication no # similar for protocol version 2 #HostbasedAuthentication no # Change to yes if you don't trust ~/.ssh/known_hosts for # RhostsRSAAuthentication and HostbasedAuthentication #IgnoreUserKnownHosts no # Don't read the user's ~/.rhosts and ~/.shosts files #IgnoreRhosts yes # To disable tunneled clear text passwords, change to no here! PasswordAuthentication no PermitEmptyPasswords no # Change to no to disable s/key passwords #ChallengeResponseAuthentication yes # Kerberos options #KerberosAuthentication no #KerberosOrLocalPasswd yes #KerberosTicketCleanup yes #KerberosGetAFSToken no # GSSAPI options #GSSAPIAuthentication no #GSSAPICleanupCredentials yes # Set this to 'yes' to enable PAM authentication, account processing, # and session processing. If this is enabled, PAM authentication will # be allowed through the ChallengeResponseAuthentication and # PasswordAuthentication. Depending on your PAM configuration, # PAM authentication via ChallengeResponseAuthentication may bypass # the setting of "PermitRootLogin without-password". # If you just want the PAM account and session checks to run without # PAM authentication, then enable this but set PasswordAuthentication # and ChallengeResponseAuthentication to 'no'. UsePAM no #AllowAgentForwarding yes #AllowTcpForwarding yes #GatewayPorts no #X11Forwarding no #X11DisplayOffset 10 #X11UseLocalhost yes #PrintMotd yes #PrintLastLog yes #TCPKeepAlive yes UseLogin no #UsePrivilegeSeparation yes #PermitUserEnvironment no #Compression delayed #ClientAliveInterval 0 #ClientAliveCountMax 3 #UseDNS yes #PidFile /var/run/sshd.pid #MaxStartups 10 #PermitTunnel no #ChrootDirectory none # no default banner path #Banner none # override default of no subsystems Subsystem sftp /bin/sftp-server # Example of overriding settings on a per-user basis #Match User anoncvs # X11Forwarding no # AllowTcpForwarding no # ForceCommand cvs server Thank you so much for your help!

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• How to place SuperFetch cache on an SSD?

  - by Ian Boyd

  I'm thinking of adding a solid state drive (SSD) to my existing Windows 7 installation. I know I can (and should) move my paging file to the SSD: Should the pagefile be placed on SSDs? Yes. Most pagefile operations are small random reads or larger sequential writes, both of which are types of operations that SSDs handle well. In looking at telemetry data from thousands of traces and focusing on pagefile reads and writes, we find that Pagefile.sys reads outnumber pagefile.sys writes by about 40 to 1, Pagefile.sys read sizes are typically quite small, with 67% less than or equal to 4 KB, and 88% less than 16 KB. Pagefile.sys writes are relatively large, with 62% greater than or equal to 128 KB and 45% being exactly 1 MB in size. In fact, given typical pagefile reference patterns and the favorable performance characteristics SSDs have on those patterns, there are few files better than the pagefile to place on an SSD. What I don't know is if I even can put a SuperFetch cache (i.e. ReadyBoost cache) on the solid state drive. I want to get the benefit of Windows being able to cache gigabytes of frequently accessed data on a relativly small (e.g. 30GB) solid state drive. This is exactly what SuperFetch+ReadyBoost (or SuperFetch+ReadyDrive) was designed for. Will Windows offer (or let) me place a ReadyBoost cache on a solid state flash drive connected via SATA? A problem with the ReadyBoost cache over the ReadyDrive cache is that the ReadyBoost cache does not survive between reboots. The cache is encrypted with a per-session key, making its existing contents unusable during boot and SuperFetch pre-fetching during login. Update One I know that Windows Vista limited you to only one ReadyBoost.sfcache file (I do not know if Windows 7 removed that limitation): Q: Can use use multiple devices for EMDs? A: Nope. We've limited Vista to one ReadyBoost per machine Q: Why just one device? A: Time and quality. Since this is the first revision of the feature, we decided to focus on making the single device exceptional, without the difficulties of managing multiple caches. We like the idea, though, and it's under consideration for future versions. I also know that the 4GB limit on the cache file was a limitation of the FAT filesystem used on most USB sticks - an SSD drive would be formatted with NTFS: Q: What's the largest amount of flash that I can use for ReadyBoost? A: You can use up to 4GB of flash for ReadyBoost (which turns out to be 8GB of cache w/ the compression) Q: Why can't I use more than 4GB of flash? A: The FAT32 filesystem limits our ReadyBoost.sfcache file to 4GB Can a ReadyBoost cache on an NTFS volume be larger than 4GB? Update Two The ReadyBoost cache is encrypted with a per-boot session key. This means that the cache has to be re-built after each boot, and cannot be used to help speed boot times, or latency from login to usable. Windows ReadyDrive technology takes advantage of non-volatile (NV) memory (i.e. flash) that is incorporated with some hybrid hard drives. This flash cache can be used to help Windows boot, or resume from hibernate faster. Will Windows 7 use an internal SSD drive as a ReadyBoost/*ReadyDrive*/SuperFetch cache? Is it possible to make Windows store a SuperFetch cache (i.e. ReadyBoost) on a non-removable SSD? Is it possible to not encrypt the ReadyBoost cache, and if so will Windows 7 use the cache at boot time? See also SuperUser.com: ReadyBoost + SSD = ? Windows 7 - ReadyBoost & SSD drives? Support and Q&A for Solid-State Drives Using SDD as a cache for HDD, is there a solution? Performance increase using SSD for paging/fetch/cache or ReadyBoost? (Win7) Windows 7 To Boost SSD Performance How to Disable Nonvolatile Caching

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• Troubleshooting Website problems within the local network

  - by HaydnWVN

  Have an external website which opens fine on some PC's, yet seems to time out (or symptoms of timing out, but never actually does) on others. Seems to only affect (some) of our newer HP Pro 3305 MT Workstations. All of which are running Win7 32bit SP1 with all updates. Older PC's (Win7 32bit SP1 & WinXP) are unaffected. Using Google Chrome & Firefox makes no difference. Opening the website in IE9 Compatibility Mode has exactly the same symptoms. All PC's are on the same local network (Workgroup) using the same DNS server & gateway (inhouse) on the same internet connection, on the same subnet. There is no proxy server, no content filtering, no load balancing etc etc. Only group policy in effect (locally) is for Update scheduling. Local firewalls are all the same (Kaspersky WP4) and our external facing firewall has no IP specific settings. I have no control over the external website, traceroute shows the same destination on all PC's. It is a fairly popular website in our industry (Horticulture) and i'm not aware of any other people (even other sites within our sister companies) with the same problem. Update: Used Fiddler2 to monitor the HTTP request, seems its not getting fulfilled for some reason?! Request sent: GET http://www.rhs.org.uk/ HTTP/1.1 Host: www.rhs.org.uk Connection: keep-alive User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1) AppleWebKit/536.11 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/20.0.1132.47 Safari/536.11 Accept: text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,*/*;q=0.8 Accept-Encoding: gzip,deflate,sdch Accept-Language: en-GB,en-US;q=0.8,en;q=0.6 Accept-Charset: ISO-8859-1,utf-8;q=0.7,*;q=0.3 Log from Fiddler 2 of the request: This session is not yet complete. Press F5 to refresh when session is complete for updated statistics. Request Count: 1 Bytes Sent: 567 (headers:567; body:0) Bytes Received: 0 (headers:0; body:0) ACTUAL PERFORMANCE -------------- ClientConnected: 17:02:33.720 ClientBeginRequest: 17:02:39.118 GotRequestHeaders: 17:02:39.118 ClientDoneRequest: 17:02:39.118 Determine Gateway: 0ms DNS Lookup: 0ms TCP/IP Connect: 46ms HTTPS Handshake: 0ms ServerConnected: 17:02:39.165 FiddlerBeginRequest: 17:02:39.165 ServerGotRequest: 17:02:39.165 ServerBeginResponse: 00:00:00.000 GotResponseHeaders: 00:00:00.000 ServerDoneResponse: 00:00:00.000 ClientBeginResponse: 00:00:00.000 ClientDoneResponse: 00:00:00.000 RESPONSE BYTES (by Content-Type) -------------- ~headers~: 0 Log of a successful request from a working PC (done this morning, excuse the timestamps being different from above): Request Count: 1 Bytes Sent: 493 (headers:493; body:0) Bytes Received: 20,413 (headers:525; body:19,888) ACTUAL PERFORMANCE -------------- ClientConnected: 08:22:47.766 ClientBeginRequest: 08:22:47.766 GotRequestHeaders: 08:22:47.766 ClientDoneRequest: 08:22:47.766 Determine Gateway: 0ms DNS Lookup: 26ms TCP/IP Connect: 30ms HTTPS Handshake: 0ms ServerConnected: 08:22:47.828 FiddlerBeginRequest: 08:22:47.828 ServerGotRequest: 08:22:47.828 ServerBeginResponse: 08:22:48.905 GotResponseHeaders: 08:22:48.905 ServerDoneResponse: 08:22:48.905 ClientBeginResponse: 08:22:48.905 ClientDoneResponse: 08:22:48.905 Overall Elapsed: 00:00:01.1388020 RESPONSE BYTES (by Content-Type) -------------- text/html: 19,888 ~headers~: 525 So my question has evolved into: What is the difference between the 2 requests and how do I determine why 1 PC is not getting a reply to it's GET request?

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• Why don't mails show up in the recipient's mailspool?

  - by Jason

  I have postfix dovecot running with local email system on thunderbird. I have two users on by ubuntu, mailuser 1 and mailuser 2 whom i added to thunderbird. Everything went fine, except the users dont have anything on their inbox on thunderbird and sent mails dont get through. Im using maildir as well. Checking /var/log/mail.log reveals this This what is happining: Restarting postfix and dovecot and then sending mail from one user to another user... I believe this line is the problem May 30 18:31:55 postfix/smtpd[12804]: disconnect from localhost[127.0.0.1] Why is it not connecting ? What could be wrong ? /var/log/mail.log May 30 18:30:21 dovecot: imap: Warning: Killed with signal 15 (by pid=1 uid=0 code=kill) May 30 18:30:21 dovecot: master: Warning: Killed with signal 15 (by pid=1 uid=0 code=kill) May 30 18:30:21 dovecot: imap: Server shutting down. in=467 out=475 May 30 18:30:21 dovecot: config: Warning: Killed with signal 15 (by pid=1 uid=0 code=kill) May 30 18:30:21 dovecot: log: Warning: Killed with signal 15 (by pid=1 uid=0 code=kill) May 30 18:30:21 dovecot: anvil: Warning: Killed with signal 15 (by pid=1 uid=0 code=kill) May 30 18:30:21 dovecot: master: Dovecot v2.2.9 starting up (core dumps disabled) May 30 18:30:54 dovecot: imap-login: Login: user=<mailuser2>, method=PLAIN, rip=::1, lip=::1, mpid=12638, TLS, session=<xUfQkaD66gAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB> May 30 18:31:04 postfix/master[12245]: terminating on signal 15 May 30 18:31:04 postfix/master[12795]: daemon started -- version 2.11.0, configuration /etc/postfix May 30 18:31:55 postfix/postscreen[12803]: CONNECT from [127.0.0.1]:33668 to [127.0.0.1]:25 May 30 18:31:55 postfix/postscreen[12803]: WHITELISTED [127.0.0.1]:33668 May 30 18:31:55 postfix/smtpd[12804]: connect from localhost[127.0.0.1] May 30 18:31:55 postfix/smtpd[12804]: 1ED7120EB9: client=localhost[127.0.0.1] May 30 18:31:55 postfix/cleanup[12809]: 1ED7120EB9: message-id=<[email protected]> May 30 18:31:55 postfix/qmgr[12799]: 1ED7120EB9: from=<[email protected]>, size=546, nrcpt=1 (queue active) May 30 18:31:55 postfix/local[12810]: 1ED7120EB9: to=<mailuser2@mysitecom>, relay=local, delay=0.03, delays=0.02/0.01/0/0, dsn=2.0.0, status=sent (delivered to maildir) May 30 18:31:55 postfix/qmgr[12799]: 1ED7120EB9: removed May 30 18:31:55 postfix/smtpd[12804]: disconnect from localhost[127.0.0.1] May 30 18:31:55 dovecot: imap-login: Login: user=<mailuser1>, method=PLAIN, rip=127.0.0.1, lip=127.0.0.1, mpid=12814, TLS, session=<sD9plaD6PgB/AAAB> This is my postfix main.cf See /usr/share/postfix/main.cf.dist for a commented, more complete version # Debian specific: Specifying a file name will cause the first # line of that file to be used as the name. The Debian default # is /etc/mailname. #myorigin = /etc/mailname smtpd_banner = $myhostname ESMTP $mail_name (Ubuntu) biff = no # appending .domain is the MUA's job. append_dot_mydomain = no # Uncomment the next line to generate "delayed mail" warnings #delay_warning_time = 4h readme_directory = no # TLS parameters smtpd_tls_cert_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem smtpd_tls_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key smtpd_use_tls=yes smtpd_tls_session_cache_database = btree:${data_directory}/smtpd_scache smtp_tls_session_cache_database = btree:${data_directory}/smtp_scache # See /usr/share/doc/postfix/TLS_README.gz in the postfix-doc package for # information on enabling SSL in the smtp client. smtpd_relay_restrictions = permit_mynetworks permit_sasl_authenticated defer_unauth_destination myhostname = server mydomain = mysite.com alias_maps = hash:/etc/aliases alias_database = hash:/etc/aliases myorigin = $mydomain mydestination = mysite.com #relayhost = smtp.192.168.10.1.com mynetworks = 127.0.0.0/8 [::ffff:127.0.0.0]/104 [::1]/128 192.168.10.0/24 mailbox_size_limit = 0 recipient_delimiter = + inet_interfaces = all home_mailbox = Maildir / mailbox_command= All ports are listening tcp 0 0 *:imaps *:* LISTEN tcp 0 0 *:submission *:* LISTEN tcp 0 0 *:imap2 *:* LISTEN tcp 0 0 s148134.s148134.:domain *:* LISTEN tcp 0 0 192.168.56.101:domain *:* LISTEN tcp 0 0 10.0.2.15:domain *:* LISTEN tcp 0 0 localhost:domain *:* LISTEN tcp 0 0 *:ssh *:* LISTEN tcp 0 0 *:smtp *:* LISTEN tcp 0 0 localhost:953 *:* LISTEN tcp6 0 0 [::]:imaps [::]:* LISTEN tcp6 0 0 [::]:submission [::]:* LISTEN tcp6 0 0 [::]:imap2 [::]:* LISTEN tcp6 0 0 [::]:domain [::]:* LISTEN tcp6 0 0 [::]:ssh [::]:* LISTEN tcp6 0 0 [::]:smtp [::]:* LISTEN tcp6 0 0 localhost:953 [::]:* LISTEN

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• Embedding ADF UI Components into OAF regions

  - by Juan Camilo Ruiz

  Having finished the 2 Webcast on ADF integration with Oracle E-Business Suite, Sara Woodhull, Principal Product Manager on the Oracle E-Business Suite Applications Technology team and I are going to continue adding entries to the series on this topic, trying to cover as many use cases as possible. In this entry, Sara created an overview on how Oracle ADF pages can be embedded into an Oracle Application Framework region. This is a very interesting approach that will enable those of you who are exploring ADF as a technology stack to enhanced some of the Oracle E-Business Suite flows and leverage your skill on Oracle Applications Framework (OAF). In upcoming entries we will start unveiling the internals needed to achieve session sharing between the regions. Stay tuned for more entries and enjoy this new post.   Document Scope This document only covers information that is specific to embedding an Oracle ADF page in an Oracle Application Framework–based page. It assumes knowledge of Oracle ADF and Oracle Application Framework development. It also assumes knowledge of the material in My Oracle Support Note 974949.1, “Oracle E-Business Suite SDK for Java” and My Oracle Support Note 1296491.1, "FAQ for Integration of Oracle E-Business Suite and Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) Applications". Prerequisite Patch Download Patch 12726556:R12.FND.B from My Oracle Support and install it. The implementation described below requires Patch 12726556:R12.FND.B to provide the accessors for the ADF page. This patch is required in addition to the Oracle E-Business Suite SDK for Java patch described in My Oracle Support Note 974949.1. Development Environments You need two different JDeveloper environments: Oracle ADF and OA Framework. Oracle ADF Development Environment You build your Oracle ADF page using JDeveloper 11g. You should use JDeveloper 11g R1 (the latest is 11.1.1.6.0) if you need to use other products in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Stack, such as Oracle WebCenter, Oracle SOA Suite, or BI. You should use JDeveloper 11g R2 (the latest is 11.1.2.3.0) if you do not need other Oracle Fusion Middleware products. JDeveloper 11g R2 is an Oracle ADF-specific release that supports the latest Java EE standards and has various core improvements. Oracle Application Framework Development Environment Build your OA Framework page using a development environment corresponding to your Oracle E-Business Suite version. You must use Release 12.1.2 or later because the rich content container was introduced in Release 12.1.2. See “OA Framework - How to find the correct version of JDeveloper to use with eBusiness Suite 11i or Release 12.x” (My Oracle Support Doc ID 416708.1). Building your Oracle ADF Page Typically you build your ADF page using the session management feature of the Oracle E-Business Suite SDK for Java as described in My Oracle Support Note 974949.1. Also see My Oracle Support Note 1296491.1, "FAQ for Integration of Oracle E-Business Suite and Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) Applications". Building an ADF Page with the Hierarchy Viewer If you are using the ADF hierarchy viewer, you should set up the structure and settings of the ADF page as follows or the hierarchy viewer may not fill the entire area it is supposed to fill (especially a problem in Firefox). Create a stretchable component as the parent component for the hierarchy viewer, such as af:panelStretchLayout (underneath the af:form component in the structure). Use af:panelStretchLayout for Oracle ADF 11.1.1.6 and earlier. For later versions of Oracle ADF, use af:panelGridLayout. Create your hierarchy viewer component inside the stretchable component. Create Function in Oracle E-Business Suite Instance In your Oracle E-Business Suite instance, create a function for your ADF page with the following parameters. You can use either the Functions window in the System Administrator responsibility or the Functions page in the Functional Administrator responsibility. Function Function Name Type=External ADF Function (ADFX) HTML Call=GWY.jsp?targetPage=faces/<your ADF page> ">You must also add your function to an Oracle E-Business Suite menu or permission set and set up function security or role-based access control (RBAC) so that the user has authorization to access the function. If you do not want the function to appear on the navigation menu, add the function without a menu prompt. See the Oracle E-Business Suite System Administrator's Guide Documentation Set for more information. Testing the Function from the Oracle E-Business Suite Home Page It’s a good idea to test launching your ADF page from the Oracle E-Business Suite Home Page. Add your function to the navigation menu for your responsibility with a prompt and try launching it. If your ADF page expects parameters from the surrounding page, those might not be available, however. Setting up the Oracle Application Framework Rich Container Once you have built your Oracle ADF 11g page, you need to embed it in your Oracle Application Framework page. Create Rich Content Container in your OA Framework JDeveloper environment In the OA Extension Structure pane for your OAF page, select the region where you want to add the rich content, and add a richContainer item to the region. Set the following properties on the richContainer item: id Content Type=Others (for Release 12.1.3. This property value may change in a future release.) Destination Function=[function code] Width (in pixels or percent, such as 100%) Height (in pixels) Parameters=[any parameters your Oracle ADF page is expecting to receive from the Oracle Application Framework page] Parameters In the Parameters property, specify parameters that will be passed to the embedded content as a list of comma-separated, name-value pairs. Dynamic parameters may be specified as paramName={@viewAttr}. Dynamic Rich Content Container Properties If you want your rich content container to display a different Oracle ADF page depending on other information, you would set up a different function for each different Oracle ADF page. You would then set the Destination Function and Parameters properties programmatically, instead of setting them in the Property Inspector. In the processRequest() method of your Oracle Application Framework page controller, where OAFRichContentPage is the ID of your richContainer item and the parameters are whatever parameters your ADF page expects, your code might look similar to this code fragment: OARichContainerBean richBean = (OARichContainerBean) webBean.findChildRecursive("OAFRichContentPage"); if(richBean != null){ if(isFirstCondition){ richBean.setFunctionName("ADF_EXAMPLE_EMBEDDED"); richBean.setParameters("ParamLoginPersonId="+loginPersonId +"&ParamPersonId="+personId+"&ParamUserId="+userId +"&ParamRespId="+respId+"&ParamRespApplId="+respApplId +"&ParamFromOA=Y"+"&ParamSecurityGroupId="+securityGroupId); } else if(isSecondCondition){ richBean.setFunctionName("ADF_EXAMPLE_OTHER_FUNCTION"); richBean.setParameters("ParamLoginPersonId=" +loginPersonId+"&ParamPersonId="+personId +"&ParamUserId="+userId+"&ParamRespId="+respId +"&ParamRespApplId="+respApplId +"&ParamFromOA=Y" +"&ParamSecurityGroupId="+securityGroupId); } }

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• Installing Lubuntu 14.04.1 forcepae fails

  - by Rantanplan

  I tried to install Lubuntu 14.04.1 from a CD. First, I chose Try Lubuntu without installing which gave: ERROR: PAE is disabled on this Pentium M (PAE can potentially be enabled with kernel parameter "forcepae" ... Following the description on https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PAE, I used forcepae and tried Try Lubuntu without installing again. That worked fine. dmesg | grep -i pae showed: [ 0.000000] Kernel command line: file=/cdrom/preseed/lubuntu.seed boot=casper initrd=/casper/initrd.lz quiet splash -- forcepae [ 0.008118] PAE forced! On the live-CD session, I tried installing Lubuntu double clicking on the install button on the desktop. Here, the CD starts running but then stops running and nothing happens. Next, I rebooted and tried installing Lubuntu directly from the boot menu screen using forcepae again. After a while, I receive the following error message: The installer encountered an unrecoverable error. A desktop session will now be run so that you may investigate the problem or try installing again. Hitting Enter brings me to the desktop. For what errors should I search? And how? Finally, I rebooted once more and tried Check disc for defects with forcepae option; no errors have been found. Now, I am wondering how to find the error or whether it would be better to follow advice c in https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PAE: "Move the hard disk to a computer on which the processor has PAE capability and PAE flag (that is, almost everything else than a Banias). Install the system as usual but don't add restricted drivers. After the install move the disk back." Thanks for some hints! Perhaps some of the following can help: On Lubuntu 12.04: cat /proc/cpuinfo processor : 0 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 13 model name : Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1.50GHz stepping : 6 microcode : 0x17 cpu MHz : 600.000 cache size : 2048 KB fdiv_bug : no hlt_bug : no f00f_bug : no coma_bug : no fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 2 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr mce cx8 mtrr pge mca cmov clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss tm pbe up bts est tm2 bogomips : 1284.76 clflush size : 64 cache_alignment : 64 address sizes : 32 bits physical, 32 bits virtual power management: uname -a Linux humboldt 3.2.0-67-generic #101-Ubuntu SMP Tue Jul 15 17:45:51 UTC 2014 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux lsb_release -a No LSB modules are available. Distributor ID: Ubuntu Description: Ubuntu 12.04.5 LTS Release: 12.04 Codename: precise cpuid eax in eax ebx ecx edx 00000000 00000002 756e6547 6c65746e 49656e69 00000001 000006d6 00000816 00000180 afe9f9bf 00000002 02b3b001 000000f0 00000000 2c04307d 80000000 80000004 00000000 00000000 00000000 80000001 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 80000002 20202020 20202020 65746e49 2952286c 80000003 6e655020 6d756974 20295228 7270204d 80000004 7365636f 20726f73 30352e31 007a4847 Vendor ID: "GenuineIntel"; CPUID level 2 Intel-specific functions: Version 000006d6: Type 0 - Original OEM Family 6 - Pentium Pro Model 13 - Stepping 6 Reserved 0 Brand index: 22 [not in table] Extended brand string: " Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1.50GHz" CLFLUSH instruction cache line size: 8 Feature flags afe9f9bf: FPU Floating Point Unit VME Virtual 8086 Mode Enhancements DE Debugging Extensions PSE Page Size Extensions TSC Time Stamp Counter MSR Model Specific Registers MCE Machine Check Exception CX8 COMPXCHG8B Instruction SEP Fast System Call MTRR Memory Type Range Registers PGE PTE Global Flag MCA Machine Check Architecture CMOV Conditional Move and Compare Instructions FGPAT Page Attribute Table CLFSH CFLUSH instruction DS Debug store ACPI Thermal Monitor and Clock Ctrl MMX MMX instruction set FXSR Fast FP/MMX Streaming SIMD Extensions save/restore SSE Streaming SIMD Extensions instruction set SSE2 SSE2 extensions SS Self Snoop TM Thermal monitor 31 reserved TLB and cache info: b0: unknown TLB/cache descriptor b3: unknown TLB/cache descriptor 02: Instruction TLB: 4MB pages, 4-way set assoc, 2 entries f0: unknown TLB/cache descriptor 7d: unknown TLB/cache descriptor 30: unknown TLB/cache descriptor 04: Data TLB: 4MB pages, 4-way set assoc, 8 entries 2c: unknown TLB/cache descriptor On Lubuntu 14.04.1 live-CD with forcepae: cat /proc/cpuinfo processor : 0 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 13 model name : Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1.50GHz stepping : 6 microcode : 0x17 cpu MHz : 600.000 cache size : 2048 KB physical id : 0 siblings : 1 core id : 0 cpu cores : 1 apicid : 0 initial apicid : 0 fdiv_bug : no f00f_bug : no coma_bug : no fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 2 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 sep mtrr pge mca cmov clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss tm pbe bts est tm2 bogomips : 1284.68 clflush size : 64 cache_alignment : 64 address sizes : 36 bits physical, 32 bits virtual power management: uname -a Linux lubuntu 3.13.0-32-generic #57-Ubuntu SMP Tue Jul 15 03:51:12 UTC 2014 i686 i686 i686 GNU/Linux lsb_release -a No LSB modules are available. Distributor ID: Ubuntu Description: Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS Release: 14.04 Codename: trusty cpuid CPU 0: vendor_id = "GenuineIntel" version information (1/eax): processor type = primary processor (0) family = Intel Pentium Pro/II/III/Celeron/Core/Core 2/Atom, AMD Athlon/Duron, Cyrix M2, VIA C3 (6) model = 0xd (13) stepping id = 0x6 (6) extended family = 0x0 (0) extended model = 0x0 (0) (simple synth) = Intel Pentium M (Dothan B1) / Celeron M (Dothan B1), 90nm miscellaneous (1/ebx): process local APIC physical ID = 0x0 (0) cpu count = 0x0 (0) CLFLUSH line size = 0x8 (8) brand index = 0x16 (22) brand id = 0x16 (22): Intel Pentium M, .13um feature information (1/edx): x87 FPU on chip = true virtual-8086 mode enhancement = true debugging extensions = true page size extensions = true time stamp counter = true RDMSR and WRMSR support = true physical address extensions = false machine check exception = true CMPXCHG8B inst. = true APIC on chip = false SYSENTER and SYSEXIT = true memory type range registers = true PTE global bit = true machine check architecture = true conditional move/compare instruction = true page attribute table = true page size extension = false processor serial number = false CLFLUSH instruction = true debug store = true thermal monitor and clock ctrl = true MMX Technology = true FXSAVE/FXRSTOR = true SSE extensions = true SSE2 extensions = true self snoop = true hyper-threading / multi-core supported = false therm. monitor = true IA64 = false pending break event = true feature information (1/ecx): PNI/SSE3: Prescott New Instructions = false PCLMULDQ instruction = false 64-bit debug store = false MONITOR/MWAIT = false CPL-qualified debug store = false VMX: virtual machine extensions = false SMX: safer mode extensions = false Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology = true thermal monitor 2 = true SSSE3 extensions = false context ID: adaptive or shared L1 data = false FMA instruction = false CMPXCHG16B instruction = false xTPR disable = false perfmon and debug = false process context identifiers = false direct cache access = false SSE4.1 extensions = false SSE4.2 extensions = false extended xAPIC support = false MOVBE instruction = false POPCNT instruction = false time stamp counter deadline = false AES instruction = false XSAVE/XSTOR states = false OS-enabled XSAVE/XSTOR = false AVX: advanced vector extensions = false F16C half-precision convert instruction = false RDRAND instruction = false hypervisor guest status = false cache and TLB information (2): 0xb0: instruction TLB: 4K, 4-way, 128 entries 0xb3: data TLB: 4K, 4-way, 128 entries 0x02: instruction TLB: 4M pages, 4-way, 2 entries 0xf0: 64 byte prefetching 0x7d: L2 cache: 2M, 8-way, sectored, 64 byte lines 0x30: L1 cache: 32K, 8-way, 64 byte lines 0x04: data TLB: 4M pages, 4-way, 8 entries 0x2c: L1 data cache: 32K, 8-way, 64 byte lines extended feature flags (0x80000001/edx): SYSCALL and SYSRET instructions = false execution disable = false 1-GB large page support = false RDTSCP = false 64-bit extensions technology available = false Intel feature flags (0x80000001/ecx): LAHF/SAHF supported in 64-bit mode = false LZCNT advanced bit manipulation = false 3DNow! PREFETCH/PREFETCHW instructions = false brand = " Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1.50GHz" (multi-processing synth): none (multi-processing method): Intel leaf 1 (synth) = Intel Pentium M (Dothan B1), 90nm

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• Unity completely broken after upgrade to 12.10?

  - by NlightNFotis

  I am facing a very frustrating issue with my computer right now. I successfully upgraded to Ubuntu 12.10 this afternoon, but after the upgrade, the graphical user interface seems completely broken. To be more specific, I can not get the Unity bar to appear on the right. I have tried many things, including (but not limited to) purging and then reinstalling the fglrx drivers, apt-get install --reinstall ubuntu-desktop, apt-get install --reinstall unity, tried to remove the Xorg and Compiz configurations, checked to see if the Ubuntu Unity wall was enabled (it was) in ccsm, all to no avail. Could someone help me troubleshoot and essentially fix this issue? NOTE: This is the output when I try to enable unity via a terminal: compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: core compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: core unity-panel-service: no process found compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: reset compiz (core) - Error: Failed to load plugin: reset compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: ccp compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: ccp compizconfig - Info: Backend : gsettings compizconfig - Info: Integration : true compizconfig - Info: Profile : unity compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: composite compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: composite compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: opengl X Error of failed request: BadRequest (invalid request code or no such operation) Major opcode of failed request: 153 (GLX) Minor opcode of failed request: 19 (X_GLXQueryServerString) Serial number of failed request: 22 Current serial number in output stream: 22 compiz (core) - Info: Unity is not supported by your hardware. Enabling software rendering instead (slow). compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: opengl Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 compiz (core) - Error: Plugin initScreen failed: opengl compiz (core) - Error: Failed to start plugin: opengl compiz (core) - Info: Unloading plugin: opengl compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: decor compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: decor compiz (decor) - Warn: requested a pixmap type decoration when compositing isn't available compiz (decor) - Warn: requested a pixmap type decoration when compositing isn't available compiz (decor) - Warn: requested a pixmap type decoration when compositing isn't available compiz (decor) - Warn: requested a pixmap type decoration when compositing isn't available compiz (decor) - Warn: requested a pixmap type decoration when compositing isn't available compiz (decor) - Warn: requested a pixmap type decoration when compositing isn't available compiz (decor) - Warn: requested a pixmap type decoration when compositing isn't available compiz (decor) - Warn: requested a pixmap type decoration when compositing isn't available compiz (decor) - Warn: requested a pixmap type decoration when compositing isn't available compiz (decor) - Warn: requested a pixmap type decoration when compositing isn't available compiz (decor) - Warn: requested a pixmap type decoration when compositing isn't available Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: imgpng compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: imgpng compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: vpswitch compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: vpswitch compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: resize compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: resize Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: compiztoolbox compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: compiztoolbox compiz (core) - Error: Plugin 'opengl' not loaded. compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: move compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: move compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: gnomecompat compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: gnomecompat compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: mousepoll compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: mousepoll compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: wall compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: wall compiz (core) - Error: Plugin 'opengl' not loaded. compiz (core) - Error: Plugin init failed: wall compiz (core) - Error: Failed to start plugin: wall compiz (core) - Info: Unloading plugin: wall compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: regex compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: regex compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: snap compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: snap compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: unitymtgrabhandles compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: unitymtgrabhandles compiz (core) - Error: Plugin 'opengl' not loaded. compiz (core) - Error: Plugin init failed: unitymtgrabhandles compiz (core) - Error: Failed to start plugin: unitymtgrabhandles compiz (core) - Info: Unloading plugin: unitymtgrabhandles compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: place compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: place compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: grid compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: grid Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: animation compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: animation compiz (core) - Error: Plugin 'opengl' not loaded. compiz (core) - Error: Plugin init failed: animation compiz (core) - Error: Failed to start plugin: animation compiz (core) - Info: Unloading plugin: animation compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: fade compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: fade compiz (core) - Error: Plugin 'opengl' not loaded. compiz (core) - Error: Plugin init failed: fade compiz (core) - Error: Failed to start plugin: fade compiz (core) - Info: Unloading plugin: fade compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: session compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: session compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: expo compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: expo compiz (core) - Error: Plugin 'opengl' not loaded. compiz (core) - Error: Plugin init failed: expo compiz (core) - Error: Failed to start plugin: expo compiz (core) - Info: Unloading plugin: expo compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: ezoom compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: ezoom compiz (core) - Error: Plugin 'opengl' not loaded. compiz (core) - Error: Plugin init failed: ezoom compiz (core) - Error: Failed to start plugin: ezoom compiz (core) - Info: Unloading plugin: ezoom compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: workarounds compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: workarounds compiz (core) - Error: Plugin 'opengl' not loaded. Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 compiz (core) - Info: Loading plugin: scale compiz (core) - Info: Starting plugin: scale compiz (core) - Error: Plugin 'opengl' not loaded. compiz (core) - Error: Plugin init failed: scale compiz (core) - Error: Failed to start plugin: scale compiz (core) - Info: Unloading plugin: scale Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Compiz (opengl) - Fatal: glXQueryExtensionsString is NULL for screen 0 Segmentation fault (core dumped)

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• Create a Bootable Ubuntu 9.10 USB Flash Drive

  - by Trevor Bekolay

  The Ubuntu Live CD isn’t just useful for trying out Ubuntu before you install it, you can also use it to maintain and repair your Windows PC. Even if you have no intention of installing Linux, every Windows user should have a bootable Ubuntu USB drive on hand in case something goes wrong in Windows. Creating a bootable USB flash drive is surprisingly easy with a small self-contained application called UNetbootin. It will even download Ubuntu for you! Note: Ubuntu will take up approximately 700 MB on your flash drive, so choose a flash drive with at least 1 GB of free space, formatted as FAT32. This process should not remove any existing files on the flash drive, but to be safe you should backup the files on your flash drive. Put Ubuntu on your flash drive UNetbootin doesn’t require installation; just download the application and run it. Select Ubuntu from the Distribution drop-down box, then 9.10_Live from the Version drop-down box. If you have a 64-bit machine, then select 9.10_Live_x64 for the Version. At the bottom of the screen, select the drive letter that corresponds to the USB drive that you want to put Ubuntu on. If you select USB Drive in the Type drop-down box, the only drive letters available will be USB flash drives. Click OK and UNetbootin will start doing its thing. First it will download the Ubuntu Live CD. Then, it will copy the files from the Ubuntu Live CD to your flash drive. The amount of time it takes will vary depending on your Internet speed, an when it’s done, click on Exit. You’re not planning on installing Ubuntu right now, so there’s no need to reboot. If you look at the USB drive now, you should see a bunch of new files and folders. If you had files on the drive before, they should still be present. You’re now ready to boot your computer into Ubuntu 9.10! How to boot into Ubuntu When the time comes that you have to boot into Ubuntu, or if you just want to test and make sure that your flash drive works properly, you will have to set your computer to boot off of the flash drive. The steps to do this will vary depending on your BIOS – which varies depending on your motherboard. To get detailed instructions on changing how your computer boots, search for your motherboard’s manual (or your laptop’s manual for a laptop). For general instructions, which will suffice for 99% of you, read on. Find the important keyboard keys When your computer boots up, a bunch of words and numbers flash across the screen, usually to be ignored. This time, you need to scan the boot-up screen for a few key words with some associated keys: Boot menu and Setup. Typically, these will show up at the bottom of the screen. If your BIOS has a Boot Menu, then read on. Otherwise, skip to the Hard: Using Setup section. Easy: Using the Boot Menu If your BIOS offers a Boot Menu, then during the boot-up process, press the button associated with the Boot Menu. In our case, this is ESC. Our example Boot Menu doesn’t have the ability to boot from USB, but your Boot Menu should have some options, such as USB-CDROM, USB-HDD, USB-FLOPPY, and others. Try the options that start with USB until you find one that works. Don’t worry if it doesn’t work – you can just restart and try again. Using the Boot Menu does not change the normal boot order on your system, so the next time you start up your computer it will boot from the hard drive as normal. Hard: Using Setup If your BIOS doesn’t offer a Boot Menu, then you will have to change the boot order in Setup. Note: There are some options in BIOS Setup that can affect the stability of your machine. Take care to only change the boot order options. Press the button associated with Setup. In our case, this is F2. If your BIOS Setup has a Boot tab, then switch to it and change the order such that one of the USB options occurs first. There may be several USB options, such as USB-CDROM, USB-HDD, USB-FLOPPY, and others; try them out to see which one works for you. If your BIOS does not have a boot tab, boot order is commonly found in Advanced CMOS Options. Note that this changes the boot order permanently until you change it back. If you plan on only plugging in a bootable flash drive when you want to boot from it, then you could leave the boot order as it is, but you may find it easier to switch the order back to the previous order when you reboot from Ubuntu. Booting into Ubuntu If you set the right boot option, then you should be greeted with the UNetbootin screen. Press enter to start Ubuntu with the default options, or wait 10 seconds for this to happen automatically. Ubuntu will start loading. It should go straight to the desktop with no need for a username or password. And that’s it! From this live desktop session, you can try out Ubuntu, and even install software that is not included in the live CD. Installed software will only last for the duration of your session – the next time you start up the live CD it will be back to its original state. Download UNetbootin from sourceforge.net Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Create a Bootable Ubuntu USB Flash Drive the Easy WayReset Your Ubuntu Password Easily from the Live CDHow-To Geek on Lifehacker: Control Your Computer with Shortcuts & Speed Up Vista SetupHow To Setup a USB Flash Drive to Install Windows 7Speed up Your Windows Vista Computer with ReadyBoost TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional New Stinger from McAfee Helps Remove ‘FakeAlert’ Threats Google Apps Marketplace: Tools & Services For Google Apps Users Get News Quick and Precise With Newser Scan for Viruses in Ubuntu using ClamAV Replace Your Windows Task Manager With System Explorer Create Talking Photos using Fotobabble

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• Behind ASP.NET MVC Mock Objects

  - by imran_ku07

     Introduction:           I think this sentence now become very familiar to ASP.NET MVC developers that "ASP.NET MVC is designed with testability in mind". But what ASP.NET MVC team did for making applications build with ASP.NET MVC become easily testable? Understanding this is also very important because it gives you some help when designing custom classes. So in this article i will discuss some abstract classes provided by ASP.NET MVC team for the various ASP.NET intrinsic objects, including HttpContext, HttpRequest, and HttpResponse for making these objects as testable. I will also discuss that why it is hard and difficult to test ASP.NET Web Forms.      Description:           Starting from Classic ASP to ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Intrinsic objects is extensively used in all form of web application. They provide information about Request, Response, Server, Application and so on. But ASP.NET MVC uses these intrinsic objects in some abstract manner. The reason for this abstraction is to make your application testable. So let see the abstraction.           As we know that ASP.NET MVC uses the same runtime engine as ASP.NET Web Form uses, therefore the first receiver of the request after IIS and aspnet_filter.dll is aspnet_isapi.dll. This will start the application domain. With the application domain up and running, ASP.NET does some initialization and after some initialization it will call Application_Start if it is defined. Then the normal HTTP pipeline event handlers will be executed including both HTTP Modules and global.asax event handlers. One of the HTTP Module is registered by ASP.NET MVC is UrlRoutingModule. The purpose of this module is to match a route defined in global.asax. Every matched route must have IRouteHandler. In default case this is MvcRouteHandler which is responsible for determining the HTTP Handler which returns MvcHandler (which is derived from IHttpHandler). In simple words, Route has MvcRouteHandler which returns MvcHandler which is the IHttpHandler of current request. In between HTTP pipeline events the handler of ASP.NET MVC, MvcHandler.ProcessRequest will be executed and shown as given below,          void IHttpHandler.ProcessRequest(HttpContext context)          {                    this.ProcessRequest(context);          }          protected virtual void ProcessRequest(HttpContext context)          {                    // HttpContextWrapper inherits from HttpContextBase                    HttpContextBase ctxBase = new HttpContextWrapper(context);                    this.ProcessRequest(ctxBase);          }          protected internal virtual void ProcessRequest(HttpContextBase ctxBase)          {                    . . .          }             HttpContextBase is the base class. HttpContextWrapper inherits from HttpContextBase, which is the parent class that include information about a single HTTP request. This is what ASP.NET MVC team did, just wrap old instrinsic HttpContext into HttpContextWrapper object and provide opportunity for other framework to provide their own implementation of HttpContextBase. For example           public class MockHttpContext : HttpContextBase          {                    . . .          }                     As you can see, it is very easy to create your own HttpContext. That's what did the third party mock frameworks like TypeMock, Moq, RhinoMocks, or NMock2 to provide their own implementation of ASP.NET instrinsic objects classes.           The key point to note here is the types of ASP.NET instrinsic objects. In ASP.NET Web Form and ASP.NET MVC. For example in ASP.NET Web Form the type of Request object is HttpRequest (which is sealed) and in ASP.NET MVC the type of Request object is HttpRequestBase. This is one of the reason that makes test in ASP.NET WebForm is difficult. because their is no base class and the HttpRequest class is sealed, therefore it cannot act as a base class to others. On the other side ASP.NET MVC always uses a base class to give a chance to third parties and unit test frameworks to create thier own implementation ASP.NET instrinsic object.           Therefore we can say that in ASP.NET MVC, instrinsic objects are of type base classes (for example HttpContextBase) .Actually these base classes had it's own implementation of same interface as the intrinsic objects it abstracts. It includes only virtual members which simply throws an exception. ASP.NET MVC also provides the corresponding wrapper classes (for example, HttpRequestWrapper) which provides a concrete implementation of the base classes in the form of ASP.NET intrinsic object. Other wrapper classes may be defined by third parties in the form of a mock object for testing purpose.           So we can say that a Request object in ASP.NET MVC may be HttpRequestWrapper or may be MockRequestWrapper(assuming that MockRequestWrapper class is used for testing purpose). Here is list of ASP.NET instrinsic and their implementation in ASP.NET MVC in the form of base and wrapper classes. Base Class Wrapper Class ASP.NET Intrinsic Object Description HttpApplicationStateBase HttpApplicationStateWrapper Application HttpApplicationStateBase abstracts the intrinsic Application object HttpBrowserCapabilitiesBase HttpBrowserCapabilitiesWrapper HttpBrowserCapabilities HttpBrowserCapabilitiesBase abstracts the HttpBrowserCapabilities class HttpCachePolicyBase HttpCachePolicyWrapper HttpCachePolicy HttpCachePolicyBase abstracts the HttpCachePolicy class HttpContextBase HttpContextWrapper HttpContext HttpContextBase abstracts the intrinsic HttpContext object HttpFileCollectionBase HttpFileCollectionWrapper HttpFileCollection HttpFileCollectionBase abstracts the HttpFileCollection class HttpPostedFileBase HttpPostedFileWrapper HttpPostedFile HttpPostedFileBase abstracts the HttpPostedFile class HttpRequestBase HttpRequestWrapper Request HttpRequestBase abstracts the intrinsic Request object HttpResponseBase HttpResponseWrapper Response HttpResponseBase abstracts the intrinsic Response object HttpServerUtilityBase HttpServerUtilityWrapper Server HttpServerUtilityBase abstracts the intrinsic Server object HttpSessionStateBase HttpSessionStateWrapper Session HttpSessionStateBase abstracts the intrinsic Session object HttpStaticObjectsCollectionBase HttpStaticObjectsCollectionWrapper HttpStaticObjectsCollection HttpStaticObjectsCollectionBase abstracts the HttpStaticObjectsCollection class      Summary:           ASP.NET MVC provides a set of abstract classes for ASP.NET instrinsic objects in the form of base classes, allowing someone to create their own implementation. In addition, ASP.NET MVC also provide set of concrete classes in the form of wrapper classes. This design really makes application easier to test and even application may replace concrete implementation with thier own implementation, which makes ASP.NET MVC very flexable.

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• I&rsquo;m sorry RPGs, it&rsquo;s not you, it&rsquo;s me: The birth of my game idea

  - by George Clingerman

  One of the things I’ve had to give up in order to have some development time at night is gaming. It’s something I refused to admit for years but I’ve just had to face the facts. I’m no longer a gamer. I just don’t have hours and hours of free time to pour into gaming and when I do have hours and hours of free time I want to pour them into game development. That doesn’t mean I don’t game at all! I play games pretty much every day. It just means I’ve moved more into the casual game realm. It’s all I have time for when juggling priorities in my life. That means that games like Gears of War 2 sit shrink wrapped on my shelf and although I popped Dragon Age into my Xbox 360 one time, I barely made it through the opening sequence and haven’t had time to sit down and play again. Instead I’m playing short games like Jamestown, Atom Zombie Smasher, Fortix or if I have time to jump in and play a few rounds maybe some Monday Night Combat or Team Fortress 2. These are games I can instantly get into and play for just a short period of time and then walk away. Breath of Death VII saved my life: Back in the day (way, way back in the day) I used to be a pretty big RPG fan. Not big by a lot of RPG gamers' standards (most of the RPGs RPG fans about I’ve never heard of) but I used to LOVE to play them on the NES, SNES and Genesis and considered that my genre. Final Fantasy, Shining in the Darkness, Bard’s Tale, Faxanadu, Shadowrun, Ultima, Dragon Warrior, Chrono Trigger, Phantasy Star, Shining Force and well the list could go on but those are the ones I remember off the top of my head. I loved playing RPGs and they were my games of choice. After my first son was born (this was just about 12 years ago), I tried to continue playing RPGs and purchased games like Baldur’s Gate I & II, Neverwinter Nights, Fable, then a few of the Final Fantasy’s then Kingdom Hearts. I kept buying these games and then only playing for about fifteen minutes and never getting back to them. I still loved RPGs but they just no longer fit into my life (I still haven’t accepted that since I still purchased Dragon Age II for some reason and convinced myself I’d find the time). Adding three more sons to the mix (that’s 4 total) didn’t help much to finding more RPG time (except for Breath of Death VII and other XBLIG RPG titles, thanks guys!) All work and no RPG: A few months ago as I was sitting thinking about the lack of RPGs in my life and talking to my wife about why I wish RPGs were different and easier for a dad like me to get into. She seemed like she was listening, so I started listing all the things that made them impossible for me to play. Here’s a short list I came up with. They take 15 billion hours to complete I have a few minutes at a time I can grab to play them if I want to have time to code. At that rate it would take me 9 trillion years to beat just one RPG. There’s such long spans of times between when I can play them I forget what I was even doing so I have to spend most of the playtime I have just figuring that out and then my play time is over. Repeat. I’ll never finish one and since it takes so long to get to the fun part in an RPG, I’m never having fun. RPGs aren’t fun if you don’t have hours to play them at a time. As you can see based on my science and math, RPGs aren’t fun for me any more. From there my brain started toying around with ideas of RPGs that would work for me. They would have to be a short RPG, you know one you could beat in a single play session. A dad sized play session. I started thinking, wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a fifteen minute RPG? That got me laughing and I took that as a good sign that it sounded fun and so I thought about it a little more. I immediately discarded the idea of doing a real RPG. I’m sure a short RPG like that could be done but it wasn’t the vibe that I had in my head. No this was going to be something that just had the core essence of an RPG. In reality what I’d be making would be more of an arcade style game. One with high scores and lots of crazy action on the screen. And that’s when it hit me. It would be a speed run RPG. That’s the basics of the game I’m working on.   The Elevator Pitch: It’s a 2D top down RPG themed arcade game focused on speed. It sounds like an RPG, smells like an RPG but it’s merely emulating an RPG. The game is focused on fun and mayhem in RPG form with players leveling up in seconds instead of hours and rushing to finish quests as quickly as possible because they’ve only got fifteen minutes before EVIL overtakes the world. If the player takes longer than fifteen minutes, it’s game over man. One to four player co-operative play to really see just how fast players can level up and beat the game. Gamers will compete on leaderboards for bragging rights for fastest 1, 2, 3, and 4 player speed runs, lowest leveled characters to beat the game, highest leveled characters to beat the game and so on. Times will be tracked for everything from how long a player sat distributing stats, equipping items, talking to NPCs to running around the level. These stats will be shown at the end of each quest/level so the players can work on improving their speed run for that part of the game next time around. It’s the perfect RPG for those of us who only have fifteen minutes of game time! Where I’m at: I’m still at the prototyping stage attempting to but all the basic framework pieces in place that will at minimum give me one level to rush through. I’ve been working on this prototype for about a month now though so I’m going to have to step it up a bit or I’m not going to get finished in time (remember I’ve only got 85 days left!) Lots of the game code is in place (although pretty sloppy) but I still can’t play through that first quest/level just yet. That’s my goal to finish up by the end of next Sunday (3/25/2012). You can all hold me to that and cheer me on or heckle me throughout the week. Either way that should help me stay a bit more motivated and focused. In my head this feels like it’s going to be a fun game so I’m looking forward to seeing how it actually plays!

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• Another Marketing Conference, part two – the afternoon

  - by Roger Hart

  In my previous post, I’ve covered the morning sessions at AMC2012. Here’s the rest of the write-up. I’ve skipped Charles Nixon’s session which was a blend of funky futurism and professional development advice, but you can see his slides here. I’ve also skipped the Google presentation, as it was a little thin on insight. 6 – Brand ambassadors: Getting universal buy in across the organisation, Vanessa Northam Slides are here This was the strongest enforcement of the idea that brand and campaign values need to be delivered throughout the organization if they’re going to work. Vanessa runs internal communications at e-on, and shared her experience of using internal comms to align an organization and thereby get the most out of a campaign. She views the purpose of internal comms as: “…to help leaders, to communicate the purpose and future of an organization, and support change.” This (and culture) primes front line staff, which creates customer experience and spreads brand. You ensure a whole organization knows what’s going on with both internal and external comms. If everybody is aligned and informed, if everybody can clearly articulate your brand and campaign goals, then you can turn everybody into an advocate. Alignment is a powerful tool for delivering a consistent experience and message. The pathological counter example is the one in which a marketing message goes out, which creates inbound customer contacts that front line contact staff haven’t been briefed to handle. The NatWest campaign was again mentioned in this context. The good example was e-on’s cheaper tariff campaign. Building a groundswell of internal excitement, and even running an internal launch meant everyone could contribute to a good customer experience. They found that meter readers were excited – not a group they’d considered as obvious in providing customer experience. But they were a group that has a lot of face-to-face contact with customers, and often were asked questions they may not have been briefed to answer. Being able to communicate a simple new message made it easier for them, and also let them become a sales and marketing asset to the organization. 7 – Goodbye Internet, Hello Outernet: the rise and rise of augmented reality, Matt Mills I wasn’t going to write this up, because it was essentially a sales demo for Aurasma. But the technology does merit some discussion. Basically, it replaces QR codes with visual recognition, and provides a simple-looking back end for attaching content. It’s quite sexy. But here’s my beef with it: QR codes had a clear visual language – when you saw one you knew what it was and what to do with it. They were clunky, but they had the “getting started” problem solved out of the box once you knew what you were looking at. However, they fail because QR code reading isn’t native to the platform. You needed an app, which meant you needed to know to download one. Consequentially, you can’t use QR codes with and ubiquity, or depend on them. This means marketers, content providers, etc, never pushed them, and they remained and awkward oddity, a minority sport. Aurasma half solves problem two, and re-introduces problem one, making it potentially half as useful as a QR code. It’s free, and you can apparently build it into your own apps. Add to that the likelihood of it becoming native to the platform if it takes off, and it may have legs. I guess we’ll see. 8 – We all need to code, Helen Mayor Great title – good point. If there was anybody in the room who didn’t at least know basic HTML, and if Helen’s presentation inspired them to learn, that’s fantastic. However, this was a half hour sales pitch for a basic coding training course. Beyond advocating coding skills it contained no useful content. Marketers may also like to consider some of these resources if they’re looking to learn code: Code Academy – free interactive tutorials Treehouse – learn web design, web dev, or app dev WebPlatform.org – tutorials and documentation for web tech  11 – Understanding our inner creativity, Margaret Boden This session was the most theoretical and probably least actionable of the day. It also held my attention utterly. Margaret spoke fluently, fascinatingly, without slides, on the subject of types of creativity and how they work. It was splendid. Yes, it raised a wry smile whenever she spoke of “the content of advertisements” and gave an example from 1970s TV ads, but even without the attempt to meet the conference’s theme this would have been thoroughly engaging. There are, Margaret suggested, three types of creativity: Combinatorial creativity The most common form, and consisting of synthesising ideas from existing and familiar concepts and tropes. Exploratory creativity Less common, this involves exploring the limits and quirks of a particular constraint or style. Transformational creativity This is uncommon, and arises from finding a way to do something that the existing rules would hold to be impossible. In essence, this involves breaking one of the constraints that exploratory creativity is composed from. Combinatorial creativity, she suggested, is particularly important for attaching favourable ideas to existing things. As such is it probably worth developing for marketing. Exploratory creativity may then come into play in something like developing and optimising an idea or campaign that now has momentum. Transformational creativity exists at the edges of this exploration. She suggested that products may often be transformational, but that marketing seemed unlikely to in her experience. This made me wonder about Listerine. Crucially, transformational creativity is characterised by there being some element of continuity with the strictures of previous thinking. Once it has happened, there may be  move from a revolutionary instance into an explored style. Again, from a marketing perspective, this seems to chime well with the thinking in Youngme Moon’s book: Different Talking about the birth of Modernism is visual art, Margaret pointed out that transformational creativity has historically risked a backlash, demanding what is essentially an education of the market. This is best accomplished by referring back to the continuities with the past in order to make the new familiar. Thoughts The afternoon is harder to sum up than the morning. It felt less concrete, and was troubled by a short run of poor presentations in the middle. Mainly, I found myself wrestling with the internal comms issue. It’s one of those things that seems astonishingly obvious in hindsight, but any campaign – particularly any large one – is doomed if the people involved can’t believe in it. We’ve run things here that haven’t gone so well, of course we have; who hasn’t? I’m not going to air any laundry, but people not being informed (much less aligned) feels like a common factor. It’s tough though. Managing and anticipating information needs across an organization of any size can’t be easy. Even the simple things like ensuring sales and support departments know what’s in a product release, and what messages go with it are easy to botch. The thing I like about framing this as a brand and campaign advocacy problem is that it makes it likely to get addressed. Better is always sexier than less-worse. Any technical communicator who’s ever felt crowded out by a content strategist or marketing copywriter  knows this – increasing revenue gets a seat at the table far more readily than reducing support costs, even if the financial impact is identical. So that’s it from AMC. The big thought-provokers were social buying behaviour and eliciting behaviour change, and the value of internal communications in ensuring successful campaigns and continuity of customer experience. I’ll be chewing over that for a while, and I’d definitely return next year.      

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• Cloud Based Load Testing Using TF Service &amp; VS 2013

  - by Tarun Arora [Microsoft MVP]

  Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/TarunArora/archive/2013/06/30/cloud-based-load-testing-using-tf-service-amp-vs-2013.aspx One of the new features announced as part of the Visual Studio 2013 Ultimate Preview is ‘Cloud Based Load Testing’. In this blog post I’ll walk you through, What is Cloud Based Load Testing? How have I been using this feature? – Success story! Where can you find more resources on this feature? What is Cloud Based Load Testing? It goes without saying that performance testing your application not only gives you the confidence that the application will work under heavy levels of stress but also gives you the ability to test how scalable the architecture of your application is. It is important to know how much is too much for your application! Working with various clients in the industry I have realized that the biggest barriers in Load Testing & Performance Testing adoption are, High infrastructure and administration cost that comes with this phase of testing Time taken to procure & set up the test infrastructure Finding use for this infrastructure investment after completion of testing Is cloud the answer? 100% Visual Studio Compatible Scalable and Realistic Start testing in < 2 minutes Intuitive Pay only for what you need Use existing on premise tests on cloud There are a lot of vendors out there offering Cloud Based Load Testing, to name a few, Load Storm Soasta Blaze Meter Blitz And others… The question you may want to ask is, why should you go with Microsoft’s Cloud based Load Test offering. If you are a Microsoft shop or already have investments in Microsoft technologies, you’ll see great benefit in the natural integration this offers with existing Microsoft products such as Visual Studio and Windows Azure. For example, your existing Web tests authored in Visual Studio 2010 or Visual Studio 2012 will run on the cloud without requiring any modifications what so ever. Microsoft’s cloud test rig also supports API based testing, for example, if you are building a WPF application which consumes WCF services, you can write unit tests to invoke the WCF service, these tests can be run on the cloud test rig and loaded with ‘N’ concurrent users for performance testing. If you have your assets already hosted in the Azure and possibly in the same data centre as the Cloud test rig, your Azure app will not incur a usage cost because of the generated traffic since the traffic is coming from the same data centre. The licensing or pricing information on Microsoft’s cloud based Load test service is yet to be announced, but I would expect this to be priced attractively to match the market competition.   The only additional configuration required for running load tests on Microsoft Cloud based Load Tests service is to select the Test run location as Run tests using Visual Studio Team Foundation Service, How have I been using Microsoft’s Cloud based Load Test Service? I have been part of the Microsoft Cloud Based Load Test Service advisory council for the last 7 months. This gave the opportunity to see the product shape up from concept to working solution. I was also the first person outside of Microsoft to try this offering out. This gave me the opportunity to test real world application at various clients using the Microsoft Load Test Service and provide real world feedback to the Microsoft product team. One of the most recent systems I tested using the Load Test Service has been an insurance quote generation engine. This insurance quote generation engine is,   hosted in Windows Azure expected to get quote requests from across the globe expected to handle 5 Million quote requests in a day (not clear how this load will be distributed across the day) There was no way, I could simulate such kind of load from on premise without standing up additional hardware. But Microsoft’s Cloud based Load Test service allowed me to test my key performance testing scenarios, i.e. Simulate expected Load, Endurance Testing, Threshold Testing and Testing for Latency. Simulating expected load: approach to devising a load pattern My approach to devising a load test pattern has been to run the test scenario with 1 user to figure out the response time. Then work out how many users are required to reach the target load. So, for example, to invoke 1 quote from the quote engine software takes 0.5 seconds. Now if you do the math,   1 quote request by 1 user = 0.5 seconds   quotes generated by 1 user in 24 hour = 1 * (((2 * 60) * 60) * 24) = 172,800   quotes generated by 30 users in 24 hours = 172,800 * 30 =  5,184,000 This was a very simple example, if your application requires more concurrent users to test scenario’s such as caching, etc then you can devise your own load pattern, some examples of load test patterns can be found here.  Endurance Testing To test for endurance, I loaded the quote generation engine with an expected fixed user load and ran the test for very long duration such as over 48 hours and observed the affect of the long running test on the Azure infrastructure. Currently Microsoft Load Test service does not support metrics from the machine under test. I used Azure diagnostics to begin with, but later started using Cerebrata Azure Diagnostics Manager to capture the metrics of the machine under test. Threshold Testing To figure out how much user load the application could cope with before falling on its belly, I opted to step load the quote generation engine by incrementing user load with different variations of incremental user load per minute till the application crashed out and forced an IIS reset. Testing for Latency Currently the Microsoft Load Test service does not support generating geographically distributed load, I however, deployed the insurance quote generation engine in different Azure data centres and ran the same set of performance tests to measure for latency. Because I could compare load test results from different runs by exporting the results to excel (this feature is provided out of the box right from Visual Studio 2010) I could see the different in response times. More resources on Microsoft Cloud based Load Test Service A few important links to get you started, Download Visual Studio Ultimate 2013 Preview Getting started guide for load testing using Team Foundation Service Troubleshooting guide for FAQs and known issues Team Foundation Service forum for questions and support Detailed demo and presentation (link to Tech-Ed session recording) Detailed demo and presentation (link to Build session recording) There a few limits on the usage of Microsoft Cloud based Load Test service that you can read about here. If you have any feedback on Microsoft Cloud based Load Test service, feel free to share it with the product team via the Visual Studio User Voice forum. I hope you found this useful. Thank you for taking the time out and reading this blog post. If you enjoyed the post, remember to subscribe to http://feeds.feedburner.com/TarunArora. Stay tuned!

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• My nVidia GeForce 8600M GT card stopped working: "extension GLX missing on display 0:0"

  - by Wolter Hellmund

  So I turned on my computer and log into my gnome-shell session to find that the shell is gone, and there is instead a very thick panel with a vertically repeated pattern of the gradient the Unity panel displays. I ran some tests and found out that my graphic acceleration was failing. I have attached some outputs of some commands to help helpers help me: Some command outputs Video card: nVidia GeForce 8600M GT (note that it is not an Optimus card). Output of lspci | grep VGA: 01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation G84 [GeForce 8600M GT] (rev a1) Output of glxinfo: Xlib: extension "GLX" missing on display ":0.0". Xlib: extension "GLX" missing on display ":0.0". Xlib: extension "GLX" missing on display ":0.0". Xlib: extension "GLX" missing on display ":0.0". Xlib: extension "GLX" missing on display ":0.0". Error: couldn't find RGB GLX visual or fbconfig Xlib: extension "GLX" missing on display ":0.0". Xlib: extension "GLX" missing on display ":0.0". Xlib: extension "GLX" missing on display ":0.0". Xlib: extension "GLX" missing on display ":0.0". Xlib: extension "GLX" missing on display ":0.0". Contents of /var/log/Xorg.0.log: NVIDIA: Failed to load the NVIDIA kernel module. Please check your NVIDIA: system's kernel log for additional error messages. UnloadModule: "nvidia" Unloading nvidia Failed to load module "nvidia" (module-specific error, 0) If I use the Aditional Drivers system application, I see none of the drivers active, and when I try to activate any, I get an error telling me to check the jockey.log file. The contents of /var/log/jockey.log are: 2012-09-20 23:11:32,690 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_173).enabled(): target_alt None current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt None other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:11:32,690 DEBUG: nvidia_173 is not the alternative in use 2012-09-20 23:11:34,606 DEBUG: BroadcomWLHandler enabled(): kmod disabled, bcm43xx: blacklisted, b43: enabled, b43legacy: enabled 2012-09-20 23:11:34,657 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_173_updates).enabled(): target_alt None current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt None other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:11:34,657 DEBUG: nvidia_173_updates is not the alternative in use 2012-09-20 23:11:36,647 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current).enabled(): target_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:11:36,648 DEBUG: KMH enabled: False 2012-09-20 23:11:38,642 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current_updates).enabled(): target_alt None current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt None other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:11:38,642 DEBUG: nvidia_current_updates is not the alternative in use 2012-09-20 23:11:40,546 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_173).enabled(): target_alt None current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt None other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:11:40,546 DEBUG: nvidia_173 is not the alternative in use 2012-09-20 23:11:40,620 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_173).enabled(): target_alt None current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt None other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:11:40,620 DEBUG: nvidia_173 is not the alternative in use 2012-09-20 23:11:40,629 DEBUG: BroadcomWLHandler enabled(): kmod disabled, bcm43xx: blacklisted, b43: enabled, b43legacy: enabled 2012-09-20 23:11:40,698 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_173_updates).enabled(): target_alt None current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt None other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:11:40,698 DEBUG: nvidia_173_updates is not the alternative in use 2012-09-20 23:11:40,759 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current).enabled(): target_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:11:40,760 DEBUG: KMH enabled: False 2012-09-20 23:11:40,826 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current_updates).enabled(): target_alt None current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt None other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:11:40,826 DEBUG: nvidia_current_updates is not the alternative in use 2012-09-20 23:11:45,415 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current).enabled(): target_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:11:45,415 DEBUG: KMH enabled: False 2012-09-20 23:11:47,367 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current).enabled(): target_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:11:47,367 DEBUG: KMH enabled: False 2012-09-20 23:11:55,961 WARNING: modinfo for module nvidia_current failed: ERROR: modinfo: could not find module nvidia_current 2012-09-20 23:11:55,962 ERROR: XorgDriverHandler.enable(): package or module not installed, aborting 2012-09-20 23:12:27,780 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current).enabled(): target_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:12:27,781 DEBUG: KMH enabled: False 2012-09-20 23:12:27,840 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current).enabled(): target_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:12:27,840 DEBUG: KMH enabled: False 2012-09-20 23:12:43,196 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_173).enabled(): target_alt None current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt None other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:12:43,197 DEBUG: nvidia_173 is not the alternative in use 2012-09-20 23:12:43,208 DEBUG: BroadcomWLHandler enabled(): kmod disabled, bcm43xx: blacklisted, b43: enabled, b43legacy: enabled 2012-09-20 23:12:43,269 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_173_updates).enabled(): target_alt None current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt None other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:12:43,269 DEBUG: nvidia_173_updates is not the alternative in use 2012-09-20 23:12:43,333 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current).enabled(): target_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:12:43,333 DEBUG: KMH enabled: False 2012-09-20 23:12:43,393 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current).enabled(): target_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:12:43,394 DEBUG: KMH enabled: False 2012-09-20 23:12:43,465 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current_updates).enabled(): target_alt None current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt None other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:12:43,465 DEBUG: nvidia_current_updates is not the alternative in use 2012-09-20 23:12:43,531 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current).enabled(): target_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:12:43,531 DEBUG: KMH enabled: False 2012-09-20 23:12:43,587 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current).enabled(): target_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:12:43,587 DEBUG: KMH enabled: False 2012-09-20 23:12:43,663 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_173).enabled(): target_alt None current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt None other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:12:43,663 DEBUG: nvidia_173 is not the alternative in use 2012-09-20 23:12:43,672 DEBUG: BroadcomWLHandler enabled(): kmod disabled, bcm43xx: blacklisted, b43: enabled, b43legacy: enabled 2012-09-20 23:12:43,738 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_173_updates).enabled(): target_alt None current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt None other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:12:43,739 DEBUG: nvidia_173_updates is not the alternative in use 2012-09-20 23:12:43,803 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current).enabled(): target_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:12:43,803 DEBUG: KMH enabled: False 2012-09-20 23:12:43,863 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current).enabled(): target_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:12:43,863 DEBUG: KMH enabled: False 2012-09-20 23:12:43,930 DEBUG: NVidia(nvidia_current_updates).enabled(): target_alt None current_alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/ld.so.conf other target alt None other current alt /usr/lib/nvidia-current/alt_ld.so.conf 2012-09-20 23:12:43,930 DEBUG: nvidia_current_updates is not the alternative in use 2012-09-20 23:24:16,305 DEBUG: Shutting down Things I have tried Checked the video card on a Windows session. Reran nvidia-xconfig. Purged all nvidia software from my computer, and reinstall it. Run nvidia-xconfig. Tried a different kernel.

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• CodePlex Daily Summary for Saturday, May 15, 2010

  CodePlex Daily Summary for Saturday, May 15, 2010New ProjectsBizTalk EDI Guidance: BizTalk EDI Guidance is intended to simplify the delivery of EDI solutions by leveraging the ESB Toolkit. This project is currently Alpha and sh...Continues Integration Sample: I'm providing a series of blog post to show a complete CI process using CruiseControl.Net and msbuild. The source code for this series is hosted here.DioM2D: My Dragons in our Midst RPG. Runs on my custom Starlight Engine.Ethical Hacking ASP.NET: Security tools and guidelines for white-hat hacking and protecting ASP.NET web applications.Farseer Engine with XNATouch: Farseer is great engine for game physics. This implementation uses XNATouch framework.Feature Builder Guidance Extensions: Feature Builder Guidance Extensions are Feature Extensions which extend the guidance for the Feature Building experience. Each FBGX will be suppli...Microsoft Office Document Security: MODS is a plugin for office 2007 thats includes Hash Encryption, Hex Convertion and more. Plugins: MODS For Word still working on (MODS for Excel ...Minimize Engine (XNA): The Minimize Engine is a basic 3D Games Engine created using XNA, with its primary focus around Grid Based games.MSForge TownCrier: This project is meant to build a notification and calling system for MSForge.net User Groups.NatureProtector: Silverlight 4 project.OutSync: OutSync is a free Windows desktop application that syncs photos of your Facebook friends with matching contacts in Microsoft Outlook. It allows you...Quick Save Images, Clipboard save to file, Quick save, bmp, png, jpeg, Image: ClipSa is a very small tool for very quick picture saving. You put some picture into the clipboard (PrintScrn/Alt-PrintScrn/Ctrl-C), ClipSa saves ...ResHelper Manager: Resource strings management tool that creates localization files for any type of localization target (asp.net, wpf and so on...)SecureCookieHttpModule: Secure your session cookie (and other session-based) cookies for replay attacks using this easy to use ASP.NET HttpModule.simpleChMS: A Church Management System (ChMS) designed for churches or ministries like youth groups that want to facilitate better care or theie membership. Fo...sMAPtool: -SPDomainObject: mapping strong type objects to sp listsSQL Trim: This project aims at developing a universal trim function for Microsoft SQL Server. It trims: 1) pre spaces 2) post spaces 3) double spaces 3) subs...TurretGunner: mt-experienceNew ReleasesBeanProxy: BeanProxy 3.0: BeanProxy is a C# (.NET 3.5) library housing classes that facilitates unit testing. Any non-static, public interface/class or abstract class can be...Blueset Studio Opensource Projects: 蓝色之风记事本 0.2 Alpha: 一个超级Bug版本……CSharp Intellisense: V2.1: - Bug fix (Pascal Casing)DioM2D: DioM2D0.01: http://www.dragonsinourmidst.com/forums/showthread.php?p=690058#post690058Ethical Hacking ASP.NET: Version 1.0.0.1: This is the initial release of the project. Read more about the available tests and features on the Documentation tab. You need the full .NET Frame...Event Scavenger: Collector service update - version 3.2.4: Added check if the database connection string is set up in the config file.Feature Builder Guidance Extensions: FBGX-Binaries: This release consists of a zip file containing all the VSIXs resulting from building each of the FBGX packages found here as source. This will mak...Floe IRC Client: Floe IRC Client 2010-05 R2: - Detaching windows (right click on the tabs to detach them) - Highlight lines with your nick or other patterns - Fixed several bugs - Tabs can now...Free language translator and file converter: Free Language Translator 1.96: Fixed some minor bugs and improved the UI a bit. If you can not install the msi file you might be missing some prerequisites. You can try running t...Geocache Downloader: release 1.0: This is the first release.kp.net: Alpha release is avalable: The goal of this alpha release is to try the code in some production scenarios and find out what features should be tuned.Live-Exchange Calendar Sync: Live-Exchange Calendar Sync: Live-Exchange Calendar Sync Beta May 14, 2010 release of Live-Exchange Calendar Sync 1.0 BETA. (Version 45334) Getting StartedInfo about installat...MAPILab Explorer for SharePoint: MAPILab Explorer for SharePoint ver 2.1.1: 1) Small bug fixed that appears on first start (when earliers versions wasn't installed). How to install:Download ZIP file and extract it on Sha...Microsoft Office Document Security: MODS 4 WORD (SOURCE INCLUDED): Includes Source CodeMoonyDesk (windows desktop widgets): MoonyDesk Alpha: MoonyDesk Alpha (some memory improvements)OnTopReplica: Release 2.9.3: Some bugfixes and improvements. Czech translation added (thanks René Mihula).OutSync: OutSync v1.0.100.0: OutSync v1.0.100.0 is the final release by Mel before the move to CodePlex. I have tested it on Windows 7 32bit and 64bit with Office 2007 and it ...Quick Save Images, Clipboard save to file, Quick save, bmp, png, jpeg, Image: Clipsa v 0.1: Download and extract to any place 2 files - clipSa.exe and clipSa.exe.config Run clipSa.exe. That's all.ResHelper Manager: ResHelperManager: List of changes applied to this version of ResHelper is included in main download zip package. Example sourcesIn Source Code tab are sources of De...Rx Contrib: V1.3: - Bug Fix - BufferWithTimeOrCount with flexible time period setting when ever the time period elapsed...SharePoint DVK Integration: SharePoint 2007 DVK integration v1.0.3: Fixes Fixed default field bindings. I rebound too many fields on every page load. Fixed extension replacing on creating target url (threw it out)...ShoutcastStast for DotNetNuke: DNN_ShoutcastStats alpha 05.00.495: First Alpha release of ShoutcastStats Module for DotNetNuke This first alpha version of the ShoutcastStats Module for DotNetNuke is still in devel...SilverPart 2.1: SilverPart 2.1: SilverPart 2.1 This interim release fixes some major bugs related to Firefox and anonymous access. - Fix for Issue ID 4005 - SilverPart does not w...sMAPtool: sMAPedit v0.7c (Base Release with Maps): Fixed: force a gargabe collection update to prevent pictureBox's memory leak Added: essential map pack with all basic maps in jpg format Added:...SQL Trim: Trim: Initial releaseSSIS Multiple Hash: Multiple Hash V1.2.1: This is version 1.2.1 of the Multiple Hash SSIS Component. It supports SQL 2005 and SQL 2008, although you have to download the correct install pa...StreamInsight Yahoo Finance input adapter example: StockTicker_v1_0_RTM: Updated for StreamInsight RTM.Update Controls .NET: 2.1.0.0: Automatic dependency management for WPF and Silverlight data binding. This release combines both the WPF and Silverlight assemblies into one insta...VCC: Latest build, v2.1.30514.0: Automatic drop of latest buildMost Popular ProjectsRawrWBFS ManagerAJAX Control ToolkitMicrosoft SQL Server Product Samples: DatabaseSilverlight ToolkitWindows Presentation Foundation (WPF)patterns & practices – Enterprise LibraryMicrosoft SQL Server Community & SamplesPHPExcelASP.NETMost Active Projectspatterns & practices – Enterprise LibraryMirror Testing SystemRawrPHPExcelBlogEngine.NETMicrosoft Biology FoundationCustomer Portal Accelerator for Microsoft Dynamics CRMWindows Azure Command-line Tools for PHP DevelopersShake - C# MakeStyleCop

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• Blogging tips for SQL Server professionals

  - by jamiet

  For some time now I have been intending to put some material together relating my blogging experiences since I began blogging in 2004 and that led to me submitting a session for SQLBits recently where I intended to do just that. That didn’t get enough votes to allow me to present however so instead I resolved to write a blog post about it and Simon Sabin’s recent post Blogging – how do you do it? has prompted me to get around to completing it. So, here I present a compendium of tips that I’ve picked up from authoring a fair few blog posts over the past 6 years. Feedburner Feedburner.com is a service that can consume your blog’s default RSS feed and provide another, replacement, feed that has exactly the same content. You can then supply that replacement feed on your blog site for other people to consume in their RSS readers. Why would you want to do this? Well, two reasons actually: It makes your blog portable. If you ever want to move your blog to a different URL you don’t have to tell your subscribers to move to a different feed. The feedburner feed is a pointer to your blog content rather than being a copy of it. Feedburner will collect stats telling you how many people are subscribed to your feed, which RSS readers they use, stuff like that. Here’s a sample screenshot for http://sqlblog.com/blogs/jamie_thomson/: It also tells you what your most viewed posts are: Web stats like these are notoriously inaccurate but then again the method of measurement here is not important, what IS important is that it gives you a trustworthy ranking of your blog posts and (in my opinion) knowing which are your most popular posts is more important than knowing exactly how many views each post has had. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what Feedburner provides and I recommend every new blogger to try it! Monitor subscribers using Google Reader If for some reason Feedburner is not to your taste or (more likely) you already have an established RSS feed that you do not want to change then Google provide another way in which you can monitor your readership in the shape of their online RSS reader, Google Reader. It provides, for every RSS feed, a collection of stats including the number of Google Reader users that have subscribed to that RSS feed. This is really valuable information and in fact I have been recording this statistic for mine and a number of other blogs for a few years now and as such I can produce the following chart that indicates how readership is trending for those blogs over time: [Good news for my fellow SQLBlog bloggers.] As Stephen Few readily points out, its not the numbers that are important but the trend. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) SEO (or “How do I get my blog to show up in Google”) is a massive area of expertise which I don’t want (and am unable) to cover in much detail here but there are some simple rules of thumb that will help: Tags – If your blog engine offers the ability to add tags to your blog post, use them. Invariably those tags go into the meta section of the page HTML and search engines lap that stuff up. For example, from my recent post Microsoft publish Visual Studio 2010 Database Project Guidance: Title – Search engines take notice of web page titles as well so make them specific and descriptive (e.g. “Configuring dtsConfig connection strings”) rather than esoteric and meaningless in a vain attempt to be humorous (e.g. “Last night a DJ saved my ETL batch”)! Title(2) – Make your title even more search engine friendly by mentioning high level subject areas, not dissimilar to Twitter hashtags. For example, if you look at all of my posts related to SSIS you will notice that nearly all contain the word “SSIS” in the title even if I had to shoehorn it in there by putting it in square brackets or similar. Another tip, if you ARE putting words into your titles in this artificial manner then put them at the end so that they’re not that prominent in search engine results; they’re there for the search engines to consume, not for human beings. Images – Always add titles and alternate text (ALT attribute) to images in your blog post. If you use Windows 7 or Windows Vista then you can use Live Writer (which Simon recommended) makes this easy for you. Headings – If you want to highlight section headings use heading tags (e.g. <H1>, <H2>, <H3> etc…) rather than just formatting the text appropriately – again, Live makes this easy. These tags give your blog posts structure that is understood by search engines and RSS readers alike. (I believe it makes them more amenable to CSS as well – though that’s not something I know too much about). If you check the HTML source for the blog post you’re reading right now you’ll be able to scan through and see where I have used heading tags. Microsoft provide a free tool called the SEO Toolkit that will analyse your blog site (for free) and tell you what things you should change to improve SEO. Go read more and download for free at Search Engine Optimization Toolkit. Did I mention that it was free? Miscellaneous Tips If you are including code in your blog post then ensure it is formatted correctly. Use SQL Server Central’s T-SQL prettifier for formatting T-SQL code. Use images and videos. Personally speaking there’s nothing I like less when reading a blog than paragraph after paragraph of text. Images make your blog more appealing which means people are more likely to read what you have written. Be original. Don’t plagiarise other people’s content and don’t simply rewrite the contents of Books Online. Every time you publish a blog post tweet a link to it. Include hashtags in your tweet that are more likely to grab people’s attention. That’s probably enough for now - I hope this blog post proves useful to someone out there. If you would appreciate a related session at a forthcoming SQLBits conference then please let me know. This will likely be my last blog post for 2010 so I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has commented on, linked to or read any of my blog posts in that time. 2011 is shaping up to be a very interesting for SQL Server observers with the impending release of SQL Server code-named Denali and I promise I’ll have lots more content on that as the year progresses. Happy New Year. @Jamiet

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• Brighton Rocks: UA Europe 2011

  - by ultan o'broin

  User Assistance Europe 2011 was held in Brighton, UK. Having seen Quadrophenia a dozen times, I just had to go along (OK, I wanted to talk about messages in enterprise applications). Sadly, it rained a lot, though that was still eminently more tolerable than being stuck home in Dublin during Bloomsday. So, here are my somewhat selective highlights and observations from the conference, massively skewed towards my own interests, as usual. Enjoyed Leah Guren's (Cow TC) great start ‘keynote’ on the Cultural Dimensions of Software Help Usage. Starting out by revisiting Hofstede's and Hall's work on culture (how many times I have done this for Multilingual magazine?) and then Neilsen’s findings on age as an indicator of performance, Leah showed how it is the expertise of the user that user assistance (UA) needs to be designed for (especially for high-end users), with some considerations made for age, while the gender and culture of users are not major factors. Help also needs to be contextual and concise, embedded close to the action. That users are saying things like “If I want help on Office, I go to Google ” isn't all that profound at this stage, but it is always worth reiterating how search can be optimized to return better results for users. Interestingly, regardless of user education level, the issue of information quality--hinging on the lynchpin of terminology reflecting that of the user--is critical. Major takeaway for me there. Matthew Ellison’s sessions on embedded help and demos were also impressive. Embedded help that is concise and contextual is definitely a powerful UX enabler, and I’m pleased to say that in Oracle Fusion Applications we have embraced the concept fully. Matthew also mentioned in his session about successful software demos that the principle of modality with demos is a must. Look no further than Oracle User Productivity Kit demos See It!, Try It!, Know It, and Do It! modes, for example. I also found some key takeaways in the presentation by Marie-Louise Flacke on notes and warnings. Here, legal considerations seemed to take precedence over providing any real information to users. I was delighted when Marie-Louise called out the Oracle JDeveloper documentation as an exemplar of how to use notes and instructions instead of trying to scare the bejaysus out of people and not providing them with any real information they’d find useful instead. My own session on designing messages for enterprise applications was well attended. Knowing your user profiles (remember user expertise is the king maker for UA so write for each audience involved), how users really work, the required application business and UI rules, what your application technology supports, and how messages integrate with the enterprise help desk and support policies and you will go much further than relying solely on the guideline of "writing messages in plain language". And, remember the value in warnings and confirmation messages too, and how you can use them smartly. I hope y’all got something from my presentation and from my answers to questions afterwards. Ellis Pratt stole the show with his presentation on applying game theory to software UA, using plenty of colorful, relevant examples (check out the Atlassian and DropBox approaches, for example), and striking just the right balance between theory and practice. Completely agree that the approach to take here is not to make UA itself a game, but to invoke UA as part of a bigger game dynamic (time-to-task completion, personal and communal goals, personal achievement and status, and so on). Sure there are gotchas and limitations to gamification, and we need to do more research. However, we'll hear a lot more about this subject in coming years, particularly in the enterprise space. I hope. I also heard good things about the different sessions about DITA usage (including one by Sonja Fuga that clearly opens the door for major innovation in the community content space using WordPress), the progressive disclosure of information (Cerys Willoughby), an overview of controlled language (or "information quality", as I like to position it) solutions and rationale by Dave Gash, and others. I also spent time chatting with Mike Hamilton of MadCap Software, who showed me a cool demo of their Flare product, and the Lingo translation solution. I liked the idea of their licensing model for workers-on-the-go; that’s smart UX-awareness in itself. Also chatted with Julian Murfitt of Mekon about uptake of DITA in the enterprise space. In all, it's worth attending UA Europe. I was surprised, however, not to see conference topics about mobile UA, community conversation and content, and search in its own right. These are unstoppable forces now, and the latter is pretty central to providing assistance now to all but the most irredentist of hard-copy fetishists or advanced technical or functional users working away on the back end of applications and systems. Only saw one iPad too (says the guy who carries three laptops). Tweeting during the conference was pretty much nonexistent during the event, so no community energy there. Perhaps all this can be addressed next year. I would love to see the next UA Europe event come to Dublin (despite Bloomsday, it's not a bad place place, really) now that hotels are so cheap and all. So, what is my overall impression of the state of user assistance in Europe? Clearly, there are still many people in the industry who feel there is something broken with the traditional forms of user assistance (particularly printed doc) and something needs to be done about it. I would suggest they move on and try and embrace change, instead. Many others see new possibilities, offered by UX and technology, as well as the reality of online user behavior in an increasingly connected world and that is encouraging. Such thought leaders need to be listened to. As Ellis Pratt says in his great book, Trends in Technical Communication - Rethinking Help: “To stay relevant means taking a new perspective on the role (of technical writer), and delivering “products” over and above the traditional manual and online Help file... there are a number of new trends in this field - some complementary, some conflicting. Whatever trends emerge as the norm, it’s likely the status quo will change.” It already has, IMO. I hear similar debates in the professional translation world about the onset of translation crowd sourcing (the Facebook model) and machine translation (trust me, that battle is over). Neither of these initiatives has put anyone out of a job and probably won't, though the nature of the work might change. If anything, such innovations have increased the overall need for professional translators as user expectations rise, new audiences emerge, and organizations need to collate and curate user-generated content, combining it with their own. Perhaps user assistance professionals can learn from other professions and grow accordingly.

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• Thank You for a Great Welcome for Oracle GoldenGate 11g Release 2

  - by Irem Radzik

  Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Yesterday morning we had two launch webcasts for Oracle GoldenGate 11g Release 2. I had the pleasure to present, as well as moderate the Q&A panels in both of these webcasts. Both events had hundreds of live attendees, sending us over 150 questions. Even though we left 30 minutes for Q&A, it was not nearly enough time to address for all the insightful questions our audience sent. Our product management team and I really appreciate the interaction we had yesterday and we are starting to respond back with outstanding questions today. Oracle GoldenGate’s new release launch also had great welcome from the media. You can find the links for various articles on the new release below: ITBusinessEdge Oracle Embraces Cross-Platform Data Integration Information Week: Oracle Real-Time Advance Taps Compressed Data Integration Developer News, Oracle GoldenGate Adds Deeper Oracle Integration, Extends Real-Time Performance CIO, Oracle GoldenGate Buddies Up with Sibling Software DBTA, Real-Time Data Integration: Oracle GoldenGate 11g Release 2 Now Available CBR Oracle unveils GoldenGate 11g Release 2 real-time data integration application In this blog, I want to address some of the frequently asked questions that came up during the webcasts. You can find the top questions and their answers along with related resources below. We will continue to address frequently asked questions via future blogs. Q: Will the new Integrated Capture for Oracle Database replace the Classic Capture? If not, which one do I use when? A: No, Classic Capture will be around for long time. Core platform specific features, bug fixes, and patches will be available for both Capture processes.Oracle Database specific features will be only available in the Integrated Capture. The Integrated Capture for Oracle Database is an option for users that need to capture data from compressed tables or need support for XML data types, XA on RAC. Users who don’t leverage these features should continue to use our Classic Capture. For more information on Oracle GoldenGate 11g Release 2 I recommend to check out the White paper: Oracle GoldenGate 11gR2 New Features as well as other technical white papers we have on OTN.                                                         For those of you coming to OpenWorld, please attend the related session: Extracting Data in Oracle GoldenGate Integrated Capture Mode, Monday Oct 1st 1:45pm Moscone South – 102 to learn more about this new feature. Q: What is new in Conflict Detection and Resolution? And how does it work? A: There are now pre-built functions to identify the conditions under which an error occurs and how to handle the record when the condition occurs. Error conditions handled include inserts into a target table where the row already exists, updates or deletes to target table rows that exist, but the original source data (before columns) do not match the existing data in the target row, and updates or deletes where the row does not exist in the target database table.Foreach of these conditions a method to handle the error is specified.  Please check out our recent blog on this topic and the White paper: Oracle GoldenGate 11gR2 New Features white paper.  Also, for those attending OpenWorld please attend the session: Best Practices for Conflict Detection and Resolution in Oracle GoldenGate for Active/Active-  Wednesday Oct 3rd  3:30pm Mascone 3000 Q: Does Oracle GoldenGate Veridata and the Management Pack require additional licenses, or is it incorporated with the GoldenGate license? A: Oracle GoldenGate Veridata and Oracle Management Pack for Oracle GoldenGate are additional products and require separate licenses. Please check out Oracle's price list here. Q: Does GoldenGate - Oracle Enterprise Manager Plug-in require additional license? A: Oracle Enterprise Manager Plug-in is included in the Oracle Management Pack for Oracle GoldenGate license, which is separate from Oracle GoldenGate license. There is no separate license for the Enterprise Manager Plug-in by itself. Oracle GoldenGate Monitor, Oracle GoldenGate Director, and Enterprise Manager Plug-in are included in the Management Pack for Oracle GoldenGate license. Please check out Management Pack for Oracle GoldenGate data sheet for more info on this product bundle. Q: Is Oracle GoldenGate replacing Oracle Streams product? A: Oracle GoldenGate is the strategic data replication product. Therefore, Oracle Streams will continue to be supported, but will not be actively enhanced. Rather, the best elements of Oracle Streams will be added to Oracle GoldenGate. Conflict management is one of them and with the latest release Oracle GoldenGate has a more advanced conflict management offering. Current customers depending on Oracle Streams will continue to be fully supported. Q: How is Oracle GoldenGate different than Oracle Data Integrator? A: Oracle Data Integrator is designed for fast bulk data movement and transformation between heterogeneous systems, while GoldenGate is designed for real-time movement of transactions between heterogeneous systems. These two products are completely complementary where GoldenGate provides low-impact real-time change data capture and delivery to a staging area on the target. And Oracle Data Integrator transforms this data and loads the DW tables. In fact, Oracle Data Integrator integrates with GoldenGate to use GoldenGate’s Capture process as one option for its CDC mechanism. We have several customers that deployed GoldenGate and ODI together to feed real-time data to their data warehousing solutions. Please also check out Oracle Data Integrator Changed Data Capture with Oracle GoldenGate Data Sheet (PDF). Thank you again very much for welcoming Oracle GoldenGate 11g Release 2 and stay in touch with us for more exciting news, updates, and events.

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• CodePlex Daily Summary for Tuesday, March 23, 2010

  CodePlex Daily Summary for Tuesday, March 23, 2010New Projects.NET StarCraft II Replay Parser: A .NET 3.5 Library used to parse StarCraft II replays. Developed in C# 3.5.BackToBasics "B2B" Chat: With technology and software getting more and more complicated, why not get back to basics with BackToBasicsChat. B2B allows you to chat over a ser...Dark Neuron Game Engine: Dark Neuron allows you to easily create fun and interesting games with no need of developing basic game components. This engine is developed for C#...DeepZoom Pivot Constructor: Library to make building DeepZoom images and Pivot displays simpler.ePaper reader: The project is aimed at creating a tool which helps in reading electronic editions of news papers(pdf/flash)FSharpPageProvider for EPiServer CMS 6: This project starts as the port of EPiServer XmlPageProvider to F# programming language. Hammock for REST: Hammock is a REST library for .NET that greatly simplifies consuming and wrapping RESTful services.Kirill Osenkov: Various small projects, tools, utilities and samples by Kirill OsenkovliveDB: liveDB - web client for sql serverLucilla Framework: lucilla frameworkMVC Foolproof Validation: MVC Foolproof Validation aims to extend the Data Annotation validation provided in ASP.NET MVC. Initial efforts are focused on adding contingent va...MVC2Forums: MVC2Forums is simply a forum system based upon MVC2.Mvvm Foundation Silverlight: Mvvm Foundation Silverlight is a library of classes that are helpful when building Silverlight applications based in the MVVM pattern. This librar...MyPersonalWebsite: This is my personal web site developed using ASP.NET MVC 2Planner: Planner makes it easier for all peoples to plan your tasks. It's developed in Delphi.Prose: Prose is an playground for an experimental JavaScript like language compiler. Eventually it will implement 0-CFA, CFA2, and a Tracing JITQuestTracker: QuestTracker is a todo list presented in the format of a quest tracking list such as the one in World of Warcraft.SevenZipLib: SevenZipLib is a C# interface to the 7-zip library.SimpleGeo .Net: .Net Client library for the SimpleGeo.com serviceNew ReleasesAutenticar no OpenLDAP utilizando pGIna: DLL LDAPAuth Plus: New Group: No LoginBMap.NET: BMap.NET 2: This is the 2nd version of BMap.NET. It has included these tags: Bing Maps, and "About BMap.NET".Cronos: Version 2.04: This is primarily a bug-fix release. Several numerical issues have been resolved, and a resource leak (of MS Windows graphics objects) has been fi...EV Dashboard: v1.0: This release includes support for an App.config file and Auto Connect, which will connect to the specified BMS at startup. Note: You still have to ...GKO Libraries: GKO Libraries 0.1 Beta: 0.1 Beta Added More utilities and functions RefactoringsGLB Virtual Player Builder: 0.4.2 Beta: Beta build that includes a new player creator.HKGolden Express: HKGoldenExpress (Build 201003222215): New features: (None) Bug fix: Fixed bugs of unable to parse XML file stream returned from HKGolden API, as the encoding of XML file stream chang...jQuery Web Controls ASP.Net: jQueryWebControls 1.1.1.2: En esta versión se han corregido problemas existentes en la ejecución de los scripts de jquery cuando se utilizaban MasterPage y/o Ajax Control Too...LightKit: Version 0.2.2: Fixed: fixed bug when CollectionItemsEditor ditermines IsChanged property incorrectly fixed ObjectEditor`a thisstring propertyName method wrong l...LINQ to Twitter: LINQ to Twitter Beta v2.0.8: New items added since v1.1 include: Support for OAuth (via DotNetOpenAuth), secure communication via https, VB language support, serialization of ...MapWindow6: MapWindow 6.0 msi (March 22): This version fixes the icons for the desktop installer and changes the install directory to Program Files\MapWindow instead of Program Files\ISU.Math.NET Numerics: 2010.3.22.1334 Build: Latest alpha buildMiniCalendar Web Part: MiniCalendar Web Part 1.8: A small web part to display links to events stored in a list (or document library) in a mini calendar (in month view mode). It shows tooltips for t...OCInject: Release Two: This release brings some missing features such as Singleton support, Func<T> factories and child containers. It, also, has an updated constructor ...Phalanger - The PHP Language Compiler for the .NET Framework: 2.0 (March 2010): Installer of the latest binaries of Phalanger 2.0 (March 2010) and its integration into Visual Studio 2008. Easy installer with automatic IIS int...Planner: Planner: firstQuestTracker: QuestTracker 0.1: This is the preliminary release of QuestTracker. There's not much documentation or many features yet, but it is functional. Any feedback would be a...QuestTracker: QuestTracker 0.1.1: Bugfix for QuestTracker 0.1QuestTracker: QuestTracker 0.1.2: Fixes an issue with saving the quest list.Rawr: Rawr 2.3.13: We're pleased to announce that, after long last, Rawr3 has entered public beta. You're still welcome to continue using Rawr2 (that's what you're re...Single Web Session: Alpha Model Plugin: !How to use Single Web Session add following line into your web config <httpModules> <add name="SingleSession" type="SingleWebSession.Model.W...SMIL - SharePoint Map Integration Layer: SMIL 1.0: Custom data field Extracts Lat/Lon from EXIF from images being uploaded. Map Web Part Filter with SharePoint views Filter by connecting to...sTASKedit: sTASKedit 42532 (Developer Alpha): This release is only to verify the currently decoded task structure... Supported files: tasks.data (v1.3.6 client)VCC: Latest build, v2.1.30322.0: Automatic drop of latest buildVisual Studio DSite: Advanced Notepad (Visual C++ 2008): An notepad written in c that can save in a rich text file format.Wallpaper Rotator: Wallpaper Rotator 0.5: Wallpaper Rotator 0.5 This version includes the following improvements: Saving the choice of "Random Order (Shuffle Mode)" Updating the configu...Most Popular ProjectsMetaSharpRawrWBFS ManagerSilverlight ToolkitASP.NET Ajax LibraryMicrosoft SQL Server Product Samples: DatabaseAJAX Control ToolkitLiveUpload to FacebookWindows Presentation Foundation (WPF)ASP.NETMost Active ProjectsRawrjQuery Library for SharePoint Web ServicesBlogEngine.NETLINQ to TwitterPHPExcelFarseer Physics EngineFacebook Developer ToolkitNB_Store - Free DotNetNuke Ecommerce Catalog Modulepatterns & practices: Composite WPF and SilverlightN2 CMS

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