Search Results

Search found 31774 results on 1271 pages for 'chris go'.

Page 60/1271 | < Previous Page | 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67  | Next Page >

• SQL SERVER – Information Related to DATETIME and DATETIME2

  - by pinaldave

  I recently received interesting comment on the blog regarding workaround to overcome the precision issue while dealing with DATETIME and DATETIME2. I have written over this subject earlier over here. SQL SERVER – Difference Between GETDATE and SYSDATETIME SQL SERVER – Difference Between DATETIME and DATETIME2 – WITH GETDATE SQL SERVER – Difference Between DATETIME and DATETIME2 SQL Expert Jing Sheng Zhong has left following comment: The issue you found in SQL server new datetime type is related time source function precision. Folks have found the root reason of the problem – when data time values are converted (implicit or explicit) between different data type, which would lose some precision, so the result cannot match each other as thought. Here I would like to gave a work around solution to solve the problem which the developers met. -- Declare and loop DECLARE @Intveral INT, @CurDate DATETIMEOFFSET; CREATE TABLE #TimeTable (FirstDate DATETIME, LastDate DATETIME2, GlobalDate DATETIMEOFFSET) SET @Intveral = 10000 WHILE (@Intveral > 0) BEGIN ----SET @CurDate = SYSDATETIMEOFFSET(); -- higher precision for future use only SET @CurDate = TODATETIMEOFFSET(GETDATE(),DATEDIFF(N,GETUTCDATE(),GETDATE())); -- lower precision to match exited date process INSERT #TimeTable (FirstDate, LastDate, GlobalDate) VALUES (@CurDate, @CurDate, @CurDate) SET @Intveral = @Intveral - 1 END GO -- Distinct Values SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT FirstDate) D_DATETIME, COUNT(DISTINCT LastDate) D_DATETIME2, COUNT(DISTINCT GlobalDate) D_SYSGETDATE FROM #TimeTable GO -- Join SELECT DISTINCT a.FirstDate,b.LastDate, b.GlobalDate, CAST(b.GlobalDate AS DATETIME) GlobalDateASDateTime FROM #TimeTable a INNER JOIN #TimeTable b ON a.FirstDate = CAST(b.GlobalDate AS DATETIME) GO -- Select SELECT * FROM #TimeTable GO -- Clean up DROP TABLE #TimeTable GO If you read my blog SQL SERVER – Difference Between DATETIME and DATETIME2 you will notice that I have achieved the same using GETDATE(). Are you using DATETIME2 in your production environment? If yes, I am interested to know the use case. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://www.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL DateTime, SQL Query, SQL Scripts, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

  Read the article

• SQL SERVER – T-SQL Script to Take Database Offline – Take Database Online

  - by pinaldave

  Blog reader Joyesh Mitra recently left a comment to one of my very old posts about SQL SERVER – 2005 Take Off Line or Detach Database, which I have written focusing on taking the database offline. However, I did not include how to bring the offline database to online in that post. The reason I did not write it was that I was thinking it was a very simple script that almost everyone knows. However, it seems to me that there is something I found advanced in this procedure that is not simple for other people. We all have different expertise and we all try to learn new things, so I do not see any reason as to not write about the script to take the database online. -- Create Test DB CREATE DATABASE [myDB] GO -- Take the Database Offline ALTER DATABASE [myDB] SET OFFLINE WITH ROLLBACK IMMEDIATE GO -- Take the Database Online ALTER DATABASE [myDB] SET ONLINE GO -- Clean up DROP DATABASE [myDB] GO Joyesh let me know if this answers your question. Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, Readers Question, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Scripts, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQLServer, T SQL, Technology

  Read the article

• What You Need to Know About Windows 8.1

  - by Chris Hoffman

  Windows 8.1 is available to everyone starting today, October 19. The latest version of Windows improves on Windows 8 in every way. It’s a big upgrade, whether you use the desktop or new touch-optimized interface. The latest version of Windows has been dubbed “an apology” by some — it’s definitely more at home on a desktop PC than Windows 8 was. However, it also offers a more fleshed out and mature tablet experience. How to Get Windows 8.1 For Windows 8 users, Windows 8.1 is completely free. It will be available as a download from the Windows Store — that’s the “Store” app in the Modern, tiled interface. Assuming upgrading to the final version will be just like upgrading to the preview version, you’ll likely see a “Get Windows 8.1″ pop-up that will take you to the Windows Store and guide you through the download process. You’ll also be able to download ISO images of Windows 8.1, so can perform a clean install to upgrade. On any new computer, you can just install Windows 8.1 without going through Windows 8. New computers will start to ship with Windows 8.1 and boxed copies of Windows 8 will be replaced by boxed copies of Windows 8.1. If you’re using Windows 7 or a previous version of Windows, the update won’t be free. Getting Windows 8.1 will cost you the same amount as a full copy of Windows 8 — $120 for the standard version. If you’re an average Windows 7 user, you’re likely better off waiting until you buy a new PC with Windows 8.1 included rather than spend this amount of money to upgrade. Improvements for Desktop Users Some have dubbed Windows 8.1 “an apology” from Microsoft, although you certainly won’t see Microsoft referring to it this way. Either way, Steven Sinofsky, who presided over Windows 8′s development, left the company shortly after Windows 8 was released. Coincidentally, Windows 8.1 contains many features that Steven Sinofsky and Microsoft refused to implement. Windows 8.1 offers the following big improvements for desktop users: Boot to Desktop: You can now log in directly to the desktop, skipping the tiled interface entirely. Disable Top-Left and Top-Right Hot Corners: The app switcher and charms bar won’t appear when you move your mouse to the top-left or top-right corners of the screen if you enable this option. No more intrusions into the desktop. The Start Button Returns: Windows 8.1 brings back an always-present Start button on the desktop taskbar, dramatically improving discoverability for new Windows 8 users and providing a bigger mouse target for remote desktops and virtual machines. Crucially, the Start menu isn’t back — clicking this button will open the full-screen Modern interface. Start menu replacements will continue to function on Windows 8.1, offering more traditional Start menus. Show All Apps By Default: Luckily, you can hide the Start screen and its tiles almost entirely. Windows 8.1 can be configured to show a full-screen list of all your installed apps when you click the Start button, with desktop apps prioritized. The only real difference is that the Start menu is now a full-screen interface. Shut Down or Restart From Start Button: You can now right-click the Start button to access Shut down, Restart, and other power options in just as many clicks as you could on Windows 7. Shared Start Screen and Desktop Backgrounds; Windows 8 limited you to just a few Steven Sinofsky-approved background images for your Start screen, but Windows 8.1 allows you to use your desktop background on the Start screen. This can make the transition between the Start screen and desktop much less jarring. The tiles or shortcuts appear to be floating above the desktop rather than off in their own separate universe. Unified Search: Unified search is back, so you can start typing and search your programs, settings, and files all at once — no more awkwardly clicking between different categories when trying to open a Control Panel screen or search for a file. These all add up to a big improvement when using Windows 8.1 on the desktop. Microsoft is being much more flexible — the Start menu is full screen, but Microsoft has relented on so many other things and you’d never have to see a tile if you didn’t want to. For more information, read our guide to optimizing Windows 8.1 for a desktop PC. These are just the improvements specifically for desktop users. Windows 8.1 includes other useful features for everyone, such as deep SkyDrive integration that allows you to store your files in the cloud without installing any additional sync programs. Improvements for Touch Users If you have a Windows 8 or Windows RT tablet or another touch-based device you use the interface formerly known as Metro on, you’ll see many other noticeable improvements. Windows 8′s new interface was half-baked when it launched, but it’s now much more capable and mature. App Updates: Windows 8′s included apps were extremely limited in many cases. For example, Internet Explorer 10 could only display ten tabs at a time and the Mail app was a barren experience devoid of features. In Windows 8.1, some apps — like Xbox Music — have been redesigned from scratch, Internet Explorer allows you to display a tab bar on-screen all the time, while apps like Mail have accumulated quite a few useful features. The Windows Store app has been entirely redesigned and is less awkward to browse. Snap Improvements: Windows 8′s Snap feature was a toy, allowing you to snap one app to a small sidebar at one side of your screen while another app consumed most of your screen. Windows 8.1 allows you to snap two apps side-by-side, seeing each app’s full interface at once. On larger displays, you can even snap three or four apps at once. Windows 8′s ability to use multiple apps at once on a tablet is compelling and unmatched by iPads and Android tablets. You can also snap two of the same apps side-by-side — to view two web pages at once, for example. More Comprehensive PC Settings: Windows 8.1 offers a more comprehensive PC settings app, allowing you to change most system settings in a touch-optimized interface. You shouldn’t have to use the desktop Control Panel on a tablet anymore — or at least not as often. Touch-Optimized File Browsing: Microsoft’s SkyDrive app allows you to browse files on your local PC, finally offering a built-in, touch-optimized way to manage files without using the desktop. Help & Tips: Windows 8.1 includes a Help+Tips app that will help guide new users through its new interface, something Microsoft stubbornly refused to add during development. There’s still no “Modern” version of Microsoft Office apps (aside from OneNote), so you’ll still have to head to use desktop Office apps on tablets. It’s not perfect, but the Modern interface doesn’t feel anywhere near as immature anymore. Read our in-depth look at the ways Microsoft’s Modern interface, formerly known as Metro, is improved in Windows 8.1 for more information. In summary, Windows 8.1 is what Windows 8 should have been. All of these improvements are on top of the many great desktop features, security improvements, and all-around battery life and performance optimizations that appeared in Windows 8. If you’re still using Windows 7 and are happy with it, there’s probably no reason to race out and buy a copy of Windows 8.1 at the rather high price of $120. But, if you’re using Windows 8, it’s a big upgrade no matter what you’re doing. If you buy a new PC and it comes with Windows 8.1, you’re getting a much more flexible and comfortable experience. If you’re holding off on buying a new computer because you don’t want Windows 8, give Windows 8.1 a try — yes, it’s different, but Microsoft has compromised on the desktop while making a lot of improvements to the new interface. You just might find that Windows 8.1 is now a worthwhile upgrade, even if you only want to use the desktop.     

  Read the article

• Using dnnModal.show in your modules and content

  - by Chris Hammond

  One thing that was added in DotNetNuke 6 but hasn’t been covered in great detail is a method called dnnModal.show. Calling this method is fairly straight forward depending on your need, but before we get into how to call/use the method, let’s talk about what it does first. dnnModal.show is a method that gets called via JavaScript and allows you to load up a URL into a modal popup window within your DotNetNuke site. Basically it will take that URL and load it into an IFrame within the current DotNetNuke...(read more)

  Read the article

• 8 Backup Tools Explained for Windows 7 and 8

  - by Chris Hoffman

  Backups on Windows can be confusing. Whether you’re using Windows 7 or 8, you have quite a few integrated backup tools to think about. Windows 8 made quite a few changes, too. You can also use third-party backup software, whether you want to back up to an external drive or back up your files to online storage. We won’t cover third-party tools here — just the ones built into Windows. Backup and Restore on Windows 7 Windows 7 has its own Backup and Restore feature that lets you create backups manually or on a schedule. You’ll find it under Backup and Restore in the Control Panel. The original version of Windows 8 still contained this tool, and named it Windows 7 File Recovery. This allowed former Windows 7 users to restore files from those old Windows 7 backups or keep using the familiar backup tool for a little while. Windows 7 File Recovery was removed in Windows 8.1. System Restore System Restore on both Windows 7 and 8 functions as a sort of automatic system backup feature. It creates backup copies of important system and program files on a schedule or when you perform certain tasks, such as installing a hardware driver. If system files become corrupted or your computer’s software becomes unstable, you can use System Restore to restore your system and program files from a System Restore point. This isn’t a way to back up your personal files. It’s more of a troubleshooting feature that uses backups to restore your system to its previous working state. Previous Versions on Windows 7 Windows 7′s Previous Versions feature allows you to restore older versions of files — or deleted files. These files can come from backups created with Windows 7′s Backup and Restore feature, but they can also come from System Restore points. When Windows 7 creates a System Restore point, it will sometimes contain your personal files. Previous Versions allows you to extract these personal files from restore points. This only applies to Windows 7. On Windows 8, System Restore won’t create backup copies of your personal files. The Previous Versions feature was removed on Windows 8. File History Windows 8 replaced Windows 7′s backup tools with File History, although this feature isn’t enabled by default. File History is designed to be a simple, easy way to create backups of your data files on an external drive or network location. File History replaces both Windows 7′s Backup and Previous Versions features. Windows System Restore won’t create copies of personal files on Windows 8. This means you can’t actually recover older versions of files until you enable File History yourself — it isn’t enabled by default. System Image Backups Windows also allows you to create system image backups. These are backup images of your entire operating system, including your system files, installed programs, and personal files. This feature was included in both Windows 7 and Windows 8, but it was hidden in the preview versions of Windows 8.1. After many user complaints, it was restored and is still available in the final version of Windows 8.1 — click System Image Backup on the File History Control Panel. Storage Space Mirroring Windows 8′s Storage Spaces feature allows you to set up RAID-like features in software. For example, you can use Storage Space to set up two hard disks of the same size in a mirroring configuration. They’ll appear as a single drive in Windows. When you write to this virtual drive, the files will be saved to both physical drives. If one drive fails, your files will still be available on the other drive. This isn’t a good long-term backup solution, but it is a way of ensuring you won’t lose important files if a single drive fails. Microsoft Account Settings Backup Windows 8 and 8.1 allow you to back up a variety of system settings — including personalization, desktop, and input settings. If you’re signing in with a Microsoft account, OneDrive settings backup is enabled automatically. This feature can be controlled under OneDrive > Sync settings in the PC settings app. This feature only backs up a few settings. It’s really more of a way to sync settings between devices. OneDrive Cloud Storage Microsoft hasn’t been talking much about File History since Windows 8 was released. That’s because they want people to use OneDrive instead. OneDrive — formerly known as SkyDrive — was added to the Windows desktop in Windows 8.1. Save your files here and they’ll be stored online tied to your Microsoft account. You can then sign in on any other computer, smartphone, tablet, or even via the web and access your files. Microsoft wants typical PC users “backing up” their files with OneDrive so they’ll be available on any device. You don’t have to worry about all these features. Just choose a backup strategy to ensure your files are safe if your computer’s hard disk fails you. Whether it’s an integrated backup tool or a third-party backup application, be sure to back up your files.

  Read the article

• Raspberry Pi entrance signed backed by Umbraco - Part 1

  - by Chris Houston

  Being experts on all things Umbraco, we jumped at the chance to help our client, QV Offices, with their pressing signage predicament. They needed to display a sign in the entrance to their building and approached us for our advice. Of course it had to be electronic: displaying multiple names of their serviced office clients, meeting room bookings and on-the-pulse promotions. But with a winding Victorian staircase and minimal storage space how could the monitor be run, updated and managed? That’s where we came in…Raspberry PiUmbraco CMSAutomatic updatesAutomated monitor of the signPower saving when the screen is not in useMounting the screenThe screen that has been used is a standard LED low energy Full HD screen and has been mounted on the wall using it's VESA mounting points, as the wall is a stud wall we were able to add an access panel behind the screen to feed through the mains, HDMI and sensor cables.The Raspberry Pi is then tucked away out of sight in the main electrical cupboard which just happens to be next to the sign, we had an electrician add a power point inside this cupboard to allow us to power the screen and the Raspberry Pi.Designing the interface and editing the contentAlthough a room sign was the initial requirement from QV Offices, their medium term goal has always been to add online meeting booking to their website and hence we suggested adding information about the current and next day's meetings to the sign that would be pulled directly from their online booking system.We produced the design and built the web page to fit exactly on a 1920 x 1080 screen (Full HD in Portrait)As you would expect all the information can be edited via an Umbraco CMS, they are able to add floors, rooms, clients and virtual clients as well as add meeting bookings to their meeting diary.How we configured the Raspberry PiAfter receiving a new Raspberry Pi we downloaded the latest release of Raspbian operating system and followed the official guide which shows how to copy the OS onto an SD card from a Mac, we then followed the majority of steps on this useful guide: 10 Things to Do After Buying a Raspberry Pi.Installing ChromiumWe chose to use the Chromium web browser which for those who do not know is the open sourced version of Google Chrome. You can install this from the terminal with the following command:sudo apt-get install chromium-browserInstalling UnclutterWe found this little application which automatically hides the mouse pointer, it is used in the script below and is installed using the following command:sudo apt-get install unclutterAuto start Chromium and disabling the screen saver, power saving and mouseWhen the Raspberry Pi has been installed it will not have a keyboard or mouse and hence if their was a power cut we needed it to always boot and re-loaded Chromium with the correct URL.Our preferred command line text editor is Nano and I have assumed you know how to use this editor or will be able to work it out pretty quickly.So using the following command:sudo nano /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE/autostartWe then changed the autostart file content to:@lxpanel --profile LXDE@pcmanfm --desktop --profile LXDE@xscreensaver -no-splash@xset s off@xset -dpms@xset s noblank@chromium --kiosk --incognito http://www.qvoffices.com/someURL@unclutter -idle 0The first few commands turn off the screen saver and power saving, we then open Cromium in Kiosk Mode (full screen with no menu etc) and pass in the URL to use (I have changed the URL in this example) We found a useful blog post with the Cromium command line switches.Finally we also open an application called Unclutter which auto hides the mouse after 0 seconds, so you will never see a mouse on the sign.We also had to edit the following file:sudo nano /etc/lightdm/lightdm.confAnd added the following line under the [SeatDefault] section:xserver-command=X -s 0 dpmsRefreshing the screenWe decided to try and add a scheduled task that would trigger Chromium to reload the page, at some point in the future we might well change this to using Javascript to update the content, but for now this works fine.First we installed the XDOTool which enables you to script Keyboard commands:sudo apt-get install xdotoolWe used the Refreshing Chromium Browser by Shell Script post as a reference and created the following shell script (which we called refreshing.sh):export DISPLAY=":0"WID=$(xdotool search --onlyvisible --class chromium|head -1)xdotool windowactivate ${WID}xdotool key ctrl+F5This selects the correct display and then sends a CTRL + F5 to refresh Chromium.You will need to give this file execute permissions:chmod a=rwx refreshing.shNow we have the script file setup we just need to schedule it to call this script periodically which is done by using Crontab, to edit this you use the following command:crontab -eAnd we added the following:*/5 * * * * DISPLAY=":.0" /home/pi/scripts/refreshing.sh >/home/pi/cronlog.log 2>&1This calls our script every 5 minutes to refresh the display and it logs any errors to the cronlog.log file.SummaryQV Offices now have a richer and more manageable booking system than they did before we started, and a great new sign to boot.How could we make sure that the sign was running smoothly downstairs in a busy office centre? A second post will follow outlining exactly how Vizioz enabled QV Offices to monitor their sign simply and remotely, from the comfort of their desks.

  Read the article

• Oracle Virtualization at Oracle OpenWorld 2012

  - by Chris Kawalek

  Mini-Series Entry 1 of 3: Hands-On Virtualization This is the first entry of a 3 part mini-series aimed at highlighting server and desktop virtualization at this year’s Oracle OpenWorld.  Oracle OpenWorld 2012 is fast approaching! If you are as excited as we are about the fascinating new Oracle virtualization content featured at Oracle OpenWorld 2012, you won’t want to miss this blog mini-series. We will be highlighting sessions that cover advances and innovations in our products, our product strategy and roadmap, and hands on labs for step-by-step instructions from our field and product experts. In the blog mini-series you will learn about: The Oracle Virtualization general keynote session Hands-on labs  Key Oracle server and desktop virtualization sessions In this entry, we will cover the Oracle Virtualization keynote session and the hands-on labs you won't want to miss. General Session: Oracle Virtualization Strategy and Roadmap Session ID: GEN8725 Oracle offers the industry’s most complete and integrated virtualization portfolio enabling organizations to realize benefits beyond simple consolidation as they transform their data centers into flexible cloud-based infrastructures. Join Oracle executives and experts to learn about Oracle’s desktop-to-data-center virtualization solutions, such as the OS, with built-in management integration at all layers that can help you virtualize and manage the complete computing environment, from physical servers to virtual servers and applications. This “don’t-miss” session offers details of the latest product updates and strategy; product roadmaps; integration with enterprise applications; and real-world examples of how Oracle server, desktop, and storage virtualization is benefiting customers. Here are our top picks for Hands-On Labs for Oracle OpenWorld 2012: Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Performance and Tablet Mobility Session ID: HOL9907 This hands-on lab demonstrates the performance (using an industry-standard load tester) and roaming capabilities of Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure with Oracle’s Sun Ray Clients, Apple iPad and other clients. Deploying an IaaS Environment with Oracle VM: Hands-On Lab  Session ID: HOL9558 This hands-on lab takes you through the planning and deployment of an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) environment with Oracle VM as the foundation. It covers a range of topics, from planning storage capacity, LUN creation, network bandwidth planning, and best practices to designing and streamlining the environment for ease of management. Learn from deeply experienced field engineers and product experts. Virtualize and Deploy Oracle Applications in Minutes with Oracle VM: Hands-On Lab Session ID: HOL9559 This hands-on lab is for application architects or system administrators who will need to deploy and manage Oracle Applications. You’ll learn how Oracle VM Templates can turn you into a power user who can virtualize and deploy complex Oracle Applications in minutes. Longtime field-experienced engineers and product experts will show you, step by step, how to download and import templates and deploy the applications. x86 Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure with Oracle VM 3.x and Sun ZFS Storage Appliance Session ID: HOL9870 The purpose of this hands-on lab is to demonstrate the functionality and usage of Oracle’s enterprise cloud infrastructure for x86 with Oracle VM 3.x. It covers:  Creation of VMs Migration of VMs  Quick and easy deployment of Oracle applications with Oracle VM Templates  Usage of the Storage Connect plug-in for the Sun ZFS Storage Appliance You can find these and other great sessions on the Oracle OpenWorld 2012 Content Catalogue. Start checking now to better plan and organize your week at the conference. Then you’ll be ready to sign up for all of your sessions in mid-July when the scheduling tool goes live. While the hands-on labs allow you to directly interact with Oracle virtualization products, the conference sessions allow you to hear from a wide variety of industry experts on how they're using they technology in real world deployments, solving specific challenges, and more. In tomorrow's entry, we'll start talking about the many conference sessions related to Oracle server and desktop virtualization you can attend during the show. See you then! - The Oracle Virtualization marketing team

  Read the article

• How To Run Chrome OS in VirtualBox and Try Out Chrome OS Before Buying a Chromebook

  - by Chris Hoffman

  With Google’s new Chromebooks out at just $249, many people who once wrote them off as too expensive for their limited functionality are giving them a second look. But will you really find Chrome OS useful? You can easily run Chrome OS in a VirtualBox virtual machine, although you’ll need to tweak a few settings before it will run properly. Once you have, you can run Chrome OS in a window on your computer. How To Play DVDs on Windows 8 6 Start Menu Replacements for Windows 8 What Is the Purpose of the “Do Not Cover This Hole” Hole on Hard Drives?

  Read the article

• How to Easily Add Custom Right-Click Options to Ubuntu’s File Manager

  - by Chris Hoffman

  Use Nautilus-Actions to easily and graphically create custom context menu options for Ubuntu’s Nautilus file manager. If you don’t want to create your own, you can install Nautilus-Actions-Extra to get a package of particularly useful user-created tools. Nautilus-Actions is simple to use – much simpler than editing the Windows registry to add Windows Explorer context menu options. All you really have to do is name your option and specify a command or script to run. HTG Explains: What Is Windows RT and What Does It Mean To Me? HTG Explains: How Windows 8′s Secure Boot Feature Works & What It Means for Linux Hack Your Kindle for Easy Font Customization

  Read the article

• How To Make NVIDIA’s Optimus Work on Linux

  - by Chris Hoffman

  Many new laptops come with NVIDIA’s Optimus technology – the laptop includes both a discrete NVIDIA GPU for gaming power and an onboard Intel GPU for power savings. The notebook switches between the two when necessary. However, this isn’t yet well-supported on Linux. Linus Torvalds had some choice words for NVIDIA regarding Optimus not working on Linux, and NVIDIA is now currently working on official support. However, if you have a laptop with Optimus support, you don’t have to wait for NVIDIA — you can use the Bumblebee project’s solution to enable Optimus on Linux today. Image Credit: Jemimus on Flickr How To Create a Customized Windows 7 Installation Disc With Integrated Updates How to Get Pro Features in Windows Home Versions with Third Party Tools HTG Explains: Is ReadyBoost Worth Using?

  Read the article

• How to Disable Ubuntu’s Guest Session Account

  - by Chris Hoffman

  Ubuntu and Linux Mint come with a “Guest Session” account, which anyone can log into from the login screen – no password required. If you’d rather restrict access to your computer, you can disable the guest account. This guest account is locked down and changes to it don’t persist between sessions – everyone that logs in gets a fresh desktop. Still, you may want to disable it to prevent other people from using your computer. Download the Official How-To Geek Trivia App for Windows 8 How to Banish Duplicate Photos with VisiPic How to Make Your Laptop Choose a Wired Connection Instead of Wireless

  Read the article

• Resolving TFS_SCHEMA_VERSION Errors In Team Foundation Server 2010 Collection Databases

  - by Jeff Ferguson

  I recently backed up a Team Foundation Server 2010 project collection database and restored it onto another server. All of that went well, until I tried to use the restored database on the new server. As it turns out, the old server was running the Release Candidate of TFS 2010 and the new server is running the RTM version of TFS 2010. I ended up with an error message shown on the new server's Team Web Access site about the project collection's TFS_SCHEMA_VERSION property not containing the appropriate value. As it turns out, TFS_SCHEMA_VERSION is an extended property on the project collection database. I ran the following SQL script against the project collection database restored onto the new server: EXEC [Tfs_DefaultCollection].sys.sp_dropextendedproperty @name=N'TFS_PRODUCT_VERSION' GO EXEC [Tfs_DefaultCollection].sys.sp_addextendedproperty @name=N'TFS_PRODUCT_VERSION', @value=N'10.0.30319.1' GO EXEC [Tfs_DefaultCollection].sys.sp_dropextendedproperty @name=N'TFS_SCHEMA_VERSION' GO EXEC [Tfs_DefaultCollection].sys.sp_addextendedproperty @name=N'TFS_SCHEMA_VERSION', @value=N'Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2010 (RTM)' GO Now, all is well. I can now navigate to http://newserver:8080/tfs/ and see the restored project collection and its contents.

  Read the article

• SQL SERVER – Difference Between DATETIME and DATETIME2 – WITH GETDATE

  - by pinaldave

  Earlier I wrote blog post SQL SERVER – Difference Between GETDATE and SYSDATETIME which inspired me to write SQL SERVER – Difference Between DATETIME and DATETIME2. Now earlier two blog post inspired me to write this blog post (and 4 emails and 3 reads from readers). I previously populated DATETIME and DATETIME2 field with SYSDATETIME, which gave me very different behavior as SYSDATETIME was rounded up/down for the DATETIME datatype. I just ran the same experiment but instead of populating SYSDATETIME in this script I will be using GETDATE function. DECLARE @Intveral INT SET @Intveral = 10000 CREATE TABLE #TimeTable (FirstDate DATETIME, LastDate DATETIME2) WHILE (@Intveral > 0) BEGIN INSERT #TimeTable (FirstDate, LastDate) VALUES (GETDATE(), GETDATE()) SET @Intveral = @Intveral - 1 END GO SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT FirstDate) D_FirstDate, COUNT(DISTINCT LastDate) D_LastDate FROM #TimeTable GO SELECT DISTINCT a.FirstDate, b.LastDate FROM #TimeTable a INNER JOIN #TimeTable b ON a.FirstDate = b.LastDate GO SELECT * FROM #TimeTable GO DROP TABLE #TimeTable GO Let us run above script and observe the results. You will find that the values of GETDATE which is populated in both the columns FirstDate and LastDate are very much same. This is because GETDATE is of datatype DATETIME and the precision of the GETDATE is smaller than DATETIME2 there is no rounding happening. In other word, this experiment is pointless. I have included this as I got 4 emails and 3 twitter questions on this subject. If your datatype of variable is smaller than column datatype there is no manipulation of data, if data type of variable is larger than column datatype the data is rounded. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://www.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL DateTime, SQL Query, SQL Scripts, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

  Read the article

• Use Ubuntu’s Public Folder to Easily Share Files Between Computers

  - by Chris Hoffman

  You’ve probably noticed that Ubuntu comes with a Public folder in your home directory. This folder isn’t shared by default, but you can easily set up several different types of file-sharing to easily share files on your local network. This folder was originally meant for the Personal File Sharing tool, which is no longer included with Ubuntu by default. You can install the Personal File Sharing tool or use Ubuntu’s built-in file-sharing feature to share files. HTG Explains: What Is RSS and How Can I Benefit From Using It? HTG Explains: Why You Only Have to Wipe a Disk Once to Erase It HTG Explains: Learn How Websites Are Tracking You Online

  Read the article

• How to Use An Antivirus Boot Disc or USB Drive to Ensure Your Computer is Clean

  - by Chris Hoffman

  If your computer is infected with malware, running an antivirus within Windows may not be enough to remove it. If your computer has a rootkit, the malware may be able to hide itself from your antivirus software. This is where bootable antivirus solutions come in. They can clean malware from outside the infected Windows system, so the malware won’t be running and interfering with the clean-up process. The Problem With Cleaning Up Malware From Within Windows Standard antivirus software runs within Windows. If your computer is infected with malware, the antivirus software will have to do battle with the malware. Antivirus software will try to stop the malware and remove it, while the malware will attempt to defend itself and shut down the antivirus. For really nasty malware, your antivirus software may not be able to fully remove it from within Windows. Rootkits, a type of malware that hides itself, can be even trickier. A rootkit could load at boot time before other Windows components and prevent Windows from seeing it, hide its processes from the task manager, and even trick antivirus applications into believing that the rootkit isn’t running. The problem here is that the malware and antivirus are both running on the computer at the same time. The antivirus is attempting to fight the malware on its home turf — the malware can put up a fight. Why You Should Use an Antivirus Boot Disc Antivirus boot discs deal with this by approaching the malware from outside Windows. You boot your computer from a CD or USB drive containing the antivirus and it loads a specialized operating system from the disc. Even if your Windows installation is completely infected with malware, the special operating system won’t have any malware running within it. This means the antivirus program can work on the Windows installation from outside it. The malware won’t be running while the antivirus tries to remove it, so the antivirus can methodically locate and remove the harmful software without it interfering. Any rootkits won’t be able to set up the tricks they use at Windows boot time to hide themselves from the rest o the operating system. The antivirus will be able to see the rootkits and remove them. These tools are often referred to as “rescue disks.” They’re meant to be used when you need to rescue a hopelessly infected system. Bootable Antivirus Options As with any type of antivirus software, you have quite a few options. Many antivirus companies offer bootable antivirus systems based on their antivirus software. These tools are generally free, even when they’re offered by companies that specialized in paid antivirus solutions. Here are a few good options: avast! Rescue Disk – We like avast! for offering a capable free antivirus with good detection rates in independent tests. avast! now offers the ability to create an antivirus boot disc or USB drive. Just navigate to the Tools -> Rescue Disk option in the avast! desktop application to create bootable media. BitDefender Rescue CD – BitDefender always seems to receive good scores in independent tests, and the BitDefender Rescue CD offers the same antivirus engine in the form of a bootable disc. Kaspersky Rescue Disk – Kaspersky also receives good scores in independent tests and offers its own antivirus boot disc. These are just a handful of options. If you prefer another antivirus for some reason — Comodo, Norton, Avira, ESET, or almost any other antivirus product — you’ll probably find that it offers its own system rescue disk. How to Use an Antivirus Boot Disc Using an antivirus boot disc or USB drive is actually pretty simple. You’ll just need to find the antivirus boot disc you want to use and burn it to disc or install it on a USB drive. You can do this part on any computer, so you can create antivirus boot media on a clean computer and then take it to an infected computer. Insert the boot media into the infected computer and then reboot. The computer should boot from the removable media and load the secure antivirus environment. (If it doesn’t, you may need to change the boot order in your BIOS or UEFI firmware.) You can then follow the instructions on your screen to scan your Windows system for malware and remove it. No malware will be running in the background while you do this. Antivirus boot discs are useful because they allow you to detect and clean malware infections from outside an infected operating system. If the operating system is severely infected, it may not be possible to remove — or even detect — all the malware from within it. Image Credit: aussiegall on Flickr     

  Read the article

• HTG Explains: Why Linux Doesn’t Need Defragmenting

  - by Chris Hoffman

  If you’re a Linux user, you’ve probably heard that you don’t need to defragment your Linux file systems. You’ll also notice that Linux distributions don’t come with disk-defragmenting utilities. But why is that? To understand why Linux file systems don’t need defragmenting in normal use – and Windows ones do – you’ll need to understand why fragmentation occurs and how Linux and Windows file systems work differently from each other. HTG Explains: Why Linux Doesn’t Need Defragmenting How to Convert News Feeds to Ebooks with Calibre How To Customize Your Wallpaper with Google Image Searches, RSS Feeds, and More

  Read the article

• Hey, Google: It’s Time to Add Multi-Window Multitasking To Android

  - by Chris Hoffman

  In 2012, Google’s Dianne Hackborn threatened to revoke CyanogenMod’s access to the Android Market if they moved forward with adding “Cornerstone” multitasking to their custom ROM. Samsung has since created their own multi-window multitasking feature. Dianne Hackborn said this “is something that needs to be done at the mainline platform level” so apps wouldn’t break. She was right — Android needs this as a standard feature and it’s time for Google to provide it. Doesn’t Android Have Multitasking? Android originally stood out from Apple’s iOS with its powerful multitasking. Applications can continue running in the background while you’re using another application. This makes Android powerful — you can even have BitTorrent clients downloading files in the background while using another app. Android still kept the design of a single app on screen at a time. This made a lot of sense when Android only ran on smartphones with small screens. Today, Android runs on everything from smaller smartphones all the way up to huge “phablets” like the Galaxy Note. Android has gone beyond phones and runs on 12-inch tablets, convertibles with keyboard docks, laptops, and even Android desktops. Android isn’t just a phone operating system. Samsung’s Multi-Window Isn’t Good Enough Samsung has tried to add value to Android by adding a multi-window feature. When you’re using a high-end phone like the Galaxy Note or Galaxy S, or a Galaxy tablet, you have the ability to run certain apps side-by-side with each other. There are big problems here. This only works on Samsung devices, and only on specific Samsung devices. To add support for this feature in a way that doesn’t break other apps, Samsung’s multi-window feature also only works with specific apps. You can’t just run any app in multi-window view, only the apps on the Multi Window bar Samsung provides. This prevents third-party apps from breaking, which is what Google was worried about with CyanogenMod’s Cornerstone feature. A feature that only works with a handful of apps on specific devices from a single manufacturer isn’t good enough. This feature needs to work on every Android device — or at least ones with suitably large screens and powerful enough internals. It needs to be an Android platform feature so application developers can ensure their apps will work properly with it on every device. Android developers shouldn’t have to add support for each manufacturer’s own multi-window feature if other manufacturers decide to copy Samsung. Floating Apps Are a Dirty Hack Floating apps also enable real multitasking. Remember that Android allows apps to run in the background while you’re using an app in the foreground. These apps can present interfaces that appear floating above the current app — think of it like using “always on top” to make a window always appear over every other app on a desktop operating system. You can install floating apps to browse the web, take notes, chat, and watch videos while using any app. Only apps specifically designed to run as floating apps will work, so you have to seek them out. Floating apps are also awkward to use because they float over the app you’re using, blocking parts of its interface. Microsoft added floating-window support to Skype for Android. You can have a video conversation and the other person’s face will always appear on your screen, even when you leave the Skype app. Microsoft is using more of Android’s multi-window multitasking power than Google is. Custom ROMs and Root-Only Tweaks Aren’t Acceptable Some custom ROMs are adding this feature to Android. Google threatened to revoke CyanogenMod’s access to the Android Market (now known as Google Play) if they added this feature because it could potentially break third-party apps. Today, other custom ROMs are working on split-screen multitasking. Samsung added their own version to their own devices. You can also get this feature by using a root-only Xposed Framework tweak known as XMultiWindow. If you have root access, you can get multi-window multitasking or any app on your device. This shouldn’t require rooting your device or installing a custom ROM. These third-party solutions often have awkward interfaces and bugs. We need an integrated, supported solution that works the same on every device. Why Multi-Window is Important Microsoft’s Windows 8.1 stands out among tablet operating systems for its powerful multitasking support, allowing you to view several apps side-by-side at the same time. Apple is also reported to be working on adding side-by-side apps to the iPad with iOS 8. On every competitor’s operating system, you’ll be able to view a web page while you write an email, watch a video while you browse the web, or chat with someone while you do anything else. But Android’s still remained frozen in time. Despite all Android’s underlying power — and despite the way Android allows apps to adapt to different screen sizes — Google is resisting adding this feature. Large-screen Android tablets like the Nexus 10 (remember that tablet Google hasn’t updated in over 18 months?) need this feature. So do huge phones, convertibles, laptops, and Android desktops. If tablets are the future of personal computing, we should be able to do more than one thing at a time on our tablets’ big screens. Microsoft, Samsung, and even Apple are realizing this — now it’s Google’s turn. Image Credit: Sergey Galyonkin on Flickr, Karlis Dambrans on Flickr

  Read the article

• HTG Explains: What “Everything Is a File” Means on Linux

  - by Chris Hoffman

  One of the defining features of Linux and other UNIX-like operating systems is that “everything is a file.” This is an oversimplification, but understanding what it means will help you understand how Linux works. Many things on Linux appear in your file system, but they aren’t actually files. They’re special files that represent hardware devices, system information, and other things — including a random number generator. These special files may be located in pseudo or virtual file systems such as /dev, which contains special files that represent devices, and /proc, which contains special files that represent system and process information. How to Banish Duplicate Photos with VisiPic How to Make Your Laptop Choose a Wired Connection Instead of Wireless HTG Explains: What Is Two-Factor Authentication and Should I Be Using It?

  Read the article

• No, iCloud Isn’t Backing Them All Up: How to Manage Photos on Your iPhone or iPad

  - by Chris Hoffman

  Are the photos you take with your iPhone or iPad backed up in case you lose your device? If you’re just relying on iCloud to manage your important memories, your photos may not be backed up at all. Apple’s iCloud has a photo-syncing feature in the form of “Photo Stream,” but Photo Stream doesn’t actually perform any long-term backups of your photos. iCloud’s Photo Backup Limitations Assuming you’ve set up iCloud on your iPhone or iPad, your device is using a feature called “Photo Stream” to automatically upload the photos you take to your iCloud storage and sync them across your devices. Unfortunately, there are some big limitations here. 1000 Photos: Photo Stream only backs up the latest 1000 photos. Do you have 1500 photos in your Camera Roll folder on your phone? If so, only the latest 1000 photos are stored in your iCloud account online. If you don’t have those photos backed up elsewhere, you’ll lose them when you lose your phone. If you have 1000 photos and take one more, the oldest photo will be removed from your iCloud Photo Stream. 30 Days: Apple also states that photos in your Photo Stream will be automatically deleted after 30 days “to give your devices plenty of time to connect and download them.” Some people report photos aren’t deleted after 30 days, but it’s clear you shouldn’t rely on iCloud for more than 30 days of storage. iCloud Storage Limits: Apple only gives you 5 GB of iCloud storage space for free, and this is shared between backups, documents, and all other iCloud data. This 5 GB can fill up pretty quickly. If your iCloud storage is full and you haven’t purchased any more storage more from Apple, your photos aren’t being backed up. Videos Aren’t Included: Photo Stream doesn’t include videos, so any videos you take aren’t automatically backed up. It’s clear that iCloud’s Photo Stream isn’t designed as a long-term way to store your photos, just a convenient way to access recent photos on all your devices before you back them up for real. iCloud’s Photo Stream is Designed for Desktop Backups If you have a Mac, you can launch iPhoto and enable the Automatic Import option under Photo Stream in its preferences pane. Assuming your Mac is on and connected to the Internet, iPhoto will automatically download photos from your photo stream and make local backups of them on your hard drive. You’ll then have to back up your photos manually so you don’t lose them if your Mac’s hard drive ever fails. If you have a Windows PC, you can install the iCloud Control Panel, which will create a Photo Stream folder on your PC. Your photos will be automatically downloaded to this folder and stored in it. You’ll want to back up your photos so you don’t lose them if your PC’s hard drive ever fails. Photo Stream is clearly designed to be used along with a desktop application. Photo Stream temporarily backs up your photos to iCloud so iPhoto or iCloud Control Panel can download them to your Mac or PC and make a local backup before they’re deleted. You could also use iTunes to sync your photos from your device to your PC or Mac, but we don’t really recommend it — you should never have to use iTunes. How to Actually Back Up All Your Photos Online So Photo Stream is actually pretty inconvenient — or, at least, it’s just a way to temporarily sync photos between your devices without storing them long-term. But what if you actually want to automatically back up your photos online without them being deleted automatically? The solution here is a third-party app that does this for you, offering the automatic photo uploads with long-term storage. There are several good services with apps in the App Store: Dropbox: Dropbox’s Camera Upload feature allows you to automatically upload the photos — and videos — you take to your Dropbox account. They’ll be easily accessible anywhere there’s a Dropbox app and you can get much more free Dropbox storage than you can iCloud storage. Dropbox will never automatically delete your old photos. Google+: Google+ offers photo and video backups with its Auto Upload feature, too. Photos will be stored in your Google+ Photos — formerly Picasa Web Albums — and will be marked as private by default so no one else can view them. Full-size photos will count against your free 15 GB of Google account storage space, but you can also choose to upload an unlimited amount of photos at a smaller resolution. Flickr: The Flickr app is no longer a mess. Flickr offers an Auto Upload feature for uploading full-size photos you take and free Flickr accounts offer a massive 1 TB of storage for you to store your photos. The massive amount of free storage alone makes Flickr worth a look. Use any of these services and you’ll get an online, automatic photo backup solution you can rely on. You’ll get a good chunk of free space, your photos will never be automatically deleted, and you can easily access them from any device. You won’t have to worry about storing local copies of your photos and backing them up manually. Apple should fix this mess and offer a better solution for long-term photo backup, especially considering the limitations aren’t immediately obvious to users. Until they do, third-party apps are ready to step in and take their place. You can also automatically back up your photos to the web on Android with Google+’s Auto Upload or Dropbox’s Camera Upload. Image Credit: Simon Yeo on Flickr     

  Read the article

• Lost all privileges since upgrading to 13.10

  - by Chris Poole

  Since upgrading to 13.10, I no longer have the 'privileges' to do the following things: Mount USB/CDROM drives Run software centre or software updater Press the GUI shut down or restart buttons Unlock my account in the 'settings - user accounts' section (padlock is greyed out) Also, when logging on as a guest user I get error messages relating to Compiz crashing with SIGSEGV and it hangs on a blank wallpaper screen. However, I still am able to use sudo in the terminal. Output of 'groups' is jenchris adm dialout cdrom sudo audio video plugdev lpadmin admin pulse pulse-access sambashare sudo usermod -U username doesn't have any effect Output of sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh -a acpid stop/waiting acpid start/running, process 30454 * Starting AppArmor profiles Skipping profile in /etc/apparmor.d/disable: usr.bin.firefox Skipping profile in /etc/apparmor.d/disable: usr.sbin.rsyslogd [ OK ] * Reloading AppArmor profiles Skipping profile in /etc/apparmor.d/disable: usr.bin.firefox Skipping profile in /etc/apparmor.d/disable: usr.sbin.rsyslogd [ OK ] apport stop/waiting apport start/running gpg: key 437D05B5: "Ubuntu Archive Automatic Signing Key <[email protected]>" not changed gpg: key FBB75451: "Ubuntu CD Image Automatic Signing Key <[email protected]>" not changed gpg: key C0B21F32: "Ubuntu Archive Automatic Signing Key (2012) <[email protected]>" not changed gpg: key EFE21092: "Ubuntu CD Image Automatic Signing Key (2012) <[email protected]>" not changed gpg: Total number processed: 4 gpg: unchanged: 4 atd stop/waiting atd start/running, process 1388 avahi-daemon stop/waiting avahi-daemon start/running, process 1521 Rebuilding /usr/share/applications/bamf-2.index... update-alternatives: using /usr/share/man/man7/bash-builtins.7.gz to provide /usr/share/man/man7/builtins.7.gz (builtins.7.gz) in auto mode update-binfmts: warning: current package is openjdk-7, but binary format already installed by openjdk-6 binfmt-support stop/waiting bluetooth stop/waiting bluetooth start/running, process 4255 update-initramfs: deferring update (trigger activated) /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: 1: /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: [general]: not found /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: 2: /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: backend: not found /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: 3: /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: plugin_list_autosort: not found /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: 5: /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: [gnome_session]: not found /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: 6: /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: backend: not found /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: 7: /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: integration: not found /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: 8: /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: plugin_list_autosort: not found /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: 9: /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: profile: not found /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: 11: /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: [general_ubuntu]: not found /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: 12: /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: backend: not found /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: 13: /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: integration: not found /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: 14: /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: plugin_list_autosort: not found /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: 15: /var/lib/dpkg/info/compiz.config: profile: not found

  Read the article

• HTG Explains: Why You Shouldn’t Use a Task Killer On Android

  - by Chris Hoffman

  Some people think that task killers are important on Android. By closing apps running in the background, you’ll get improved performance and battery life – that’s the idea, anyway. In reality, task killers can reduce your performance and battery life. Task killers can force apps running in the background to quit, removing them from memory. Some task killers do this automatically. However, Android can intelligently manage processes on its own – it doesn’t need a task killer. How Hackers Can Disguise Malicious Programs With Fake File Extensions Can Dust Actually Damage My Computer? What To Do If You Get a Virus on Your Computer

  Read the article

• Speaking at NDC 2010!

  - by Chris Hardy (ChrisNTR)

  Hello all, A few weeks ago it was announced that I will be speaking at the Norwegian Developers Conference 2010 on MonoTouch. I'll be doing two session, an introduction to MonoTouch and developing for iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad as well as deep dive into MonoTouch and the ecosystem that is around MonoTouch and not just the MonoTouch product itself. The conference itself is (what looks to be) in the lovely surrounding of Olso so I'm excited both to visit the country, attend the conference and...(read more)

  Read the article

• How do you successfully hire out a few programmers to make it cost effective?

  - by Chris

  Many of us know this situation well: we're a one-man (woman) development team, we need some extra help to keep up with all the tasks, the budget is small and we decide to get some help. But hiring someone is difficult. Either the person is inexperienced and I end up becoming their full-time teacher in the hopes they will produce work they way I want, or the person is skilled but for whatever reason doesn't hand over code within budget that I can just plug in and use without reworking it myself. Any thoughts/ideas?

  Read the article

• Including additional DLL’s in an MSBuild script for Module Packaging

  - by Chris Hammond

  Late last year I created a blog post and video about a new version of the module development template that I released on Codeplex . This new template uses MSBuild scripts instead of NANT scripts to automate the packaging process for the modules built with the template. The MSBuild script works well out of the box, to package your module you simple change into RELEASE mode and then execute the build. If your project contains references to DLLs (in the website’s BIN folder) that you also need to package...(read more)

  Read the article

• How to Access a Windows Desktop From Your Tablet or Phone

  - by Chris Hoffman

  iPads and Android tablets can’t run Windows apps locally, but they can access a Windows desktops remotely — even with a physical keyboard. In a pinch, the same tricks can be used to access a Windows desktop from a smartphone. Microsoft recently launched their own official Remote Desktop app for iOS and Android devices. Microsoft’s official apps are primarily useful for businesses — if you’re a typical home user, you’ll want to use a different remote desktop solution. Microsoft’s Remote Desktop App Microsoft now offers official Remote Desktop apps for iPad and iPhone as well as Android tablets and smartphones. The apps use Microsoft’s RDP protocol to connect to remote Windows systems. They’re essentially just new clients for the Remote Desktop feature that has been included in Windows for more than a decade. There are big problems with these apps if you’re an average home user. Microsoft’s Remote Desktop server is not available on standard or Home versions of Windows, only Professional and Enterprise editions. If you do have the appropriate edition of Windows, you’ll have to set up port-forwarding and a dynamic DNS service if you want to access your Windows desktop from outside your local network. You could also set up a VPN — either way you’ll need to do some footwork. This app is a gift to businesses who are already using Remote Desktop and enthusiasts who have the more expensive versions of Windows and don’t mind the configuration process. To set this up, follow our guide to setting up Remote Desktop for Internet access and connect using the Remote Desktop app instead of traditional Remote Desktop clients. TeamViewer If you have the standard edition of Windows or you just don’t want to mess around with port-forwarding and dynamic DNS configuration, you’ll want to skip Remote Desktop and use something else. We like TeamViewer for this. Just as it’s a great way to remotely troubleshoot your relatives’ computers, it’s also a great way to remotely access your own computer. It doesn’t have the same limitations Microsoft’s Remote Desktop system has — it’s completely free for personal use, runs on any edition of Windows, and is easy to set up. There’s no messing around with port-forwarding or dynamic DNS configuration. To get started, just download and run the TeamViewer program on your computer. You can get started with it immediately, but you’ll want to set up unattended access to connect remotely without using the codes displayed on your screen. To connect, just install the TeamViewer mobile app and log in with the details the TeamViewer window displays. TeamViewer also offers software that runs on Mac and Linux, so you can remote-control other types of computers from your tablet. Other Options Microsoft’s Remote Desktop app and TeamViewer aren’t the only options, of course. There are a variety of different apps and services built for this. Splashtop is another fairly popular remote desktop solution that some people report as being faster. Unfortunately, it’s not entirely free — the iPad and iPhone app costs $20 at regular price. To use it over the Internet, you’ll have to purchase an additional “Anywhere Access Pack.” If you’re frustrated with TeamViewer’s speed and you don’t mind spending money, you may want to try Splashtop instead. As always, you could use any VNC server along with a VNC client app. VNC is the do-it-yourself solution — it’s an open protocol. Unlike Microsoft’s RDP protocol, you can install a VNC server of your own, configure it how you like, and use any mobile VNC client app. This is more flexible because you can install a VNC server on any edition of Windows or even non-Windows operating systems, but it otherwise has all the same issues — you have to worry about port-forwarding, setting up dynamic DNS, and securing your VNC server. Keep an eye on Chrome Remote Desktop. Chrome already offers a built-in remote desktop feature that allows you to remotely control your PC from another Windows, Mac, Linux, or Chrome OS device. Google is rumored to be building an Android app for Chrome Remote Desktop, which would allow you to easily access a computer running Chrome from Android tablets. Google’s solution is much more user-friendly for average people than Microsoft’s Remote Desktop solution, which is clearly geared towards businesses. Chrome Remote Desktop just requires signing in with a Google account. Remote desktop solutions like Microsoft’s Remote Desktop app and TeamViewer are also available for Windows tablets. On Windows RT devices like the Surface RT and Surface 2, they allow you to use the full Windows desktop that’s unavailable on your tablet.     

  Read the article

< Previous Page | 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67  | Next Page >