iPhone 4 Ordered!

Spent the past week trying to figure out why in the world I qualify for a new iPhone 4 at the full AT&T subsidized price when I just got my iPhone 3G S last year around May. My coworker who got his iPhone 3G S before I did last year didn't qualify. Today I finally figured it out.

• March 2008: Wife's Motorola Razr falls out of her pocket and into hot tub. We dry out the phone and it works.
  
• April 2008: Wife's phone won't charge. We deal with it by swapping batteries as we both have Motorola Razrs.
  
• May 2008: Wife's phone fails completely due to water damage. We're able to get a new phone at a discount (not full subsidized price, but better than full price) by renewing our contract for another two years.
  
• May 2009: I'm eligible to get subsidized price for iPhone 3G S and upgrade.
  
• June 2010: 2-year contract with AT&T signed in May 2008 is up, and wife has had her phone for 2 years, making both phone numbers eligible for upgrade.
  

So I promised my wife a new iPhone for as a graduation gift (she finished grad school in May.) So I tried pre-ordering her phone on June 15th. It would just not go through. Tried again on the 16th with the same results, but I was able to get my new iPhone ordered. Tried again to order my wife's phone on the 17th and yay the order went through so both of us will have iPhone 4s soon! Just not on June 24th, so I'll have to go without for a week or so in order to sell my iPhone 3G S via Gazelle.

Timing is everything, though I never figured a water damaged phone would somehow work to our advantage.

iPhone 4 Announced

Apple announced iPhone 4 today at WWDC. One of the most interesting bits is that AT&T is offering full subsidized price ($199 for 16 GB, $299 for 32 GB) to anyone who's contract is up in 2010. On a whim I checked, and yup I'm eligible. Cool, but I don't have $299 for an upgrade.

I previously heard about Gazelle.com on one podcast or another on Leo Laporte's TWiT Network. Gazelle.com is an online service where you can sell your used gadgets for cash. I checked it out. My iPhone has spent most of it's life in an iFrogz case, so it looks perfect to my eyes. Gazelle's offer for a good condition iPhone 3GS 32 GB is $274, and $304 for a perfect condition. The offer is good for 30 days, so if you sign up today and get your iPhone back to Gazelle by July 7th, 2010 you're good to go.

So I'm going for it. Will let you know how it goes as things progress.

ThinkGeek’s Phantom Keystroker

ThinkGeek’s Phantom Keystroker V2 is intended to be a practical joke to play on unsuspecting friends, family, coworkers. The USB device is the size of a flash drive. When connected to a computer it emulates a keyboard and mouse and periodically toggles caps lock, types random text, or wiggles the mouse.

There is plenty of potential for pranks here, but there is also potential for use in the real IT world. For example, it may be policy to require use of screen lock on idle to satisfy a policy such as PCI. Corporate administrators might enforce this on Windows clients using Group Policy. In the IT support role, it may be necessary to be logged in as the user the computer is assigned to in order to configure/fix something for that user. User’s seem to have a magical ability to vanish into thin air when they are needed by IT Support to resolve their problem.

For example, you have to copy a large file to the user’s laptop. You inform the user that this is going to take about half an hour, and the the user vanishes into the ether. Having no shortage of things to do, you return to your desk to take care of other trouble tickets while files are copying. You return 20 minutes later to find the screen locked and the user has gone to lunch.

Enter the Phantom Keystroker. Before you and the user walk away, plug in this device and set it to periodically wiggle the mouse. The mouse movements prevent the Windows screen lock from kicking in, and IT Support can finish up without tracking down the user or asking the user for their password. You could also use it to wiggle your mouse while watching a DVD or giving a PowerPoint presentation to prevent the screen from dimming or the screen saver from kicking in.

No good could come of this...

Job posting on a technical mailing list I'm subscribed to...

WANTED: Spare-time, moonlighting Systems Administrator with a Remote Access capability, to operate a Win XP mail server on a commission bases.

Really, using Windows XP as a mail server? Smells like SPAM...or worse.

Microsoft Security Essentials vs. The Other Free AV Guys

I’ve tried AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition, avast! Home Edition, and now Microsoft Security Essentials in order to avoid paying high prices to McAfee and Norton for products that have caused more problems than they solved for myself, my friends, and family.

I’ve only been running Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) for a few days now, but just reading the fine print I can see a clear advantage for this product: MSE’s license agreement allows for use in your home-based small business, while AVG and avast! have strict non-commercial and personal use only clauses. (See Website Copy and End User License Agreement sections below.) I can think of a handful of friends and family members who would be able to use MSE but not the other guys due to the personal use/non-commercial clauses.

Additionally, MSE doesn’t require you to fill out a form to register the product, it only performs a Windows Genuine Advantage check. Not having to deal with red-tape is always nice.

Lastly, there is no up-sell from MSE. My Grandmother became rather frustrated when AVG kept displaying ads trying to sell her the latest version of the AVG paid edition when AVG 7.5 was retired earlier this year. If I had the choice then, I would have switched her from AVG to MSE.

Website Copy

avast! Home Edition:

avast! Home Edition is free of charge for non-commercial and home use only. Both of these conditions should be met!

AVG:

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition may only be used on one computer for personal use.

Microsoft Security Essentials:

Your PC must run genuine Windows to install Microsoft Security Essentials.

End User License Agreements

avast! Home Edition:

avast! Home Edition: You may install the Software in a single location on a hard disk or other storage device of all computers located in your HOME, which are used for NONCOMMERCIAL usage only.

AVG:

AVG Technologies, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, hereby grants to you a non-exclusive and non-transferable license during the Term to use the Software
(i) solely in executable or object code form, on a single computer, and
(ii) solely for your personal use and not for purchase, sale or delivery of any product or service to a third party or other commercial or business purpose, if not explicitly stated in the terms of using the Software otherwise.

Microsoft security Essentials:

Microsoft Security Essentials: You may install and use any number of copies of the software on your devices in your household for use by people who reside there or for use in your home-based small business.

Update for Microsoft Security Essentials (Added 12/6/2010):
Microsoft updated the license agreement for Security Essentials to expand it to small businesses with up to 10 PCs.

1. Home Use. If you are a home user, then you may install and use any number of copies of the software on your personal devices for use by people who reside in your household. As a home user, you may not use the software in any commercial, non-profit, or revenue generating business activities.
2. Small Business. If you operate a small business, then you may install and use the software on up to ten (10) devices in your business.

To the rescue!

Moving MS SQL Server databases from one server to another tonight. Nothing like working into the late hours to screw up.

Removed old DB server from domain. Joined new one. Realized I forgot to get some data off the old server. Old server is removed from domain so only local administrator password will let me log in.

And for some reason, the documented local admin password does not match. Usually I remember to check this before doing something drastic like removing a server from the domain. Heck usually I change the local admin password and create a second account with admin rights just in case. But not tonight. Tonight I'm tired and I'm rushing things. So now I'm locked out of the server...

ARRRRRGH!

I was worried that my faithful tool for resolving this issue, the freeware Offline NT Password & Registry Editor wouldn't be able to save my butt this time. The server is Windows 2003 x64. Up until now I've only used the Offline NT Password & Registry Editor on 32 bit platforms. Also the server had a hardware RAID, who knows if the the boot CD would have the needed drivers.

Deep calming breath. Give it a try.

It's booting...it's detected the RAID card!

Yes it's found the Windows drives!

Yes yes yes it's reading in the SAM!

Offline NT Password & Registry Editor does indeed work on Windows 2003 64 bit!

Yes, I did a happy dance in the server room.

30 Things to do with a Windows Mobile Device

I have a Windows Mobile Phone. I’m not exactly a fan. I really tried to find useful things to do with this device beyond the obvious check email, SMS, etc., but I can only use my device so long before I’m overcome with an urge to throw it across the room or drop it in the toilet and flush. I put the positive stuff I’ve run across in bold text, as for the rest, Windows Mobile fans can write it off as filler or the ramblings of an idiot. Everyone else can get a feel of what the Windows Mobile experience is like without having to experience it for yourself.

1. Multitask with several apps.
2. Miss a phone call when the device is sluggish to respond due to all that multitasking.
3. Send MMS messages on AT&T.
4. Skip it across the lake.
5. Get directions, traffic, movie show times, gas prices, and more with the Live Search app.
6. Throw it under a bus.
7. Take notes with Evernote.
8. Cover in concrete.
9. Turn it into a Wi-Fi router
10. Drop it from a plane.
11. Manage your Netflix Queue
12. Play catch.
13. Do everything any other smart phone can do on Facebook.
14. Curse when ActiveSync stops syncing with Exchange.
15. Get some free Ringtones, Wallpapers, and Themes
16. Be confused by the difference between Pocket PC and Smartphone editions.
17. Share Live Video From Your Windows Mobile Phone
18. Try to find compelling free apps at handango.com
19. Reboot it.
20. Feed a goat.
21. Entomb in Yucca Mountain
22. Steady a wobbly table
23. Go swimming
24. Litter
25. Fuel a campfire
26. Target Practice at the firing range.
27. Play hockey
28. Spend hours searching for decent apps
29. Be totally baffled on when to use the touch screen, 5-way, and stylus.
30. Loose your stylus.
31. Curse when ActiveSync stops syncing with Exchange…again.
32. Reboot it…again.

At this point you may be thinking that I really hate this device. I don't, not really. I just wouldn't mind at all if it was accidentally smashed into tiny bits, and I enjoy thinking of ways to destroy it. The device provides just enough frustration to dream about destroying it, but not enough to inspire following through with it.