Category Archives: Micro$oft
D&D Character Builder crashes under Parallels
I had the D&D Character Builder running fine under a Parallels 5 Windows XP Pro virtual machine. But then a few weeks ago I ran a bunch of updates – both Windows and Parallels updates. Following the updates, the Character … Continue reading
Norton Nightmares: Windows cannot connect to the Internet using HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP
The Problem: following a Norton Internet Security uninstall, I could ping IP addresses and hostnames, but not browse to either. Running XP’s Network Diagnostic gave me something like: “Windows cannot connect to the Internet using HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP”. The … Continue reading
TortoiseSVN “connection closed unexpectedly”
This burned several hours of my time so I thought I’d add this post to the others that I found on the Intertron. I had debugged every possible angle when trying to get a Vista machine to checkout a repo … Continue reading
FOSS in the workplace: FAIL x 3
While I run Linux on the servers and IT workstations, I’m always looking for opportunities to deploy the OS and FOSS in general in a “user” context. I’ve made three attempts that all failed: The Web Browser: after an employee … Continue reading
Downloading files over SSL with IE7
Problem I have a script, call it download.php, that pulls files from a database and serves them up to the user. For example, download.php?fileId=69 might return some headers and data that cause the user’s browser to download a PDF and … Continue reading
Using the QuickBooks SDK via JACOB Java-COM Bridge
So you want to be a hero? You had better be prepared for a little heroics if you want to use the QuickBooks SDK with Java because it isn’t exactly straightforward. I saw a few mentions of people having done … Continue reading
A Norton Anti-Virus Haiku
Norton AV App Crashes, hangs, burns resources Worse than a virus
Tip #2: Beware the “Norton Anti-Virus” virus
While the Windows operating system may have been host to a minor worm or virus here and there, nothing major has come along until today. A serious Windows virus is making the rounds; security experts have dubbed this one: Norton … Continue reading
How to convert Micosoft Outlook .msg files
The hatred that I have toward Microsoft is a screaming inferno that wells from the core of my body and projects outward through the cosmos. The heat of this burning anger is not decreased when I am faced with a … Continue reading
Tip #1: All functions should include an unexpected, random operation
Beginning programmers often make the mistake of writing functions that perform a specific, useful task. For example, perhaps the programmer finds that s/he is often converting DOS newline characters into UNIX newlines. The programmer will generally make the typical novice … Continue reading