31 July 2012

Olympic Website Tickets Site Errors

Not only have the London 2012 organisers mucked up the assignment of tickets but their site doesn't even work properly. It really annoys me when huge companies or organisations make basic errors on their website. None more so at the moment than the Olympic ticket website which appears not to be able to tell the time. Today (the 31st July 2012) the site returned this message:

"Tickets to this event are not on sale yet. Tickets will go on sale at 7.00am 15 June 2012."

This along with another message about site maintenance... but the system should know that date has passed and not to show that message. Its just confusing for users.

It also shows tickets available that when you go into the details page (pictured) are not available. This is not a timing thing (e.g. tickets were available on summary screen then become unavailable as the details loads) and is extremely poor design. It must be causing undue strain on the servers as they struggle to serve pages thanks to all the refreshing that must be going on.

These are the kind of basic errors which should be eliminated in the first round of testing, not left in a live system which many thousands of people are using. The 2012 organisers should be ashamed of themselves for commissioning and signing off such a poorly designed site.


29 July 2012

Virtual Hosting on a Mac

UPDATE 06/12/2013
After some months of trying VMWare I took the advice of a collegue and tried out Parallels. I use the virtual for software development so they get pushed pretty hard. With VMWare I had a number of problems with it just hanging, or the fan going crazy. With Parallels it just works, and there is no noise from my fans!

Original post follows...

I have been using Virtualbox for a while to host a Windows machine on a Mac (posts here and here) but I have had some problems with reliability: although able to run it headless I often struggled to get MS Remote Desktop for Mac or TightVNC to connect to it. From what I have read online there seems to be an issue with the VirtualBox network adapter. It also made my machine run really hot, even if it was the only thing running, and running in fullscreen, so I looked for an alternative. Lifehacker did a piece on various options.

After a brief attempt with QEMU which reminded me why Open Source projects are often very frustrating (lack of documentation) I decided to go with VMWare as it supports an open format hard disk image (VMDK), meaning I could use the VM with another VMHost if I needed to (e.g. VirtualBox). This is in spite of the fact that Parallels came out best in reviews from more than one source (here and here). I guess it depends what's more important to you.

QEMU
I decided to try the OpenSource offering QEMU first. I like the fact that it is open source but also "When used as a virtualizer, QEMU achieves near native performances by executing the guest code directly on the host CPU." However after trying it QEMU seems to be mostly a Linux development and the Mac port didn't natively support the latest Windows hosts so it wasn't suited to me but anyway here are my short notes on the install:
  1. Download the Mac port of QEMU
  2. Install it. I recieved a message "Q can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer.". You can override this message for each installer or apply a setting in the System Preferences to allow applications downloaded from anywhere to run.
VMWare Fusion
I downloaded an evaluation copy some time ago but never got around to trying it before it expired. Why doesn't the expiry run from when you installed it I wonder? The registration form is soooo long and I don't feel I should need to give them all my information just to try their software.

Parallels
Also requires registration, and they annoyingly phoned me after I had registered, for a pointless converstation confirming what I had already entered on the form...
http://www.parallels.com/download/

Mountain Lion Install Problems

I installed Mountian Lion on my laptop with no problems but when I came to update my Mac Mini it wouldn't boot from the disk I had made, instead coming up with a Grey Screen for ages and then just booting itself from the hard disk. When I tried to run the app the flash screen came up with "Click Continue" but when I click continue, nothing happens. I didn't want to download it again from the app store but in the end that's what I ended up doing perhaps there was something wrong with the way I had made the disk. Looking at these notes I don't remember mounting the dmg before writing it so perhaps that was it:

"If you ever created a bootable Lion-install drive, you may have performed the above procedurewithout mounting the InstallESD disk image. As of version 10.7.4 of the Lion installer, and continuing with the Mountain Lion installer, you must use the mounted Mac OS X Install ESD volume or you’ll get an error at the end of the restore procedure, and the newly created bootable drive may not function properly."

Mine is a Mac mini Early 2009 and so should be supported according to the Mountain Lion System Requirements.

Some problems others had which I found and tried unsuccessfully whilst looking for a solution:

27 July 2012

Checking Signatures and Unpacking files on a Mac

I find there is a lot of assumed knowledge when it comes to source file archives, particularly on Open Source projects, which I think makes them less accessible to the masses. Anyway here are my notes on how you can check signatures an unpack files on a Mac. I'll use QEMU an open source virtual host as an example.

  1. Download - QEMU and the signature file. I created a folder on my Desktop called QEMU and put them in there.
  2. Check the signature: Full details here and here but basically install GPG4win, then run the following in Terminal:change to the relevant directory: cd /Users/[your username]/Desktop/QEMU
    verify the file: gpg --verify qemu-1.1.1-1.tar.bz2.sigNB: My Mac had renamed the file to .sig.bz2. I think on downloading it recognised it was a bz2 but didn't have a bz2 extension so appended one. However it didn't show that in Finder so you might want to do an ls command on the Terminal command line first to check then rename if necessary:mv qemu-1.1.1-1.tar.bz2.sig.bz2 qemu-1.1.1-1.tar.bz2.sig
  3. Extract it: The in-built 'Archiver' didn't work for me: instead of unpacking it packed the file back up into a zip. (UPDATE: It does work on Mountain Lion 10.8). I used The Unarchiver instead.

26 July 2012

How to Burn Your Own OS X Install DVD or USB Drive

How to Burn Your Own OS X Lion Install DVD or USB Drive

Note for Mountain lion you get the message:
"not enough free space"

You have to optimise it first:
hdiutil makehybrid -hfs -o ~/Desktop/InstallESD_ready2burn.dmg /Applications/Install\Mac\OS\X\Lion.app/Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg

For Mavericks

hdiutil makehybrid -hfs -o ~/Desktop/InstallESD_ready2burn.dmg "/Applications/Install OS X Mavericks.app/Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg"

Editing Blogger templates

My blog kept changing it's font until I found this:
How can I change the default font in my Blogger template? - Tips & instructions for beginning and intermediate bloggers.

Other edits are covered in this post by Amanda Kennedy.

23 July 2012

Windows 8: First Impressions are Poor

I've been waiting to try Windows 8 until it was at least in pre-release stage. Previous incantations of the Windows OS have taught me there is very little point in doing anything else as it's often not even ready when they actually release it! Anyway with the release date now set I felt it was time to experience the new interface.

To Windows Live ID or not to...
Installation was easy, just a matter of downloading the iso and choosing the language etc. Then I was provided with Windows Live ID login. I run an Active directory so I setup a local admin account first to gain access to the computer then join it to the Active directory, setup another (active directory) user (me) and join it to my Windows Live ID as per method 2 in this post by Paul Thurrott.

Problems:

  • Network stuck on 'Public': When I went to Computer properties and attempted to add my machine to the domain it couldn't find my domain controller. Looking at the Network and Sharing center, Windows 8 had marked my network adapter as Public which I knew would mean it wouldn't find the DC and there wasn't an immediately obvious way to change this. After an internet search I discovered you click on the network icon then turn the sharing on for that connection. Of course... how intuitive.
  • How do you Shutdown: After I managed to persuade it onto the domain I needed to restart it... but without a start menu how am I suposed to do that? I really don't think MS have thought this through. A quick internet search revealed I wasn't alone in not understanding how to achieve such a basic function. It also showed a lot of references to people As one commenter put it: "Its so stupid, that I as a POWER USER of the PC, has to GOOGLE HOW TO DO THIS!!!!!!".
    [UPDATE] You hover your mouse in the very bottom right hand side corner and the 'Charms Bar' should appear, you cand select shutdown from that.
  • Windows Live ID assigned to wrong email address: I do have a Windows Live ID but I set it up eons ago with a hotmail address. I don't want to use that as my primary email address but when I tried to change it on Windows Live (http://www.passport.com) it just said "[my email] not available". This is part of the problem: they have chosen to leverage the old Windows LiveID accounts which would be fine if those interfaces where also modernised and unified. When I login to that url I get one interface one time and a completely different one another time on the same browser with the same username and password! Some housecleaning required here methinks.
Conclusion
Whilst I'm excited about the possibilities created by a unified user experience/operating system across multiple platforms (Windows 8 on a tablet, desktop, xbox, whatever), this certainly isn't it. All the basic old Windows stuff is still there, just hidden under an unintuitive veil of modernity. I was hoping for a completely new approach to user experience and interaction. Windows 8 is not. However this does leave a big gap in the market for a new member of the Microsoft, Apple and Google oligopoly!

Working with Virtual and Remote Desktops Without a Keyboard

I have numerous virtual machines with a myriad of different operating systems on them and from time to time it's been necessary for me to log in remotely via my tablet or from a Windows machine to a Mac or visa versa. One of the stumbling blocks I find most irritating is how to issue 'special' keys or key combinations: on Windows you have the Windows key, on Mac the Cmd key etc.


The tablet has no concept of Ctrl or Alt so Ctrl Alt Del is a problem, and Microsoft saw fit to disallow Ctrl Alt Del via the on screen keyboard (presumably to stop people without a keyboard logging in). There are various applications for Android and iOS available on the market for connecting (which usually have the special keys) but there are occasions when you need to connect from one OS to another rather than directly from the tablet anyway.


Here are some solutions I've found:


Mac to Windows via MS RDC


  • Ctrl Alt Del: The Windows on screen keyboard does not allow Ctrl Alt Del so the solution is a two part setup on the Mac:
    1. Open up Apple logo, System Preferences, Universal Access,  Keyboard. Enable Sticky Keys and "Show Universal Access Status in the menu bar". I also enable "Press Shift key five times"
    2. Then click Open Keyboard Preferences. Click "Show Keyboard & Character Viewers in menu bar".
    Once you have these you can turn on the on screen keyboard and issue the command:
    1. Using MS RDC to connect to your target computer. You should have the "Press Ctrl Alt Delete to log on" screen.
    2. Make sure you're not in RDC full screen mode then on the Mac click the Keyboard and Character Viewer icon (small square with a star in it: I think it might be an American flag but I'm not sure) and select "Show Keyboard Viewer".
    3. Click on the RDC screen to activate it and then press: Fn, Ctrl, Alt, Backspace
    4. Click outside the RDC window to deactivate it then press shift five times to de-activate Sticky Keys: you need to do this or Windows gets Caps lock on for some reason. If you do get Caps Lock on the Windows screen, close and re-connect your RDC session: the password box will still be present.
    You could then turn off the Mac on screen keyboard although if on a tablet I like to leave it on so I can go to full screen and back.
  • Full Screen or not: Mac Cmd (Windows key) 2

22 July 2012

Updating XenServer to 6.0.2

I have written before about how much I like XenServer. That I don't write about it much is testament to how well it works. However, I needed to upgrade from 6.0 to XenServer 6.0.2 and although I understood you could either do it through the (windows only - boo!) UI or via a CD I chose to do it via the UI.

First problem: Update Via Rolling Pool Upgrade doesn't work.
I found the answer on this thread on http://forums.citrix.com/ which was that having downloaded the 6.0.2 iso you need to update the UI to 6.0.2 first then do the Pool update. Thanks to Richard Walker for that answer. Now if only that was in the docs...
[XenServerIso]\client_install\XenCenter.msi

Second Problem: NFS share returns "invalid URL to installer files".
NFS Shares are only available on certain editions of Windows: 2008, 2012, 8 Enterprise. There are third party applications available e.g. haneWIN NFS Server. On Mac OSX10.5+ it is available natively but you might find it easier to use a GUI tool like NFSManager

Third ProblemStorage_access failed with: SR_BACKEND_FAILURE_222:  Could not mount the directory specified in Device Configuration
The Solution: Re-burn the ISO and boot from it.
  1. Start Disk Utility
  1. Click the Burn button and follow the instructions. 
Final Problem: I hadn't uninstalled the previous XenServer Tools on the clients and this seemed to cause some problems when I tried to login to the VMs to update it, so I'd advise uninstalling the previous version's tools before you begin.
Conclusion

Having read the documentation I selected Tools; Update Pool, but when I went to select my server it wouldn't let me.


Having overcome the Rolling Pool selection problem above I thought I was home free, but no chance. I had a Windows share with ISOs on it which I intended to use as the source for the upgrade files but when I select NFS and enter the path in the form \\[server name]\path it returns invalid URL as above. It did this whatever I entered: IPs, extended server name, netbios name, uppercase, lowercase, mixed case etc etc.

So, my patience wearing thin, I tried the manual route: I burn the contents of the extracted ISOonto disk (NB: not the ISO itself) and put it in the drive. I then when to Citrix XenCenter and selected Tools, Rolling Pool Upgrade, Manual. It re-booted the server and told me I'd be informed when to insert the drive. It rebooted and the interface just looked normal i.e. no 'insert disk' or 'upgrading'. Then after a time the UI returned the error above.

It turns out I hadn't burnt the iso properly on my mac, instead of burning the image I'd managed to extract the files and then burn them. What can I say I'm a Mac newbie!


Citrix: You have a great product in XenServer but please make the upgrade path a bit easier: I am not alone in struggling with it.

21 July 2012

Samsung GS2: Charging paused. Voltage too high

I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 running Android 4.0.3 and this morning it greeted me with the message:
"Charging paused. Voltage too high"
The problem was it wasn't even plugged in.

The message comes up every few minutes and the battery indicator flashes in the status bar, plus it doesn't charge when I plug it in. in addition to this when I restart it sometimes it gets locked int a battery indicator loop and won't restart: a grey batter icon with a spining wheel, a green half full battery icon with charging status bar then blank and repeat.

I tried:
  • Restarting it
  • Removing the cover, battery, SIM and SD card and leaving it for a few minutes.
  • Soft rest (Vol up and power on)
  • Hard reset (Vol down and power on)
None of these worked so I restarted it (after a few attempts: the battery indicator kept coming up and it kept turning off). I then plugged it into my computer to run a backup on Kies. This is my first reaction when something starts to go a bit wrong: to try and get the data off it. Luckily this worked, although there is no guarantee I'll get it 'out' of the backup again of course! (See update on getting data off if your USB socket doesn't work).

Then I noticed there was a firmware update available for it so I thought I might try that: I recently did the ICS update so perhaps there was some bug in that. Sadly of course as I've written about before Kies is some of the worse software ever written so it wouldn't connect again, just doing the standard 'Connecting' for ever and a day.

Reading online about others with the same problem there seems to be some consensus about it being related to the USB port dying so I gave my provider a call (Orange). They said that as I didn't have insurance it would have to be taken up with Samsung under their warrantee and put me through to them.

After arranging with the Samsung operative for a repair I asked him if it was likely to be a software or hardware issue. He said it was most likely software related to the latest update. So I then asked if there was any point in me returning the phone: if it was a software issue then it was likely to re-occur? He said no if your phone doesn't work we will fix it or send a new one. Not blessed with logic this particular operative obviously... Anyway who am I to argue so I await my jiffy bad to send off my phone to Samsung.

[UPDATE] I returned my phone to Samsung after the jiffy bag eventually arrived (it took about a week!), I also had to get a letter from Orange stating when I 'bought' the phone from them (it was an upgrade) to enclose with it. I now have the phone back (also took a week) and it works again. The USB port does look very shinny and new so I'm pretty sure that is what the problem was although it doesn't say any more than 'found a fault and fixed it' in the enclosing letter.


[UPDATE] Backing up without a working USB port
If you can't get the USB port to work for Kies connectivity you can use Kies Air to connect via wireless. Both devices have to be on the same WiFi network and you'll be transferring a lot of data e.g. photos and videos, text messages so it's worth stopping any other network hungry operations whilst you do this (e.g. Windows Updates, non critical browsing etc.).

If you don't have a WiFi network you can use 'Tethering and Portable HotSpot' (Settings, Wireless and Network, More) on your phone to setup a network, then connect to it on your computer (enter the key on the phone under Configure WiFi hotspot), then start Kies Air on the phone. It will give you a url (e.g. http://192.168.48.1:8080) to browse to on the computer and you can download stuff that way. If you use this method do turn off mobile data first or your computer will try to do normal network stuff via your 3g, and this data usage won't be covered under most 'unlimited' contracts. 

20 July 2012

VirtualBox on Mac OSX Windows 7 Guest Remote Desktop


  • VirtualBox 4.1.18 r78361
  • Host: Max OSX 10.7.4 64bit
  • Guest: Windows 7 64bit
But rather than via the VirtualBox GUI view mode I'd like to run it headless and use MS Remote Desktop so I can use it from another computer or on the same machine.

I really struggled to get the configuration right so I could connect to it at all, but also when not connected to a network (e.g. on a train). These are the settings I eventually used (if I don't mention a setting I have left it as default):

On The Host

  • Virtual Box: Preferences (i.e. for the application not VM); Network; Host only Networks; vboxnet0; settings (screwdriver icon):
    • Adapter:
      • IPv4 Address: 192.168.X.Y (X/Y = subnet/IP that you aren't using e.g. 100/100)
      • IPv4 Net Mask: 255.255.255.0
    • DHCP: Enabled
      • Address: 192.168.100.100
      • Server mask: 255.255.255.0
      • Lower: 192.168.100.101
      • Upper: 192.168.100.254
  • Virtual Box; [Virtual Machine Name] Settings:
    • Display:
      • Remote Display: Enabled
        • Server Port: 3389
        • Auth Method: Null (I found anything other than null didn't work this solution may fix that)
    • Network:
      • Adapter 1: Enabled
        • Attached to: Host only
        • Name: vboxnet0
        • Advanced: Cable connected (leave other settings)
      • Adapter 2: Enabled
        • Attached to: Bridged Adapter
        • Name: Wi-Fi (Airport)
        • Advanced: cable connected (leave others)

With these settings your VM should boot with two networks: the VirtualBox (local to the host only) one and the bridged (internet/LAN) one.

On the VM
With the settings above, boot your Win 7 VM and check Control Panel; Network and Sharing Center. You should have the two networks there. For me the VBox one was set to public and not editable (so I can't change the type from Public to Work/Home).

It seems Windows won't let you change this unless you've set the Gateway so I edited the adapter settings to add the DHCP server on 192.168.100.100 as the Gateway: Change adapter settings; Internal; right click; Properties; Internet Protocol v4 Properties; Advanced; Default Gateways; Add. After you have done this the popup should come up to set the connection type: Home, Workplace or Public.


Troubleshooting

If these points don't work for you you could try some other things I found whilst looking for answers:

  • MaxNumFilters: The maximum number of network connections Windows 7 can handle is set in the key below, it may be that your system has exceeded it: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network\MaxNumFilters

Finally a timescale for Samsung 10.1 Android 4 (ICS) Update