Walt Stoneburner – Page 8

An expensive TV recommendation

So, I’m at work and we’re discussing addictive television programs.

My co-worker turns to me and says, “Have you seen Breaking Bad?”

I’m like, “No. Is it any good?”

He says, “It sure is!” And then he goes on to tell me how it’s on AMC, and that’s it’s about a chemistry teacher that turns into a drug kingpin. The how and why are part of the enticing drama.

So, I pull out my little scrap paper and write ‘breaking bad‘ in my notes to remind myself to TiVo it.

Normally the story would end there, but my wife happened to empty out my pockets, saw the note “breaking bad,” assumed my spelling was atrocious, and concluded she needed to take my car in to have repairs done.

$230 dollars later I’ve got shiny new brakes. “Funny thing is,” I’m told, “the shop didn’t think they needed replacing.”

Virtual Server Problems

I recently switched operating system vendors, and to my surprise when I went to port over the web content from one system to another, things didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. What used to be /etc/httpd was now /etc/apache2, and inside this directory files were organized differently that I was used to, and so forth. Still, I would have hoped moving from Apache2 on RedHat to Apache2 on Ubuntu would have been easier.

Empirical evidence was suggesting that all of my user’s virtual sites were working, but all of mine, no matter where I had them on the system, were reporting the error: You don’t have permission to access / on this server.

Here’s what was going on, primarily recounted so if I ever do this to myself in the future, I’ll know what to look for.

The virtual host files, which now appear in /etc/apache2/sites-available as *.conf files, had a slight difference. Some of them had this in their Directory directive:

Mine did not. But, then again, some other websites did not as well. Turns out those directives were placed inside their .htaccess files.

Now, not all sites had the .htaccess file, and things had been working before without the explicit directive in each virtual host .conf file.

Turns out I had some how tromped on the default file, which contains a directive that looks like this:

</Directory>

If it is not present, then all virtual hosts must explicitly allow access (via .htaccess or their .conf file).

This directive allows Apache to serve up any file the URL asks for… which one may not want to do. It seems the secure way is to edit the virtual host .conf files, and not rely on some default magic.

But, because that was in my old configuration long ago, and not in the new one, my virtual host .conf files didn’t have it, but my more modern ones for my users did. Depending on which template I used to base new sites off was how some sites worked and some didn’t.

After fixing this, I ran into a new problem. Some sites weren’t coming up still, but this time with permission errors.

When I migrated over the web content, it preserved user and group ownerships from the other system. These did not match the new Apache2 user and group on the new system.

However, I got lucky. There was no user/group mapping on the new system, which meant I could execute a find command to find and fix them. It looked something like this:

A Level Perspective

There are a lot of applications available for the iPhone, and thanks to the magic that makes orientation detection possible, some clever person produced an application that visually shows a level, bubble and all.

Today I was witness to a young child asking to borrow an iPhone, and with much curiosity he opened this particular application.

Unfamiliar with a level, it’s function, or operation, he innocently asked, “What one was supposed to do?”

“You’re supposed to put the bubble between the two marks,” came the adult explanation.

The kid tilted the iPhone back and forth, watching the bubble slide to and fro, and leveled it holding the bubble between the two lines for a moment.

At that moment he blurted out excitedly, “Look, I’m winning!”

Unfortunately, his excitement caused the bubble to shoot to one end, just as I had time to click a picture of the event.

WebCams on OS X

Lots of cool software exists for webcams on OS X.

OS X is capable of using USB and Firewire cameras, with perhaps the most famous being the iSight, second to the Built-in iSight of Apple’s laptops.

Use other cameras!
But it turns out you can use a lot of third party cameras using the Macam driver.

Use multiple cameras!
If you’re using multiple cameras at once, say for security monitoring, you’re going to want to take a look at SecuritySpy, which has motion detection, time lapse, and the ability to view from a remote browser, plus many other features.

Barcode Reader!
EvoBarcode will let you use your camera as a bar code reader.

Web Streaming!
EvoCam will let you stream multiple cameras and push images to servers.

Stop Motion Photographer!
iStopMotion will help you make your own stop motion movies.

Real-time Special Effects!
iGlasses will enhance and alter your video feeds.

Drag’n’Drop Problems with Parallels 4

Since installing Snow Leopard, I can no longer Drag’n’Drop files from Windows to the hosting OS X environment, though the inverse works just fine. Is anyone else having this problem, because I’m not seeing much about it on the Parallel’s forums. I think the bug is real.

To say that I’m distrusting of Microsoft Windows’ security is putting things lightly. And when I’m in a situation where Microsoft’s anti-open standards force Microsoft as a necessity, I tend to use a virtual machine to sandbox its activities.

On Mac OS X, I use a wonderful product called Parallels, which has the added bonus of being able to drag’n’drop files and directories between the guest operating system (Windows) and the host operating system (OS X).

After installing the latest Snow Leopard (10.6), I found that while I could drag files into Windows from OS X, the reverse was no longer true. Dragging something from the Windows desktop out to the OS X desktop, which used to work in Leopard (10.5), simply results in nothing happening.

Parallels 4.x Shared Services Drag'n'Drop

Now, I’m aware that Apple did some pretty big changes under the hood in Snow Leopard. And, I’m aware that even the Finder got a fairly intensive overhaul. And, I’m even willing to accept that there might be bumps during the transition process, as the good folks at Parallels update their product to address little tidbits like this.

However, I’m kinda surprised that this kind of thing snuck past testing. Even more to my surprise is that I don’t hear many people talking about it. Such conclusions lead me to think that perhaps I have a local configuration issue.

But then I heard from another user of Parallels that updated to Snow Leopard. He ran into the same problem: Drag’n’Drop worked only in one direction now.

Most of the Snow Leopard fuss currently centers on the fact that Parallels 2.x and 3.x no longer work under Snow Leopard. Parallels made such a good and stable product that early users saw no need to update as it met their needs. However, Apple’s approach to operating systems is far more progressive than Microsoft’s, as they are willing to sacrifice backwards compatibility in software and hardware, if the technology is substantially old and the new benefits far outweigh the trouble. Thus, Apples tends to fix problems, rather than bandaid-ing workarounds; in the long haul everyone benefits with faster, smaller, more featured applications instead of bloatware.

However, I’m riding the Parallels 4.x wave on the bleeding edge. I’ve got the Parallels Tools installed. I’ve got the Enable Drag’n’Drop checked in the Shared Services config. Still, nothing.

I did a little digging around and found one user, Jamie Daniel, who was experiencing the same problem. As his question went unanswered, I tried myself.

I wrote an entry in the Parallels forum entitled Drag files from Guest to Host no longer working, detailing the problem.

And, while I was luckier than Jamie and got an answer, it was fairly clear someone gave a cursory glance and cut’n’pasted a response without reading what I was asking. In short that I did not want Windows to be able to read or write to any OS X drives. For, should Windows get a virus, I didn’t want it having free reign of the OS X filesystem to corrupt. Thus only I, via Drag’n’Drop, should be able to marshal content between the two environments.

Willing to accept the fact that I may have a configuration problem, despite being a power user of Parallels since day one, I am also willing to accept that this is simply a Snow Leopard compatibility issue that Parallels will soon be addressing. Problem is, I can’t seem to raise the issue to a level where someone can confirm or deny it.

Worse yet, I can’t seem to be able to login to Windows via the Finder anymore to mouse a Windows disk within OS X, where as I used to be able to do that as well. While workarounds, from using a USB disk (which mounts in both environments), DropBox, and using the Windows Guest account’s Parallel’s mount point, I’d really like the old capability back.

So, I ask, Parallels 4.x users that are using Snow Leopard, are you no longer able to drag from Windows to the OS X desktop?

If you can, how are you doing it?

If you can’t, please head over to the Parallels forum and let them know it’s broken for you as well. This is not an attack Parallels request, they’re good people — this is just to raise awareness to let them know the issue is real so they can look into it.

UPDATE 14-Sep-2009: Found a work around, but I’m not happy about it. What I don’t like about it is that it appears to expose Windows disks to OS X. While I trust OS X, the inverse does not appear to be necessary to perform a Drag’n’Drop from OS X to Windows. I’d expect the Enable Drag-and-Drop to be enough.

If you turn on the Share All Disks with OS X, then Drag’n’Drop from the Windows desktop to OS X Desktop works.

Snow Leopard: That Doesn’t Sound Like Apple

Had a very strange experience in the Apple Store in Reston, VA where I learned three very disturbing things. Snow Leopard purchasers beware. Hardware purchases, stop in your tracks.

I went to the Apple Store today with a friend that was looking at buying a MacMini and another friend that was picking up a copy of Snow Leopard, which sells for $29. That is, unless you’d like a copy for $25.

Apple’s policy toward operating systems has historically been a good one. There is no home, business, professional, expert, business, yadda-yadda-yadda flavors. There is no upgrade or full version. There is no pricing tier. Everything is one low price, you can upgrade or install fresh at any time.

And, if you buy a machine at the Apple Store it comes with the latest-and-greatest software, and if a new product on it comes out within 30-days, simply come back and pick up your updated version for either free or a very steeply discounted price. This is how it’s been at the Tyson’s Store for years. It shines of Apple customer service.

We went to the new Apple Store in Reston, VA and had the most disturbing news presented by Apple blue-shirt, John.

Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing at this time if what he told us is fact, fiction, or fallacy. So don’t take what you read here as gospel, but rather use it as guideline for formulating solid questions when you deal with Apple for the next few months.

#1) Apple had on display a Mac Box Set (OS X Snow Leopard, iLife ’09, and iWork ’09) for $169. My friend having iLife ’08 and iWork ’08 asked, “is it worth the cost to upgrade?” The Apple guy looked at us and said straight faced, “honestly, no… the features are minimal, just get Snow Leopard.” Now, I appreciate his honesty and opinion, and that alone commanded enough respect for me to retain trust in Apple — much like Macy’s sending people to Gimbel’s. However, I suspect we got lucky and that was not the Apple corporate line. Nor would pointing out you can get it for much less at about $114.

#2) We noticed the word “upgrade” all over the box and asked, “do you have to have Leopard installed to install this?” The answer, surprisingly, was yes. This was an upgrade and not a regular OS X disc like Apple historically has done. We were told that the real OS wasn’t coming out until December. Yes, December. When asked about machine recovery, he confessed they had a special version in the back they could use under dire emergencies. This begs the question if $29 is an upgrade price, with the ‘full’ OS will be the normal $120 later.

Update 31-Aug-2009: An Apple employee in BestBuy also confirmed what’s out now is an upgrade path. Although according to him, if you buy a new machine (with Leopard on it) you get the Snow Leopard update for free, which sounds like the Steve Jobs’s Apple policy we’re used to.

#3) When we asked about the MacMini, we were told that it had Leopard on it and that if we wanted Snow Leopard, we’d have to buy that for an additional $29. However, the electronic Apple Store online was selling MacMini’s with Snow Leopard already installed, without the extra cost. I probed deeply about this. Did the machines really have Leopard, and not Snow Leopard? Yes, the excuse was that they hadn’t moved inventory with the old OS on it. I asked if one simply got the upgrade for free like Tyson’s always used to do. Again, no. When I pointed out that buying online was the-cost-of-Snow-Leopard cheaper, I was met by an indifferent shrug.

All three of these things were very non-Apple.

Again, I don’t know if it was the sales person, the store in general, or Apple taking a page from the Microsoft book of marketing. But suffice it to say there was an abrupt halt on major purchases today.

Customers expect two things from a business, common sense and consistency. Price is often a very distance third.

A Side Note: Customer service plays a big role, and I have another Apple story which illustrates going above and beyond. In BestBuy, when we went to go get a copy of Snow Leopard, they were out of stock. However, while browsing another part of the store, the Apple employee came up and handed over a copy of Snow Leopard. Apparently, a FedEx shipment had just arrived, so he pulled one out of the box, and then hunted down our party in the whole store, on the off chance we hadn’t left yet. That’s service. You know that BestBuy’s floor staff would not have done that.

Printing in Parallels

Using Parallels virtualization, I got this pretty scary error message: pstopdffilter/pstocupsraster failed with err number -31000. I’m almost ashamed to tell you what the solution is to get past it.

Parallels is a virtualization package for the Macintosh that primarily is used for running Microsoft Windows in a virtualized environment on OS X.

At some point you’re going to run into the problem of wanting to print something from the guest OS. Do not try to install a Windows XP print driver for the device that’s connected directly to your Apple. That’s not how it works.

You have a virtual machine. Surprise, you have a virtual printer too.

To set it up is trivial:

Stop your Windows VM if it’s running.
Open VM Configuration Editor (Parallels Desktop menu – Edit – Virtual Machine)
Add Parallel Port Printer to the VM Configuration: click “Add” – select “Parallel Port”, hit “Next” – select “Use a printer” – select the printer you have available in the Mac OS.
Make sure that you are able to print using that printer from the Mac OS side.
Start Windows and try printing some document using “HP Color LaserJet 8500 PS” (it’s generic driver that’s being used for printing from the Virtual Machine to any Mac OS compatible printer).

—Source: Parallels Knowledge Base #5036

This creates a HP Color LaserJet 8500 PS printer, which then gets redirected to the host operating system’s default printer. Printing then works normally, queuing and all.

Now, I did run into this problem using Microsoft Office on Windows XP with a HP DeskJet 6980 connected wirelessly through an Apple AirPort Extreme in bridge mode:

pstopdffilter/pstocupsraster failed with err number -31000

Here’s how I solved it.
I deleted the print queue on the host operating system, then I turned the power off and back on again on the printer, and tried again.

Seriously. I power cycled the printer. That’s all that was required. Second time through, it worked like a champ.

Big scary error message, itty-bitty solution.

NOTE: You will want to scan through your document if you’re using exotic fonts. In my case apostrophes were coming out as Ã.

Mahalo Cove: Impressive Customer Service

Mahalo Cove’s manager impressed me with an exceptional customer service move.

The other night I had a shining example of impressive customer service by a manager at Mahalo Cove that’s worth sharing.

While my friend and I were eating dinner, we ran into a slight problem. We need to leave immediately go pick up his child, but our waitress had disappeared.

Rather than waiting for her to return, I simply got up and walked over to the manager to explain that we needed to head out to pick up a child. What I expected was for him to simply track down the waitress or print our bill and bring it over.

Nope. He went that extra-step, entering the realm of incredible customer service. He looked at me and said, “Go on ahead get the child, come back and pay when you can. It’ll be alright.”

I was floored. He didn’t know me from Adam, and was willing to put the cost of the meal at flight risk in order to do the right thing. That impressed me as a customer-first mentality, and that makes it worth sharing. I’ll certainly be going back, and bringing friends as well.

The story doesn’t quite end as you expect, either. I explained that we were happy to pay now, if they could just locate the meal ticket. He scrolled through each order, found ours, reassigned a waitress standing there to process us, instructing her that we needed to leave to pick up a child, and she processed us about as fast as we could put down a card.

And yes, a nice tip for all was left.

In reading the reviews on Google, I’d have to concur with the assessments there. The indoor smoke can be unbearable, the food is average, and the service and atmosphere is simply great.

Walt gives Mahalo Cove a thumbs up!

Telemarketing + Mute = Revenge

Apparently I managed to cause some problems for a telemarketer by pressing MUTE at the right time.

Stumbled upon this by accident, but it may prove useful in the future.

I know two people who’ve done telemarketing, and they report that their objective is to place as many calls as possible and sell as much as possible in that duration. So, not placing calls, or overly long calls, seems to be a serious negative.

Additionally, the system used appears to be an pre-emptive autodialer that looks for a human response and if found quickly connects with an operator. Should not be available, it hangs up, which explains why people report calls from mystery numbers that disconnect after being answered.

The operators sit there listening to silence until someone says “hello” and then they start. They have a button to dump the call, and the system goes on to the next.

Today I received a pre-emptive call and the moment I heard it transferring me to an operator, I pressed MUTE.

The unexpected happened.

I was greeted by just the sounds breathing and keyboard clicking. Within a moment it was possible to deduce from the background conversations that it was Yahoo trying to sell advertising to businesses.

Leaving mute on, I could hear the telemarketer cursing under his breath, as his line remained silent, but his co-workers were all yammering away. While I would have expected a call duration counter to have been the dead give away, it took him about 10-15 minutes to realize something was seriously wrong before he got assistance and it sounded like a reboot was about to be attempted before I got disconnected.

I’m guessing they run Windows.

Safari Problems Downloading .DMG Files

A number of users are reporting that Safari 4 is no longer downloading .dmg files. Here’s how I fixed the problem when it started happening to me.

A while back I started having problems with Safari 4 being able to download files. Normally when one clicks on a .dmg or .zip file, Safari downloads it.

Recently, it stopped working, either doing absolutely nothing or trying to load the file into the browser itself for display. It was as if the MIME type wasn’t properly being handled.

Here’s how I fixed it.

It appears that Speed Download‘s broswer plugin is to blame. While it works amazingly well with Safari 3, it doesn’t seem to work quite right with Safari 4.0.3.

Quit completely out of Safari.
Go to /Library/Internet Plug-Ins directory and locate the file SpeedDownload Browser Plugin.plugin and move it out of that folder.
Restart Safari.