via Standouts in Customer Service – BusinessWeek.

People are wondering why i’m always online on FB, here’s the secret, no need to open up Facebook’s website to reach out to your friends…

Go to the iChat menu and select “Preferences.”

Click “Accounts,” then click the “+” at the bottom.

Select “Jabber” from the pull-down menu, then enter the following info:

Screen Name: yourusername@chat.facebook.com

Password: <your Facebook password>

Click the arrow next to “Server Options” and enter the following info:

Server: chat.facebook.com

Port: 5222

(Uncheck the box labeled “Use SSL”)

You can also chat with some other software available for your operating system:

Pidgin – Windows/Mac/Linux

Adium – Mac

iChat – Mac

Other – Windows/Mac/Linux

via Facebook | Facebook Chat. Everywhere..

Want to put your iPhone or iPod Touch in disk mode? Use an iPhone as a flash drive? iPhone Explorer is an iPhone browser for Mac that lets you browse the files and folders on your iPhone as if it were a normal USB flash drive or pen drive. You can use the very easy drag-and-drop methods to add or remove files and folders from the iPhone. Compatible with all iPhones and iPod Touches including the new 3GS and 3.0 firmware. Works with or without jailbreaking.

via iPhone Explorer – A USB iPhone browser for Mac and PC.

via Microsoft halts Windows Update distribution of security fix after blue-screen reports | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com.

Been trying to find a video converter for Mac and saw ReduxEncoder. The software is top notch as well as it’s free.

ReduxEncoder, video convertor based upon techspansions transcoder redux open source code. Converts most formats into iPod, AppleTV, iPhone, avi, wmv, dvd iso compatible files. Stitching of AVI, MP4, M4V and chapter markers.

via ReduxEncoder for Mac – Free Mac software downloads and software reviews – CNET Download.com.

February 1, 2010, Wichita, Kansas — Imagine using your MacBook, MacBook Pro or Mac Mini with any wireless network, and siting further away from the wireless access points. Regardless of whether you work in an office or travel with a laptop, this new nCard from QuickerTek means you have wireless freedom to work almost anywhere. This new, more powerful version of the nCard is priced the same at $89.95.

Users of the new nCard can expect wireless speeds that are the absolute fastest the wireless network can manage. And to boost performance even further, this card can be upgraded with an external antenna. That means even more distance from the wireless access point. You gain complete compatibility with all Apple AirPort Base Stations as well as Linksys, Belkin and virtually all other wireless network hardware, including the “draft N” equipment.

via Internal Wireless Upgrade for MacBooks, MacBook Pros and Mac Mini.

In conference held in Moscow that discussed the present and future state of cybercrime around the world, Egypt was mentioned in the top ten countries for creating PSW Trojans in 2009. PSW Trojans refers to a family of Trojans that are typically designed to steal passwords and log-in details from victims.

China was found to be the main country creating of such Trojans (63%), followed by Russia (12%) and then Germany, India and Turkey (4%). Egypt, the United States, Ukraine, Mexico and France completed Kaspersky’s top ten at 3%.

via Egypt identified as one of top Trojan creating countries – Security – News & Features – ITP.net.

Dubai: The two telephone operators in the UAE will soon offer the service that allows customers to make international calls over the internet.

Officials at etisalat and du said that the network of each respective company is ready to make the service available before July of this year, reported the local Arabic daily Emarat Al Youm.

via gulfnews : International calls over internet in UAE soon.

Herald is a notification plugin for Mail.app, Apple’s Mac OS X email client. Inspired by the excellent Mail.appetizer plugin, Herald shows you popup notifications whenever you receive new Mail. It also allows you to perform common actions directly from within the notification window, including deleting messages, initiating replies, viewing messages in Mail, or marking messages as read.

Herald’s appearance is highly customizable, allowing you to change the background color, text color, size, shadow, transparency, and position of the window. Herald even provides a scrolling text view so you can read full messages without having to switch back to Mail.

Herald is a free download and requires Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.

Download here

via Erik Hinterbichler » Herald.

Click here to download

via Gwenhiver.net – Applications – Address Book Exporter.

via Mac OS 10.6.3 to bring many fixes.

via Exif Untrasher – Carsten Blüm: Mac Development.

I’m so excited to upload my first track… What’s it gonna be? Hmmm….

via Apple.com

He started by testing AdSense on a few pages. During the first week, he remembers that AdSense revenue paid for coffee; the second week, it paid for lunches. The model clearly worked, so he began expanding the program across the entire site. Now AdSense revenue pays for all salaries, overhead, and business development.

“Google&apos;s ability to deliver targeted ads is remarkable,” says Vandervort. “In fact, because the ads are so relevant to the content on any given page, we believe that they are a very useful resource for our visitors. This is evidenced by the fact that, on many of our pages, more than 10 percent of our visitors click through to the advertisers for more information,” he adds.

HomeTips now sees more than 1 million online visitors each month. “Solid content is the secret to developing a following,” says Vandervort. “If you write expert content with your visitor&apos;s needs in mind, the rest will follow.”

As the business has grown up, so have the sons whose backyard clubhouse Vandervort first commandeered for an office. Now they bring media experience to the business: Gabriel as a former writer/producer of shows for The History Channel and Christian as a cinematographer and film editor. HomeTips anticipates online video to be the next area of growth. “Nothing can show you how to do something as clearly and adeptly as a video,” says Vandervort. “As we see the migration of advertising dollars from television to the web, we expect video content and advertising to do very well.”

The HomeTips team constantly tests site design, navigation, and ad optimization to improve both the user experience and the success of advertising. Vandervort points out the fact that channel reporting and Google Analytics are a big help in this effort. “These analytics help us zero in on where we&apos;re doing the best job and where we need to do more. As a result, our performance just keeps going up.”

via Google AdSense Case Study.

by Mel Martin (RSS feed) on Nov 12th 2009 at 2:30PM

iPhone sales are up more than 4% from a year ago, while the leading smartphone seller, Nokia, is down 3% from a year ago. That’s the word from Gartner Research today as they survey 3rd quarter sales.

via TUAW Gartner: iPhone has 17.1% of worldwide smartphone sales.

Banana Teardown

In this teardown, we open a banana to see what’s inside. Yellow and delicious, but most importantly, yellow.

via Banana Teardown – iFixit.

What I’ll do is to mark the items which I observed to have been resolved by the update.

Here’s the list:

General operating system fixes provided for:

* an issue that caused data to be deleted when using a guest account
* an issue that might cause your system to logout unexpectedly
* Spotlight search results not showing Exchange contacts
* the reliability of menu extras
* an issue in Dictionary when using Hebrew as the primary language
* shutter-click sound effect when taking a screenshot
* an issue with the four-finger swipe gesture
* an issue adding images to contacts in Address Book
* an issue in Front Row that could cause sluggish or slow frame rates while watching videos
* creation of mobile accounts for Active Directory users
* reliability and duration of VPN connections
* general reliability improvements for iWork, iLife, Aperture, Final Cut Studio, MobileMe, and iDisk
* overall improvements to VoiceOver performance
* this update addresses video playback and performance issues for iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009) and iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) computers that may occur in some situations while AirPort is turned on

Fonts fixes provided for:

* an issue with font spacing
* an issue in which some Fonts are missing
* font duplication issues
* an issue with some PostScript Type 1 fonts not working properly

Graphics fixes provided for:

* an issue when connecting monitors to DVI and Mini DisplayPort adapters
* an issue in which the brightness setting may not be remembered on restart
* addresses functionality with specific display models
* general reliability and performance improvements when using some applications

Mail fixes provided for:

* a situation in which Mail’s unread count may not update properly as messages are read on another computer
* an issue in which deleted RSS feeds may return
* an issue in which Mail cannot preview or Quick Look attachments when composing a new message
* an issue that can cause Address Book and/or Mail to stop responding when opened
* an issue in which email messages received from an Exchange Server are not formatted correctly
* an issue in which Mail reports “Account exceeded bandwidth limits” for some Gmail accounts

MobileMe fixes provided for:

* performance when accessing files from iDisk via the Finder and syncing iDisk files
* an issue in which syncing iDisk files does not proceed beyond “checking items”
* reliability and performance when syncing contacts, calendars, and bookmarks with MobileMe (syncing with iTunes and iSync are also improved)
* an issue that prevents some users from logging into MobileMe via the MobileMe System Preference pane

Network file systems fixes provided for:

* compatibility with third-party AFP servers
* file synchronization for portable home directories

Printing and faxing fixes provided for:

* automatic printer updates improvements
* Print dialog allowing you to enter and send to more than one fax recipient

Safari fixes provided for:

* a graphics distortion issue in Safari Top Sites
* Safari plug-in reliability

Etisalat Factory Unlocked iPhone 3GS is now available in all Etisalat Business/Service Centers and Etisalat Outlets across UAE.

via Etisalat iPhone 3GS.

Also available from du via their online shop, Business Centers and partners.

via du iPhone 3GS

is Coming Soon in the UAE!

To book iPhone 3G S, simply send a blank SMS to 1012 from your Etisalat mobile number to book your new iPhone 3GS now and get a chance to win a FREE iPhone 3GS 16GB or 32GB.

Book Yours Today via the Etisalat website  iPhone3G.

“We are aware of the issue, which occurs only in extremely rare cases, and we are working on a fix,” an Apple representative said in a prepared statement Monday.

via Apple acknowledges Snow Leopard data loss issue | Circuit Breaker – CNET News.

* General compatibility issues

* Updating help

* Adding a link to online resources in the help menu

* Improving image handling when reducing size with Instant Alpha applied

* Improving file size management when inserting movies.

The full list of improvements to Keynote, Pages and Numbers, and the iWork.com beta can be found in Apple Support article HT3681

via iWork ‘09 Update 3 is ready and waiting.

via  Softpedia.

Apple and Adobe have worked closely together (as always with new OS releases) to test compatibility. As for CS4, everything is good with the exception of auto-updates to Flash panels (which I guarantee you’re not using*) and Adobe Drive/Version Cue (which doesn’t work at the moment on 10.6). CS3 & earlier haven’t been tested. Please see the FAQ for additional info.

* The auto-update part, I mean

[Update: No one said anything about CS3 being "not supported" on Snow Leopard. The plan, however, is not to take resources away from other efforts (e.g. porting Photoshop to Cocoa) in order to modify 2.5-year-old software in response to changes Apple makes in the OS foundation.]

[Update 2: The Photoshop team has tested PS CS3 on Snow Leopard and found no significant problems.]

Posted by John Nack at 10:06 AM on August 25, 2009

Read more on John Nack on Adobe: Adobe Snow Leopard FAQ.

Note: SpeedMail use terminal command sqlite3 ~/Library/Mail/Envelope\\ Index vacuum to compress SQL database.

Use SpeedMail when you think that Mail.app is slowing down.

via Download SpeedMail for Mac – Speed up Mail.app. MacUpdate Mac Optimizers Software Downloads.

1. Annotations in Preview. New tools enable you to annotate and markup PDF files using Preview. The annotation tools include comments, links, highlighting, strikethrough text, shapes, text, and arrows.

2. Restore deleted items to original locations. This seems long overdue. In Windows data restored from the Recycle Bin is automatically restored to its original location. With Snow Leopard restoring to the original location is now an option on the Mac as well.

Continue reading: 10 reasons Snow Leopard is ready for business | Business Center | Macworld.

“Snow Leopard builds on our most successful operating system ever and we’re happy to get it to users earlier than expected,” said Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “For just $29, Leopard users get a smooth upgrade to the world’s most advanced operating system and the only system with built in Exchange support.”

via Apple to Ship Mac OS X Snow Leopard on August 28.

And why not? Facebook is no Google (yet), but they have amassed more than 250 million members in a relatively short amount of time. More important, it seems that Facebook reached the critical mass where membership becomes self-feeding and grows exponentially. Every new member of Facebook is reaching out to their friends and family and inviting them to also join the Facebook network so they can share status updates, photos, compete against each other in web-based games, and take silly quizzes about what personality disorder they have.

read more via Facebook aims to become the next Google | Web Services | Macworld.

However, not all types of data are synchronized. For example, tasks, notes, and items in the folders On My Computer, including the contacts that were created in the local Address Book, are not synchronized.

NotePersonal distribution lists are not supported in Entourage.

Because not all types of data are synchronized with the Exchange server, any complete plan for backing up data must include a provision for backing up the unsynchronized data on users’ computers in addition to backing up the Exchange server database. All Entourage database files, including the unsynchronized data, are stored in /Users/username/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2008 Identities/identityName/Database/ for each identity. These Entourage database files can be backed up as part of a procedure that backs up the user’s home folder.

via IT Pros – Microsoft for Mac Products | Mactopia.

via Microsoft brings Outlook back to Mac, replaces Entourage in next Office version : Shufflegazine – Apple Lifestyle Magazine.

1. Definition VNC stands for Virtual Network Computing.

2. Purpose VNC allows you to remotely send Keyboard and Mouse input across a network or the internet from one computer to another and even view exactly what is on the screen of the other computer. This allows you to control a computer like you were sitting in front of it from another room, another building, or even another country depending on the setup.

3. How it works In the most basic of terms when you connect to a remote machine through VNC you see in a window the screen of the remote machine and you are able to control it as if you were sitting in front of it. Any actions taken through the window directly effect the remote machine.

4. The components

* The Server The VNC server is the computer who’s screen you want to share, this computer runs the server software allowing other computers to connect and control it.

* The Client A VNC client is any computer connecting to and taking control of a server.

* The Protocol The protocol used is the method of communication between the client and the server. The protocol is determined by the software and generally the user cannot change it so for the purpose of this document it will suffice to say that it is there but you do not need to worry about it.

via How to Setup VNC on Mac OS X – wikiHow.

As such, there are a lot of little shareware or freeware apps out there to check the validity of all of your property lists and make sure that’s not the cause of any problems you’re having with the system. Of course, why pay for something that’s built-in? The system has a utility, plutil, that can check your property lists and tell you not just which are malformed, but how they are malformed so that you can repair it and not lose the preferences.

via One-Line Plist Checker | Mac Geekery.

Any Which Way

If you need to rename several files at once every now and then, this is the application you have always been looking for. Name Mangler is a batch file renamer that supports all common renaming tasks: Find and Replace (including support for regular expressions); Number Sequentially; Change Case; Set Extension; Add Prefix/Suffix; Remove/Insert Characters.

Moreover, you can combine all of these using the Advanced renaming mode, which even comes with some extra features, such as conditional statements, nested counters, and more.

Drag & Drop

Name Mangler is more than just one versatile renaming utility — it’s an infinite number of task-specific renaming utilities: Name Mangler’s Droplets make it ridiculously easy to store configurations and use those repeatedly for different, alternating purposes. Just drop your files on them.

download now via Many Tricks · Name Mangler.

1. Port forward a different port to your second, third, etc. machines. That is, port forward external port 5901 to internal port 5900.

2. Open the ScreenSharing app, in /System » Library » CoreServices.

3. Enter your Domain Name and Port: mydomain.com:5901, for instance, for the second port.

That’s it — off you go to the specified machine on the described port. I did have issues with Keychain remembering which username and password to use if you have different accounts on each box. I found that setting up domain aliases for each machine solved this — i.e. server01.mydomain.com:5901, server02.mydomain.com:5902, etc.

Also, a great shortcut to remember is that you can simply type vnc://server01.mydomain.com:5901 into Safari, and it will launch the ScreenSharing app and connect. Likewise, you can bookmark these URLs (which I do to manage my computer list).

via macosxhints.com – 10.5: Screen share with multiple Macs behind one NAT.

Included in the 10.5.8 update is the latest version of Apple’s Safari Web browser, version 4.0.2, which was released in June, as well as an improvement for full-history searches in the browser.

In addition to the AirPort improvements, Mac OS X 10.5.8 features a number of other network-related fixes, such as improved iCal reliability with MobileMe Sync and CalDav, improved data reliability issues with iDisk and MobileMe, overall improvements to AFP reliability, and improved Sync Service reliability.

On the device front, the update brings additional RAW image support for third-party cameras, improved compatibility with some external USB hard drives, a fix for an issue that could prevent importing large photo and movie files from digital cameras, and the aforementioned Bluetooth improvements for external devices, USB Web cameras, and printers.

The 10.5.8 update also addresses an issue that could cause extended startup times and fixes a problem with dragging Aperture images into Automator, which had been incorrectly triggering an iPhoto action.

There are a number of security fixes in OS X 10.5.8 as well, including patches to bzip compression, a fix for buffer overflow issue in ColorSync, improved error handling for launchd, and a fix for MobileMe not signing out properly. Another issue–also resolved in this batch of security fixes–could have allowed someone with physical access to a computer to circumvent a screen saver password through the use of the MacBook’s four-finger gesture controls.

Apple also released Mac OS X Server 10.5.8 Update, which improves the reliability of AFP for file services and Time Machine backups, maintains a history of user’s previous passwords, propagates file system permissions, and improves Spotlight indexing and memory consumption.

Mac OS X 10.5.8 is recommended for all Leopard users. The update is available via Apple’s support downloads page in both incremental and combo update packages, as well as via Mac OS X’s Software Update.

via Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.5.8 – Business Center – PC World.

via WinterBoard | iPhone-Hacks.com.

In way, they’re opposites: Windows 7 uses the same core foundation as Vista while fixing issues and prettying up the outside, while Snow Leopard keeps most of the same spots while re-arranging how things work internally. But the mission is the same—to evolve their current OS—not change the whole game. And launching this fall, we can’t avoid a comparison study. The stars of Redmond and Cupertino have never been so closely aligned before.

via OS X Snow Leopard vs. Windows 7: The Final Countdown – Mac OS X – Gizmodo.

Read more…

via Windows 7 Review, Part 2: The Best Features and Tips – Windows 7 review – Gizmodo.

Could Windows 7 accomplish everything that’s expected of it? Probably not, but it makes a damn good attempt. We’ve tested the gold master, the final version going out on October 22. Upgrade without trepidation, people. With excitement, even.

Windows 7 is not quite a “Vista service pack.” It does share a lot of the core tech, and was clearly designed to fix nearly every bad thing anyone said about Vista. Which ironically puts the demon that it was trying to exorcise at its heart. What that means is that Windows 7 is what Vista should have been in the public eye—a solid OS with plenty of modern eye candy that mostly succeeds in taking Windows usability into the 21st century—but it doesn’t daringly innovate or push boundaries or smash down walls or whatever verb meets solid object metaphor you want to use, because it had a specific set of obligations to meet, courtesy of its forebear.

via Windows 7 Review: You Can Quit Complaining Now – Windows 7 review – Gizmodo.

via Digital Society » Blog Archive » Apple keyboards hacked and possessed.

via Manage iPhones With Exchange – Business Center – PC World.

Works with Mac OSX 10.3.9 and above, 10.4 and above for Calendar sync.

NOTE: Plaxo for Mac only supports synchronizing address books up to 10,000 contacts.

* Now with Pulse integration!

* Keeps your Mac Address Book up to date.

* Get access to your contacts anywhere through Plaxo Online.

via Plaxo – Downloads.

]]> http://blog.adrian-ross.com/2009/08/03/plaxo-addressbook-plugin/feed/ 0 http://blog.adrian-ross.com/2009/08/03/197/ http://blog.adrian-ross.com/2009/08/03/197/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:25:09 +0000 Adrian Ross http://blog.adrian-ross.com/?p=197

Maria Corazon “Cory” Cojuangco Aquino
(January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009)

The Filipino Nation will always remember such a Great ambassador of change.

Rest in Peace.

via TG Daily – Broadband over power lines gets first industry standard draft.

via Engadget.

via Snow Leopard pre-orders now being taken at Amazon.

Unless you are particularly organized and good with tie wrap, you probably have a few dusty power cord tangles around your home. You may have even had to follow one particular cord through the seemingly impossible snarl to the outlet, hoping that the plug you pull will be the right one. This is one of the downfalls of electricity. While it can make people’s lives easier, it can add a lot of clutter in the process.

via HowStuffWorks “How Wireless Power Works”.

via Copy Autocomplete name list to another computer – Outlook – Microsoft Office Online.

LAKE FOREST, Calif., July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — WD (NYSE: WDC) today announced two new mobile hard drives that reach new capacity extremes. The highlight is a one terabyte model — the industry’s highest-capacity 2.5-inch drive available. Industry-leading 333 GB-per-platter technology enables the new WD Scorpio® Blue(TM) SATA 2.5-inch hard drives to offer mobile storage device and notebook users an enormous 1 TB capacity. A 750 GB WD Scorpio Blue model also will be available.

via WD Scorpio Blue Drive Is First One Terabyte Mobile Drive Ever—Yes, 1TB – WD Scorpio Blue Drive – Gizmodo.

The company is obviously hoping that Windows 7’s new and enhanced features will be enough to entice users back into the Microsoft fold and finally put Windows XP to rest. But the real question is: Will Windows 7 come across to prospective users as a new product or just a rehash of Windows Vista?

via Windows 7 RTM: Is it really better than Vista?.

Developed by the Open Handset Alliance, Android brings Internet-style innovation and openness to mobile phones.

via Android | Official Website.

via How safe are your CD-Rs? | Hardware 2.0 | ZDNet.com.

via Etisalat’s patch explanation described as “rubbish”.

via Office 2008 SP2 improves speed, collaboration capability | Business Center | Macworld.

You might have read already about the “spyware” pushed to BlackBerry customers of Etisalat in the United Arab Emirates.

The patch, which was sent out earlier this week, includes a file called Registration.jar, which appears to emanate from snooping-software specialist SS8.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/15/etisalat_blackberry_snooping/

via Patch released for Etisalat ‘SpyWare’ on BlackBerry | BlackBerryNews.com.

Just to follow up on the Etisalat Spyware issue. Please check this discovery and removal guide.

Chirashi Security » Etisalat BlackBerry Spyware Revealer.

via Blu-ray vs DVD.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Adrian

Gender: Male

Origin: Latin

Meaning: “From Hadria”

The male given name Adrian is derived from the Latin Hadrianus, which is more familiar to English speakers as Hadrian. The name means “from Adria”, a port on the Adriatic Sea. Adrian was the name of several early Christian saints and martyrs. The name is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Great Britain, becoming widely known in England in the twelfth century, when Nicholas Breakspear took it as his regnal name when he became the only English pope, Adrian IV. Can also mean, ’strong’ in multiple languages.

Male forms

Variations for males include:

* English Adrian;Andrew;Gary;Hilton;Wilson,

* Afrikaans: Ad, Adriaan, Adrianus, Arrie, At, Daan, Jaans

* Albanian: Adrian, Ardian, Ard/Ardi

* Bosnian: Adrian, Adrijan

* Bulgarian :Адриан or Адриян (Adrian or Adrijan)

* Catalan : Adrià

* Croatian: Jadranko,Adrian,Adrijan

* Dutch: Ad, Aad, Adrie, Adriaan, Adrianus, Arie, Arjan

* English: Adrian, Ade

* French: Adrien

* German: Adrian

* Greek: Αδριανός

* Hungarian: Adorján, Adrián

* Italian: Adriano

* Latin: Hadrian, Hadrianus

* Polish: Adrian

* Portuguese: Adriano

* Romanian: Adrian, Adi

* Russian: Адриан

* Spanish: Adrián, Adriano

* Ukrainian: Адріан, Адріян (Adrian, Adrijan, informal – Adriyanko, Adriyanchik)

More info from:  Adrian – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

via Apple – Downloads – Internet Utilities – AddressBookSync.

I like the way they sync the pictures as well as birthdays to my machine. Makes it look colorful with the contact pictures which is automated by the utility. Cool!

]]> http://blog.adrian-ross.com/2009/07/14/apple-downloads-internet-utilities-addressbooksync/feed/ 0 http://blog.adrian-ross.com/2009/07/14/paste-without-formatting-by-default/ http://blog.adrian-ross.com/2009/07/14/paste-without-formatting-by-default/#comments Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:22:07 +0000 Adrian Ross http://blog.adrian-ross.com/?p=152 Nice tip from Tuaw.

Here’s something I know affects plenty of users out there. Have you ever pasted text in a document or email message, only to have it formatted differently than all the text around it? Irritating, right?

Via TUAW Tip: Paste without formatting by default.

via Cacti: The Complete RRDTool-based Graphing Solution.

Manage Everything IT… for Free! Spiceworks is the complete network management & monitoring, helpdesk, PC inventory & software reporting solution to manage Everything IT in small and medium businesses. Powered by 700,000 IT Pros Like You.

The Spiceworks IT Community is available to answer questions while you work directly in the application.

Spiceworks is completely free…and you can get started in less than 5 minutes. Download now.

via Spiceworks – Free Network Monitoring Software for Network Management.

Performance Advantages of SSDs

Over Hard Disk Drives

* Faster boot time

* Improved performance

* Higher IOPS

* Fast random read and random write

* Quieter operation (no mechanical sound)

* Higher reliability

* Low power consumption

* Withstands greater shock and vibration

* Reduced weight

via Solid State Drives Memory Products – Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc..

via Official Google Blog: Introducing the Google Chrome OS.

That’s right, I’m an AMAES Alumni. I browsed the site and found this little bit of information. Has anybody tried this?

# Ten percent (10%) tuition fee discount for all alumni members and siblings for courses offered in all school under AMA Education System.

# Five percent (5%) discount for all members only in all CONEC Programs.

# Entry and use of AMA Campus facilities. Please read the guidelines.

via AMAES Alumni Benefits.

2009 SHELL INT”L MOBILE DRAW | Customers Complaints forum Cutomers File Your Complaints here.

Things move quickly online, and we’ve beefed up the engine that runs Firefox to make sure you can keep up: Firefox 3.5 is more than twice as fast as Firefox 3, and ten times as fast as Firefox 2.* As a result, Web applications like email, photo sites and your favorite social networks will feel snappier and more responsive.

via It’s Time for an Upgrade.

via Use QuickTime Player to create a video wall | Software | Mac OS X Hints | Macworld.

via Reduce system workload during drive cloning | Utilities | Mac OS X Hints | Macworld.

Recently a discolored overheated iPhone 3GS was discovered and blogged about on blogs like Gizmodo, Engadget, and PCWorld. I’m not 100% sure, but I do think that the overheating problem is being caused by the iPhone OS 3.0 software update and it isn’t affecting the iPhone 3GS only, it’s affecting other iPhone and iPod Touch devices as well.

iPhone OS 3.0 causes overheating problems?.

aslmanager taking up 99% of CPU – MacFixIt.

]]> http://blog.adrian-ross.com/2009/06/29/aslmanager-taking-up-99-of-cpu-macfixit/feed/ 0 http://blog.adrian-ross.com/2009/06/25/editing-the-the-adobe-ppd-postscript-printer-description-file/ http://blog.adrian-ross.com/2009/06/25/editing-the-the-adobe-ppd-postscript-printer-description-file/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:15:01 +0000 Adrian Ross http://blog.adrian-ross.com/?p=82 Changing the printer’s default functions and description is quite a tough one especially if you’re like me who don’t pay attention to programming. I have searched the net and asked several forums and found out about Postscript. This is the language known to printers in processing jobs.

Below is a link to one of my questions in a forum:

http://www.emiratesmac.com/forums/development/7194-editing-ppd.html

Mr. Google saved my ass and was able to found more information about it.

Here are some fundamentals that I have researched to assist in modifying bits and pieces of your Postscript printer functions in a Mac.

Introduction

PostScript™ printer description files (PPD files) are text files that provide a
uniform approach to using the diverse features of devices that contain Post-
Script interpreters. Such features include different page sizes, different methods
of paper and film handling, memory size, font availability, and finishing
features such as duplex printing and stapling. All devices do not have the
same set of features, and even devices with the same features do not necessarily
invoke those features in the same way. PPD files provide applications with
the necessary information about a device’s features, including the feature
options, the default settings, how to request the current settings, how to
change the settings, and other information that might be used for scheduling
jobs. (Excerpts from the PostScript Printer Description File
Format Specification by Adobe)

As required, we need to change menu item descriptions from the print dialogue boxes we see when printing.

Open the PPD file located in /Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources/en.lproj/ for my case is the:

Fiery EX260 Color Server PS.ppd

I recommend using Text Wrangler since it does not add anything or change the file like text edit. Say we wanted to change the menu item “Media 1″, you will need to find all “Media 1″ inside the *OpenGroup /*CloseGroup lines:

*OpenGroup: FPPaperSource1/Media 1
*%EFIFlags *EFTrayAlignment Column|Command|Impose|Rerip|Spooler
*%EFIGroup *EFTrayAlignment FPPaperSource/Media
…..

….

…
*CloseGroup: FPPaperSource1

set a new name Media 1 = Print Size

When you are done, save the file. Remove and re-add the printer. Close and re-open your applications. The new menu items should be showing as you wanted.

References:

http://www.devtrends.com/index.php/ppd-files/
http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/en/ps/5003.PPD_Spec_v4.3.pdf

http://www.adobe.com/products/printerdrivers/installmacppd.html

A great video of what’s currently happening…

1.  Start up iTunes on the target device.  Accept the license agreement and choose NOT to add anything to the library at this time.  You should now find the iTunes folder and a blank database in your /%username%/Music folder.

2.  Start up the Migration Assistant app (in Applications/Utilities), choose “From a Mac”.

3.  Reboot your source device and hold down the ‘T’ key whilst it restarts.  It should boot up to show a Firewire symbol.

4.  Connect the source and target devices with a Firewire cable.

5.  This should mount the source disk on your target device.

6.  Copy the entire Music/iTunes folder from source to destination.

7.  Once the copy is finished, open iTunes and you should see all your tracks preserved with the meta-data intact.

Reference:Migrate iTunes to a new Mac

Screen Sharing is an Apple application where you can control or literally share the screen from another machine in the local network.

1. Browse the machine on the local network and click on “ShareScreen” icon. Make sure to know a user account on that local machine so you can enable it.

2. From Finder, click Go then connect to server and type :VNC://ip address of the machine.
The third one is what I really like, enabling the Bonjour Browser in the Screen Sharing application.

3. From the terminal, type in: defaults write com.apple.ScreenSharing.ShowBonjourBrowser_Debug 1
Run the Screen Sharing application again from System/Library/CoreServices

Then, you should have a browser with all the Macs in your network and as long as you have an Admin user on the machine, then you will be able to do anything.

Enjoy!

Reference:Mac OSX Hints  – Screen Sharing

Likas na sa Pinoy ang pagiging masayahin eh, di mawawala yun… Kahit na naghihirap at maraming problema, humahanap padin ng paraan para makapag-libang at maging masaya.

Kaya nga maraming pinoy ang nasa customer service kasi likas tayong mapagkalinga at magaang kasama. Talagang di maitatangi, ang pinoy ang pinaka masayang tao sa balat ng lupa. :p

“Happy to grin and bear it”

Published on: Friday, 19th January, 2007

The 7DAYS letters pages have been abuzz with a new hot topic this week – and a positive one no less. All sparked by one man who wanted to share his opinion that Filipinos are the friendliest people in Dubai. His view certainly struck a familiar cord with many other readers, who have flooded the paper with letters of praise for the Filipinos they have come across here in Dubai, with many asking for the secret to their apparent happiness. So 7DAYS hit the streets to get to the bottom of the issue by asking Filipinos themselves, the secret to their smiles.

Click here for the whole article

There is an old saying, “You can take a horse to the water but you cannot force it to drink, it will drink only if it’s thirsty” – so do people.

I was once part of a company who adopts the same thing. But not quite. They offered a Gym, an area for table tennis, a rest area with bean bags and comfy blankets, pantry with several computers you can browse and play PC games with, and a game room with XBOX and playstations. Cool huh? Yes it is. But I left the company after 6 months for personal reasons.

I hope One.com adapts this! hehe:p

[thumb:913:r:l=p]

cool huh?!

I passed my driving test! And now I can drive here! Yahoo!

God is good all the time!

I passed the signs test! The red mark in Arabic says so… I’ll just need to practice and learn more for the big day.

[thumb:673:c]

And yes, I got my road test scheduled on September 23. I hope that the route, and the Police officer to test me will be kind.

This is really a Happy Day! Thanks Lord!

Driving in Dubai is totally different. A lot of the people are disciplined. It’s very rare that you see someone taking your lane or driving unresponsibly like what we have in our country.

Traffic Jams?! Don’t mention it. Here you have a traffic which is actually moving. Compared to the Philippines, you can’t get further even for a kilometer in an hour on busy hours… Talking about EDSA?!… MMDA’s, Buses, and others, it’s a nightmare… That is why I like rural driving more…. Long drives, Stop-overs, and road trips…

Well, I enrolled with Five Star Motor Driving Institute, a private driving school located in Karama, Dubai. It is a requirement before you can drive here. Even though I know how to drive, I admit that driving in a different country is different. Speed limits, traffic violations, and other stuffs…

Day 1

I started my driving lessons last thursday… I was surprised that I still know how to drive after 9 frozed months.
 
My intructor is an Indian, credible enough who is working with their company for 15 years. He has been in Dubai streets for 35 years. And once visited Philippines years ago…

He knows how to speak Filipino. It’s cool because he tries to teach me in English and Tagalog at the same time…

I am not surprised with other nationalities to speak our language for there are so may Filipinos here, and probably they would like to learn it as well for making friends and doing business.

Going back, everything went ok. He thought me how to make proper U-turns. Closed and Open U-turns and all that…

I had a great driving experience. I missed it. For 1 and a half hours, I finished my 1st two out of 10 sessions.

Day 2

7AM, we went to Zabeel, and he taught me proper gear changing, clutch use and turning…

Back home, I learned driving from my friends and family and I admit that I was not trained to use the clutch well.

When he taught me about clutch use, I can say that my driving went smoother, which is part of the police’s checklist for passing… 

You can check out on my video feeds for a clip of Day 2…

Even if I am a little slow this morning due to working at night, everything went just fine.

Tomorrow, I’ll have my signal test with the Dubai Police.

Monday, August 7, 2006. Happy Lucky Day! – Wish me luck…

It uses javascripts, flash, html, php and others… Most of it’s contents are web-based so expect to see it updated everyday…

 Thanks to the following website:

freewebs.com

freedictionary.com

flashfoot.com

flashvortex.com

grouper.com

wordpress.org

coppermine.sf.net

phpbb.com

myshoutbox.com

friendster.com

counters4blogs.com

dynamicdrive.com

grazr.com

b-one.net

racing aura automaniacs

 Unfortunately, the pictures coming from coppermine was not shown. Probably because it uses address www.adrian-ross.com/gallery as it’s url. So i reverted all changes and hoping to see the DNS settings back to normal.  

This enormous feeling inside me, seems I won’t be able to grasp.
I can handle this with YOU.

It’s amazing to realize that God breathed me life for you. I won’t fail Him!

Hold on, we’ll go smoothly in this exciting journey.

I can’t wait for the things which are in store for us.

I am ready, are you?

-arvfrando

effects of not getting enough sleep…

 Before I had my off, my CSS got corrupted due to working or I may say, playing with it. So this place was down for two days. =( But now, it is working cause I have reinstalled it =)

The whether icon is so cool. It shows an icon which best describes the day. I am in Dubai and it shows the local weather. Conclusion : simple but helpful and nice…

Calendar – It simply shows the current Month and it’s good that I can paste events on it.

Next project: Tagboard… Goodluck!

Happy reading!