Floorplan shapes for dia

A small selection of very basic shapes to enable you to use dia to create rough floorplan layouts
(e.g. for an office layout)

Download from this link:
www.digitalfoundations.com.au/Floorplan_dia_shapes.zip

Reverse-Proxy SSL with pfSense (inc. OWA)

301 - This page has moved to: http://www.digitalfoundations.com.au/blog/reverse-proxy-ssl-with-pfsense-inc-owa

Vmware resolution in Linux guest

Add a "Virtual WIDTH HEIGHT" line after the appropriate DEPTH line in /etc/X11/xorg.conf

DLNA Servers

Samsung AllShare
www.samsung.com/global/allshare/pcsw/

- Can have difficulties installing, just keep running the installer until it works (3 attempts for me)
- M4V file extensions produce "File not supported" on Samsung TV, rename the file to *.MP4.

Serviio
www.serviio.org
- Not reliably detected on Samsung TV (need to restart the TV to re-detect the Serviio (on Server 2003).
- Clips drop out after a few minutes playing (Server 2003).

Ripping DVD for digital movie library

Here are some tips for ripping DVD's to digital format, so you can display on your DLNA enabled TV.  The digital copy also forms your backup for commercial DVD's, but remember copyright rules mean copies of commercial DVD's may not be distributed.

The recommended software tool is Handbrake.
The recommended preset is "iPhone & iPod Touch" - this produces a reasonable size within reasonable time.  For example, on a dual-core 2GHz machine with 4GB RAM, a typical 2hr movie will take about 40mins to rip a 1.2GB file, with minor pixelation.

Note the following options:

File format:

M4V (MP4) - allows aac+ac3, supported on iPhone & Samsung TV DLNA
MKV - requires 3rd party decoder on Apple OSX

Constant Quality:
 20=good but large file
 24=okay, smaller

Bit Rate:
 1500=ok, minor loss
 2500=hi quality (large file)

Comparison of Handbrake Presets can be viewed here:
 https://trac.handbrake.fr/attachment/wiki/BuiltInPresets/fps-graph.png
Specifics about the presets can be viewed here:
 https://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/BuiltInPresets#no1

Virus tip

A virus had created entries in registry:

HKLM\...\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options

that prevented common tools from running (taskmgr, regedit, MBAM, Avast,AVG, etc.).  Trying to run the commands from the command line produced an error:

...file not found ...

To fix the issue download & install MBAM, make a copy of the executable and run the copy, scan & fix.

Exchange 2003 IMF - Notes

The UI contains incorrect SCL rating text for the store threshold

The "Store Junk E-Mail Configuration" section of the UI incorrectly states "Move messages with an SCL rating greater than or equal to." The correct text should be the following (corrected text in bold): "Move messages with an SCL rating greater than."
(Quoted from: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;867633)

IMF Keyword Manager
Is available from Accendo Solutions.

IMFCompanion
Is available from PQR Services
for examining and handling junk mail.

Can't access local resources when VPN connected (Vista & Win7)

Windows Vista introduced a new feature that allows PPTP VPN credentials to access resources on remote servers when the VPN is connected. The side effect is that access to local resources then fails.  The feature can be disabled per VPN as follows:

Locate the .pbk file that contains the entry that you dial:

%AppData%\Microsoft\Network\Connections\Pbk

 

Open the file in Notepad.  Locate and change the setting for each VPN: UseRasCredentials=0

Install Wordpress on Debian Squeeze

Install services:

apt-get install mysql-server

apt-get install wordpress

 (deps: apache2, php5)

Create link if installing in a sub-directory:

ln -s /usr/share/wordpress /var/www/wordpress

Run the Wordpress MySQL setup script:

/usr/share/doc/wordpress/examples/setup-mysql -n wordpress

Create link to access the correct URL if you used localhost above:

ln -s /etc/wordpress/config-localhost.php /etc/wordpress/config-myUri.php

Run the Wordpress install.php:

http:///wordpress/wp-admin/install.php

Samsung UA55ES6600 Review

* Poor colour handling - lights appear white and greys appear dark, depsite contrast, brightness & gamma tuning. Mid-tones are fine.  Suspect this is typical of edge-lit LED.
* Dark frames show very dark around the edges, causing a "tunnel" appearance.
* Remote has very poor feel - many buttons feel the same so it takes a quite bit of getting used to before you can use the remote without looking at what button you are pressing.  Remote is poorly weighted too - hard to get the buttons at bottom of the remote.
* Web browser struggles to load many common pages due to multimedia content - this locks up the TV which is very annoying.
* Update process is poorly managed - updates occur without showing progress and TV cannot be used during the process.
* Guide is inconsistent - sometimes you get the good one (new), sometimes you get the poor one (old).
* Youtube does not play smoothly.  Forces HD versions if available.  Keyboard does not work in the Youtube app.
* Timeshift requires manual activation.
* PIP is limited due to no second tuner, and no PIP button on the remote makes it mostly unusable.

Pros:
* PVR feature works well, the TV "sleeps" while waiting for scheduled recordings.

Overall:
Despite the above points it is a good TV, but the "Smart" side is not quite there.  Windows Media Centre provides quicker & easier access to Guide and timeshifting.  A dual-core model would likely be worth the extra cost.

[Update]
After a week or so of operation some of the niggling issues are turning out to be real annoyances and I cannot recommend this TV.  Occassionally it won't change channel or respond to the remote - obviously doing some background process and takes a few MINUTES to start responding again.
Skipping forward through recorded movies produces an incorrect message ("Mode not supported") and causes the movie to start from the beginning again.  Contacting Samsung support got a reply saying I needed a new firmware, they provided a link to a page that has NO FIRMWARE!

Noontec IPD201 HDMI Dock for iPod/iPhone/iPad Review

* Very clear output on HDMI
* Only basic remote functions (Pause/Play/Stop,Volume)

Overall: Looks Good!

D&S Composite AV Cable for iPod/iPhone/iPad Review

* Picture image is faded
* iPhone output on screen is automatic only when video, Youtube & slideshows are displayed